Cindy AL's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 19 Apr 2025 14:12:57 -0700 60 Cindy AL's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)]]> 18480329 Two worlds threaten to crumble in the face of a common enemy in the epic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy -- now with a gorgeous new package! What power can bruise the sky?Two worlds are poised on the brink of a vicious war. By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera's rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her.When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited -- not in love, but in tentative alliance against their common enemy. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves.But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters?The New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy comes to a stunning conclusion as -- from the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond -- humans, chimaera, and seraphim strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.]]> 506 Laini Taylor 031628016X Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.17 Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)
author: Laini Taylor
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, #2)]]> 218537468
When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the high-profile death threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there’s one thing she knows for sure, it’s that secrets don’t stay buried forever.]]> 336 Nita Prose 0593356209 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.82 2023 The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, #2)
author: Nita Prose
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Queens of Crime 211003830 The Mystery of Mrs. Christie returns with a thrilling story of Christie’s legendary rival Dorothy Sayers, the race to solve a murder, and the power of friendship among women.

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second-class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.

May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there is an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they’re stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden.

Inspired by a true story in Sayers� own life, New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict brings to life the lengths to which five talented women writers will go to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of letters as they unpuzzle a mystery torn from the pages of their own novels.]]> 310 Marie Benedict 1250280753 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.81 2025 The Queens of Crime
author: Marie Benedict
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Junie 212806648 A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms.

Sixteen years old and enslaved since she was born, Junie has spent her life on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, cooking and cleaning alongside her family, and tending to the white master’s daughter, Violet. Her daydreams are filled with poetry and faraway worlds, while she spends her nights secretly roaming through the forest, consumed with grief over the sudden death of her older sister, Minnie.

When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses Minnie’s spirit from the grave, tethered to this world unless Junie can free her. She enlists the aid of Caleb, the guests� coachman, and their friendship soon becomes something more. Yet as long-held truths begin to crumble, she realizes Bellereine is harboring dark and horrifying secrets that can no longer be ignored.

With time ticking down, Junie begins to push against the harsh current that has controlled her entire life. As she grapples with an increasingly unfamiliar world in which she has little control, she is forced to ask herself: When we choose love and liberation, what must we leave behind?]]> 368 Erin Crosby Eckstine 0593725115 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.21 2025 Junie
author: Erin Crosby Eckstine
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds, #2)]]> 34234675
"We are life takers and heart breakers," Richter shouted. "Let's go!"

Richter and Sion are at it again! Even more of what you loved in the first book! Leveling, world building, awesome items, and what's that you say? Sure! Why not? What's a little necrophilia between friends!?!

Join your favorite Chaos Seed as he answers the call of adventure and deals with the invaders, greedy dwarves, and a wood elf that keeps telling him he has a pretty mouth!

Welcome back my friends!

Welcome back... to The Land!!!!

]]> 382 Aleron Kong Cindy AL 4 4.32 The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds, #2)
author: Aleron Kong
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/01/02
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Inheritance of Magic (Inheritance of Magic #1)]]> 78292528 The super-rich control everything—including magic—in this thrilling and brilliant, contemporary fantasy from the author of the Alex Verus novels.

The wealthy seem to exist in a different, glittering world from the rest of us. Almost as if by... magic.

Stephen Oakwood is a young man on the edge of this hidden world. He has talent and potential, but turning that potential into magical power takes money, opportunity, and training. All Stephen has is a minimum wage job and a cat.

But when a chance encounter with a member of House Ashford gets him noticed by the wrong people, Stephen is thrown in the deep end. For centuries, the vast corporations and aristocratic Houses of the magical world have grown impossibly rich and influential by hoarding their knowledge. To survive, Stephen will have to take his talent and build it up into something greater—for only then can he beat them at their own game.]]> 384 Benedict Jacka 0593549848 Cindy AL 0 4.00 2023 An Inheritance of Magic (Inheritance of Magic #1)
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country (Naturalist's Guide Series)]]> 53969776 226 David B. Williams Cindy AL 0 4.29 2000 A Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country (Naturalist's Guide Series)
author: David B. Williams
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/28
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Charmed I'm Sure (Pax Arcana #0.01)]]> 16173204 John Charming. Ex knight. Current monster hunter.
When Tom Morris encounters a naked man walking along the interstate with no memory of how he got there, the smart thing to do is drive away. The only problem is, Tom Morris has secrets of his own. Like the fact that he comes from a long line of witch finders, monster slayers, and enchantment breakers, or that his real name is Charming. John Charming.
This is a short story from contemporary fantasy author, Elliott James, within his Pax Arcana world. The first of his novels, Charming and Daring, are available now.

Word ~6,900
Other Pax Arcana Short
Charmed I'm Sure
Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls
Pushing Luck
Surreal Estate
Dog-Gone
Bulls Rush In
Talking Dirty]]> 36 Elliott James 0316253456 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.73 2013 Charmed I'm Sure (Pax Arcana #0.01)
author: Elliott James
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Charge 17239442
He gets help from an activist Texan named Lena, who's itching to take on the King and happens to be a beautiful firecracker Warren can't stay away from. Convincing her he's not one of the bad guys becomes harder when a mysterious energy stirs in his body, turning his brain into a hive of emotions and memories—not all his own.

A legacy of violence is not all he inherited from the brutal Kings of Texas. The myth that the royal family possesses supernatural powers may not be myth at all.

Gone are the days when choosing a major was a big deal. Now Warren must save his brother and choose whether or not to be King, follow a King, or die before he can retire his fake ID.]]> 246 Sharon Bayliss Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.05 2013 The Charge
author: Sharon Bayliss
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Monster in My Closet (Monster Haven, #1)]]> 14624355
After all, I've always been a magnet for the emotionally needy, and not just in my work as a wedding planner. Being able to sense the feelings of others can be a major pain. Don't get me wrong, I like helping people--and non-people. But this ability has turned me into a gourmet feast for an incubus, a demon that feeds off emotional energy. Now, brides are dropping dead all over town, and my home has become a safe house for the supernatural. I must learn to focus my powers and defeat the demon before he snacks on another innocent woman and comes looking for the main course...

77,000 words]]> 209 R.L. Naquin 1426894139 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.88 2012 Monster in My Closet (Monster Haven, #1)
author: R.L. Naquin
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cress: Chapters 1-5 18665229
Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker � unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.
]]> 52 Marissa Meyer 1466858419 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.54 2013 Cress: Chapters 1-5
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Trial by Fire: Chapters 1-6 22892319 182 Josephine Angelini 1466881992 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.35 2014 Trial by Fire: Chapters 1-6
author: Josephine Angelini
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Peril (The Last Oracle #2)]]> 40711310
Armed only with a few special talents and her desire to protect her magical charge, and with the assistance of her best friend Viv, her reluctant assistant Judy, and the enigmatic and handsome Malcolm Campbell, Helena must navigate the treacherous depths of the magical world, where secret enemies lurk behind illusions capable of fooling even the most powerful of magical entities. Helena is the only one who can see past those illusions, but will her abilities prove strong enough to save the oracle?]]> 231 Melissa McShane Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.31 The Book of Peril (The Last Oracle #2)
author: Melissa McShane
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 12983100 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee Cindy AL 4 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/20
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Big History: Between Nothing and Everything]]> 18148219
The first edition of Big Between Nothing and Everything , is written by the pioneers of the field, and presents a framework for learning about anything and everything. It encourages students to think critically about our cumulative history and the future of the world through a variety of lenses.

Instructors and students can now access their course content through the Connect digital learning platform by purchasing either standalone Connect access or a bundle of print and Connect access. McGraw-Hill Connect® is a subscription-based learning service accessible online through your personal computer or tablet. Choose this option if your instructor will require Connect to be used in the course. Your subscription to Connect includes the

� SmartBook® - an adaptive digital version of the course textbook that personalizes your reading experience based on how well you are learning the content.
� Access to your instructor’s homework assignments, quizzes, syllabus, notes, reminders, and other important files for the course.
� Progress dashboards that quickly show how you are performing on your assignments and tips for improvement.
� The option to purchase (for a small fee) a print version of the book. This binder-ready, loose-leaf version includes free shipping.

Complete system requirements to use Connect can be found ]]> 352 David Christian 0073385611 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.32 Big History: Between Nothing and Everything
author: David Christian
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Witchwood Crown (The Last King of Osten Ard, #1)]]> 31159601
Now, twenty-four years after the conclusion of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Tad returns to his beloved universe and characters with The Witchwood Crown, the first novel in the long-awaited sequel trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard.

Thirty years have passed since the events of the earlier novels, and the world has reached a critical turning point once again. The realm is threatened by divisive forces, even as old allies are lost, and others are lured down darker paths. Perhaps most terrifying of all, the Norns--the long-vanquished elvish foe--are stirring once again, preparing to reclaim the mortal-ruled lands that once were theirs....]]> 736 Tad Williams 0756410606 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.07 2017 The Witchwood Crown (The Last King of Osten Ard, #1)
author: Tad Williams
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> House of Hunger 149108920
A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching .

Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she know. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper seeking a bloodmaid.

Though she knows little about the far north—where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service—Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery. At the center of it all is Countess Lisavet.

