Bryce's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 13 Apr 2025 17:13:52 -0700 60 Bryce's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Mister Magic 63331415 Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show—and discover the secret of its enigmatic host—in this dark supernatural thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide.

Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic.

But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has.

Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better than anyone has since.

After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap?

Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship. . . .]]> 295 Kiersten White 0593359267 Bryce 0 library, currently-reading 3.55 2023 Mister Magic
author: Kiersten White
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: library, currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8)]]> 208474799
Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon combine for extraordinary fun in this cheeky Discworld novel from New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett.

Insurrection is in the air in the city of Ankh-Morpork. The Haves and Have-Nots are about to face off. Again.

It’s old news to Captain Sam Vimes of the city’s ramshackle Night Watch. But this time, something is different—the Have-Nots have found the key to a dormant, lethal weapon that even they can’t fully control, and they’re about to unleash a campaign of terror on the city.

Long believed extinct, a draco nobilis can now be seen patrolling the skies above Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, but it’s also soon crowned King.

Can Vimes, Captain Carrot, and the rest of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order (before it's burned to a crisp)?

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Guards! Guards! is the 1st book in the City Watch collection and the 8th Discworld book.

The City Watch collection in order:

Guards! Guards!
Men at Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The Fifth Element
Night Watch
Thud!
Snuff]]> 353 Terry Pratchett Bryce 3
I had not actually read Guards, Guards before, despite hearing that it was perhaps the best in the series, because when I was on my original Discworld kick, I was very insistent on being a completist and reading everything and in the proper order. Older me does what she wants.

Every time Vimes was not on the page, my attention wavered. But then he would come back, sometimes with little Errol, and I would be re-engaged. But the ending, especially the reality check from the Patrician, made everything worth it.]]> 4.40 1989 Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:
Because the world is in absolute shambles right now and we are all sorely in need of a Sam Vimes (and Carrot) to come and put things to rights again, I decided to revisit Discworld.

I had not actually read Guards, Guards before, despite hearing that it was perhaps the best in the series, because when I was on my original Discworld kick, I was very insistent on being a completist and reading everything and in the proper order. Older me does what she wants.

Every time Vimes was not on the page, my attention wavered. But then he would come back, sometimes with little Errol, and I would be re-engaged. But the ending, especially the reality check from the Patrician, made everything worth it.
]]> <![CDATA[Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection]]> 220341389 John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest disease.

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, John Green met Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone while traveling with Partners in Health. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal and dynamic advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, treatable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing 1.5 million people every year.

In Everything is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.]]> 208 John Green 0525556575 Bryce 0 to-read 4.54 2025 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
author: John Green
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall, #1)]]> 202507554 moons.

They certainly did not expect them to fall.

As a valued Elding Blade of the rebellion group Fíur du Ath, Raeve’s job is to kill. To complete orders and never get caught. When a renowned bounty hunter is employed by The Crown to capture a member of the Ath, Raeve’s world is turned upside down. Blood spills, hearts break, and Raeve finds herself at the mercy of the Guild of Nobles—a group of dual-beaded elementals who intend to turn her into a political statement. Only death will set her free.

Crushed beneath a mourning weight, Kaan Vaegor took the head of a king and donned his melted crown. Now on a tireless quest to assuage the never-ebbing ache in his chest, his hunt for a moonshard lures him into the belly of Gore’s notorious prison where he stumbles upon something that rips apart his perception of reality. A shackled miracle with eyes full of rage and blood on her hands.

The echo of the past sings louder than the Creators themselves, and even Raeve can’t ignore the truths blaring at her from a warmer, happier time.
However.
There’s more to this song than meets the eye, and some truths �
They’re too poisonous to swallow.

When the Moon Hatched is a fast-paced fantasy romance for fans of witty banter and strong, sassy protagonists. Beneath the cover is an immersive, vibrant world with mysterious creatures, a unique magic system, and a love that blazes through the ages. ]]> 718 Sarah A. Parker Bryce 0 to-read 3.99 2024 When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall, #1)
author: Sarah A. Parker
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Catchpenny 186872389
"I absolutely loved it. Catchpenny is a brilliant book, full of heart and the language is pitch-perfect. If Elmore Leonard had ever written a fantasy novel, this would be it.� —Stephen King

Sidney Catchpenny has had a bad run. Laid low by a years-long bout of debilitating depression, he’s all but squandered his reputation as one of the most uniquely talented thieves in LA. There aren’t many who can do what Sid does. He’s a sly , a special kind of crook with the uncanny ability to move through mirrors. And the spoils he’s after are equally unusual. Forget jewels and cold cash—Sid steals curiosities� items imbued with powerful mojo , a magical essence gleaned from the accumulated emotion that seeps into interesting, though often banal objects. That spot on the carpet where your old dog used to lay at your feet? The passed-down family heirloom nobody wants but everybody refuses to throw away? These curiosities are full of mojo, which is both the currency of the criminal underground and the secret source of magic in the world.

When a friend from Sid’s past comes looking for his help with an important client, and the chance to pay off old debts presents itself, Sid seizes the opportunity � as best he can. But the case he stumbles into is more complicated than it seems, and it portends a seismic shift in the world, one that will leave no one untouched. As the fog of his depression begins to lift, Sid sees connections everywhere he looks, and the once disparate threads of the case—a missing teenage girl, an entire bedroom saturated with mojo, and Sid’s own long-dead wife—begin to coalesce.]]> 416 Charlie Huston 0593685083 Bryce 0 to-read 3.71 2024 Catchpenny
author: Charlie Huston
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Blood Stain Volume 2 28762824 128 Linda Šejić 1632157683 Bryce 3 3.88 2017 Blood Stain Volume 2
author: Linda Šejić
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
review:
There is an awful lot of treading water happening here; I don't feel like the story has really started yet. We've had two books of Elliot being insecure and nervous... when do we get some more action.
]]> <![CDATA[A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2)]]> 213618143 The brilliant detective Ana Dolabra may have finally met her match in the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach, an impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—abducted from his quarters while the door and windows remained locked from the inside, in a building whose entrances and exits are all under constant guard.

To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial investigator, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.

Before long, Ana’s discovered that they’re not investigating a disappearance, but a murder—and that the killing was just the first chess move by an adversary who seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and who can predict every one of Ana’s moves as though they can see the future.

Worse still, the killer seems to be targeting the high-security compound known as the Shroud. Here, the Empire's greatest minds dissect fallen Titans to harness the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the destruction would be terrible indeed—and the Empire itself will grind to a halt, robbed of the magic that allows its wheels of power to turn.

Din has seen Ana solve impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and Ana seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, he fears that his superior has finally met an enemy she can’t defeat.]]> 465 Robert Jackson Bennett 0593723821 Bryce 0 audiobook, currently-reading 4.56 2025 A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: audiobook, currently-reading
review:

]]> Lute 57010080 Wicker Man meets Final Destination in Jennifer Thorne's atmospheric, unsettling folk horror novel about love, duty, and community.

On the idyllic island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people die. No more, no less.

Lute and its inhabitants are blessed, year after year, with good weather, good health, and good fortune. They live a happy, superior life, untouched by the war that rages all around them. So it’s only fair that every seven years, on the day of the tithe, the island’s gift is honored.

Nina Treadway is new to The Day. A Florida girl by birth, she became a Lady through her marriage to Lord Treadway, whose family has long protected the island. Nina’s heard about The Day, of course. Heard about the horrific tragedies, the lives lost, but she doesn’t believe in it. It's all superstitious nonsense. Stories told to keep newcomers at bay and youngsters in line.

Then The Day begins. And it's a day of nightmares, of grief, of reckoning. But it is also a day of community. Of survival and strength. Of love, at its most pure and untamed. When The Day ends, Nina―and Lute―will never be the same.]]> 274 Jennifer Marie Thorne 125082608X Bryce 0 to-read 3.61 2022 Lute
author: Jennifer Marie Thorne
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Diavola 126918202 Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.

Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: Tread lightly and survive.

It isn’t easy when she’s the only one in the family who doesn’t quite fit in. Her twin brother, Benny, goes with the flow so much he’s practically dissolved, and her older sister, Nicole, is so used to everyone—including her blandly docile husband and two kids—falling in line that Anna often ends up in trouble for simply asking a question. Mom seizes every opportunity to question her life choices, and Dad, when not reminding everyone who paid for this vacation, just wants some peace and quiet.

The gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails—the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself.

(Warning: May invoke feelings of irritation, dread, and despair that come with large family gatherings.)]]> 296 Jennifer Marie Thorne Bryce 4 audiobook, library
Based on the description and the wonderfully creepy cover, I was expecting more ghosts and less family drama. There are definitely some "We've Always Lived in the Castle" vibes here, with a family so dysfunctional and yet so codependent. Anna is the glue that binds the dysfunction together: she's the black sheep, the object of jealousy, the object of derision, the thing everyone can gossip about when there's nothing else to say.

The ghosts in the story just add to that dynamic: Anna is crazy and difficult because she puts to voice the scary things happening to the whole family.

The most tedious part of the book was, in fact, when Anna separated from her twin, from her perfect sister, and from her very Boomery parents. When she was alone in New York, suffering the effects of her haunting, I wanted to skip whole chapters to get to the end.

And yet, the ending was perfect. Anna remade herself as someone without family and without unwanted ties. She remained pretty badass, but in a more positive way.]]> 3.85 2024 Diavola
author: Jennifer Marie Thorne
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: audiobook, library
review:
The real horrors are always your family.

Based on the description and the wonderfully creepy cover, I was expecting more ghosts and less family drama. There are definitely some "We've Always Lived in the Castle" vibes here, with a family so dysfunctional and yet so codependent. Anna is the glue that binds the dysfunction together: she's the black sheep, the object of jealousy, the object of derision, the thing everyone can gossip about when there's nothing else to say.

The ghosts in the story just add to that dynamic: Anna is crazy and difficult because she puts to voice the scary things happening to the whole family.

The most tedious part of the book was, in fact, when Anna separated from her twin, from her perfect sister, and from her very Boomery parents. When she was alone in New York, suffering the effects of her haunting, I wanted to skip whole chapters to get to the end.

And yet, the ending was perfect. Anna remade herself as someone without family and without unwanted ties. She remained pretty badass, but in a more positive way.
]]> <![CDATA[Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts, #1)]]> 55719406
Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him � every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him � until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally.]]> 338 Sara Wolf Bryce 0 library, did-not-finish 3.99 2018 Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts, #1)
author: Sara Wolf
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: library, did-not-finish
review:

]]> The Lamplighter 178619817 304 Crystal J. Bell 1635830982 Bryce 0 to-read 3.75 2024 The Lamplighter
author: Crystal J. Bell
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Murder Your Employer (The McMasters Guide to Homicide, #1)]]> 62897365 From Edgar Award–winning novelist, playwright, and story-songwriter Rupert Holmes comes a diabolical thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, dedicated to the art of murder where students study how best to “delete� their most deserving victim.

Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League� college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live.

Prepare for an education you’ll never forget. Murder Your Employer will gain you admission into a wholly original world, cocooned within the most entertaining book about well-intentioned would-be murderers you’ll ever read.]]> 399 Rupert Holmes Bryce 3
This a great book for anyone who loves a deep dive into the process of things. There's a lot of description of plans, classes, intrigues, twists, and double-crosses. This book mastered the "show," but also really likes to "tell" as well. So, some parts drag. A lot. It took me ages to get through the first half of this book because of the tedium of all the exposition.

The second half of the book, with all the clever murdering, really makes up for it. The ending captures the perfect tone.]]> 4.00 2023 Murder Your Employer (The McMasters Guide to Homicide, #1)
author: Rupert Holmes
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:
McMasters is a hidden school that teaches students the art of fatal "deletions." Cliff Iverson is there to learn how to murder his repugnant former employer. In his classes, he meets Gemma, who wants to murder her blackmailing colleague, and Dulcie, who wants to murder a sleazy Hollywood executive.

This a great book for anyone who loves a deep dive into the process of things. There's a lot of description of plans, classes, intrigues, twists, and double-crosses. This book mastered the "show," but also really likes to "tell" as well. So, some parts drag. A lot. It took me ages to get through the first half of this book because of the tedium of all the exposition.

The second half of the book, with all the clever murdering, really makes up for it. The ending captures the perfect tone.
]]> <![CDATA[Book of Night (Book of Night, #1)]]> 58293924 Book of Night, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies.

In Charlie Hall’s world, shadows can be altered, for entertainment and cosmetic preferences—but also to increase power and influence. You can alter someone’s feelings—and memories—but manipulating shadows has a cost, with the potential to take hours or days from your life. Your shadow holds all the parts of you that you want to keep hidden—a second self, standing just to your left, walking behind you into lit rooms. And sometimes, it has a life of its own.

