Najma's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 11 Apr 2025 00:16:02 -0700 60 Najma's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Road 6288
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,� are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.]]> 241 Cormac McCarthy 0307265439 Najma 0 to-read 3.99 2006 The Road
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Najma
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Ripe 62919394
Though isolated, Cassie is never alone. From her earliest memory, a miniature black hole has been her constant companion. It feeds on her depression and anxiety, its size changing in relation to her distress. The black hole watches, but it also waits. Its relentless pull draws Cassie ever-closer as the world around her unravels.

When her CEO’s demands cross an illegal threshold and she ends up unexpectedly pregnant, Cassie must decide whether the tempting fruits of Silicon Valley are really worth it. Sharp but vulnerable, funny yet unsettling, Ripe portrays one millennial woman’s journey through a late-capitalist hellscape and offers an incisive look at the absurdities of modern life.]]> 288 Sarah Rose Etter 1668011638 Najma 0 to-read 3.60 2023 Ripe
author: Sarah Rose Etter
name: Najma
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)]]> 211081101
The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara's homeland. So when she’s sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses. And the defenses of its king.

Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether she’s the hero or the villain. And as her feelings for Aren transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom she’ll save� and which kingdom she’ll destroy.

Passionate and violent, The Bridge Kingdom is a seductive fantasy perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.]]> 448 Danielle L. Jensen 0593975189 Najma 0 to-read 4.01 2018 The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)
author: Danielle L. Jensen
name: Najma
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Anathema (The Eating Woods, #1)]]> 209741142 A spellbinding gothic dark fantasy about a shunned woman who is forced beyond the mortal realm's forbidden boundary, into a terrifying world of cursed souls and grotesque creatures.

Only the banished know what lies beyond the woods ...

There are whispers about what lurks in Witch Knell—the forest where sinners go to die. The villagers call it The Eating Woods because what’s taken is never given back. Only those who’ve lost their senses would dare to go near it.

Or the banished.

Maevyth Bronwick knows better than to breach the misty labyrinth of trees, but a tragic turn of events compels her beyond the archway of bones, to a boundary no mortal has crossed before. One that cloaks a dark and fantastical world that’s as dangerous as it is alluring.

It’s there that he dwells, the cursed lord of Eidolon. The one tasked to keep her hidden from the magehood that seeks to crucify her in the name of an arcane prophesy. Zevander Rydainn, known to his prey as The Scorpion, is the coldest, most calculated assassin in all of Aethyria and he’d sooner toss his feisty ward to a pack of vicious fyredrakes than keep her safe.

If only he could.

Maevyth’s blood is the key to breaking his despised curse and vanquishing the slumbering evil in Witch Knell. Unfortunately for Lord Rydainn, fate has other plans for the irresistible little enchantress. And his growing obsession with her threatens to destroy everything.

Including himself.

Anathema is a full-length, gothic dark fantasy, the first book in The Eating Woods duology. Perfect for readers who enjoy a plot-heavy and atmospheric story with a unique magic system, a slow-burn romance and a touch of horror.]]> 688 Keri Lake Najma 0 to-read 4.14 2024 Anathema (The Eating Woods, #1)
author: Keri Lake
name: Najma
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Phantasma (Wicked Games, #1) 204593914 Caraval meets Throne of the Fallen in this spicy dark romantasy where a necromancer needs help from a dangerous phantom to win a deadly competition, only to find their partnership puts her at risk of breaking the game’s most vital rule: don't fall in love.

When Ophelia and her sister discovers their mother brutally murdered, there is no time to grieve: Ophelia has inherited both her powerful death-driven magic and enormous debt on their home. Circumstances go from dire to deadly, however, when Ophelia’s sister decides to pay off the loan by entering Phantasma—a competition where most contestants don’t make it out alive and the winner is granted a single wish.

The only way to save her sister is to compete. But Phantasma is a cursed manor, with twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, and filled with enticing demons and fatal temptations. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win... if her fears don’t overtake her first.