The countess, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when she discovers that the ancient walls of the House of Hunger hide even older secrets, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She’ll need to learn the rules of her new home—and fast—or its halls will soon become her grave.]]> 304 Alexis Henderson 0593438485 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.60 2022 House of Hunger
author: Alexis Henderson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology #1)]]> 59811245
“Epic, romantic, and enthralling from start to finish.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

“An all-consuming work of literary fantasy that is breathtaking both for its beauty and its suspense."—BookPage, starred review

A captivating and romantic debut epic fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.]]> 498 Sue Lynn Tan 0063031310 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.13 2022 Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology #1)
author: Sue Lynn Tan
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, #2)]]> 157062582
When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the high-profile death threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there’s one thing she knows for sure, it’s that secrets don’t stay buried forever.]]> 293 Nita Prose 0593356187 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.75 2023 The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, #2)
author: Nita Prose
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Heiress 126919284
But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.]]> 294 Rachel Hawkins 1250280036 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.80 2024 The Heiress
author: Rachel Hawkins
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Murder at the Merton Library (Wrexford & Sloane, #7)]]> 75468501
At the same time, Charlotte—working under her pen name, A. J. Quill—must determine whether a laboratory fire was arson and if it’s connected to the race between competing consortiums to build a new type of ship—one that can cross the ocean powered by steam rather than sails—with the potential to revolutionize military power and world commerce. That the race involves new innovations in finance and entrepreneurship only adds to the high stakes—especially as their good friend Kit Sheffield may be an investor in one of the competitors.

As they delve deeper into the baffling clues, Wrexford and Charlotte begin to realize that things are not what they seem. An evil conspiracy is lurking in the shadows and threatens all they hold dear—unless they can tie the loose threads together before it’s too late . . .]]> 361 Andrea Penrose 1496739930 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.85 2023 Murder at the Merton Library (Wrexford & Sloane, #7)
author: Andrea Penrose
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Abyss (Unbound #7) 115714495 A desert reborn. An unwanted crown. Ancient terror surfacing.

Felix and his people foiled the Hierocracy’s dire plans, freeing the Territory of Ahkestria and unleashing an ocean upon its sands in the process. Now he must reckon with the newfound political power in his hands, meddlesome nobility, and the Boon of a Primordial that has enacted changes on his very being.

There’s one major difference this time: Felix is not the only one affected.

His friends must learn to handle their sudden, intense gains while creatures from the deep—moved by a malevolent force known only as the Fathom—assault the city. Danger rises as the depths make their not-so-shallow moves. Felix has to deal with the consequences of his actions, which might cost him dearly.

The only thing that would cost more? Doing nothing and hoping someone else would clean up his mess.]]> 774 Nicoli Gonnella 1637661673 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.66 2023 Abyss (Unbound #7)
author: Nicoli Gonnella
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/25
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club #3)]]> 123280218
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or be killed. Suddenly the cold case has become red hot.

While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

From an upmarket spa to a prison cell complete with espresso machine to a luxury penthouse high in the sky, this third adventure of the Thursday Murder Club is full of the cleverness, intrigue, and irresistible charm that readers have come to expect from Richard Osman's bestselling series.]]> 368 Richard Osman 0593299418 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.35 2022 The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club #3)
author: Richard Osman
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 84 Charing Cross Road. 1074386 220 Helene Hanff 0380503778 Cindy AL 0 to-read, spring-challenge 4.13 1970 84 Charing Cross Road.
author: Helene Hanff
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/05
shelves: to-read, spring-challenge
review:

]]> The Road to Roswell 58775691 A delightful novel about alien invasions, conspiracies, and the incredibly silly things people are willing to believe—some of which may actually be true—from the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of Blackout and All Clear

When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate’s UFO-themed wedding—complete with a true-believer bridegroom—she can’t help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don’t exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one.

Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles. Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien’s abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet.

But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he’s not an invader. That he’s in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn’t know how—or even what the trouble is.

Part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy, The Road to Roswell is packed full of Men in Black, Elvis impersonators, tourist traps, rattlesnakes, chemtrails, and Close Encounters of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth kind. Can Francie, stuck in a neon green bridesmaid’s dress, save the world—and still make it back for the wedding?]]> 399 Connie Willis 0593499859 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.64 2023 The Road to Roswell
author: Connie Willis
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom, #1)]]> 57789637
“Epic, romantic, and enthralling from start to finish.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

“An all-consuming work of literary fantasy that is breathtaking both for its beauty and its suspense."—BookPage, starred review

A captivating and romantic debut epic fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.]]> 503 Sue Lynn Tan 0063031302 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.08 2022 Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom, #1)
author: Sue Lynn Tan
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Path of Stars (Guardian of Aster Fall #5)]]> 63265989
With each step Sam takes, secrets new and old unfurl before his eyes. Some of them hint at the heritage of Asenya, the World Forger, and others about the grandeur of the Astral Titans, the greatest builders that the galaxy has ever known. However, no one has seen a Titan in over a million years.

The Path of Stars promises an answer to the mystery of his transformation and the true history of the race.]]> 633 David North 1959736000 Cindy AL 0 4.53 2023 Path of Stars (Guardian of Aster Fall #5)
author: David North
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Arcane Knight (Order & Chaos #1)]]> 63906824
What was meant to be a simple hunt, turned into a life-changing adventure! Caldor is whisked into a world of magic, adventure, and politics. Can he survive long enough to reach his goals?

In a magical world known as ‘The Wyrd� only those who have the Spark can be adventurers, diving into magical dungeons, getting epic loot, and leveling up by collecting essence. Caldor is several years past the age when most people find out they are sparked, but that doesn’t stop him from wishing.

Caldor’s father was an adventurer and he wants nothing more than to be like him, an Arcane Knight. When his hunt goes sideways and he finds that he can harness the powers of being a Sparked, he is filled with excitement and ready to battle his way to the top!

Magic, adventure, and a dose of unwanted politics await him; will he survive long enough to become an Arcane Knight? Read and find out.

This is a LitRPG book with a ‘system�-levels, stats, and cool abilities. No Harem and loads of fun violence.]]> 666 Timothy McGowen 1956179062 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.30 2022 Arcane Knight (Order & Chaos #1)
author: Timothy McGowen
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England]]> 63068377 The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?]]> 366 Brandon Sanderson 1250899672 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.75 2023 The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Weaver and the Witch Queen]]> 63277500
Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth century Norway, and they could not be more different: Oddny hopes for a quiet life, while Gunnhild burns for power and longs to escape her cruel mother. But after a visiting wisewoman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help one another always.

When Oddny’s farm is destroyed and Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders, Oddny is set adrift from the life she imagined—but she's determined to save her sister no matter the cost, even as she finds herself irresistibly drawn to one of the raiders who participated in the attack. And in the far north, Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the ways of a witch, is surprised to find her destiny seems to be linked with that of the formidable King Eirik, heir apparent to the ruler of all Norway.

But the bonds—both enchanted and emotional—that hold the two women together are strong, and when they find their way back to each other, these bonds will be tested in ways they never could have foreseen in this deeply moving novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood.]]> 424 Genevieve Gornichec 0593438248 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.84 2023 The Weaver and the Witch Queen
author: Genevieve Gornichec
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Forged by Blood (The Tainted Blood Duology, #1)]]> 63313283
In the midst of a tyrannical regime and political invasion, Dèmi just wants to avoid the suspicion of the nonmagical Ajes who occupy her ancestral homeland of Ife; to escape the King’s brutal genocide of her people—the darker-skinned, magic-wielding Oluso; and to live peacefully with her secretive mother while learning to control the terrifying blood magic that is her birthright.

But when Dèmi’s misplaced trust costs her mother’s life, survival gives way to vengeance. She bides her time until the devious Lord Ekwensi grants her the perfect opportunity—kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, and bargain with his life to save the remaining Oluso. With the help of her reckless childhood friend Colin, Dèmi succeeds, but discovers that she and Jonas share more than deadly secrets; every moment tangles them further into a forbidden, unmistakable attraction, much to Colin’s—and Dèmi’s—distress.

The kidnapping is now a joint to return to the King, help get Lord Ekwensi on the council, and bolster the voice of the Oluso in a system designed to silence them. But the way is dangerous, Dèmi’s magic is growing yet uncertain, and it’s not clear if she can trust the two men at her side.

A tale of rebellion and redemption, race and class, love and trust and betrayal, Forged by Blood is epic fantasy at its finest, from an enthusiastic, emerging voice.]]> 400 Ehigbor Okosun 0063112620 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.46 2023 Forged by Blood (The Tainted Blood Duology, #1)
author: Ehigbor Okosun
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Banished (Street Rats of Aramoor, #1)]]> 46001987
A mercenary who doesn't like to kill.

Desperate to become the youngest warrior of his clan, Ayrion will stop at nothing to reach his goal, not even the one thing all Upakans fear:

. . . Magic.

However, when a fatal accident forces him to flee, Ayrion barters passage aboard the only ship willing to take one of his kind. But there's more to this captain and crew than he realizes.

Thrust into circumstances beyond his control, and with the promise of death waiting around every bend in the river, Ayrion's training will be tested in ways he never thought possible.

How far will he be willing to go to keep those he cares about safe?