Charlie is a low-level con artist, working as a bartender while trying to distance herself from the powerful and dangerous underground world of shadow trading. She gets by doing odd jobs for her patrons and the naive new money in her town at the edge of the Berkshires. But when a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie’s present life is thrown into chaos, and her future seems at best, unclear—and at worst, non-existent. Determined to survive, Charlie throws herself into a maelstrom of secrets and murder, setting her against a cast of doppelgängers, mercurial billionaires, shadow thieves, and her own sister—all desperate to control the magic of the shadows.]]> 304 Holly Black 1250812194 Bryce 3 audiobook
I tend to like Holly Black because she sets the bar high for her readers. She doesn't spoon-feed her mythology, and she doesn't write easy, two-dimensional characters. Charlie is hard to get behind, not quite an anti-hero but close. The facts about the world she lives in is doled out in tantalizing chucks and the twists and turns are well-earned.

Admittedly, the first third of this novel is so slow. It's filled with process: Charlie working at a bar, Charlie making breakfast, Charlie learning to pick pockets. The action and intrigue don't pick up until the middle of the book.

So stick it out. Enjoy the ride. That last page is a doozy.]]> 3.51 2022 Book of Night (Book of Night, #1)
author: Holly Black
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: audiobook
review:
Charlie Hall isn't a Gloomist herself, but she lives on the outskirts of their magical society, stealing their secrets from under their noses. But she's in over her head when a billionaire wants her to steal the ultimate book of Shadow Magic.

I tend to like Holly Black because she sets the bar high for her readers. She doesn't spoon-feed her mythology, and she doesn't write easy, two-dimensional characters. Charlie is hard to get behind, not quite an anti-hero but close. The facts about the world she lives in is doled out in tantalizing chucks and the twists and turns are well-earned.

Admittedly, the first third of this novel is so slow. It's filled with process: Charlie working at a bar, Charlie making breakfast, Charlie learning to pick pockets. The action and intrigue don't pick up until the middle of the book.

So stick it out. Enjoy the ride. That last page is a doozy.
]]> <![CDATA[Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport(2005-04-07)]]> 130074191 The Last Days of the Romanovs reveals in exceptional detail how the conspiracy to kill them unfolded. In the vivid style of a TV documentary, Helen Rappaport reveals both the atmosphere inside the family's claustrophobic prison and the political maneuverings of those who wished to save--or destroy--them. With the watching world and European monarchies proving incapable of saving the Romanovs, the narrative brings this tragic story to life in a compellingly new and dramatic way, culminating in a bloody night of horror in a cramped basement room.]]> 0 Helen Rappaport Bryce 0 to-read 4.50 2009 Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport(2005-04-07)
author: Helen Rappaport
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Blood Stain Volume 1 26779817 128 Linda Šejić 1632155443 Bryce 3
I love Sejic's art style. Her writing is fun and quirky. Book 1 is all set-up, so I can't wait to get to book 2 with Elly and Dr. Stein's meeting.]]> 3.84 2016 Blood Stain Volume 1
author: Linda Šejić
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves:
review:
I've followed this webcomic on and off for a long time, so I'm glad I could finally support the print version.

I love Sejic's art style. Her writing is fun and quirky. Book 1 is all set-up, so I can't wait to get to book 2 with Elly and Dr. Stein's meeting.
]]> Hooked (Never After, #1) 58545703 From USA Today bestselling author Emily McIntire comes a dark and delicious fractured fairy tale reimagining of Peter Pan.

He wants revenge, but he wants her more�

James has always had one agenda: destroy his enemy, Peter Michaels. When Peter’s twenty-year-old daughter Wendy shows up in James’s bar, he sees his way in. Seduce the girl and use her for his revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game.

Wendy has been cloistered away most of her life by her wealthy cold father, but a spontaneous night out with friends turns into an intense and addictive love affair with the dark and brooding James. As much as she knows James is dangerous, Wendy can’t seem to shake her desire for him. But as their relationship grows more heated and she learns more about the world he moves in, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook.

Hooked is a dark contemporary romance and the first complete standalone in the Never After Series: A collection of fractured fairy tales where the villains get the happy ever after. It is not a literal retelling and not fantasy. Hooked features mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised. For all content warnings, check the author's website. ]]> 312 Emily McIntire 173750832X Bryce 0 to-read 3.78 2021 Hooked (Never After, #1)
author: Emily McIntire
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Legendborn (The Legendborn Cycle, #1)]]> 50892338
A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn� students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin� and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.]]> 502 Tracy Deonn 1534441603 Bryce 0 to-read 4.32 2020 Legendborn (The Legendborn Cycle, #1)
author: Tracy Deonn
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Paladin's Strength (The Saint of Steel, #2)]]> 57119466
When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other’s quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardize the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond...]]> 445 T. Kingfisher Bryce 4 audiobook
First, the stakes are high and stay high through the entire length of the book. There's no off-page solution to big problems; Clara and Istvhan have to fight for the happy ending they get.

Second, the inter-book mystery and Clara's personal mission connect nicely and neither feels shoehorned into the plot.

I appreciate that the romance is between two middle-aged characters but is still shown as romantic, horny, and uncertain as if it were budding love between two teenagers. It's so refreshing!

Finally, Joel Richards is a gravelly voiced treasure.]]> 4.20 2021 Paladin's Strength (The Saint of Steel, #2)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: audiobook
review:
Paladin's Strength improves upon the first book in the series in many ways.

First, the stakes are high and stay high through the entire length of the book. There's no off-page solution to big problems; Clara and Istvhan have to fight for the happy ending they get.

Second, the inter-book mystery and Clara's personal mission connect nicely and neither feels shoehorned into the plot.

I appreciate that the romance is between two middle-aged characters but is still shown as romantic, horny, and uncertain as if it were budding love between two teenagers. It's so refreshing!

Finally, Joel Richards is a gravelly voiced treasure.
]]> <![CDATA[Ithaca (The Songs of Penelope, #1)]]> 59416521
Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door.

No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning, wit, and her trusted circle of maids, can she maintain the tenuous peace needed for the kingdom to survive.

This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca’s shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses� that will change the course of the world.]]> 391 Claire North Bryce 0 to-read 3.69 2022 Ithaca (The Songs of Penelope, #1)
author: Claire North
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World]]> 214268997
A transformative guide to rethinking our approach to goals, creativity, and life itself from a neuroscientist and entrepreneur, and the creator of the popular Ness Labs newsletter

Life isn’t linear, and yet we constantly try to mold it around linear goals: four-year college degrees, ten-year career plans, thirty-year mortgages. What if instead we approached life as a giant playground for experimentation? Based on ancestral philosophy and the latest scientific research, Tiny Experiments provides a desperately needed reframing: Uncertainty can be a state of expanded possibility and a space for metamorphosis.

Neuroscientist and entrepreneur Anne-Laure Le Cunff reveals that all you need is an experimental mindset to turn challenges into self-discovery and doubt into opportunity. Readers will replace the old linear model of success with a circular model of growth in which goals are discovered, pursued, and adapted—not in a vacuum, but in conversation with the larger world.

Throughout the book, you will ask hard questions and design simple yet meaningful experiments to find the answers. You will learn how to break free from the invisible cognitive scripts that shape your life, how to harness the power of imperfection, and how to make smarter decisions when the path forward is unclear.

This is a guide to:
� Discover your true ambitions through conducting tiny personal experiments
� Dismantle harmful beliefs about success that have kept you stuck
� Dare to make decisions true to your own aspirations
� Stop trying to find your purpose and start living instead

Tiny Experiments offers not just practical tools to make sure our most vital work gets done, but a guide to reawakening our curiosity and drive in a noisy, busy, disaffected world, so that we can discover and pursue our most authentic ambitions while making a meaningful contribution.]]> 304 Anne-Laure Le Cunff 0593715136 Bryce 0 to-read 4.29 Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World
author: Anne-Laure Le Cunff
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Station Eleven 21792828 An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.

Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.]]> 354 Emily St. John Mandel Bryce 4 12-for-2015, reread
Reading this in a post-pandemic world just hits different. It highlights how much worse things could have been, but also where the feelings of loss, disconnection, and the idea of the Before and the After were perfectly captured by this book.

In the reread, this book struck me as the prototype for Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. People just want to do their jobs well and live their lives, and violence and upset isn't an exciting adventure but an indication that the world has gone terribly wrong.

2015 review

In a world that could easily be our own, a super virulent fly wipes out 99% of the planet's population. We meet a handful of the survivors of the world that emerges from this apocalypse: Kirsten, an actress in a traveling Shakespearean troupe; Jeevan, a paparazzi-turned EMT-turned make do doctor; The Prophet, a cult leader who "is the light;" Clark, the curator of the Museum of Civilization; Miranda, the creator of the comic Station Eleven. The one person tying all these disparate characters together is Arther Leander, an actor who died hours before the global pandemic struck.

As far as post-apocolyptic novels is concerned, this is a slow burn read. There are no zombies or cannibals and there are hardly any raids on other hostile survivors. Instead, there are people surviving and trying to find ways to thrive in the new world, because as the Traveling Symphony's wagon proclaims, "survival is insufficient." Some do this through art, some through remembrance of the world past and some create meaning in religion. Personally, if a majority of the population dies off tomorrow, I hope there will be a few Shakespearean actors amidst the survivors.

What I find to be a particularly beautiful aspect of this novel is the idea that this group of people seemed more lastingly affected by their experiences with Arthur than by the flu. He wasn't a perfect man or necessarily even a good man, but he was a man that touched others. This book reminds us: people are what really matter in the world, everything else is just the landscape in which they live.]]> 4.13 2014 Station Eleven
author: Emily St. John Mandel
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: 12-for-2015, reread
review:
2025 review

Reading this in a post-pandemic world just hits different. It highlights how much worse things could have been, but also where the feelings of loss, disconnection, and the idea of the Before and the After were perfectly captured by this book.

In the reread, this book struck me as the prototype for Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. People just want to do their jobs well and live their lives, and violence and upset isn't an exciting adventure but an indication that the world has gone terribly wrong.

2015 review

In a world that could easily be our own, a super virulent fly wipes out 99% of the planet's population. We meet a handful of the survivors of the world that emerges from this apocalypse: Kirsten, an actress in a traveling Shakespearean troupe; Jeevan, a paparazzi-turned EMT-turned make do doctor; The Prophet, a cult leader who "is the light;" Clark, the curator of the Museum of Civilization; Miranda, the creator of the comic Station Eleven. The one person tying all these disparate characters together is Arther Leander, an actor who died hours before the global pandemic struck.

As far as post-apocolyptic novels is concerned, this is a slow burn read. There are no zombies or cannibals and there are hardly any raids on other hostile survivors. Instead, there are people surviving and trying to find ways to thrive in the new world, because as the Traveling Symphony's wagon proclaims, "survival is insufficient." Some do this through art, some through remembrance of the world past and some create meaning in religion. Personally, if a majority of the population dies off tomorrow, I hope there will be a few Shakespearean actors amidst the survivors.

What I find to be a particularly beautiful aspect of this novel is the idea that this group of people seemed more lastingly affected by their experiences with Arthur than by the flu. He wasn't a perfect man or necessarily even a good man, but he was a man that touched others. This book reminds us: people are what really matter in the world, everything else is just the landscape in which they live.
]]> <![CDATA[The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)]]> 448873 Instead of Three Wishes, the first book by Megan Whalen Turner. Her second book more than fulfills that promise.

The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the thief's abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.

Megan Whalen Turner weaves Gen's stories and Gen's story together with style and verve in a novel that is filled with intrigue, adventure, and surprise.]]> 280 Megan Whalen Turner 0060824972 Bryce 0 to-read 3.86 1996 The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)
author: Megan Whalen Turner
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession]]> 62873378 One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first the story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser.

In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s strange world—unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them.

For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.

In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop—until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.

This is a riveting story of art, crime, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.]]> 224 Michael Finkel 0525657320 Bryce 4 audiobook
Finkel tells the story of his crimes, capture, and the aftermath in an engaging and narrative style. He tries his best to present Breitwieser in a neutral light, but reading between the lines, the guy sounds like a total douche. The takes advantage of his mother, his grandparents, his girlfriend/accomplice, and all the small museums in his path that can't afford Louvre-level of guards and security measures, To me, he reads less like an artsy Robin Hood and more like a spoiled man-child who believes he's entitled to everything he desires in life. Through his actions, dozens of pieces of art were ruined or lost and he absolutely deserved every day he spent in jail, but also lots of paper cuts and hangnails as well.