When a charming, arrogant stranger claims he can protect and guide Ophelia, she knows she shouldn’t trust him. While Blackwell may not seem dangerous, appearances can be deceptive. But with her sister’s life on the line, Ophelia can’t afford to turn him away. She just needs to ignore the overwhelming, dark attraction drawing them closer and closer together.

Because in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart.]]> 497 Kaylie Smith 1538769255 Najma 0 to-read, skulls-on-cover 4.06 2024 Phantasma (Wicked Games, #1)
author: Kaylie Smith
name: Najma
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: to-read, skulls-on-cover
review:

]]> Where's Molly 205514089
“Molly Devereaux has been missing for more than two weeks, and police are still searching for the girl who seemed to vanish out of thin air. The world still wants to know... Where's Molly?�

In my dreams, I never escaped the Oregon woods.

Life after death isn't easy to accept, especially when I still feel like a ghost.

Now, I live deep in the mountains of Montana—the paradigm of beauty. But they are also the home of horrors.

Horrors that I only unleash at night.

When my pigs are allowed to feast.

It is strongly recommended to read Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline before reading Where's Molly.

Warning: This is a dark romance that contains dark subject matter. Please refer to the author's website for content warnings.]]> 257 H.D. Carlton 1957635150 Najma 0 to-read, skulls-on-cover 4.16 2024 Where's Molly
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Najma
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: to-read, skulls-on-cover
review:

]]> Nocticadia 163335066
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.]]> 680 Keri Lake Najma 0 to-read, skulls-on-cover 4.23 2023 Nocticadia
author: Keri Lake
name: Najma
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: to-read, skulls-on-cover
review:

]]> Our Infinite Fates 210395729 The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue meets This is How You Lose The Time War in this fantastical love story that defies death as two souls reincarnate through the centuries.

They've loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They've killed each other in every one.

Evelyn remembers all her past lives. She also remembers that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being whose soul―and survival―is tethered to hers.

The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her for bone marrow transplants in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to:

1. Find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life―before they find her first.
2. Figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse.
3. Try not to fall in love.]]> 352 Laura Steven 1250333881 Najma 0 to-read 3.78 2025 Our Infinite Fates
author: Laura Steven
name: Najma
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wild 53962509
Having retreated to her western Washington hometown after a scandal left her career in ruins, child psychiatrist Dr. Julia Cates is determined to free the extraordinary little girl she calls Alice from a prison of unimaginable fear and isolation. To reach her, Julia must discover the truth about Alice’s past—although doing so requires help from Julia’s estranged sister, a local police officer. The shocking facts of Alice’s life test the limits of Julia’s faith and strength, even as she struggles to make a home for Alice—and for herself.]]> 480 Kristin Hannah Najma 0 to-read 4.01 2006 Wild
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Najma
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Declutter Your Home and Simplify Your Life]]> 75601310 Sophie Largen Najma 0 non-fiction 3.33 Declutter Your Home and Simplify Your Life
author: Sophie Largen
name: Najma
average rating: 3.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: non-fiction
review:

]]> The Things We Cannot Say 40899464
Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents� farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative that weaves together two women’s stories into a tapestry of perseverance, loyalty, love and honor. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.]]> 448 Kelly Rimmer 1525831518 Najma 5 favorites, historical-fiction 4.51 2019 The Things We Cannot Say
author: Kelly Rimmer
name: Najma
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: favorites, historical-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sword Catcher (The Chronicles of Castellane, #1)]]> 36679274
Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces.