* * *

- I’ve read almost 1,000 books and this one is at the top � Amazon Reviewer
- It's like I have a mini-movie playing in my head � Amazon Reviewer
- A book that I can let my children read also. Please keep writing � Amazon Reviewer

Street Rats of Aramoor
Book 1 | Banished
Book 2 | Hurricane
Book 3 | Rockslide (Coming Soon)]]> 377 Michael Wisehart Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.53 2017 Banished (Street Rats of Aramoor, #1)
author: Michael Wisehart
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dragons Don't Eat Meat (Valkyrie Bestiary #1)]]> 53341738
When Kyra finds an abandoned baby dragon, she doesn’t want to bring him home. But until she can hunt down his thunder and stop the dragon killers, she’s on babysitting duty.

As a pest controller with a soft heart, Kyra already has an apartment full of rescues, including a basilisk who thinks he’s a turkey, a banshee nanny, and even a pygmy kraken. She might take care of them, but they also fill her need for family. And when that family is threatened, she’ll risk everything to save them. She’ll even join forces with the handsome and irritating captain of the city’s vigilante Guardians, who never fails to be around at her most undignified moments.

Along with a quirky cast of misfits and unruly critters, Kyra leaves the safety of Montreal Ward and travel through the dangerous Inbetween—the land beyond the protected city states, where magic is the only rule of law—to reunite the lost dragon with his thunder and stop a new and sinister force from invading their home.

Fans of Kate Daniels and Fantastic Beasts will find something to love in this action-packed, Urban Fantasy tale set in a future version of Montreal. Book 1 of the thrilling new Valkyrie Bestiary series is a true menagerie of fascinating characters, adorable critters and dark magics.]]> 245 Kim McDougall Cindy AL 4 4.19 2020 Dragons Don't Eat Meat (Valkyrie Bestiary #1)
author: Kim McDougall
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/19
date added: 2022/11/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Good Troll Detective (Mantle and Key Paranormal Agency, #1)]]> 60215984
Maine doesn’t like her father. It doesn’t help that he’s a troll. As in a literal, lives-under-a-bridge troll.

When her father is killed, Maine returns home to settle his estate and learns that he wasn’t any ordinary troll, but the town hero.

Seems trolls can be superheroes, too.

When Maine inherited her father’s Mantle, she got more than a demonically possessed magical cape that reveals one’s weakness. She also inherited several busloads of mythical adversaries.

Thanks, Dad!

Now that she’s inherited the Mantle, her father’s assassins are coming after her.

With powerful supernatural beings gunning for her and the Mantle, Maine doesn’t have much time to learn about her magical inheritance.

She has a choice to make. Give up her father’s Mantle and return to her mundane, human life, or stay and fight.

With the help of a chihuahua-sized dire wolf, a very sexy wizard, and her father’s Mantle, Maine enters a maze of supernatural mysteries.

Will Maine uncover the truth of who her father was and why he was killed? Can she avoid her quest for that truth risking the lives of her and her friends along the way?

Scroll up and click BUY NOW or READ FOR FREE and join Maine as she takes on the mantle of her father’s legacy.]]> 384 Ramy Vance Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.32 The Good Troll Detective (Mantle and Key Paranormal Agency, #1)
author: Ramy Vance
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Flames Over Frosthelm (Inquisitors' Guild, #1)]]> 53099866
Flames Over Frosthelm is the first novel about the Inquisitor's Guild, the investigative arm of the government of Frosthelm, a medieval city-state where criminals thrive, nobles scheme, and dark secrets lurk. Expect intrigue, mystery, swordplay, adventure, politics, romance, and the strong bonds of friendship. And a little magic along the way. Described as Princess Bride meets CSI, this new novel is a tale of classic adventure with a healthy dose of humor.]]> 317 Dave Dobson Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.34 Flames Over Frosthelm (Inquisitors' Guild, #1)
author: Dave Dobson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Casual Farming (Sowing Season #1)]]> 61086584
The chance of a lifetime started with a gift.
The inheritance of an old farmstead outside of the town of Summer Shandy.
A farm that's overgrown, overrun, and filled with field monsters and in a bad need of a tilling.
But it’s something. It’s a start, and for Jason Hunter, that’s all he needs.

And all his uncle wanted for him. A new start.

But farm life doesn’t come easy as Jason will learn. With a mountain of chores that range from monster extermination to watering crops, Jason will need to learn to manage his stamina, build up his endurance, and maintain a social life if he’s going to live the quiet life in the country.]]> 570 Wolfe Locke Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.18 2022 Casual Farming (Sowing Season #1)
author: Wolfe Locke
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Natural Twenty (Tomb of Malevolent Evil #3)]]> 61060906
They know where it is; but knowing, as they say, is only half the battle. Now they must delve into the dungeon depths, struggle to learn its secrets, and ideally end the evil of the place so they can get the heck out of the game and back home again.

But the Tomb has more secrets than anyone could have guessed, and the monsters living within will kill to preserve them.

It’s a race against time, with Terry, Jewel, Mandy, and Morgan rushing to solve the riddle of the dungeon and end its threat before it can fully awaken and pour evil out across the land.

Don’t miss the stunning conclusion to the epic LitRPG trilogy!]]> 279 Kevin McLaughlin Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.43 2022 Natural Twenty (Tomb of Malevolent Evil #3)
author: Kevin McLaughlin
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> House of Hunger 60052118 WANTED - Bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life's finer pleasures. Girls of weak will need not apply.

A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power, in this dark and enthralling gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching.

Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation is all she knows. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper, seeking a bloodmaid.

Though she knows little about the far north--where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service--Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery--and at the center of it all is her.

Countess Lisavet, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the night, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She'll need to learn the rules of her new home--and fast--or its halls will soon become her grave.]]> 304 Alexis Henderson 0593438469 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.64 2022 House of Hunger
author: Alexis Henderson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Tread of Angels 60321430 Celeste, a card sharp with a penchant for trouble, takes on the role of advocatus diaboli, to defend her sister Mariel, accused of murdering a Virtue, a member of the ruling class in the mining town of Goetia, in a new world of dark fantasy.

High in the remote mountains, the town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity. Divinity is the remains of the body of the rebel Abaddon, who fell to earth during Heaven's War, and it powers the world’s most inventive and innovative technologies, ushering in a new age of progress. However, only the descendants of those that rebelled, called Fallen, possess the ability to see the rich lodes of the precious element. That makes them a necessary evil among the good and righteous people called the Elect, and Goetia a town segregated by ancestry and class.

Celeste and Mariel are two Fallen sisters, bound by blood but raised in separate worlds. Celeste grew up with her father, passing in privileged Elect society, while Mariel stayed with their mother in the Fallen slums of Goetia. Upon her father’s death, Celeste returns to Goetia and reunites with Mariel. Mariel is a great beauty with an angelic voice, and Celeste, wracked by guilt for leaving her sister behind, becomes her fiercest protector.

When Mariel is accused of murdering a Virtue, the powerful Order of the Archangels that rule Goetia, Celeste must take on the role of Advocatus Diaboli (Devil’s Advocate) and defend her sister in the secretive courts of the Virtue. Celeste, aided by her ex-lover, Abraxas, who was once one of the rebels great generals, sets out to prove Mariel innocent. But powerful forces among the Virtues and the Elect mining barons don’t want Celeste prying into their business, and Mariel has secrets of her own. As Celeste is drawn deeper into the dark side of Goetia, she unravel a layer of lies and manipulation that may doom Mariel and puts her own immortal soul at risk, in this dark fantasy noir from the bestselling mastermind Rebecca Roanhorse.]]> 201 Rebecca Roanhorse 1982166185 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.44 2022 Tread of Angels
author: Rebecca Roanhorse
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Thistlefoot 60018639
Thistlefoot, as the house is called, has arrived from the Yagas' ancestral home in Russia--but not alone. A sinister figure known only as the Longshadow Man has tracked it to American shores, bearing with him violent secrets from the past: fiery memories that have hidden in Isaac and Bellatine's blood for generations. As the Yaga siblings embark with Thistlefoot on a final cross-country tour of their family's traveling theater show, the Longshadow Man follows in relentless pursuit, seeding destruction in his wake. Ultimately, time, magic, and legacy must collide--erupting in a powerful conflagration to determine who gets to remember the past and craft a new future.

An enchanted adventure illuminated by Jewish myth and adorned with lyrical prose as tantalizing and sweet as briar berries, Thistlefoot is an immersive modern fantasy saga by a bold new talent.]]> 448 GennaRose Nethercott 059346883X Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.92 2022 Thistlefoot
author: GennaRose Nethercott
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7) 23947089 Return to #1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with The Alloy of Law, comes to its earth-shattering conclusion in The Lost Metal.

For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set—with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders—since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner, Wayne, find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between the capital, Elendel, and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate—whose corruption Wax and his wife, Steris, have sought to expose—and Bilming is even more entangled.

After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial's god, Harmony, reveals that Bilming has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn't the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere—Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial . . . at any cost.

Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.]]> 507 Brandon Sanderson 0765391198 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.46 2022 The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)]]> 59855147
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or be killed. Suddenly the cold case has become red hot.

While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

From an upmarket spa to a prison cell complete with espresso machine to a luxury penthouse high in the sky, this third adventure of the Thursday Murder Club is full of the cleverness, intrigue, and irresistible charm that readers have come to expect from Richard Osman's bestselling series.]]> 342 Richard Osman 0593299396 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.37 2022 The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)
author: Richard Osman
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Killers of a Certain Age (Killers of a Certain Age, #1)]]> 60149532 Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon.