But you don't need good people to make a good story and this story is absolutely compelling. And from a "this guy is a total douchebag" standpoint, it's nice to read about him getting his absolute comeuppance in the last few chapters.
]]> 3.92 2023 The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
author: Michael Finkel
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/22
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: audiobook
review:
Stephane Breitwieser claimed to love art and beauty more than anything... so much so that he stole over 200 pieces of art from museums all over Europe. He is one of the most prolific art thieves in history and nearly all of his crimes were committed without threatening or harming people

Finkel tells the story of his crimes, capture, and the aftermath in an engaging and narrative style. He tries his best to present Breitwieser in a neutral light, but reading between the lines, the guy sounds like a total douche. The takes advantage of his mother, his grandparents, his girlfriend/accomplice, and all the small museums in his path that can't afford Louvre-level of guards and security measures, To me, he reads less like an artsy Robin Hood and more like a spoiled man-child who believes he's entitled to everything he desires in life. Through his actions, dozens of pieces of art were ruined or lost and he absolutely deserved every day he spent in jail, but also lots of paper cuts and hangnails as well.

But you don't need good people to make a good story and this story is absolutely compelling. And from a "this guy is a total douchebag" standpoint, it's nice to read about him getting his absolute comeuppance in the last few chapters.

]]> <![CDATA[My Year of Rest and Relaxation]]> 44279110
Our narrator should be happy, shouldn’t she? She’s young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, works an easy job at a hip art gallery, lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like the rest of her needs, by her inheritance. But there is a dark and vacuous hole in her heart, and it isn’t just the loss of her parents, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, Reva. It’s the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?

My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a powerful answer to that question. Through the story of a year spent under the influence of a truly mad combination of drugs designed to heal our heroine from her alienation from this world, Moshfegh shows us how reasonable, even necessary, alienation can be. Both tender and blackly funny, merciless and compassionate, it is a showcase for the gifts of one of our major writers working at the height of her powers.]]> 289 Ottessa Moshfegh 0525522131 Bryce 0 to-read 3.62 2018 My Year of Rest and Relaxation
author: Ottessa Moshfegh
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy, #1)]]> 58950705
With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights,The Stardust Thief weaves the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp.]]> 468 Chelsea Abdullah 0316368768 Bryce 0 to-read 3.98 2022 The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy, #1)
author: Chelsea Abdullah
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1)]]> 6294549
The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. As she steps back into fae society, dealing with a cast of characters not entirely good or evil, she realizes that more than her own life will be forfeited if she cannot find Evening's killer.]]> 346 Seanan McGuire 0756405718 Bryce 0 to-read 3.76 2009 Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1)
author: Seanan McGuire
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)]]> 22878967 It has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs—once thought of almost as gods—were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets. A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into absolute obedience.

As a student of the Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war fought—and lost—before he was born. Despised by most beyond the school walls, he and those around him are all but prisoners as they attempt to learn control of the Gift. Worse, as Davian struggles with his lessons, he knows that there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests.

But when Davian discovers he has the ability to wield the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything. To the north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir. And to the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…]]> 602 James Islington 099258020X Bryce 0 to-read 4.13 2014 The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)
author: James Islington
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dark Rise (Dark Rise, #1) 56470336
Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, Will is ushered into a world of magic, where he must train to play a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark.

As London is threatened by the Dark King’s return, the reborn heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war begin to draw battle lines. But as the young descendants of Light and Dark step into their destined roles, old allegiances, old enmities, and old flames are awakened. Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the dark fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own.]]> 455 C.S. Pacat 0062946145 Bryce 0 to-read 4.11 2021 Dark Rise (Dark Rise, #1)
author: C.S. Pacat
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)]]> 211721806
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

Includes part one of the exclusive bonus story “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.�]]> 450 Matt Dinniman 059382024X Bryce 0 to-read 4.50 2020 Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Chosen and the Beautiful 55169019
Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She's also queer, Asian, adopted, and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her.

But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how.

Nghi Vo's debut novel The Chosen and the Beautiful reinvents this classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.]]> 260 Nghi Vo 1250784786 Bryce 0 to-read 3.53 2021 The Chosen and the Beautiful
author: Nghi Vo
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 68428 What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

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

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

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

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]> 541 Brandon Sanderson Bryce 4
The magic system is cool. The characters are fun, although some of the crew could use some more page time. The mysteries of the world are very compelling.

I really like Vin and her dynamic with Kelsier; their father/daughter slash student/teacher relationship feels natural, and I was really rooting for Vin's change and growth. Sazed may be my very favorite. Elend, the rich boy love interest is the only dud in the group.

I guess I'm in it for the long haul. And from what I understand, it's a pretty long haul.]]> 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
review:
It's taken me a really long time to get on the Brandon Sanderson train, so I am certainly not going to be the first to say: Hey, this is really good!

The magic system is cool. The characters are fun, although some of the crew could use some more page time. The mysteries of the world are very compelling.

I really like Vin and her dynamic with Kelsier; their father/daughter slash student/teacher relationship feels natural, and I was really rooting for Vin's change and growth. Sazed may be my very favorite. Elend, the rich boy love interest is the only dud in the group.

I guess I'm in it for the long haul. And from what I understand, it's a pretty long haul.
]]> 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 Bryce 4 audiobook
I like sister stories because I have a close relationship with mine. But this book really examines the dark side of the dynamic and what it means to put aside everything for someone you choose... even when they don't want you to.]]> 3.44 2022 Tread of Angels
author: Rebecca Roanhorse
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: audiobook
review:
A short but powerful novella that examined goodness, evil, legacy, and the lengths you go for family.

I like sister stories because I have a close relationship with mine. But this book really examines the dark side of the dynamic and what it means to put aside everything for someone you choose... even when they don't want you to.
]]> Katabasis 210223811 Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.]]> 400 R.F. Kuang Bryce 0 to-read 4.12 2025 Katabasis
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Pride & Prejudice 129915654 400 Jane Austen Bryce 4 reread 4.38 1813 Pride & Prejudice
author: Jane Austen
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1813
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves: reread
review:
It's February 2nd and 2025 is already so terrifying that a reread of Peide and Prejudice is the only thing that can get me through. Thank goodness for the perfection of Jane Austen and stupid, messy, wonderful Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
]]> Vespertine 56980403 Artemisia se está preparando para unirse a las hermanas grises, encargadas de purificar a los fallecidos para que sus almas sigan adelante; de ​​lo contrario, sus espíritus despiertan con un hambre voraz por los vivos. Ella prefiere tratar con los muertos, que a diferencia de los vivos nunca hacen comentarios sobre su turbio pasado.
Cuando su convento sufre un ataque, Artemisia lo defiende despertando a un antiguo espíritu vinculado a una reliquia. Es un renacido, un ser malévolo que amenaza con poseerla en cuanto baje la guardia. La muerte ha llegado a Loraille, y solo una vespertina (una sacerdotisa entrenada para controlar una gran reliquia) puede aspirar a detenerla. Pero los conocimientos de las vespertinas hace mucho que se perdieron, por lo que a Artemisia no le queda más opción que recurrir al único que puede saber algo: el mismísimo renacido.
Mientras su vínculo con el renacido se fortalece entre secretos y magia, un mal oculto comienza a surgir. Y enfrentarse a él puede requerir que traicione todo en lo que cree... si es que el renacido no la traiciona primero.]]> 400 Margaret Rogerson 153447711X Bryce 4 library
Artemesia wants to live an uneventful life as a nun. However, given her talents with The Sight and fighting off the influence of possession, The Lady has another fate in store for her. Things are further complicated when Artemisia invites a powerful Revenant inside her head, and they must combine their powers to fight conspiracies and powerful undead.

From a thematic stance, the best part of this novel is its exploration of trauma and the responses people can have to it. To put it bluntly: Artemesia is fucked up, the Revenant is fucked up, and so are a few other people in the story. But being fucked up doesn't make them unworthy, or bad, or incapable of growth, or any less powerful. Rogerson explores her characters traumas from a place of compassion and knowledge that seems to be rooted in their own experiences.]]> 4.09 2021 Vespertine
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/02
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: library
review:
It's absolutely refreshing to read smart fantasy that contains not a whit of romance. Not that I have anything against romance, but sometimes I want plot and character relationships that develop in other ways.

Artemesia wants to live an uneventful life as a nun. However, given her talents with The Sight and fighting off the influence of possession, The Lady has another fate in store for her. Things are further complicated when Artemisia invites a powerful Revenant inside her head, and they must combine their powers to fight conspiracies and powerful undead.

From a thematic stance, the best part of this novel is its exploration of trauma and the responses people can have to it. To put it bluntly: Artemesia is fucked up, the Revenant is fucked up, and so are a few other people in the story. But being fucked up doesn't make them unworthy, or bad, or incapable of growth, or any less powerful. Rogerson explores her characters traumas from a place of compassion and knowledge that seems to be rooted in their own experiences.
]]> <![CDATA[Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling]]> 17593220
Diverging from Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice at the proposal in the Hunsford parsonage, this story explores the kind of man Darcy is, even before his "proper humbling," and how such a man, so full of pride, so much in love, might have behaved had Elizabeth chosen to accept his original proposal.]]> 352 Lara S. Ormiston 1626361002 Bryce 0 to-read 4.01 2013 Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling
author: Lara S. Ormiston
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> In the Forests of Serre 81073 ]]> 295 Patricia A. McKillip 0441011578 Bryce 0 to-read 3.96 2003 In the Forests of Serre
author: Patricia A. McKillip
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bury Your Gays 195790870 From Chuck Tingle, author of the USA Today bestselling Camp Damascus, comes a new heart-pounding story about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead.

Misha is a jaded scriptwriter who has been working in Hollywood for years, and has just been nominated for his first Oscar. But when he's pressured by his producers to kill off a gay character in the upcoming season finale�"for the algorithm"―Misha discovers that it's not that simple.

As he is haunted by his past, and past mistakes, Misha must risk everything to find a way to do what's right―before it's too late.]]> 295 Chuck Tingle 1250874653 Bryce 4 audiobook
And he writes good real novels! What a world.

Misha is a Hollywood screenwriter who specializes in queer-baiting horror. After a confrontation with a studio executive that wants to kill off two of his most popular, about-to-be-cannonicly-gay characters, Misha starts getting stalked by the monsters from his own movies. He has to figure out why and how before they end him for good.

As far as horror, this is a fairly tame ride. There's some blood and violence, but no one but the most sensitive of souls is being kept up at night. The real meat of the book comes from Misha working through his own identity and past traumas and finding the joy in being resolutely himself.

My one small quibble with the book involves the scene where Misha returns to Montana to go to his 20-year high school reunion. As a man living two lives and unwilling to confront the demons from his past, this seems like an unlikely move. It felt like a convenient way to get Misha out of LA and on a plane for some cool monster stuff to happen.]]> 4.13 2024 Bury Your Gays
author: Chuck Tingle
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: audiobook
review:
Chuck Tingle writes real novels. Who knew?

And he writes good real novels! What a world.

Misha is a Hollywood screenwriter who specializes in queer-baiting horror. After a confrontation with a studio executive that wants to kill off two of his most popular, about-to-be-cannonicly-gay characters, Misha starts getting stalked by the monsters from his own movies. He has to figure out why and how before they end him for good.

As far as horror, this is a fairly tame ride. There's some blood and violence, but no one but the most sensitive of souls is being kept up at night. The real meat of the book comes from Misha working through his own identity and past traumas and finding the joy in being resolutely himself.

My one small quibble with the book involves the scene where Misha returns to Montana to go to his 20-year high school reunion. As a man living two lives and unwilling to confront the demons from his past, this seems like an unlikely move. It felt like a convenient way to get Misha out of LA and on a plane for some cool monster stuff to happen.
]]> Camp Damascus 61884782 A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down.

They’ll scare you straight to hell.

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

Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed “most effective� gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy.]]> 246 Chuck Tingle 1250874629 Bryce 0 to-read 3.90 2023 Camp Damascus
author: Chuck Tingle
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing]]> 35412097
Timing, it's often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science.

Drawing on a rich trove of research from psychology, biology, and economics, Pink reveals how best to live, work, and succeed. How can we use the hidden patterns of the day to build the ideal schedule? Why do certain breaks dramatically improve student test scores? How can we turn a stumbling beginning into a fresh start? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? Why is singing in time with other people as good for you as exercise? And what is the ideal time to quit a job, switch careers, or get married?]]> 272 Daniel H. Pink 0735210624 Bryce 0 to-read 3.77 2018 When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
author: Daniel H. Pink
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bound and Tide (Villains & Virtues)]]> 216617971
Born to a demon, Xander’s purpose has been beaten into him his entire life: serve his maker and carry out her will, but when the time comes to summon his mother back into the material realm, he’s not exactly sure he wants to…er, is able to, not without mending his command over the noxscura first. As luck and plot would have it, though, he’s in possession of a decades old clue that just might teach him how.

But quests always have their interruptions, and when a haughty herbalist refuses to give him the attention he deserves, Xander becomes distracted, especially when her threats and demands awaken in him a new desire to serve. He can’t be blamed, not when she’s so beautiful and so talented and so mean, but the piling on of newly discovered kin and complications with his arcana jeopardize everything: his connection to his dark powers, his plan to bring his mother back, and, most horrifyingly, his feelings.