As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?]]> 624 Cassandra Clare 0525619992 Najma 0 currently-reading 3.79 2023 Sword Catcher (The Chronicles of Castellane, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Najma
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> I’m Glad My Mom Died 59366244
Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,� eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?� She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died , Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly , she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!�), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.]]> 304 Jennette McCurdy 1982185821 Najma 4 autobiography, non-fiction 4.42 2022 I’m Glad My Mom Died
author: Jennette McCurdy
name: Najma
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: autobiography, non-fiction
review:

]]> These Letters End in Tears 185767239 Set in a country where being gay is punishable by law, These Letters End in Tears is the heart-wrenching forbidden love story of a Christian girl with a deviant heart and a Muslim girl leading a double life

Bessem notices Fatima for the first time on the soccer field—muscular and focused, she’s the only woman playing and seems completely at ease. When Fatima chases a rogue ball in her direction, Bessem freezes, mesmerized by the athlete’s charm and beauty. One playful wink from Fatima, and Bessem knows her life will never be the same.

In Cameroon, a country where same-sex relationships are punishable by law, the odds are stacked against Bessem and Fatima from the start. And when Fatima’s older brother, a staunch Muslim, finds out about their affair, he intervenes by physically assaulting them, an incident that precedes a police raid at the only gay bar in town. After spending days in jail, Fatima goes missing without a trace, and Bessem is left with only rumors of her whereabouts. Has Fatima been sentenced to an unknown prison? Has she been banished from her community, or married off, as some have suggested? Or something even more sinister?

Thirteen years later, Bessem is now a university professor leading a relatively quiet life, occasionally and secretly dating other women. However, she has never forgotten Fatima. After spotting a mutual friend for the first time in years—the last person who may have seen Fatima—Bessem embarks on a winding search for her lost love.]]> 240 Musih Tedji Xaviere 1646221869 Najma 0 to-read 3.91 2024 These Letters End in Tears
author: Musih Tedji Xaviere
name: Najma
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Confess 22609310
For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?]]> 306 Colleen Hoover 1476791457 Najma 0 tbr-fiction 4.14 2015 Confess
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Najma
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: tbr-fiction
review:

]]> Between Shades of Gray 7824322
Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously—and at great risk—documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.]]> 344 Ruta Sepetys 0399254129 Najma 0 to-read 4.36 2011 Between Shades of Gray
author: Ruta Sepetys
name: Najma
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lotus 129323131 "All these years, I've never given my heart to anyone�

The truth is, I didn't have a heart to give.

My heart was with a ghost."

To the rest of the world, he was the little boy who went missing on the Fourth of July. But to Sydney Neville, he was everything. Her heart hasn't been the same since her best friend disappeared, but she's learned to build her life around that missing piece.

Twenty-two years later, the last thing Sydney expects is for Oliver Lynch to return. Having been captive underground for decades, he's unfamiliar with the strange new world that awaits him—but he's alive. He's here. And no matter how he's changed, he and Sydney both still feel the connection that runs between them.

But as their reborn friendship begins to feel like something more, Sydney and Oliver realize there are still jagged, painful truths creating space between them. The walls Sydney's built don't want to come down, and as Oliver hunts for his missing memories and lost time, he realizes his nightmare is not yet over.

With nothing as it seems, is there space for love to bloom in this dark place?




"I have such a soft spot for strong but innocent heroes, and Lotus has one of the best there is. If you are looking for a compelling story that touches on deep, emotional topics, a heroine who is easy to love, and a beautifully vulnerable male hero, pick this one up immediately." -Mia Sheridan, NYT bestselling author]]> 349 Jennifer Hartmann 1728290511 Najma 4 pretty-covers 4.33 2021 Lotus
author: Jennifer Hartmann
name: Najma
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/31
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves: pretty-covers
review:

]]> A Song to Drown Rivers 203578730 Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.]]> 325 Ann Liang 1250289467 Najma 4 3.84 2024 A Song to Drown Rivers
author: Ann Liang
name: Najma
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves: historical-fiction, pretty-covers
review:

]]> Babel 57945316 From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?]]> 544 R.F. Kuang 0063021420 Najma 0 to-read 4.17 2022 Babel
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Najma
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts, #1) 30258320
This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.