They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman--and a killer--of a certain age.]]> 368 Deanna Raybourn 0593200683 Cindy AL 0 to-read 3.82 2022 Killers of a Certain Age (Killers of a Certain Age, #1)
author: Deanna Raybourn
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Demon Copperhead 60194162 "Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose."

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.]]> 560 Barbara Kingsolver 0063251922 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.46 2022 Demon Copperhead
author: Barbara Kingsolver
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Moonlight Banishes Shadows (The Infinite World, #3)]]> 55882095 508 J.T. Wright Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.63 2020 Moonlight Banishes Shadows (The Infinite World, #3)
author: J.T. Wright
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Uprooted 36681425 “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.�

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.]]> 465 Naomi Novik Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.24 2015 Uprooted
author: Naomi Novik
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/06/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pity the Ghoul (Steve the Paladin #1)]]> 60284673
After recently discovering he’s a paladin and that the world of the supernatural is real, Steve Firestone, a divorced late-night radio host, has that first-day-at-school feeling. Only this is no Hogwarts.

Being 40, out of shape, and with a mouth that gets him into trouble, Steve must find a way to meet his tutor’s exhausting demands and learn to channel divine power to live up to his ancestry. That’s if he wishes to stay at the academy and with his party of new friends, including Nymantha, the fearsome wizard to whose flame Steve is a moth.

To complicate matters, when a citizen is found torn to pieces, their organs removed, and dozens of bodies stolen from a graveyard, it means only one thing: a necromancer is building an army of ghouls. But to what end? Why is it happening in Steve’s backyard? And why is there a goblin stalking him?

Steve and his party must embark on their first quest: find and stop the necromancer, because ain’t nobody got time for an army of hungry ghouls treating the population like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Don't miss the next hit series from A.C. Hadfield. A Progression Fantasy set in a magic academy loaded with LitRPG and GameLit elements, and puns that will leave a smile plastered on your face.]]> 420 A.C. Hadfield Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.01 Pity the Ghoul (Steve the Paladin #1)
author: A.C. Hadfield
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sherlock Holmes Collection: 4 Novels, 58 Stories]]> 18866272
This edition also comes with a linked Table of Contents for both the list of included books and their respective chapters. Navigation couldn't be easier.

Purchase this Sherlock Holmes Collection and treat yourself to the following list of works featuring the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Novels
A Study in Scarlet (1877)
The Sign of the Four (1890)
The Hound of Baskerville (1902)
The Valley of Fear (1915)
Short Story Collections
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1904)
The Reminiscenes of Sherlock Holmes (1917)
Tales of Terror and Mystery (varied dates)
Other Short Stories
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (1921)
The Problem of Thor Bridge (1922)]]> 3375 Arthur Conan Doyle Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.41 1915 Sherlock Holmes Collection: 4 Novels, 58 Stories
author: Arthur Conan Doyle
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1915
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[He Who Fights with Monsters 4 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #4)]]> 58821848 In the wake of an unexpected homecoming, Jason questions if there is still a place for him in the world he left behind.

Forced to confront what he has become in his time away, he feels more alien than ever. But his old world is hiding secrets that he never knew.

As he starts to unravel what has been hidden from him his entire life, he discovers that not only might he fit in better than ever, but he may be exactly what the world needs.]]> 828 Shirtaloon Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.52 2021 He Who Fights with Monsters 4 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #4)
author: Shirtaloon
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/19
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Other Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys, #3)]]> 58355953
Fiercely independent and adventurous, Poppy Bridgerton will only wed a suitor whose keen intellect and interests match her own. Sadly, none of the fools from her London season qualify. While visiting a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy is pleasantly surprised to discover a smugglers� hideaway tucked inside a cave. But her delight turns to dismay when two pirates kidnap her and take her aboard a ship, leaving her bound and gagged on the captain’s bed�

He found her at the wrong time�

Known to society as a rascal and reckless privateer, Captain Andrew James Rokesby actually transports essential goods and documents for the British government. Setting sail on a time-sensitive voyage to Portugal, he’s stunned to find a woman waiting for him in his cabin. Surely, his imagination is getting the better of him. But no, she is very real—and his duty to the Crown means he’s stuck with her.

Can two wrongs make the most perfect right?

When Andrew learns that she is a Bridgerton, he knows he will likely have to wed her to avert a scandal—though Poppy has no idea that he is the son of an earl and neighbor to her aristocratic cousins in Kent. On the high seas, their war of words soon gives way to an intoxicating passion. But when Andrew’s secret is revealed, will his declaration of love be enough to capture her heart�?]]> 396 Julia Quinn Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.32 2018 The Other Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys, #3)
author: Julia Quinn
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Wrong Stars (Axiom, #1) 36169858 A ragtag crew of humans and posthumans discover alien technology that could change the fate of humanity� or awaken an ancient evil and destroy all life in the galaxy.

The shady crew of the White Raven run freight and salvage at the fringes of our solar system. They discover the wreck of a centuries-old exploration vessel floating light years away from its intended destination and revive its sole occupant, who wakes with news of First Alien Contact. When the crew break it to her that humanity has alien allies already, she reveals that these are very different extra-terrestrials� and the gifts they bestowed on her could kill all humanity, or take it out to the most distant stars.]]> 396 Tim Pratt 0857667106 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.88 2017 The Wrong Stars (Axiom, #1)
author: Tim Pratt
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pirate Nemesis (Telepathic Space Pirates #1)]]> 35217124 A smuggler running from her past, Mercy desperately wants answers to her mother’s disappearance. All roads lead her to the one place she can’t return: home.�

Killers. Thieves. Pirates. Family.


Mercy has spent her life evading the Pirate Queen who attempted to murder her as a child. Now, living as a smuggler with the outlawed Talent of telepathy, she keeps her head down, takes jobs that keep her moving, and searches for answers about her mother’s disappearance fifteen years ago.

But living outside the law has consequences.�
Tricked and captured, Mercy must choose between two rival factions: the terrorists who will do anything to exploit her gifts for themselves, and the pirates she’s been eluding since childhood.

Her only ally is the most dangerous killer of them all, and trusting him may be her final mistake.�

Star Wars meets Firefly in this space fantasy series readers compare to Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh.]]> 384 Carysa Locke Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.98 2016 Pirate Nemesis (Telepathic Space Pirates #1)
author: Carysa Locke
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Greek Island Killer (DI Jack Dawes #1)]]> 52946911 Nemesis of the Dead.

SOMEONE’S POISONING PARADISE

Detective Inspector Jack Dawes and his bride, Corrie, join eight other holidaymakers bound for a tiny Greek island, ready for a bit of sun, sea and sand.

One of them is a ruthless killer.

Mayhem ensues when a storm destroys the island’s primitive communications, cutting it off from civilization.

IT’S A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR MURDER.

First one victim is poisoned, followed swiftly by another. Then a woman is found badly beaten in a quiet cove and a body is found in a grotto to St Sophia, the island’s patron saint. The island’s visitors are being picked off one by one. Can Jack uncover the truth before the killer ups the ante?

Who will return home � and who will be sacrificed to the island?]]> 278 Frances Lloyd 1789312264 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.04 2009 The Greek Island Killer (DI Jack Dawes #1)
author: Frances Lloyd
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/01/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[WHAT WOULD GINGER ROGERS DO? a funny and deliciously romantic love story]]> 51520364 PREPARE TO FALL FOR THE WITTY CHARMS OF THIS IRRESISTIBLE CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Meet Tosca Tonnino. Like her diva namesake, she’s passionate, head-strong and loves her freedom.

Her favourite things are fabulous heels, suave boat-owners and her job in events at the local bookstore.

Whenever life gets complicated, Tosca asks, WHAT WOULD GINGER ROGERS DO?

But Ginger was never faced with a conundrum like Ethan James. He is to be Tosca’s gorgeous new assistant at the bookstore.

Charming but surly, caring yet competitive, he’s a problem Tosca can’t solve. His pretty face and East Coast cool dazzle her, and the pair spend a passionate night together.

But is Ethan about to hurt her worse than any lover � even as her feelings are deepening?

As Tosca scores her biggest ever publicity coup, Ethan seems determined to steal her thunder.

NOW IT’S NOT ONLY TOSCA’S HEART ON THE LINE � IT’S HER CAREER.

In this dire situation, what would Ginger Rogers do? The answer is sure to be life-changing.