Blood mages aren’t really supposed to have those, but it may finally be Xander’s turn to learn what the rest of us have known all along.]]> 266 A.K. Caggiano Bryce 3
But this book won me over in the end. I appreciated Xander's growth and path to love. I liked that his relationship with Evangeline had a completely different dynamic that Damien's and Amma's. I liked the little ragamuffin children. I would have liked to see more acknowledgement of Xander's pansexuality, but you can't get everything in 260 pages.]]> 4.08 Bound and Tide (Villains & Virtues)
author: A.K. Caggiano
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves:
review:
Me, an unrepentant completionist, just had to read this book to finish out the series. I wasn't really invested in Xander's redemption and humanization after Eclipse of the Crown, mostly because he was such a delightful bastard as he was.

But this book won me over in the end. I appreciated Xander's growth and path to love. I liked that his relationship with Evangeline had a completely different dynamic that Damien's and Amma's. I liked the little ragamuffin children. I would have liked to see more acknowledgement of Xander's pansexuality, but you can't get everything in 260 pages.
]]> The Familiar 133286777 From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

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

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

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 387 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Bryce 0 to-read 3.74 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Subtle Blood (The Will Darling Adventures, #3)]]> 52238002
And then a brutal murder in a gentleman’s club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim’s noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong.

With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever—or be torn apart for good.]]> 290 K.J. Charles Bryce 4 reread
I truly hope there are more books to come.]]> 4.41 2021 Subtle Blood (The Will Darling Adventures, #3)
author: K.J. Charles
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: reread
review:
This series has it all: action, adventure, rapid-fire dialog, steamy sex scenes. But most importantly, it has so many feelings. Angsty, dramatic, romantic, lovely feelings.

I truly hope there are more books to come.
]]> The Spear Cuts Through Water 55868456 Two warriors shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end the tyrannical reign of a royal family in this new epic fantasy from the author of The Vanished Birds.

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.

But that god cannot be contained forever.

With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water is an ambitious and profound saga that will transport and transform you—and is like nothing you’ve ever read before.
]]> 525 Simon Jimenez 0593156595 Bryce 0 to-read 4.17 2022 The Spear Cuts Through Water
author: Simon Jimenez
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sugared Game (The Will Darling Adventures, #2)]]> 52237997
But when Will encounters a face from the past in a disreputable nightclub, Kim turns up, as shifty, unreliable, and irresistible as ever. And before Will knows it, he's been dragged back into Kim's shadowy world of secrets, criminal conspiracies, and underhand dealings.

This time, though, things are underhanded even by Kim standards. This time, the danger is too close to home. And if Will and Kim can't find common ground against unseen enemies, they risk losing everything.

A 1920s m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction.]]> 288 K.J. Charles 1912688174 Bryce 4 reread These books are like potato chips: I consume them alarmingly fast, and I can't just have one.

Also, a thought: In F/M romances, sex is typically the third-act prize that cements the couple. It's the end goal. I find that in M/M romances, the spicy bits come earlier, but the intimacy and understanding between characters is the "reward." It's the plot dynamic I prefer.

2024 Review
I enjoyed the first Will Darling Adventure so much that I was absolutely certain the second book would let me down. That's just the way of second books, right?

But The Sugared Game kept what was good - the chemistry between Will and Kim, the all-around snappy dialog, and the gloriously unbelievable twisty plot - and made it even better.

Charles really raised the stakes here, both in terms of Will and Kim's relationship, but also the repercussions their actions had in the world. Everything was still unbelievable and twisty, but the dangers were bigger, and the lies wrecked more lives.

I'm a big fan. I'm on to the third book!]]> 4.26 2020 The Sugared Game (The Will Darling Adventures, #2)
author: K.J. Charles
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: reread
review:
2025 Reread
These books are like potato chips: I consume them alarmingly fast, and I can't just have one.

Also, a thought: In F/M romances, sex is typically the third-act prize that cements the couple. It's the end goal. I find that in M/M romances, the spicy bits come earlier, but the intimacy and understanding between characters is the "reward." It's the plot dynamic I prefer.

2024 Review
I enjoyed the first Will Darling Adventure so much that I was absolutely certain the second book would let me down. That's just the way of second books, right?

But The Sugared Game kept what was good - the chemistry between Will and Kim, the all-around snappy dialog, and the gloriously unbelievable twisty plot - and made it even better.

Charles really raised the stakes here, both in terms of Will and Kim's relationship, but also the repercussions their actions had in the world. Everything was still unbelievable and twisty, but the dangers were bigger, and the lies wrecked more lives.

I'm a big fan. I'm on to the third book!
]]> <![CDATA[Slippery Creatures (The Will Darling Adventures, #1)]]> 52237989
Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.

And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.

But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.

A 1920s m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction.]]> 265 K.J. Charles 1912688158 Bryce 4 reread
I gave myself permission during my birthday month to reread whatever I wanted and this was too of the list. Good historical fiction, fun actiony plot, and excellent chemistry between Will and Kim.]]> 4.00 2020 Slippery Creatures (The Will Darling Adventures, #1)
author: K.J. Charles
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: reread
review:
Reread 2025

I gave myself permission during my birthday month to reread whatever I wanted and this was too of the list. Good historical fiction, fun actiony plot, and excellent chemistry between Will and Kim.
]]> <![CDATA[Eclipse of the Crown (Villains & Virtues, #3)]]> 84944828
Damien and Amma have landed themselves in the midst of Yvlcon, the preeminent congregation of the vilest and most unscrupulous villains in existence. Once again amongst his peers, Damien’s moral growth is threatened just when he’s learning to be slightly less evil. Consequently, Amma finds her own virtue in peril when faced with so much temptation, namely in the form of a domineering blood mage she can’t—or doesn’t want—to say no to.

But a burgeoning romance is doused in the coldest of baths when the Grand Order of Dread commands Damien to once again face the swirling vortex of entropy that’s been hunting them all over the realm. The coming eclipse points to devastation and destruction, and there seems to be no avoiding annihilation, prophecy being, well, prophecy, after all.

But there’s an entire fortnight before the world is supposed to end, and surely that’s enough time to find some way around it, or to at least confess one’s devotion to the other before it all burns down around them.]]> 464 A.K. Caggiano Bryce 4
For a series that I expected to be more porn than plot, or at least more longing goo-goo eyes than plot, this had a surprising amount of depth.]]> 4.37 2023 Eclipse of the Crown (Villains & Virtues, #3)
author: A.K. Caggiano
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/08
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves:
review:
The conclusion to the series was actually the best of the three! The romance was resolved, all loose ends were tied up in satisfying ways, and the action was packed.

For a series that I expected to be more porn than plot, or at least more longing goo-goo eyes than plot, this had a surprising amount of depth.
]]> <![CDATA[Summoned to the Wilds (Villains & Virtues, #2)]]> 63852823
Lady Ammalie Avington, Baroness of Faebarrow, has discovered the truth, and it should not come as a surprise: the blood mage who threatened, spellbound, and abducted her intends to bring ruin to the realm--the very one she is sworn to serve. It's just a terribly inconvenient fact to learn because, well...he's rather cute.

But it's not safe to pine after the son of a demon, especially not whilst locked up in a tower surrounded by infernal beings and a rival for your affection, nor trapped below ground in a den of beguiling vampires, nor even in the heart of a wild jungle under the tutelage of esoteric witches. Amma just can't help herself around Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne, danger be damned, but, truly, what danger is there? Damien's heart, the one he swears to not have, has been softening right before her eyes. Nevermind the weird smoke that sometimes unwittingly emanates from his hands or that faraway look he gets to his eyes, and a voice she can't hear telling him that he's meant to be a vessel? Surely it's all just a bad dream.

After finally tasting freedom and learning that Amma may have ancient, innate magical powers of her own, why not use them to do exactly as she pleases?]]> 428 A.K. Caggiano Bryce 3
Damien also goes through his own journey of self-discovery, which involves significantly less death but a lot more feelings.

So, from a plot and character development perspective, this is a great sequel! Well done! Keep up the good work!

But it turns out there is, in fact, too slow of a slow burn. The absolute ridiculous contortions these two have to perform in order NOT to confess their feelings and, more frustratingly, NOT bang is crazy. Please, just get it on already.]]> 4.30 Summoned to the Wilds (Villains & Virtues, #2)
author: A.K. Caggiano
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves:
review:
Amma really comes into her own in this book, including learning about her own magical powers and also straight-up ganking her gross ex-fiance. We love to see it.

Damien also goes through his own journey of self-discovery, which involves significantly less death but a lot more feelings.

So, from a plot and character development perspective, this is a great sequel! Well done! Keep up the good work!

But it turns out there is, in fact, too slow of a slow burn. The absolute ridiculous contortions these two have to perform in order NOT to confess their feelings and, more frustratingly, NOT bang is crazy. Please, just get it on already.
]]> <![CDATA[Sorcery and Small Magics (The Wildersongs Trilogy, #1)]]> 199826249 Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics.

He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic.

That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic.

Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.

Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.]]> 416 Maiga Doocy 0356523993 Bryce 0 to-read 4.32 2024 Sorcery and Small Magics (The Wildersongs Trilogy, #1)
author: Maiga Doocy
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)]]> 58416952 At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in this new fantasy series by internationally bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.

AUDI. VIDE. TACE.

The Catenan Republic � the Hierarchy � may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.

I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus � what they call Will � to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.

But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.

And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.

To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.

And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.]]> 639 James Islington 1982141190 Bryce 0 to-read 4.61 2023 The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)
author: James Islington
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Buried Deep and Other Stories 203956677 A thrilling collection of thirteen short stories that span the worlds of the New York Times bestselling author of the Scholomance Trilogy, including a sneak peek at the land where her next novel will be set.

From the dragon-filled Temeraire series and the gothic, magical halls of the Scholomance trilogy to the fairy tale worlds of Spinning Silver and Uprooted, this stunning collection takes us from fairy tale to fantasy, myth to history, and mystery to science fiction as we travel through Naomi Novik’s most beloved stories.

In Buried Deep, we move from ancient Greece and Rome, through the Middle Ages and the Black Death, and into the modern era. We meet Mark Antony, Sherlock Holmes, and Elizabeth Bennet, in ways we have never seen them before. We visit exotic fantasy cities and alien civilizations among the stars.

Though the stories are vastly different, there is a unifying theme: the act of finding and seizing one’s destiny, and the lengths one will go to achieve that—be it turning pirate, captaining a fighting dragon, or shifting from marriage to seek your destiny with a sword.

And in the two tales original to this collection, we first reenter the remade Scholomance in the wake of El’s revolution and see what life is like for the new crop of students. Then, we get a glimpse at the world of Novik’s upcoming series, a deserted land, populated only by silent and enigmatic architectural behemoths whose secrets are yet to be unlocked.]]> 430 Naomi Novik 0593600355 Bryce 4 audiobook
The audiobook has a different narrator for each story, which is always a pleasure and keeps the listening experience fresh.]]> 3.99 2024 Buried Deep and Other Stories
author: Naomi Novik
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: audiobook
review:
A lovely short story collection for anyone who is already a fan of Naomi Novik's worth, with several of the stories set in her existing worlds. The Scholomancy story was my favorite, offering new depths to an already rich mythology.

The audiobook has a different narrator for each story, which is always a pleasure and keeps the listening experience fresh.
]]> Love on the Brain 60066655 A STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis--with explosive results.

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project--a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia--Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school--archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it's her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas...devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there's only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?]]> 368 Ali Hazelwood 0593336852 Bryce 3
There was a lot I liked about this novel. It's my first Ali Hazelwood book and the author has been recommended a lot. The side characters are all delightful, as is Bee's interactions with them. Levi is great as Bee's source of frustration and fascination.

My big problem with the book is the character of Bee herself. All the quirkiness stacked on top of each other got old fast. Her constant fainting? The secret super-influential Twitter feed? The funny colored hair, tattoos, and piercings? The aggressive veganism? It all created the shape of an interesting character without actually having any interesting substance. Plus, Bee may be too dumb to live. In both her professional and personal life, she's constantly making the worst, most shortsighted decision at any given time, and it stops being cute and starts being concerning really fast.

Also, personal side note: grad schools are not going to drop the GRE requirement for admissions because of a popular hashtag. That was the dumbest B story ever.]]> 4.03 2022 Love on the Brain
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves:
review:
Bee is thrilled when she is offered a contract co-leading a project at NASA, but is dismayed to find out that she'll be working closely with Levi, the man who hated her all through grad school.

There was a lot I liked about this novel. It's my first Ali Hazelwood book and the author has been recommended a lot. The side characters are all delightful, as is Bee's interactions with them. Levi is great as Bee's source of frustration and fascination.

My big problem with the book is the character of Bee herself. All the quirkiness stacked on top of each other got old fast. Her constant fainting? The secret super-influential Twitter feed? The funny colored hair, tattoos, and piercings? The aggressive veganism? It all created the shape of an interesting character without actually having any interesting substance. Plus, Bee may be too dumb to live. In both her professional and personal life, she's constantly making the worst, most shortsighted decision at any given time, and it stops being cute and starts being concerning really fast.

Also, personal side note: grad schools are not going to drop the GRE requirement for admissions because of a popular hashtag. That was the dumbest B story ever.
]]> Vicious Circle 157817221 Elizabeth Reid has been haunted by an infamous mutant for three years. Stranded on what was once her family's homestead, she becomes a field test for a gene therapy that turns her into a manufactured Alpha -the strongest category of mutant.
Thrust into the middle of a brewing cold war between the underground society of mutants and OMEGA, she is forced to hide what she is while trying not to be the spark that sets the world ablaze.
Vicious Circle is a science fiction action thriller. If you like cerebral novels with a dynamic cast of narrating characters, and a rich world to explore then you'll love this first installment of the Vicious Circle series.]]> 552 Rochele Rosa Bryce 0 to-read 4.75 Vicious Circle
author: Rochele Rosa
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Throne in the Dark (Villains & Virtues, #1)]]> 62232755
Dark lord
Demon spawn
Prophesied realm destroyer

With a demon for a father, Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne’s destiny could be nothing but nefarious, and with the completion of his most vicious spell, Damien is on the cusp of fulfilling the evil inevitability all of his dark machinations have led to.

And then, her.

Bubbly
Obnoxious
Blonde

Harboring secrets of her own, a tiny yet troublesome thief calling herself Amma completely upsets Damien’s malevolent plans when she mistakenly gets chained to his side through magic, forcing him to drag her across the realm. Killing her would fix things, of course, but the nauseatingly sweet Amma proves herself useful on Damien's unholy crusade and then proves herself the source of something even more sinister: feelings.

Will Damien be forced to abandon his villainous birthright to help the tender thorn in his side? Or will he manage to overcome the virtue Amma insists on inspiring and instead cut it out at the heart?]]> 459 A.K. Caggiano Bryce 4
I had zero expectations for this book going in. Besides happiness it only cost me $3.99. But I actually really enjoyed everything about this novel!

Damien and Amma are both fun characters and I like their sunshine/stormcloud dynamic. Damien had more character depth and progression compared to Amma, but he is evil. He has further to go.

The plot really kept things moving while also setting up many scenarios to throw Damien and Amma into compromising situations.

All in all, I'm super excited for the next in the series. Also just $3.99!]]> 4.10 2022 Throne in the Dark (Villains & Virtues, #1)
author: A.K. Caggiano
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves:
review:
Damien is a half-demon blood mage tasked with releasing his infernal father from his prison. Amma is the sunshiney thief-with-secrets he accidentally enthralled to his every whim. Together, they have ✨️adventures✨️and also maybe they're super into each other.

I had zero expectations for this book going in. Besides happiness it only cost me $3.99. But I actually really enjoyed everything about this novel!

Damien and Amma are both fun characters and I like their sunshine/stormcloud dynamic. Damien had more character depth and progression compared to Amma, but he is evil. He has further to go.

The plot really kept things moving while also setting up many scenarios to throw Damien and Amma into compromising situations.

All in all, I'm super excited for the next in the series. Also just $3.99!
]]> Mexican Gothic 52873094
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

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

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]> 304 Silvia Moreno-Garcia Bryce 4
Noemi is a perfect Gothic heroine. She is both naive and confident in any situation, to the point where she doesn't realize she's in over her head until it's too late. Her frivolity is a nice counterpoint to the gloom of the story, but also representation of the vibrancy of Mexico compared to the oppression of racist, misogynistic, generally no-fun English imperialists.

I didn't care for the last chapter, tacked on like an epilogue. While I understand wanting to be true to the genre and end the "and they lived happily ever after" ending with a little bit of a "...or did they?" vibe, Francis is gross and Noemi is too good for him.]]> 3.76 2020 Mexican Gothic
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/04
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
A touch of haunted house Gothic, a touch of Lovecraftian body horror, a sprinkle of indictment of colonialism... what's not to enjoy?

Noemi is a perfect Gothic heroine. She is both naive and confident in any situation, to the point where she doesn't realize she's in over her head until it's too late. Her frivolity is a nice counterpoint to the gloom of the story, but also representation of the vibrancy of Mexico compared to the oppression of racist, misogynistic, generally no-fun English imperialists.

I didn't care for the last chapter, tacked on like an epilogue. While I understand wanting to be true to the genre and end the "and they lived happily ever after" ending with a little bit of a "...or did they?" vibe, Francis is gross and Noemi is too good for him.
]]> You Like It Darker 201242757 From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,� writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,� and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

“Two Talented Bastids� explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,� a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,� a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,� a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man� asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King’s ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.]]> 512 Stephen King 1668037718 Bryce 0 to-read 4.16 2024 You Like It Darker
author: Stephen King
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Outsider 36124936
An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.]]> 561 Stephen King 1501180983 Bryce 0 to-read 3.98 2018 The Outsider
author: Stephen King
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)]]> 199347538 Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. Featuring gorgeous orange sprayed edges!

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He’s the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there’s the island’s sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 125088120X Bryce 3 audiobook
First, this just wasn't cozy. At all. The stress of the characters and the situation that was being thrust upon them was deeply tense and rooted in intense trauma. I was hoping for more found family, sweet romance, and domesticity and this didn't hit those beats for me.

Secondly, the message of the book became the point of the book. Plot and character interactions took second place to a lot of monologuing about the dangers of a fear-mongering government, the trauma of institutional segregation and bigotry, and the impact of trauma. Which, presumably, the audience of the book already agrees with wholeheartedly, and so it felt like preaching to the choir.

Finally, the ending seemed impossibly unearned. The characters were backed into a situation where direct, violent action seemed the only logical way to persevere... until a shiny deus ex machina was dropped on the plot. And I'm glad the characters I love get a happy ending; I just wish it weren't the most magical and impossible thing in a novel about magic and impossible things.

And not the fault of the book at all but...Reading the acknowledgements, in the wake of an election where so many people voted against hope and tolerance and progress. Well. That hurt on a different level.]]> 4.17 2024 Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)
author: T.J. Klune
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/10
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: audiobook
review:
While still enjoyable, Somewhere Beyond the Sea just didn't recapture the magic of The House in the Cerulean Sea for me.

First, this just wasn't cozy. At all. The stress of the characters and the situation that was being thrust upon them was deeply tense and rooted in intense trauma. I was hoping for more found family, sweet romance, and domesticity and this didn't hit those beats for me.

Secondly, the message of the book became the point of the book. Plot and character interactions took second place to a lot of monologuing about the dangers of a fear-mongering government, the trauma of institutional segregation and bigotry, and the impact of trauma. Which, presumably, the audience of the book already agrees with wholeheartedly, and so it felt like preaching to the choir.

Finally, the ending seemed impossibly unearned. The characters were backed into a situation where direct, violent action seemed the only logical way to persevere... until a shiny deus ex machina was dropped on the plot. And I'm glad the characters I love get a happy ending; I just wish it weren't the most magical and impossible thing in a novel about magic and impossible things.

And not the fault of the book at all but...Reading the acknowledgements, in the wake of an election where so many people voted against hope and tolerance and progress. Well. That hurt on a different level.
]]> Remarkably Bright Creatures 58733693 Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.]]> 368 Shelby Van Pelt 0063204150 Bryce 0 to-read 4.35 2022 Remarkably Bright Creatures
author: Shelby Van Pelt
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family]]> 50088631 The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease.

Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins—aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony—and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen to one family?

What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy, and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. And unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction, and even eradication of the disease for future generations.

With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope.]]> 377 Robert Kolker 038554376X Bryce 0 to-read 4.13 2020 Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
author: Robert Kolker
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo—and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up]]> 18877989
Richard Lloyd Parry, an award-winning foreign correspondent, covered Lucie's disappearance and followed the massive search for her, the long investigation, and the even longer trial. Over ten years, he earned the trust of her family and friends, won unique access to the Japanese detectives and Japan's convoluted legal system, and delved deep into the mind of the man accused of the crime, Joji Obara, described by the judge as "unprecedented and extremely evil."

The result is a book at once thrilling and revelatory, "In Cold Blood for our times" (Chris Cleave, author of Incendiary and Little Bee).

The People Who Eat Darkness is one of Publishers Weekly's Top 10 Best Books of 2012]]> 465 Richard Lloyd Parry 1466820020 Bryce 0 to-read 3.81 2010 People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo—and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up
author: Richard Lloyd Parry
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nocticadia 136470356 A dark, atmospheric tale of deadly secrets and forbidden love.

Mortui vivos docent.
The dead teach the living.

After watching my mother succumb to a mysterious illness, I promised myself two things. I’d find the cure for what ravaged her. And leave the godforsaken city where she abandoned me.

Four years later, I receive an acceptance letter from Dracadia University, one of the oldest, most prestigious schools in the country. Nestled on a secluded island off the coast of Maine, it’s rumored to be haunted by the souls of the mental patients exiled there centuries before. Those whose bones are said to make up the island’s white sandy shores.

And restless ghosts aren’t even its most daunting peculiarity.

Devryck Bramwell, known on campus as Doctor Death, is a brilliant pathologist in charge of the midnight lab. He’s also my devastatingly handsome professor, who seems to loathe tenacious first-years, like me. Except, his dark and enigmatic gaze tells me all the ways he’d devour me if given the chance, and his stolen kisses burn my lips with forbidden jealousy.

I crave his authority.
He aches for redemption.
Together, we’re toxic. Delicious fodder for the prying eyes hellbent on exhuming the rotted skeletons of our pasts.

For the dead have much to teach, and it’s only a matter of time before Dracadia’s most depraved secret is resurrected.

Nocticadia is a standalone dark academia gothic romance.]]> 682 Keri Lake Bryce 0 to-read 4.23 2023 Nocticadia
author: Keri Lake
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde, #2)]]> 134119076 When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers.

She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.]]> 370 Heather Fawcett 0593500202 Bryce 3 library
Emily can seemingly do no wrong - her ideas are always brilliant, and her schemes always work out - but she herself is so one-dimensional and off-putting.]]> 4.28 2024 Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde, #2)
author: Heather Fawcett
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: library
review:
I'm continuing this series mostly for Wendell and Shadow (and now Orga), rather than Emily Wilde herself. They are all delightful, and she is absolutely unpleasant.

Emily can seemingly do no wrong - her ideas are always brilliant, and her schemes always work out - but she herself is so one-dimensional and off-putting.
]]> <![CDATA[Morgan Is My Name (Morgan le Fay, #1)]]> 62300945
When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers. Vengeful and brilliant, it's not long before Morgan becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin, influential sorcerer to the king. But fighting for her freedom, she risks losing everything � her reputation, her loved ones and her life.]]> 347 Sophie Keetch 0861545192 Bryce 3
Morgan is usually portrayed as one of the big villains in Arthur's story, his witchy, resentful half-sister. I was especially curious how they redeemed her... or perhaps didn't.

I appreciated that this story kept the magic in, instead of trying to root it in history and reality. Merlin and Morgan tap into their supernatural powers, one for ill and one for good. I sometimes enjoy historical fiction about tribal kings squabbling, but I don't want that in my Arthurian novels.

I was disappointed that for the majority of the book, Morgan had things happen to her, and she had very little agency in choosing her actions. I understand this is a series, but book one definitely felt like all set-up, moving the pieces into place for the next part of the story.]]> 4.17 2022 Morgan Is My Name (Morgan le Fay, #1)
author: Sophie Keetch
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves:
review:
A retelling of the origins of Camelot told from the perspective of Arthur's half-sister, Morgan Le Fay. I'm a sucker for Arthurian legend and also female-centric retellings of myths, so I was really excited about this one.

Morgan is usually portrayed as one of the big villains in Arthur's story, his witchy, resentful half-sister. I was especially curious how they redeemed her... or perhaps didn't.

I appreciated that this story kept the magic in, instead of trying to root it in history and reality. Merlin and Morgan tap into their supernatural powers, one for ill and one for good. I sometimes enjoy historical fiction about tribal kings squabbling, but I don't want that in my Arthurian novels.

I was disappointed that for the majority of the book, Morgan had things happen to her, and she had very little agency in choosing her actions. I understand this is a series, but book one definitely felt like all set-up, moving the pieces into place for the next part of the story.
]]> Le Fay (Morgan le Fay, #2) 199894808 433 Sophie Keetch Bryce 0 to-read 4.36 2024 Le Fay (Morgan le Fay, #2)
author: Sophie Keetch
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3)]]> 208841368 Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm-as its queen.

Along with her former academic rival-now fiancé-the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell's long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with scholarly treasures.

Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world-how could an unassuming scholar like herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in-Wendell's murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell's magic-and Emily's knowledge of stories-to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
]]> 368 Heather Fawcett 0356519198 Bryce 0 to-read 4.17 2025 Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3)
author: Heather Fawcett
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets (Saffron Everleigh Mystery, #3)]]> 198562238 Brilliant botanist Saffron Everleigh is ready for her next thrilling adventure in the newest installment of Kate Khavari’s mesmerizing historical mystery series.

“A cleverly plotted puzzle� (Ashley Weaver) in the vein of Opium and Absinthe, this is perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Sujata Massey.

London, 1923. Returning from Paris, botanical researcher Saffron Everleigh finds that her former love interest Alexander Ashton’s brother, Adrian, is being investigated for murder. A Russian scientist working for the English government has been poisoned, and expired in Adrian’s train compartment. Alexander asks Saffron to put in a good word for Adrian with Inspector Green. Despite her unresolved feelings for Alexander, Saffron begins to unravel mysteries surrounding the dead scientist.

As if a murder case weren’t enough, her best friend Elizabeth’s war-hero brother, Nick, arrives in town and takes an immediate interest in Saffron. Saffron learns Alexander has been keeping secrets from her, including a connection to Nick, who Saffron and Elizabeth begin to suspect is more than he seems.

When another scientist is found dead, Saffron agrees to go undercover at the government laboratory. Risking her career and her safety, she learns there are many more interested parties and dangerous secrets to uncover than she’d realized. But some secrets, Saffron will find, are better left undiscovered.]]> 332 Kate Khavari 1639106634 Bryce 2 library
First of all, Alexander is the most boring love interest of all time. He's cold, standoffish, and tries to put Saffron in a neat little box.

Secondly, Saffron herself is absolutely insufferable. She won't work for the government, won't work for profit, can't work for the police, and doesn't ever seem to bother with doing her own actual job. She's a mediocre friend and a boring girlfriend. Get over yourself, woman.

The mystery made zero sense to me. And fungal science just isn't fun science. I'm done with this series.]]> 4.01 2024 A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets (Saffron Everleigh Mystery, #3)
author: Kate Khavari
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: library
review:
The first two books in this series were so promising, and this one fell so flat.

First of all, Alexander is the most boring love interest of all time. He's cold, standoffish, and tries to put Saffron in a neat little box.

Secondly, Saffron herself is absolutely insufferable. She won't work for the government, won't work for profit, can't work for the police, and doesn't ever seem to bother with doing her own actual job. She's a mediocre friend and a boring girlfriend. Get over yourself, woman.

The mystery made zero sense to me. And fungal science just isn't fun science. I'm done with this series.
]]> <![CDATA[The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #1)]]> 45047384
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.]]> 394 T.J. Klune Bryce 4 audiobook, reread
Am i rereading this again?

You bet. The world is on fire, and this is a balm to the soul. And I get the sequel too!

2023 Review

It's the mother of all stressful weeks for me, so this reread was like a warm hug.

2022 Review

Romance tropes I hate:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Lovers Triangles
- Easily resolved communication issues that stand in for plot

Romance tropes I Iove:
- When one character doesn't think they're worthy of love and their beloved is all "THIS PERSON IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST"

Which, in addition to precious magical children and learning to overcome the institutional prejudices instilled by an uncaring society, is the cornerstone of this book. But even better because the characters are two soft and mostly gentle middle-aged men.]]> 4.37 2020 The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #1)
author: T.J. Klune
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: audiobook, reread
review:
2024 Review

Am i rereading this again?

You bet. The world is on fire, and this is a balm to the soul. And I get the sequel too!

2023 Review

It's the mother of all stressful weeks for me, so this reread was like a warm hug.

2022 Review

Romance tropes I hate:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Lovers Triangles
- Easily resolved communication issues that stand in for plot

Romance tropes I Iove:
- When one character doesn't think they're worthy of love and their beloved is all "THIS PERSON IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST"

Which, in addition to precious magical children and learning to overcome the institutional prejudices instilled by an uncaring society, is the cornerstone of this book. But even better because the characters are two soft and mostly gentle middle-aged men.
]]> <![CDATA[The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)]]> 150247395
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.]]> 410 Robert Jackson Bennett 1984820702 Bryce 4 audiobook, library
Din has been altered to be an Engraver, someone who creates a perfect memory of everything they experience. In that capacity, he assists Ana Dolabra, an eccentric investigator. Their latest case seems impossible: A series of murders where the victims are killed by trees growing out of their chests.

I particularly loved the depth of the world created Bennett created. He's built something so foreign to our own, even in such small details as the color of lipstick people use, but also a society that feels rich and logical. It's impossible, but believable.

Nervous, naïve Din is a delightful foil to Ana's raging egomania and general nuttiness. The two confound each other but also display deep and realistic affection. Ana's version of Holmes is a little kinder, a little more empathetic than the original.

The mystery is appropriately convoluted and far-reaching, but was secondary to me to enjoying the characters.

I already can't wait for the next in the series!]]> 4.28 2024 The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: audiobook, library
review:
A fantasy, steam punk-y interpretation of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, set in a world that is both cursed and blessed by the specter of giant rampaging Leviathans Cursed, because the monsters occasionally rampage across the land, killing a bunch of people. Blessed, because the bones and viscera of the fallen monsters are a source of magic that can alter and enhance the human body.

Din has been altered to be an Engraver, someone who creates a perfect memory of everything they experience. In that capacity, he assists Ana Dolabra, an eccentric investigator. Their latest case seems impossible: A series of murders where the victims are killed by trees growing out of their chests.

I particularly loved the depth of the world created Bennett created. He's built something so foreign to our own, even in such small details as the color of lipstick people use, but also a society that feels rich and logical. It's impossible, but believable.

Nervous, naïve Din is a delightful foil to Ana's raging egomania and general nuttiness. The two confound each other but also display deep and realistic affection. Ana's version of Holmes is a little kinder, a little more empathetic than the original.

The mystery is appropriately convoluted and far-reaching, but was secondary to me to enjoying the characters.

I already can't wait for the next in the series!
]]> <![CDATA[A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2)]]> 212078448 The brilliant detective Ana Dolabra may have finally met her match in the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach, an impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—abducted from his quarters while the door and windows remained locked from the inside, in a building whose entrances and exits are all under constant guard.

To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial investigator, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.

Before long, Ana’s discovered that they’re not investigating a disappearance, but a murder—and that the killing was just the first chess move by an adversary who seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and who can predict every one of Ana’s moves as though they can see the future.

Worse still, the killer seems to be targeting the high-security compound known as the Shroud. Here, the Empire's greatest minds dissect fallen Titans to harness the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the destruction would be terrible indeed—and the Empire itself will grind to a halt, robbed of the magic that allows its wheels of power to turn.

Din has seen Ana solve impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and Ana seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, he fears that his superior has finally met an enemy she can’t defeat.]]> 432 Robert Jackson Bennett 1399725424 Bryce 0 to-read 4.61 2025 A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beautiful World, Where Are You]]> 56597885 356 Sally Rooney 0374602603 Bryce 0 to-read 3.53 2021 Beautiful World, Where Are You
author: Sally Rooney
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)]]> 26042767 Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

]]> 423 Becky Chambers Bryce 4 reread
I turned to this book for comfort after the results of the 2024 election were handed down. I needed the distraction and, frankly, needed the hope offered in a story about a bunch of weird people who make enormous efforts to care for and understand each other.

2019 Review

What sets this novel apart from most other sci-fi space operas is that none of the main characters pick up a gun. In fact, none of them really resort to violence of any kind. Instead, conflict is solved through communication, diplomacy, understanding the societal nuances of other cultures, and sometimes by filling out the right form. The prominent theme is that violence is both bad and mostly unnecessary.

There's not much in the way of plot here. The book follows the crew of The Wayfinder as it makes its long journey to a big wormhole-drilling operation. The crew lives its lives, doing chores, having downtime, fighting, and loving. Some are brave, some are jerks, some are sweet... but really, they are all all three.

This is an excellent book for those out there that think Representation Matters. The human characters are all implied to be multiracial, when they care about race at all. All kinds of relationships are represented and accepted. Characters make an active effort to work through prejudices and keep an open mind about new ways of being.

Plus, it's just sweet and delightful. I feel happier having read it.]]> 4.26 2014 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/13
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: reread
review:
2024 Review

I turned to this book for comfort after the results of the 2024 election were handed down. I needed the distraction and, frankly, needed the hope offered in a story about a bunch of weird people who make enormous efforts to care for and understand each other.

2019 Review

What sets this novel apart from most other sci-fi space operas is that none of the main characters pick up a gun. In fact, none of them really resort to violence of any kind. Instead, conflict is solved through communication, diplomacy, understanding the societal nuances of other cultures, and sometimes by filling out the right form. The prominent theme is that violence is both bad and mostly unnecessary.

There's not much in the way of plot here. The book follows the crew of The Wayfinder as it makes its long journey to a big wormhole-drilling operation. The crew lives its lives, doing chores, having downtime, fighting, and loving. Some are brave, some are jerks, some are sweet... but really, they are all all three.

This is an excellent book for those out there that think Representation Matters. The human characters are all implied to be multiracial, when they care about race at all. All kinds of relationships are represented and accepted. Characters make an active effort to work through prejudices and keep an open mind about new ways of being.

Plus, it's just sweet and delightful. I feel happier having read it.
]]> The Hunger 30285766
Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone--or something--is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow a disastrous experimental route West, or just plain bad luck--the 90 men, women, and children of the Donner Party are at the brink of one of the deadliest and most disastrous western adventures in American history.

While the ill-fated group struggles to survive in the treacherous mountain conditions--searing heat that turns the sand into bubbling stew; snows that freeze the oxen where they stand--evil begins to grow around them, and within them. As members of the party begin to disappear, they must ask themselves "What if there is something waiting in the mountains? Something disturbing and diseased...and very hungry?"]]> 376 Alma Katsu 0735212511 Bryce 3 audiobook
But I am beginning to suspect that I just don't jive with her writing.

Take The Hunger. It's a reimagining of the Donner Party tragedy with an even more horrible twist than reality: instead of merely weather and hunger laying waste to the families, there are actually monsters in the woods picking them all off. Sounds amazing! Full of things I love, like gruesome history, isolated people turning on each other, and rich secret-ridden backstories for all the characters.

But there were just too many characters. And too many random magical elements that amounted to nothing. And too many side stories that also amounted to nothing. The whole book was just too much and also not enough.]]> 3.57 2018 The Hunger
author: Alma Katsu
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/08
date added: 2024/11/08
shelves: audiobook
review:
This is the second book I've read by Alma Katsu, but I have a few others marked as TBR. All her books have amazing, high concept premises, and I just can't hit that "want to read" button fast enough.

But I am beginning to suspect that I just don't jive with her writing.

Take The Hunger. It's a reimagining of the Donner Party tragedy with an even more horrible twist than reality: instead of merely weather and hunger laying waste to the families, there are actually monsters in the woods picking them all off. Sounds amazing! Full of things I love, like gruesome history, isolated people turning on each other, and rich secret-ridden backstories for all the characters.

But there were just too many characters. And too many random magical elements that amounted to nothing. And too many side stories that also amounted to nothing. The whole book was just too much and also not enough.
]]> Cry to Heaven 31335 As we are drawn into their dark and luminous story, as the crowds of Venetians, Neopolitans, and Romans, noblemen and peasants, musicians, prelates, princes, saints, and intriguers swirl around them, Anne Rice brings us into the sweep of eighteenth-century Italian life, into the decadence beneath the shimmering surface of Venice, the wild frivolity of Naples, and the magnetic terror of its shadow, Vesuvius.]]> 566 Anne Rice 0345396936 Bryce 0 to-read 3.87 1982 Cry to Heaven
author: Anne Rice
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store]]> 65678550
Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, which served the neighborhood's quirky collection of blacks and European immigrants, helped by her husband, Moshe, a Romanian-born theater owner who integrated the town's first dance hall. When the state came looking for a deaf black child, claiming that the boy needed to be institutionalized, Chicken Hill's residents—roused by Chona's kindess and the courage of a local black worker named Nate Timblin—banded together to keep the boy safe.

As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear how much the people of Chicken Hill have to struggle to survive at the margins of white Christian America and how damaging bigotry, hypocrisy, and deceit can be to a community. When the truth is revealed about the skeleton, the boy, and the part the town’s establishment played in both, McBride shows that it is love and community—heaven and earth—that ultimately sustain us.]]> 385 James McBride 0593422945 Bryce 0 library, to-read 3.84 2023 The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
author: James McBride
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves: library, to-read
review:

]]> The Ministry of Time 199798179 A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all:

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats� from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge�: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as �1847� or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,� “Spotify,� and “the collapse of the British Empire.� But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.]]> 339 Kaliane Bradley 1668045141 Bryce 0 to-read 3.54 2024 The Ministry of Time
author: Kaliane Bradley
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Don't Let the Forest In 200982373 Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him.