PERFECT FOR READERS OF MARIAN KEYES, JILL MANSELL AND JULIE CAPLIN

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CAITLIN RAYNES

“If you want a light, well-written book this is the one for you! Couldn’t put it down.� Jo

“A delightful read . . . Lovely characters, even the baddies, and some delightful twists . . . had me reading too late into the night . . . I must know what happens next!� David]]> 227 Caitlin Raynes Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.89 WHAT WOULD GINGER ROGERS DO? a funny and deliciously romantic love story
author: Caitlin Raynes
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/01/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Road to Farringale (Modern Magick, #1)]]> 35380438 Can British magick be saved? Hell yes.Imagine modern Britain without magick.No fae enclaves. No flying chairs. No magick wands. Giddy gods, no unicorns.Who wants to live in that world?Me neither. But with magick on the decline, that's the world we're ending up with.Meet the Society for Magickal Heritage. Our boss is a disembodied voice. Our headquarters is a sentient house. You could say we've a vested interest in keeping magick alive.Can a ragtag bunch of magicians, necromancers and fae prevail against inevitable ruin and decline?Hell yes. Try and stop us.First mission? Find the source of a magickal disease that’s decimating Britain’s troll enclaves � and fix it. Simple.Or... maybe not. For the only place that might hold the information we need is the ancient and inconveniently lost enclave of Farringale...Join Cordelia “Ves� Vesper and the enigmatic Society in the fight to save modern magick! Urban fantasy with attitude � and fantastic hair.]]> 114 Charlotte E. English Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.92 2017 The Road to Farringale (Modern Magick, #1)
author: Charlotte E. English
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/01/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Agent Gambit (Liaden Universe #10-11)]]> 19045923 Agent of Once a brilliant First-in-Scout, Val Con yos’Phelium was “recruited� by the shadowy Liaden Department of Interior and brainwashed into an Agent of Change—a ruthless covert operative who kills without remorse. Val Con has been playing a deep game, far from the orderly life of clan and kin. Fleeing his latest mission, he saves the life of ex-mercenary Miri Robertson, a Terran on the run from interplanetary assassins. Thrown together by circumstances, Val Con and Miri struggle to elude their enemies and stay alive without killing each other-or surrendering to the unexpected passion that flares between them. Which name � or face � will the agent choose when the game gets tough and an escape for only one of them seems possible?Carpe On the run from interplanetary assassins and a ruthless interstellar crime cartel, covert operative Val Con yos'Phelium and former mercenary sergeant Miri Robertson formed an alliance of necessity and wound up stranded on a planet with no rescue in sight. Their on-world problems were looking manageable after they assumed new identities as musicians, that is until a local war forced them to reveal their alien combat skills � and doubt their own growing partnership of trust and love. By then the relentless hound of an agent on Val Con's trail was closing in with the very weapon Val Con and Miri most feared, and the game got very rough indeed.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).“I rarely rave on and on about stories, but I am devoted to Lee and Miller novels and stories.� —Anne McCaffreySharon Lee and Steve Miller live in the rolling hills of Central Maine with two insistent muses in the form of cats and a large cast of characters. The husband-and-wife team's collaborative work in science fiction and fantasy include twelve novels and numerous short stories in their award-winning Liaden Universe®. In addition to their collaborative work, Steve has seen short stories, nonfiction, and reviews published under his name, while Sharon has seen published short stories, newspaper pieces, and two mystery novels.Steve was the founding curator of the University of Maryland's Kuhn Library Science Fiction Research Collection and a former Nebula juror. For five years, Sharon served the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, consecutively as Executive Director, Vice President and President. Sharon's interests include music, seashores and pine cones. Steve also enjoys music, plays tournament chess, and collects cat whiskers.]]> 741 Sharon Lee 1618247972 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.55 2011 The Agent Gambit (Liaden Universe #10-11)
author: Sharon Lee
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/01/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Chess Queen Enigma (Stoker & Holmes, #3)]]> 25507130 360 Colleen Gleason 1452146861 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.24 2015 The Chess Queen Enigma (Stoker & Holmes, #3)
author: Colleen Gleason
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Child Prince (The Artifactor, #1)]]> 32874632 482 Honor Raconteur Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.38 2013 The Child Prince (The Artifactor, #1)
author: Honor Raconteur
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The House That Walked Between Worlds (Uncertain Sanctuary #1)]]> 55541924
A reckless act of compassion costs Dr. Kira Aist her family and her future on Earth. To escape her enemies, she calls on her heritage as a descendant of Baba Yaga and walks between worlds.

As Kira roams the paths of Reality, strangers are drawn to her House. Some seek refuge, some seek power, and one just wants kitty treats.

With the fate of multiple worlds hanging in the balance, Kira must discover what it means to be a sorcerer and the keeper of a House.



The House That Walked Between Worlds is a compelling and original fantasy novel of multiple worlds and beguiling mystery in the tradition of Ursula Le Guin and Diana Wynne Jones.]]> 184 Jenny Schwartz Cindy AL 0 4.23 2020 The House That Walked Between Worlds (Uncertain Sanctuary #1)
author: Jenny Schwartz
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2021/11/18
date added: 2021/11/18
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]]> <![CDATA[First Sorcerer (Singularity Online, #1)]]> 58717582
Singularity is much more realistic and darker than Jeff had imagined, though. As a Sorcerer, his arcane magic is limited only by his imagination, but will it be enough to see him through the deadliest training quest he's ever encountered, or to protect him in a fallen realm filled with undead? Does the have the courage and passion he needs to sieze the mantle of First Sorcerer?

This book does not contain harem elements or sexual scenes. There is some profanity, and adult situations are alluded to but not detailed.]]> 423 Kyle Johnson Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.49 2020 First Sorcerer (Singularity Online, #1)
author: Kyle Johnson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Manufacturing Magic (Jeff the Game Master, #1)]]> 57219219 10 million active players. One Game Master. Big Problems.

Infinite Worlds is the most popular VRMMORPG on the market. Its maps are so vast, developer Hard Rock Data utilizes a network of highly advanced Artificial Intelligences to control it. But it's not without problems.

That’s why Game Masters like Jeff Driscoll have jobs. The downside? He’s not allowed to play the game. Something about conflicts of interest and favoritism.

His very boring and tedious job is to help players deal with the occasional bug that slips through the cracks and ensure they enjoy their time playing enough to give a 5-star rating. It’s a gig. It pays the bills.

However, when the A.I.s unexpectedly issue a Rogue Patch, the game becomes a buggy mess and Jeff's role radically changes. He finds himself as the only Game Master around, dealing with more problems than he can handle.

It’s up to Jeff to return Infinite Worlds to normalcy using his ability to manipulate the game's code into what appears like magic... But will the A.I.s let him?

Manufacturing Magic is a unique spin on the LitRPG genre, not just providing the perspective of the players, but also of one of those mystical, magical, all-powerful GMs we all dream of being.

About the series: As a GM, Jeff utilizes a unique progression system of magic built around the manipulation of video game code. Weaving his hot-fixes with the already established Infinite Worlds� code, Jeff rescues players, corrects glitches and more. Additionally, experience Infinite Worlds through the eyes of the players through Dak, Rikardi, Aesir and Jeweliette. Enjoy the mundane-to-vital character growth with a main character who is Hard Rock Data’s only hope with plenty of quests, loot, adventurers, dragons, and magic. Rich characters and world-building offer humor alongside lots of monster fighting and adventure.]]> 476 Jaime Castle Cindy AL 0 3.98 2021 Manufacturing Magic (Jeff the Game Master, #1)
author: Jaime Castle
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2021/08/12
date added: 2021/08/12
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]]> <![CDATA[The Great MacGuffin (Beta Tester #1)]]> 55514073
Jack Owens has logged tens of thousands of hours on Marshfield Studio games. So he’s not surprised when the company hires him to be one of their first beta testers for the newly developed Dagger of Doom series.

Jack doesn’t think twice when the techs strap him into a VR apparatus and transfer his consciousness to the new world. He’s got a return switch. He can come back any time.

Except, he can’t. A bug in the software has trapped him. And the only way out is to finish the game.

Step one? Find the great MacGuffin. Step two? Get the h*ll out of here.]]> 242 Rachel Ford Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.49 2020 The Great MacGuffin (Beta Tester #1)
author: Rachel Ford
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oh Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer (Unorthodox Farming, #1)]]> 57968407 What do you have when you blend a pinch of litrpg, a touch of farming simulator, a sprinkle of epic fantasy, a whole cup of Isekai, and a dash of Home Alone?

You have Arnold’s life.

Accidentally murdered by a cleric in another universe during a botched resurrection, Arnold, a semi-pro gamer, wakes upon an altar to find himself incarnated into the overweight body of a farmer who could have been his fatter twin. He’s not the hero. He’s not the villain. He’s certainly not the chosen one who is there to save the world. He’s a clerical error.
It could be a bad joke, but apparently, it happens so often that they have a standard procedure for returning you. That standard procedure doesn't apply to Arnold.

Now stuck on a new earth, in a new universe, with no way home, Arnold must use his gaming skills to figure out how to level his farmer class to 100 and gain a second class which doesn't make him want to beat his head against the wall. There is just one small problem: farmers don't gain experience from killing monsters. Like at all.

Follow Arnold on his hilarious journey as he stubbornly comes to grips with his new reality and tries to change his destiny from that of your typical farmer.]]> 620 Benjamin Kerei 0473575787 Cindy AL 0 4.39 2021 Oh Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer (Unorthodox Farming, #1)
author: Benjamin Kerei
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/28
date added: 2021/06/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Entriss Online (Watson's Worlds, #1)]]> 56310655
After stumbling on an unknown quest that kills anyone who approaches, Ian discovers an enormous amount of orphaned code that had never made it into the game. Moments before being fired, he checks in the code, enabling The Left Hand of God quest chain, an unexpected world event, and the frightening reality of a fully immersive Entriss Online.]]> 519 David J. Pedersen Cindy AL 0 4.03 Entriss Online (Watson's Worlds, #1)
author: David J. Pedersen
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/04
date added: 2021/06/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Magic Outside the Box (The Case Files of Henri Davenforth, #3)]]> 52769291
Former Royal Mage Joseph Burtchell was found dead in his home, all signs pointing to murder. However, it’s in question as to how the murderer accomplished the deed—the house was locked, the wards fully up, and the body bearing a peculiar wound.
It’s a locked room mystery, one with a suspiciously absent murder weapon and lack of suspects. Henri’s left baffled. Jamie’s excited, relishing the challenge the case represents.

Who’s powerful enough to thwart a royal mage’s wards and murder him undetected?
]]> 228 Honor Raconteur Cindy AL 0 4.45 2019 Magic Outside the Box (The Case Files of Henri Davenforth, #3)
author: Honor Raconteur
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/27
date added: 2021/05/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Killing Them Awfully (The Good Guys, #11)]]> 57219218 He’s tried to ignore them for too long.

But the long-simmering conflict between Montana’s holding at Coggeshall and the Night Goblins who also occupy the valley is about to boil over.

Usually, goblins aren’t anything to write home about: an enemy without much size, intellect, or weaponry. But these goblins? Well, that’s just not the case.

These are goblins with limitless resources, never-before-seen tactics, and horrifying monsters at their disposal. Worst of all, they don’t fear death in the slightest.

They just might force a good guy to become what he has always struggled to defeat.

Killing Them Awfully is chaotic warfare, nonstop battles, and more monsters with digestive issues than totally necessary. Ready? Let’s go to war!]]> 388 Eric Ugland Cindy AL 0 4.38 2021 Killing Them Awfully (The Good Guys, #11)
author: Eric Ugland
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/27
date added: 2021/05/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Inflame (The Completionist Chronicles, #6)]]> 57199087 Invasions and sabotage. Two civilizations doing anything to exist. War crimes are the norm.

Joe takes his first step into exile, and is promptly unable to breathe. This new Zone has a higher concentration of power, magnitudes denser. His first task is to survive, but mere survival is the least of his concerns.

The Zone he has landed on has been in a state of constant war for thousands of years, a tug of war between the Elven and Dwarven societies. Not choosing a side is the same as declaring both to be your personal enemy. Though he is resistant, Joe reluctantly decides to go with the group he thinks will help him grow the most—and is instantly plunged into their bitter war. To gain the freedom he desires, Joe needs to turn to the less savory aspects of his class.

Engulfed by darkness, Joe can only hope he’ll be able to snuff out the light.]]> 394 Dakota Krout Cindy AL 0 4.33 2021 Inflame (The Completionist Chronicles, #6)
author: Dakota Krout
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/25
date added: 2021/05/25
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]]> <![CDATA[Ruthless (The Completionist Chronicles, #5)]]> 53202192
Joe has been moving deeper into his study of ritual magic, and further away from his combat team. He's learning more and more, but more often than not needs to choose between his research and squad leadership. Improving the town is a huge help to the guild, and they have been pushing to increase their power.

Their rapid increases have not gone unnoticed. The guild receives an ultimatum, delivered by assassins and signed with blood. If they continue to accrue power and fame, each and every person with a grievance against the guild will come to smash the town back to square one.

With tensions coming to a head, all Joe wants to do is leave it all behind and reach the next area. He flatly refuses the guild when they ask him to devise lethal options to use against the gathering army, but when the time comes� even Joe is unsure if he'll step into the limelight and show everyone exactly how Ruthless he can be.]]> 425 Dakota Krout Cindy AL 0 4.48 2020 Ruthless (The Completionist Chronicles, #5)
author: Dakota Krout
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/23
date added: 2021/05/23
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]]> Rashomon and Other Stories 672376 Rashomon, tells the chilling story of the killing of a samurai through the testimony of witnesses, including the spirit of the murdered man. The fable-like "Yam Gruel" is an account of desire and humiliation, but one in which the reader's sympathy is thoroughly unsettled. And in "The Martyr," a beloved orphan raised by Jesuit priests is exiled when he refuses to admit that he made a local girl pregnant. He regains their love and respect only at the price of his life. All six tales in the collection show Akutagawa as a master storyteller and an exciting voice of modern Japanese literature.]]> 110 Ryūnosuke Akutagawa 0871401738 Cindy AL 4 4.04 1915 Rashomon and Other Stories
author: Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1915
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/04/20
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]]> <![CDATA[The Casquette Girls (The Casquette Girls, #1)]]> 26107387 Revised edition: This edition of The Casquette Girls includes editorial revisions.

Seven girls tied by time.
Five powers that bind.
One curse to lock the horror away.
One attic to keep the monsters at bay.

**

After the storm of the century rips apart New Orleans, sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne wants nothing more than her now silent city to return to normal. But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition.

As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless . . . you’re immortal.


� “In this Southern Gothic love letter, Arden spins a moody tale of magic and mystery. A thoroughly satisfying page-turner. A strong debut.”�Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A cathartic, uncompromising tribute to New Orleans.”�Kirkus Reviews

“A slow-burning novel in the tradition of Anne Rice.”�Rue Morgue Magazine

“A smart story with a surprising amount of emotional depth . . . in the grand tradition of Buffy and The Lost Boys.”�IndieReader

“It's as if Arden took her life experiences within the Vieux Carre, assembled a few Hogwarts students as Avengers, channeled Magneto into Wednesday Adams, drenched the process in Parisian detail, and penned the great American novel.� � Examiner.com]]> 576 Alys Arden 150391545X Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.22 2013 The Casquette Girls (The Casquette Girls, #1)
author: Alys Arden
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dungeon of Envy 56526547
Hundreds of years ago, the realm walls collapsed, and Earth was flooded with mythical creatures. Now, dungeons dot the landscape, releasing Demons that terrorize and destroy everything in their path. If they aren’t stopped soon, humans won’t be the only endangered species.

In an attempt to preserve life and win the war against Demons, Protectors from different species all over the world have downloaded level-up programs to help them fight. Jason Jonosan doesn’t want to be a part of that world, though his dad created the original tech. His dad’s latest work has made him a target, and Jason finds himself running for his life.

When he’s accidentally injected with an accelerated prototype, it’s level up or die. But as he goes through dungeons with his best friend and new Party members, they realize the situation isn’t as simple as they always believed, and the race to save Jason’s life turns into a quest to save the world.]]> 518 Drake O'Keef Cindy AL 4 4.05 Dungeon of Envy
author: Drake O'Keef
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/06
date added: 2021/01/06
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Palace Job (Rogues of the Republic, #1)]]> 18685436

It would help if she wasn’t in jail.

The plan: to steal a priceless elven manuscript that once belonged to her family, but now is in the hands of the most powerful man in the Republic. To do so Loch—former soldier, former prisoner, current fugitive—must assemble a crack team of magical misfits that includes a cynical illusionist, a shapeshifting unicorn, a repentant death priestess, a talking magical warhammer, and a lad with seemingly no skills to help her break into the floating fortress of Heaven’s Spire and the vault that holds her family’s treasure—all while eluding the unrelenting pursuit of Justicar Pyvic, whose only mission is to see the law upheld.

What could possibly go wrong?

The Palace Job is a funny, action-packed, high-fantasy heist caper in the tradition of Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series, from debut author Patrick Weekes.

]]> 439 Patrick Weekes 1477898204 Cindy AL 4 3.89 2012 The Palace Job (Rogues of the Republic, #1)
author: Patrick Weekes
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/12/12
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]]> <![CDATA[Entrance Wounds (Warlock's Guide to Medicine #1)]]> 54839338
Leo Berlin never wanted to mess around with magic. He wanted to become a doctor. Help people. Save lives. But when his free-spirited sister Nora disappeared under suspicious and likely mystical circumstances, it threw a troll-sized wrench in Leo’s plans.

The idea was simple. Drop out of med school. Make a deal with a gorgeous Fairy Queen. Accept the intoxicatingly powerful magical abilities she could bestow upon him. Use them to find Nora—and to put an end to anyone who had hurt her or stolen her away.

The execution? A little sloppier. For a year now, Leo has been running a dubious magical medical practice while searching for clues as to Nora’s whereabouts—and only now has he stumbled on something promising. Word on the street is that a guild of wizards is meeting on the summer solstice, and Leo has caught wind that someone matching Nora’s description might be there.

Just when Leo thinks he might have finally made the break in Nora’s disappearance that he’s needed for so long, something else is dumped into his lap. Someone in the city’s clubs spiking drinks with dark magic. Worse, across the Twin Cities, even more young women are going missing—and if Leo doesn’t find them, he’s not sure anyone will.]]> 272 S.A. Magnusson Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.82 Entrance Wounds (Warlock's Guide to Medicine #1)
author: S.A. Magnusson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.82
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/10/10
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mark of the Founder (Beastborne Chronicles #1)]]> 54310257
Lost in a world with Levels, stats, and monsters, Hal fights to survive in an unforgiving land and escape execution from its rulers.

Ingenuity and courage won’t be enough. With Marked powers he doesn’t understand, he’s easy prey for all the goblins, bandits, aberrations, and foul monsters that plague the realm.

He’ll need to abandon his humanity by embracing the beast within. To fight monsters, one has to risk becoming a monster. If he can survive long enough to Level Up.