Kill for him.

High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality―Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.

But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won't say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork―whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew's wicked stories.

Desperate to figure out what's wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster―Thomas's drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator...]]> 336 C.G. Drews 1250895669 Bryce 0 to-read 4.12 2024 Don't Let the Forest In
author: C.G. Drews
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Silver Nitrate 63249718 New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film--and awakens one woman's hidden powers.

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys� club running the film industry in �90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.]]> 323 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 0593355369 Bryce 0 library, to-read 3.56 2023 Silver Nitrate
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: library, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)]]> 60657589
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.]]> 336 Heather Fawcett 059350013X Bryce 3 library

Emily is a scholar at Cambridge determined to write the world's most comprehensive encyclopedia on the types of fairies that exist in the world. The last entry in her work is the Hidden Ones, mysterious fairies that live high up in the snowy arctic. She travels to a tiny village to do her research, accompaniedby her friend/intellectual competition WendellBambleby. Cozy adventures ensue.

Emily is coded to be a neuro-divergent character. She has problems reading the emotions and social cues of other characters, she hyper-fixates on her areas of interest, and repeatedly admits that she feels like she doesn't fit in well with society. I appreciate that Fawcett let her character change and grow, but that didn't include "getting over" her neuro-diversity. She remains true to herself while expanding her horizons.

Wendell Bamblebyis not an obvious romantic pairing with Emily. In fact, my biggest complaint about the book is that there seems to be very little chemistry between them. Emily is annoyed by him, annoyed by him, annoyed by him, and then BAM, suddenly contemplating spending her entire life with him. But as a character, Bambleby is a fun counter to Emily; he's boisterous, extroverted, and her attitudes do not phase him.

I didn't love the ending of this book -- with so much emphasis on the fae being bound to stories and loopholes in their deals, I wanted a cleverer ending wrapped up in a much neater bow. "Successfully running away from your problems" was not what I was expecting. Disappointment with the ending knocked my rating from four to three stars.]]> 3.99 2023 Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)
author: Heather Fawcett
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves: library
review:
It's time for a super cozy slow-burn fairy romance!


Emily is a scholar at Cambridge determined to write the world's most comprehensive encyclopedia on the types of fairies that exist in the world. The last entry in her work is the Hidden Ones, mysterious fairies that live high up in the snowy arctic. She travels to a tiny village to do her research, accompaniedby her friend/intellectual competition WendellBambleby. Cozy adventures ensue.

Emily is coded to be a neuro-divergent character. She has problems reading the emotions and social cues of other characters, she hyper-fixates on her areas of interest, and repeatedly admits that she feels like she doesn't fit in well with society. I appreciate that Fawcett let her character change and grow, but that didn't include "getting over" her neuro-diversity. She remains true to herself while expanding her horizons.

Wendell Bamblebyis not an obvious romantic pairing with Emily. In fact, my biggest complaint about the book is that there seems to be very little chemistry between them. Emily is annoyed by him, annoyed by him, annoyed by him, and then BAM, suddenly contemplating spending her entire life with him. But as a character, Bambleby is a fun counter to Emily; he's boisterous, extroverted, and her attitudes do not phase him.

I didn't love the ending of this book -- with so much emphasis on the fae being bound to stories and loopholes in their deals, I wanted a cleverer ending wrapped up in a much neater bow. "Successfully running away from your problems" was not what I was expecting. Disappointment with the ending knocked my rating from four to three stars.
]]> An Enchantment of Ravens 34997533 A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince—in this gorgeous debut novel.

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love—and that love violates the fair folks� ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.]]> 303 Margaret Rogerson Bryce 4 library
Sure. Yawn.

But what makes this version of that story really special and compelling is that this is one of the first YA fantasy romances that actually portray fairies as something alien and otherworldly, instead of bitchy, super pretty humans. Even Rook, the most relatable of the fae, still can't comprehend humanity's feelings or customs. Rogerson also really built up the minutae of fairly lore and customs, and the world is so rich because of it.

Isobel is also nicely pragmatic. She isn't willing to die for her love and she isn't willing to give up herself and her talents for love either. Good for you, improbibly talented 17-year old girl.

The ending is very satisfying, if terribly, terribly twee.]]> 3.81 2017 An Enchantment of Ravens
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/18
date added: 2024/10/18
shelves: library
review:
On the surface, Margaret Rogerson's An Enchantment of Ravens is pretty standard YA fantasy fare: a mortal girl who is as special as she is "normal" and "plain," finds herself caught up in a forbidden romance with a handsome fae. They must undergo trials together or else be put to death because of their love.

Sure. Yawn.

But what makes this version of that story really special and compelling is that this is one of the first YA fantasy romances that actually portray fairies as something alien and otherworldly, instead of bitchy, super pretty humans. Even Rook, the most relatable of the fae, still can't comprehend humanity's feelings or customs. Rogerson also really built up the minutae of fairly lore and customs, and the world is so rich because of it.

Isobel is also nicely pragmatic. She isn't willing to die for her love and she isn't willing to give up herself and her talents for love either. Good for you, improbibly talented 17-year old girl.

The ending is very satisfying, if terribly, terribly twee.
]]> Old Bones (Nora Kelly, #1) 43522585 The first in the groundbreaking Nora Kelly series from #1 bestselling authors Preston & Child blends the legend of the Donner party with a riveting suspense tale, taking the dynamic duo's work to new heights.

Nora Kelly, a young but successful curator with a series of important excavations already under her belt, is approached by the handsome Historian, Clive Benton, to lead an expedition unlike any other. Clive tells his story--one involving the ill-fated Donner Party, who became permanently lodged in the American consciousness in the winter of 1847, when the first skeletonized survivors of the party stumbled out of the California mountains, replete with tales of courage, resourcefulness, bad luck, murder, barbarism--and, finally, starvation and cannibalism.

Captivated by the Donner Party, Nora agrees and they venture into the Sierra Nevada in search of the camp. Quickly, they learn that the discovery of the missing starvation camp is just the tip of the iceberg--and that the real truth behind those long-dead pioneers is not only far more complex and surprising than they could have imagined...but it is one that puts them both in mortal danger from a very real, present-day threat in which the search for the lost party, and its fabled fortune in gold, are merely means to a horrifying end.
]]> 369 Douglas Preston 1538747227 Bryce 0 to-read 3.92 2019 Old Bones (Nora Kelly, #1)
author: Douglas Preston
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Revelator 56212587 From the acclaimed author of Spoonbenders comes the gripping tale of a family's mysterious religion, and the daughter who turns her back on their god.

In 1933, nine-year-old Stella is left in the care of her grandmother, Motty, in the backwoods of Tennessee. These remote hills of the Smoky Mountains are home to dangerous secrets, and soon after she arrives, Stella wanders into a dark cavern where she encounters the family's personal god, an entity known as the Ghostdaddy.

Years later, after a tragic incident that caused her to flee, Stella--now a professional bootlegger--returns for Motty's funeral, and to check on the mysterious ten-year-old girl named Sunny that Motty adopted. Sunny appears innocent enough, but she is more powerful than Stella could imagine--and she's a direct link to Stella's buried past and her family's destructive faith.

Haunting and wholly engrossing, summoning mesmerizing voices and giving shape to the dark, Revelator is a southern gothic tale for the ages.
]]> 337 Daryl Gregory 052565738X Bryce 4 audiobook, library
Revelator is creepy, twisty, and also relatable. I started the book knowing very little of the plot, besides the very intriguing phrase "god in the mountain." Gregory stayed one step ahead of me the entire time, although every twist made absolute sense in the narrative.

Stella is such a bitch, but in the best way. She's an extremely damaged character and understandably so, but her struggles to do the right thing and relate to the people who love and trust her make her believable.]]> 3.97 2021 Revelator
author: Daryl Gregory
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/17
date added: 2024/10/17
shelves: audiobook, library
review:
Appalachian horror is a new subgenre from me, but I think I might be a fan.

Revelator is creepy, twisty, and also relatable. I started the book knowing very little of the plot, besides the very intriguing phrase "god in the mountain." Gregory stayed one step ahead of me the entire time, although every twist made absolute sense in the narrative.

Stella is such a bitch, but in the best way. She's an extremely damaged character and understandably so, but her struggles to do the right thing and relate to the people who love and trust her make her believable.
]]> Red Rabbit 65212070 A folk horror epic about a ragtag posse that must track down a witch through a wild west beset by demons and ghosts―and where death is always just around the bend.

Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft, dead (or alive). And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect the bounty on her head, including bona fide witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward, Rabbit.

On the road to Burden County, they’re joined by two vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure � but no sense of purpose � and a recently widowed school teacher with nothing left to lose. As their posse grows, so too does the danger.

Racing along the drought-stricken plains in a stolen red stagecoach, they encounter monsters more wicked than witches lurking along the dusty trail. But the crew is determined to get that bounty, or die trying.

Written with the devilish cadence of Stephen Graham Jones and the pulse-pounding brutality of Nick Cutter, Red Rabbit is a supernatural adventure of luck and misfortune.]]> 455 Alex Grecian 1250874688 Bryce 0 to-read 4.16 2023 Red Rabbit
author: Alex Grecian
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering]]> 216857785
Why is Miami…Miami? What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do Ivy League schools care so much about sports? What is the Magic Third, and what does it mean for racial harmony? In this provocative new work, Malcolm Gladwell returns for the first time in twenty-five years to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena.

Through a series of riveting stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. He takes us to the streets of Los Angeles to meet the world’s most successful bank robbers, rediscovers a forgotten television show from the 1970s that changed the world, visits the site of a historic experiment on a tiny cul-de-sac in northern California, and offers an alternate history of two of the biggest epidemics of our day: COVID and the opioid crisis. Revenge of the Tipping Point is Gladwell’s most personal book yet. With his characteristic mix of storytelling and social science, he offers a guide to making sense of the contagions of modern world. It’s time we took tipping points seriously.]]> 352 Malcolm Gladwell 0316575801 Bryce 0 to-read 4.03 2024 Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Immortal Dark (Immortal Dark Trilogy, #1)]]> 204593711
It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.]]> 432 Tigest Girma Bryce 0 to-read 3.67 2024 Immortal Dark (Immortal Dark Trilogy, #1)
author: Tigest Girma
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)]]> 58763686
I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave.
He's always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.


The Shadow

I didn't mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can't stay away.
I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.
The way she undresses...
I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I'll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to.]]> 583 H.D. Carlton Bryce 0 to-read 3.95 2021 Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bluebeard's Castle 61266192
When the successful British mystery writer Judith meets Gavin, a handsome and charming baron, at a birthday party on the Cornish coast, his love transforms her from a bitter, lonely young woman into a romance heroine overnight. After a whirlwind honeymoon in Paris, he whisks her away to a secluded Gothic castle. But soon she finds herself trapped in a nightmare, as her husband’s mysterious nature, and his alternation between charm and violence, become increasingly frightening.

As Judith battles both internal and external demons, including sexual ambivalence, psychological self-torture, gaslighting, family neglect, alcoholism, and domestic abuse, she becomes increasingly addicted to her wild beast of a husband. Why do women stay in abusive relationships? The answer can be found in the tortured mind of the protagonist, whose richly layered fantasy life parallels that of the female gothic romance reader. Filled with dark humor and evocative imagery, Bluebeard’s Castle is a subversive take on modern romance and gothic erotica.]]> 371 Anna Biller 1804291854 Bryce 1 library, did-not-finish
I knew it was bad from chapter one, but I thought this could be a silly, campy hate read. But between the ridiculously purple prose and the absolutely flimsy characterization of the main character, this wasn't even fun enough to make fun of.]]> 3.18 2023 Bluebeard's Castle
author: Anna Biller
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: library, did-not-finish
review:
After three chapters, this turned into a big nope from me.

I knew it was bad from chapter one, but I thought this could be a silly, campy hate read. But between the ridiculously purple prose and the absolutely flimsy characterization of the main character, this wasn't even fun enough to make fun of.
]]> <![CDATA[The Name-Bearer (Flowers of Prophecy #1)]]> 58115452
Having failed in her duties the Name-Bearer is considered a traitor to the crown, and must hide among an elite sect of warrior women where she experiences friendship, found family, and love. Her training as a warrior helps prepare her to embark on her quest to find the Unnamed Prince, clear her name, and bring peace to her realm.

A story of magia, warrior women, found family and love - and not accepting who you are told to be, but embracing who you are destined to become.]]> 290 Natalia Hernandez 9798986598 Bryce 3 audiobook, library
Without actually looking at the tags, I cannot tell if this is a YA or adult fantasy novel. The main character is an adult during most of the novel, but due to her circumstances, does come across as young and nieve. The audiobook narration was also very "kindergarten teacher"-y, to the point it felt a little condescending.