Freedom and safety cannot be achieved alone. Only by forging bonds with fellow adventurers and monsters alike does Hal and his would-be-kingdom have any chance of surviving the hazardous realm.]]> 1068 James T. Callum Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.36 2020 Mark of the Founder (Beastborne Chronicles #1)
author: James T. Callum
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/10/04
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Pyramid Game (Pixel Dust, #2) 54632339 Overpowered villains. Higher stakes. A pyramid of lies.

A year has passed since the events that nearly brought the game, Carpe Notcem, crashing down. Now, just as things are beginning to get back to normal, a new threat emerges.

When an unkillable player attempts to take over the virtual world, Max and Kira are called in to take him down. To win, the party will have to form their own house, infiltrate a tropical palace, pull off an elaborate heist, and maybe do a little dancing.

With enemies old and new lurking around every corner, it will take every bit of teamwork and creativity the party has to get away clean. Because in this game of PVP, their lives may depend on it.]]> 536 David Petrie 1950914747 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.73 Pyramid Game (Pixel Dust, #2)
author: David Petrie
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.73
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/09/19
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Party Hard (Pixel Dust #1) 54630943
After being fired, one of Noctem’s creators sets into motion a plan to bring the system crashing down. To stop the collapse, Max and Kira will have to gather their most trusted friends and embark on a quest that will push them to their absolute limits. Together they’ll face creepy dungeons, impossible bosses, and their own nightmares, all while doing their best to stay alive. With a mission this big, none of them will be the same after. The real question is� how much will they be forced to change?

Only one thing is certain - if they want to survive, they’re gonna have to Party Hard.]]> 539 David Petrie 1950914739 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.41 Party Hard (Pixel Dust #1)
author: David Petrie
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wyrde and Wayward (House of Werth #1)]]> 52960884 ‘If you had not already realised it, this is a very strange house you are come to.�

The Scions of the House of Werth are all born normal. It is what happens afterwards that sets them apart.

It is not easy being the most supernatural family in England. Nell talks to the dead; Lord Werth is too often to be found out in the churchyard at the dead of night; and the less said about Lord Bedgberry, the better.

Only Miss Gussie Werth has missed out on the family curse. She sups on chocolate, not blood; she's blissfully oblivious to spectres (except for Great-Aunt Honoria, of course); and she hasn't the smallest inclination to turn into a beast upon the full moon, and go ravening about the countryside.

But there's more to the Wyrde than meets the eye. When a visit to a neighbouring family goes spectacularly, deliciously wrong, Gussie's ideas about her own nature undergo a swift and serious change.

Far from being the most ordinary of the bunch, she may just prove to be the most disastrous Werth of them all...

Refined Regency manners meet gothic comedy to delightfully absurd effect in Wyrde and Wayward, a fresh new series from the author of Modern Magick and the Malykant Mysteries.]]> 240 Charlotte E. English Cindy AL 0 3.92 2019 Wyrde and Wayward (House of Werth #1)
author: Charlotte E. English
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2020/09/12
date added: 2020/09/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Magic and the Shinigami Detective (The Case Files of Henri Davenforth, #1)]]> 39890034
As a Magical Examiner, Henri Davenforth is of course immediately called in. Quite to his astonishment, Captain Gregson has him work the case like a detective. Even more astounding, he assigns Henri a partner.

The Shinigami Detective.

The woman is famous for killing the most destructive rogue witch of the century, and no one is quite certain where she's from. Every officer in the precinct is either in awe of her or a little frightened by her. Henri is just baffled. What is he supposed to do with a partner?

Hopefully killing one witch makes Jamie Edwards enough of an expert on magic to be helpful, as the thieves aren't content to just break into one building. They in fact seem to have an agenda, as with each theft, they take magical objects. It's all mounting to a dangerously powerful magical construct capable of toppling the wards on any building.

And no one has any idea what the thieves' true target is.]]> 328 Honor Raconteur Cindy AL 5 4.36 2018 Magic and the Shinigami Detective (The Case Files of Henri Davenforth, #1)
author: Honor Raconteur
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2020/08/05
date added: 2020/08/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Village of Noobtown (Noobtown, #2)]]> 51073403
After finding a long-abandoned starter village, Jim has begun the process of rebuilding his town. Unfortunately, for our favorite adventurer, the threats he now faces are far more complicated than mere monsters. The poor Noob has to deal with angry townsfolk, trade negotiations, and a talking badger.

With goblins and bandits also sniffing around, will Noobtown, I mean Windfall, survive?]]> 553 Ryan Rimmel Cindy AL 0 4.29 2019 Village of Noobtown (Noobtown, #2)
author: Ryan Rimmel
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/10/27
date added: 2020/02/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles, #4)]]> 50757710
Once a wife to a powerful vampire knight, Maud and her young daughter, Helen, were exiled with him for his treachery to the desolate, savage planet of Karhari. Karhari killed her husband, and Maud—completely abandoned by his family—has spent over a year avenging his debts. Rescued by her sister Dina, she's sworn off all things vampire.

Except... In helping Dina save the world, she met Arland, the Marshal of House Krahr, one of the most powerful vampire houses. One thing led to another and he asked for her hand in marriage. She declined. Arland is not used to hearing the word ‘no;� and try as she might, Maud can't just walk away from Arland. It doesn't help that being human is a lot harder for Maud than being a vampire.

To sort it all out, she accepts his invitation to visit his home planet. House Krahr is extremely influential and Maud knows that a woman—a human, with a very questionable past—who's turned down a proposal from its most beloved son won't get a warm reception. Maybe she’s not sure about marrying Arland, but House Krahr isn’t going to decide for her. Maud Demille has never run from a fight, and House Krahr will soon discover that there's a lot more to Maud than they’re expecting.]]> 311 Ilona Andrews 1641971045 Cindy AL 4 4.66 2019 Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles, #4)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/08
date added: 2020/01/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Darkest Night (The Second Dark Ages #2)]]> 35223392
Michael just wants a little sleep. The last few days has been a bit of a learning overload after coming back a hundred and fifty years after he was blown apart by a backpack nuke.

The world destroyed itself, there are anti-gravity cars and ships, and his love is in the stars... somewhere.

Plus, there is a Vampire trying to make Europe his personal fiefdom. Akio and Yuko are trying to find him, and he has a young female Wechselbalg and male Vampire to keep on the straight and narrow.



Michael has his own brand of justice, and this world is now understanding the Patriach is back.

Nothing will be the same.

** As noted in other series set in the Kurtherian Universe, there IS cursing in this book, occasionally, it's funny, too. **]]> 247 Michael Anderle Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.49 The Darkest Night (The Second Dark Ages #2)
author: Michael Anderle
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.49
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Changeling's Fealty (Changeling Blood, #1)]]> 36595716 With a secret even he doesn’t know
A backwater city�
With a countdown to an explosion no one is expecting
A secret Covenant�
And a conspiracy to break it to pieces

Jason Kilkenny is a new arrival in the Canadian city of Calgary. Unlike most newcomers, Jason isn’t looking for a job in oil and gas: he’s a half-fae changeling that wants to get away from the politics of the inhuman races.

He soon learns that despite being a supernatural backwater, the city is run by a near-godlike Wizard—and the shadows are full of unseen dangers. Jason’s here to hide, but he finds himself called to service by Calgary’s understaffed Fae Court.

As supernatural politics collide in his new home, Jason’s plan to keep his head down is shattered and he finds himself testing the limits of his meager gifts. He cannot run, he cannot hide…and if he loses, he loses everything.
]]> 310 Glynn Stewart Cindy AL 0 4.35 2017 Changeling's Fealty (Changeling Blood, #1)
author: Glynn Stewart
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2019/11/06
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women, #1)]]> 43594271 A stunning debut for author Evie Dunmore and her Oxford Rebels in which a fiercely independent vicar's daughter takes on a powerful duke in a love story that threatens to upend the British social order.