I did appreciate how the Special Chosen One main character was forced into a situation where she did not naturally excel. Necessity pushed her outside her comfort zone, and she never really felt at home, although she came to relish her circumstances.

All the side characters blended together for me. In one section, there are a lot of vaguely similar warrior women, and in the second half of the book, you get a handful of mysteriously roguish men. Hernandez spent a lot of time on exposition and telling the readers about people and situations, rather than showing us through action about them.

The ending is a total cliffhanger, but I fail to be invested enough to continue.]]> 3.94 2022 The Name-Bearer (Flowers of Prophecy #1)
author: Natalia Hernandez
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/19
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: audiobook, library
review:
A mixed bag for me, with a lot of stuff I loved and a lot of things that left me cold.

Without actually looking at the tags, I cannot tell if this is a YA or adult fantasy novel. The main character is an adult during most of the novel, but due to her circumstances, does come across as young and nieve. The audiobook narration was also very "kindergarten teacher"-y, to the point it felt a little condescending.

I did appreciate how the Special Chosen One main character was forced into a situation where she did not naturally excel. Necessity pushed her outside her comfort zone, and she never really felt at home, although she came to relish her circumstances.

All the side characters blended together for me. In one section, there are a lot of vaguely similar warrior women, and in the second half of the book, you get a handful of mysteriously roguish men. Hernandez spent a lot of time on exposition and telling the readers about people and situations, rather than showing us through action about them.

The ending is a total cliffhanger, but I fail to be invested enough to continue.
]]> Mothered 60180796
Grace isn’t exactly thrilled when her newly widowed mother, Jackie, asks to move in with her. They’ve never had a great relationship, and Grace likes her space—especially now that she’s stuck at home during a pandemic. Then again, she needs help with the mortgage after losing her job. And maybe it’ll be a chance for them to bond—or at least give each other a hand.

But living with Mother isn’t for everyone. Good intentions turn bad soon after Jackie moves in. Old wounds fester; new ones open. Grace starts having nightmares about her disabled twin sister, who died when they were kids. And Jackie discovers that Grace secretly catfishes people online—a hobby Jackie thinks is unforgivable.

When Jackie makes an earth-shattering accusation against her, Grace sees it as an act of revenge, and it sends her spiraling into a sleep-deprived madness. As the walls close in, the ghosts of Grace’s past collide with a new but familiar threat: Mom.]]> 317 Zoje Stage 1662506228 Bryce 0 to-read 3.30 2023 Mothered
author: Zoje Stage
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)]]> 58340706
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.

Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.]]> 399 Rachel Gillig 0316312487 Bryce 0 to-read 4.26 2022 One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)
author: Rachel Gillig
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Fight Presidents: Defending Yourself Against the Badasses Who Ran This Country]]> 19439896 Make no mistake: Our founding fathers were more bandanas-and-muscles than powdered-wigs-and-tea.

As a prisoner of war, Andrew Jackson walked several miles barefoot across state lines while suffering from smallpox and a serious head wound received when he refused to polish the boots of the soldiers who had taken him captive. He was thirteen years old. A few decades later, he became the first popularly elected president and served the nation, pausing briefly only to beat a would-be assassin with a cane to within an inch of his life. Theodore Roosevelt had asthma, was blind in one eye, survived multiple gunshot wounds, had only one regret (that there were no wars to fight under his presidency), and was the first U.S. president to win the Medal of Honor, which he did after he died. Faced with the choice, George Washington actually preferred the sound of bullets whizzing by his head in battle over the sound of silence.

And now these men—these hallowed leaders of the free world—want to kick your ass.

Plenty of historians can tell you which president had the most effective economic strategies, and which president helped shape our current political parties, but can any of them tell you what to do if you encounter Chester A. Arthur in a bare-knuckled boxing fight? This book will teach you how to be better, stronger, faster, and more deadly than the most powerful (and craziest) men in history. You’re welcome.]]> 274 Daniel O'Brien 0385347588 Bryce 0 to-read 4.13 2014 How to Fight Presidents: Defending Yourself Against the Badasses Who Ran This Country
author: Daniel O'Brien
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> These Violent Delights 53549678 The Secret History meets Call Me by Your Name in Micah Nemerever's compulsively enjoyable debut novel - a feverishly taut Hitchcockian story about two college students, each with his own troubled past, whose escalating obsession with one another leads to an act of unspeakable violence.

When Paul and Julian meet as university freshmen in early 1970s Pittsburgh, they are immediately drawn to one another. A talented artist, Paul is sensitive and agonizingly insecure, incomprehensible to his working-class family, and desolate with grief over his father's recent death. Paul sees his wealthy, effortlessly charming Julian as his sole intellectual equal - an ally against the conventional world he finds so suffocating. He idolizes his friend for his magnetic confidence. But as charismatic as he can choose to be, Julian also is volatile and capriciously cruel. An admiration isn't the same as trust.

As their friendship spirals into an all-consuming intimacy, Paul is desperate to protect their precarious bond, even as it becomes clear that pressures from the outside world are nothing compared with the brutality they are capable of inflicting on one another. Separation is out of the question. But as their orbit compresses and their grip on one another tightens, they are drawn to an act of irrevocable violence that will force the young men to confront a shattering truth at the core of their relationship.

Exquisitely plotted, unfolding with propulsive ferocity, These Violent Delights is a novel of escalating dread and an excavation of the unsettling depths of human desire.]]> 463 Micah Nemerever Bryce 0 to-read 3.83 2020 These Violent Delights
author: Micah Nemerever
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A House with Good Bones 60784409 A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.

"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.]]> 247 T. Kingfisher 1250829798 Bryce 0 to-read 3.65 2023 A House with Good Bones
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hellworld 25876958
Since then, Abby’s life has all but fallen to pieces, most notably because of her dad’s deep depression and how they’ve drifted further and further apart.

But now, at seventeen, Abby has decided that things will change. She plans to go to the same cave where her mom and the crew went missing and to find out, once and for all, what happened there.

With the help of the co-host’s son Charlie and two of his friends, Abby sets off on a quest for answers…but what the group ends up finding, what they stumble across in that dark, primordial cave in Arizona, is nothing they could have ever imagined.

Abby was investigating a possible haunting� she never expected that there could be something worse.]]> 320 Tom Leveen Bryce 0 to-read 3.44 2017 Hellworld
author: Tom Leveen
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World]]> 57693295
"This is top-drawer science writing." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

In The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Riley Black walks readers through what happened in the days, the years, the centuries, and the million years after the impact, tracking the sweeping disruptions that overtook this one spot, and imagining what might have been happening elsewhere on the globe. Life’s losses were sharp and deeply-felt, but the hope carried by the beings that survived sets the stage for the world as we know it now.

Picture yourself in the Cretaceous period. It’s a sunny afternoon in the Hell Creek of ancient Montana 66 million years ago. A Triceratops horridus ambles along the edge of the forest. In a matter of hours, everything here will be wiped away. Lush verdure will be replaced with fire. Tyrannosaurus rex will be toppled from their throne, along with every other species of non-avian dinosaur no matter their size, diet, or disposition. They just don’t know it yet.

The cause of this disaster was identified decades ago. An asteroid some seven miles across slammed into the Earth, leaving a geologic wound over 50 miles in diameter. In the terrible mass extinction that followed, more than half of known species vanished seemingly overnight. But this worst single day in the history of life on Earth was as critical for us as it was for the dinosaurs, as it allowed for evolutionary opportunities that were closed for the previous 100 million years.

"This is pop science that reads like a fantasy novel, but backed up by hard facts and the latest fossil discoveries. Black is pioneering a new narrative prehistorical nonfiction." � Steve Brusatte, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs]]> 287 Riley Black 1250271045 Bryce 4
When I was a kid in the late 80s, the extinction of the dinosaurs was the greatest mystery in existence. I remember pouring over an issue of Highlights magazine that listed the leading hypotheses of the day: sickness, volcano eruption, asteroids, and a sudden ice age. To then have a mostly-agreed upon answer to a million year old mystery is wild. And to have a book that can break down what the minutes, hours, months, and millennia after that extinction of the dinosaurs were like is even wilder! How lucky am I to get all this incredible knowledge in my lifetime??

You're never too old to learn new shit. And you should never stop being excited about the new shit you get to learn. And you are never, ever too old to be excited about dinosaurs.]]> 3.88 2022 The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World
author: Riley Black
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves:
review:
This book made me so excited to learn stuff!

When I was a kid in the late 80s, the extinction of the dinosaurs was the greatest mystery in existence. I remember pouring over an issue of Highlights magazine that listed the leading hypotheses of the day: sickness, volcano eruption, asteroids, and a sudden ice age. To then have a mostly-agreed upon answer to a million year old mystery is wild. And to have a book that can break down what the minutes, hours, months, and millennia after that extinction of the dinosaurs were like is even wilder! How lucky am I to get all this incredible knowledge in my lifetime??

You're never too old to learn new shit. And you should never stop being excited about the new shit you get to learn. And you are never, ever too old to be excited about dinosaurs.
]]> Until the World Falls Down 217236276
When a brutal betrayal leaves twenty-eight-year-old Nell heartbroken, she makes a desperate plea for love—offering anything in exchange. But when her bargain is answered by Enver, a cursed immortal bereft of emotions and memories, she is swept away to his timeless castle and presented with an impossible choice: escape his labyrinth within forty-eight hours or surrender to an eternity as his lover.

Despite the passion that burns hot between them, Nell refuses to become another of Enver’s victims. She vows to face the labyrinth—and his seduction—head-on. But Enver embodies temptation, and every stolen moment with him leaves her craving more.

With every step deeper into the labyrinth, she uncovers not only hidden truths about herself and what she truly desires but also the forgotten secrets of its enigmatic ruler. With every touch, their connection deepens, and Nell begins to see beyond Enver’s shadowed facade, realizing he may not be the monster he claims to be.

Torn between her desire for love and the dangerous being incapable of loving her, Nell must choose between her heart and her freedom—or risk surrendering both to his darkness forever.

For fans of Labyrinth and Beauty and the Beast.]]> 532 Jordan Lynde Bryce 0 to-read 3.75 Until the World Falls Down
author: Jordan Lynde
name: Bryce
average rating: 3.75
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy]]> 205308
Buzz is visiting Grandma, and Fly Guy comes along for the ride. Oops! Grandma swallows Fly Guy, then a spider, then a bird, then a cat, then a dog. . . .She's about to swallow a horse, when Fly Guy shouts: "BUZZZ!" Buzz is starting to worry, but there is nothing Fly Guy can't handle! He flies out, and all the critters follow. And everybody parties!]]> 30 Tedd Arnold 0439639069 Bryce 5 library 4.12 2007 There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy
author: Tedd Arnold
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves: library
review:
My niece, who checked this out from the library all by herself, rated this 100/5. ŷ falls short in its rating system, so 5 stars will have to do.
]]> The Heart's Invisible Furies 33253215 real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he?

Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.

At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from � and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more.

In this, Boyne's most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart's Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit.]]> 582 John Boyne Bryce 0 to-read 4.51 2017 The Heart's Invisible Furies
author: John Boyne
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection]]> 198544676
From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales of ghosts and ghouls, spirits and phantasms, spectres and apparitions. Listener discretion advised.]]> 8 Stephen Fry Bryce 3 audiobook
This is also a great collection for those who enjoy Stephen Fry's narration and his dulcet tones. The man can flip from BBC posh to "just off the dockyards" in an instant.

This is not a great collection for anyone who enjoys short, succinct modern writing styles. I swear, there wasn't an adjective and adverb that any of these authors left on the editing room floor. Irving, in particular, could draw out a tale. He spent six minutes telling a ghost story and fifty-four minutes describing clothing, food, the temperament of horses, and the dancing ability of various gentlemen.]]> 4.02 Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection
author: Stephen Fry
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.02
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/18
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: audiobook
review:
This is an excellent collection for anyone who wants to dive into classic British and American authors. Washington Irving, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allen Poe, Bram Stoker... the gang's all here. And beside The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the selected stories may be new to most readers.

This is also a great collection for those who enjoy Stephen Fry's narration and his dulcet tones. The man can flip from BBC posh to "just off the dockyards" in an instant.

This is not a great collection for anyone who enjoys short, succinct modern writing styles. I swear, there wasn't an adjective and adverb that any of these authors left on the editing room floor. Irving, in particular, could draw out a tale. He spent six minutes telling a ghost story and fifty-four minutes describing clothing, food, the temperament of horses, and the dancing ability of various gentlemen.
]]> <![CDATA[The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)]]> 15810910
Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.

The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.]]> 513 Django Wexler 0451465105 Bryce 0 to-read 4.03 2013 The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)
author: Django Wexler
name: Bryce
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>