England, 1879.Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....]]> 356 Evie Dunmore 198480569X Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.05 2019 Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women, #1)
author: Evie Dunmore
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[97 Orchard : An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement]]> 8660340 97 Orchard is a richly detailed investigation of the lives and culinary habits—shopping, cooking, and eating—of five families of various ethnicities living at the turn of the twentieth century in one tenement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. With 40 recipes included, 97 Orchard is perfect for fans of Rachel Ray’s Hometown Eats; anyone interested in the history of how immigrant food became American food; and “foodies� of every stripe.]]> 276 Jane Ziegelman 0061997900 Cindy AL 0 3.93 2010 97 Orchard : An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement
author: Jane Ziegelman
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2018/12/09
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Kindle Paperwhite User's Guide 2nd Edition]]> 18607805 68 Amazon Cindy AL 0 3.69 2011 Kindle Paperwhite User's Guide 2nd Edition
author: Amazon
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2019/11/06
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Penric’s Demon (Penric and Desdemona, #1)]]> 25791216
Set in the fantasy world of the author's acclaimed novels THE CURSE OF CHALION, PALADIN OF SOULS and THE HALLOWED HUNT, this novella has the depth of characterization and emotional complexity that distinguishes all Bujold's work.]]> 103 Lois McMaster Bujold Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.21 2015 Penric’s Demon (Penric and Desdemona, #1)
author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/30
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Passion According to Carmela]]> 40195257 284 Marcos Aguinis 1503960390 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.59 2008 The Passion According to Carmela
author: Marcos Aguinis
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/30
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Three Hearts and Three Lions (Holger Danske Book 1)]]> 27239451 Transported to a medieval realm of magic and myth, a World War II resistance fighter undertakes a perilous quest in this classic fantasy adventure. Holger Carlsen is a rational man of science. A Danish engineer working with the Resistance to defeat the Nazis, he is wounded during an engagement with the enemy and awakens in an unfamiliar parallel universe where the forces of Law are locked in eternal combat with the forces of Chaos. Against a medieval backdrop, brave knights must take up arms against magical creatures of myth and faerie, battling dragons, trolls, werewolves, and giants. Though Holger has no recollection of this world, he discovers he is already well-known throughout the lands, a hero revered as a Champion of Law. He finds weaponry and armor awaiting him—precisely fitted to his form—and a shield with three hearts and three lions emblazoned upon it. As he journeys through a realm filled with wonders in search of the key to his past, Holger will call upon the scientific knowledge of his home dimension, the destinies of both worlds hanging in the balance. Before Thomas Covenant, Roger Zelazny’s Amber, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the great Poul Anderson introduced readers to the Middle World and the legendary hero Ogier the Dane. Inventive and exciting, Three Hearts and Three Lions is a foray into fantasy that employs touches of science fiction from an award-winning master of the speculative.]]> 234 Poul Anderson Cindy AL 0 4.03 1953 Three Hearts and Three Lions (Holger Danske Book 1)
author: Poul Anderson
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/08
date added: 2019/06/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)]]> 8173788 The Witcher.]]> 388 Andrzej Sapkowski Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.16 1993 The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)
author: Andrzej Sapkowski
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Rhapsodic (The Bargainer, #1) 33533128
Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He's a man who can get you anything you want ... at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.

But for one of his clients, he's never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it's just a chaste kiss-a single bead's worth-and a promise for more.

For the Bargainer, it's more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that's been awoken.

If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he'll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.]]> 417 Laura Thalassa 1541130855 Cindy AL 0 to-read 4.07 2016 Rhapsodic (The Bargainer, #1)
author: Laura Thalassa
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Midnight Riot (Rivers of London #1)]]> 10426757 310 Ben Aaronovitch Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.03 2011 Midnight Riot (Rivers of London #1)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Witch of Shadowmarsh (Moonstone Chronicles #1)]]> 41446956 When the fate of the elves rests on the shoulders of an antisocial swamp witch, will a common enemy be enough to bring two disparate races together? The Empire rules with an iron fist. The Valeroot elves have barely managed to survive, but at least they’re not Arthali witches like Elmerah. Her people were exiled long ago. Just a child at the time, her only choice was to flee her homeland, or remain among those who’d betrayed their own kind. She was resigned to living out her solitary life in a swamp until pirates kidnap her and throw her in with their other captives, young women destined to be sold into slavery.With the help of an elven priestess, Elmerah teaches the pirates what happens to men who cross Arthali witches, but she’s too late to avoid docking near the Capital. While her only goal is to run far from the political intrigue taking place within, she finds herself pulled mercilessly into a plot to overthrow the Empire, and to save the elven races from meeting a bloody end.Elmerah will learn of a dark magical threat, and will have to face the thing she fears the duplicitous older sister she left behind, far from their home in Shadowmarsh.The Witch of Shadowmarsh is the first installment in the Moonstone Chronicles, an Epic Fantasy series suitable for all ages.]]> 336 Sara C. Roethle Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.18 The Witch of Shadowmarsh (Moonstone Chronicles #1)
author: Sara C. Roethle
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/11/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Angst (Angst, #1) 12225815 380 David J. Pedersen Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 3.79 2010 Angst (Angst, #1)
author: David J. Pedersen
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/11/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Agents of Mars (Starship's Mage: Red Falcon, #3)]]> 41834313 An enemy hidden in the shadows
A crack in the armor of secrecy
One chance to find an answer

Captain David Rice and the crew of Red Falcon have spent two years infiltrating the arms smuggling underworld of the Protectorate of the Mage-King of Mars. When the co-opted rebellion on Ardennes reveals a supply chain of weapons intended to fight Mars, this makes them the perfect team to investigate.

His new mission brings him across old friends and old enemies alike, but as his suspects start turning up dead, David realizes he isn't the only one following the loose ends.

As shadowy enemies move to position themselves for civil war, Red Falcon's crew must chase an ever-shrinking set of clues. If they succeed, they might just buy the Protectorate peace for their lifetime.

But if they fail...]]> 373 Glynn Stewart Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.46 2018 Agents of Mars (Starship's Mage: Red Falcon, #3)
author: Glynn Stewart
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/11/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Silent Blade (Kinsmen, #1) 41962878 The World of Kinsmen

Family is everything. Talent is power. And revenge is sweet.

In a distant, future world Kinsmen—small powerful groups of genetically and technologically advanced families—control vast financial empires. They are their own country, their own rulers, and their only limits are other Kinsmen. The struggle for power is a bloody, full-contact sport: in business, on the battlefield...and sometimes in the bedroom.

Old hatreds die hard. Old love dies harder.

On the planet Rada, Meli Galdes� family is of minor rank, and were relying on her marriage to Celino, the razor-smart, ruthless leader of the powerful Carvanna empire. When he abruptly breaks their engagement, he ruins her family and guarantees that Meli will never marry, as no suitor will oppose the rich and influential Carvannas.

But Meli has a rare, secret, lethal—and valuable—talent. As a melder of energy, she’s capable of severing anything in her path. So she ‘leaves� her family and trains to become one of the best and most lethal of assassins, all the while covertly guarding her family’s interests. Now she’s ready to quit; but she has one more assignment.

To kill the man who ruined her life.
]]> 66 Ilona Andrews 1641970618 Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.09 2009 Silent Blade (Kinsmen, #1)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/11/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death March (Euphoria Online #1)]]> 40829210
I've got only one thing left to gamble: my life. Which is why I'm willing to play Euphoria Online in Death March mode.

If I survive six months in-game against a lethal array of wyverns, ogres, necromancers, and more, I'll earn my brother a pardon.

If I lose?

Well. I'm done with losing.]]> 326 Phil Tucker Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.25 2018 Death March (Euphoria Online #1)
author: Phil Tucker
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/11/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Random: The Chaos of Lincoln Hart (Barakdor, #6)]]> 41968309 Lincoln has one final trip to make before his plans are all set. He has to travel to Kobane to petition their Queen for aid—a seemingly innocuous journey that will also take him through The Land of Apachalant.


First though, the meddlesome wizards of Shyantium must be dealt with.


An awful lot has happened since our party took the Grav Buster and boarded The Spear Of Light bound for their new planet and their new lives. Alexa Drey has grown and is now a fearsome warrior. Lincoln has been put through the mill & flourished, but is still confused about Joan’s in-game influence. His settlements are growing fast, and he is slowly becoming a force in Irydia.


Both he & Alex Drey suspect that their fates, and those of Pog and Megan, are inextricably linked to what happens in the game and think that darker forces are at work. It also seems that their fates are intertwined, that the four of them have to work together to solve the game’s mystery.


But there were five of them that had sat together the day they left.


Whatever happened to Brandon, the one who’d been partying hard all night?


Where had he spawned, and what part would he play in their game?


And who are the mysterious Forbane?


]]> 338 Ember Lane Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.32 Random: The Chaos of Lincoln Hart (Barakdor, #6)
author: Ember Lane
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/26
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Duty Bound (Agents of the Crown #3)]]> 41484653 264 Lindsay Buroker Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.19 2018 Duty Bound (Agents of the Crown #3)
author: Lindsay Buroker
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood Ties (Agents of the Crown #2)]]> 41352052 272 Lindsay Buroker Cindy AL 0 4.16 2018 Blood Ties (Agents of the Crown #2)
author: Lindsay Buroker
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2018/10/02
date added: 2018/10/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rogue Dungeon (The Rogue Dungeon, #1)]]> 40804389 Roark von Graf-hedge mage and lesser noble of Traisbin-is one of only a handful of Freedom fighters left, and he knows the Resistance's days are numbered. Unless they do something drastic...

But when a daring plan to unseat the Tyrant King goes awry, Roark finds himself on the run through an interdimensional portal, which strands him in a very unexpected location: an ultra-immersive fantasy video game called Hearthworld. He can't log out, his magic is on the fritz, and worst of all, he's not even human. He's a low-class, run-of-the-mill Dungeon monster. Some disgusting, blue-skinned creature called a Troll. At least there's one small silver lining-Roark managed to grab a powerful magic artifact on his way through the portal, and with it he might just be able to save his world after all.

Unless, of course, the Tyrant King gets to him first ...

From James A. Hunter, author of the litRPG epic Viridian Gate Online, and eden Hudson, author of Legend of the Treesinger and the Jubal Van Zandt Series, comes an exciting new litRPG, dungeon-core adventure you won't want to put down!

"An excellent start to a series, this book has everything I look for in a fantasy novel: action, intrigue, and evolution!" - Dakota Krout, author of the Divine Dungeon and the Completionist Chronicles]]> 284 James A. Hunter Cindy AL 0 currently-reading 4.11 2018 Rogue Dungeon (The Rogue Dungeon, #1)
author: James A. Hunter
name: Cindy AL
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/08/31
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]>