Have a quick ten years. . . .]]> 368 Vic James 0425284158 Najma 0 to-read 3.62 2016 Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts, #1)
author: Vic James
name: Najma
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)]]> 34002132 Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1248 Brandon Sanderson Najma 0 currently-reading 4.60 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Najma
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life]]> 37502596
      Now, in this life-changing book, handcrafted by the author over a rigorous four-year period, you will discover the early-rising habit that has helped so many accomplish epic results while upgrading their happiness, helpfulness and feelings of aliveness.

      Through an enchanting—and often amusing—story about two struggling strangers who meet an eccentric tycoon who becomes their secret mentor, The 5am Club will walk you through:


How great geniuses, business titans and the world’s wisest people start their mornings to produce astonishing achievements
A little-known formula you can use instantly to wake up early feeling inspired, focused and flooded with a fiery drive to get the most out of each day
A step-by-step method to protect the quietest hours of daybreak so you have time for exercise, self-renewal and personal growth
A neuroscience-based practice proven to help make it easy to rise while most people are sleeping, giving you precious time for yourself to think, express your creativity and begin the day peacefully instead of being rushed
“Insider-only� tactics to defend your gifts, talents and dreams against digital distraction and trivial diversions so you enjoy fortune, influence and a magnificent impact on the world
Part manifesto for mastery, part playbook for genius-grade productivity and part companion for a life lived beautifully, The 5am Club is a work that will transform your life. Forever.]]> 336 Robin Sharma 1443456632 Najma 1
I am writing this review after 7 years of reading this book and looking back on it

To any young person trying to 'fix' their sleep schedule, struggling and failing to wake up in the morning, dozing off at work and school, struggling to sleep at night and trying so hard to make yourself sleep because you have to wake up at 5 am. Or worse, you are purposely trying to wake up at 5 am because you read this book.

Please don't read this book.

It's okay, it's normal to be active at night and sleep during the day; people are built differently and being this way won't make you 'lazy', so don't let anyone make you feel otherwise. It's not shameful to want to sleep till 12pm

I wish someone told me this sooner, I already wasted years of my life before realizing this because the idea of waking up early is so hyped and woven into our lifestyle that doing anything else feels wrong and we have a whole chunk of the population trying to 'fix' their sleep schedule that doesn't need fixing. We all get the same 24 hours in a day and about 8 hours sleep so it's up to you when you want to sleep and when you want to be productive, you aren't saving time by forcing yourself to sleep and wake up at a certain time, but you sure are wasting a lot of time forcing yourself for hours to sleep at night and then forcing yourself to wake up when your body clearly needs sleep.

Take care of yourself]]> 3.76 2018 The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life
author: Robin Sharma
name: Najma
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2018/08/31
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves:
review:
This book ruined my life

I am writing this review after 7 years of reading this book and looking back on it

To any young person trying to 'fix' their sleep schedule, struggling and failing to wake up in the morning, dozing off at work and school, struggling to sleep at night and trying so hard to make yourself sleep because you have to wake up at 5 am. Or worse, you are purposely trying to wake up at 5 am because you read this book.

Please don't read this book.

It's okay, it's normal to be active at night and sleep during the day; people are built differently and being this way won't make you 'lazy', so don't let anyone make you feel otherwise. It's not shameful to want to sleep till 12pm

I wish someone told me this sooner, I already wasted years of my life before realizing this because the idea of waking up early is so hyped and woven into our lifestyle that doing anything else feels wrong and we have a whole chunk of the population trying to 'fix' their sleep schedule that doesn't need fixing. We all get the same 24 hours in a day and about 8 hours sleep so it's up to you when you want to sleep and when you want to be productive, you aren't saving time by forcing yourself to sleep and wake up at a certain time, but you sure are wasting a lot of time forcing yourself for hours to sleep at night and then forcing yourself to wake up when your body clearly needs sleep.

Take care of yourself
]]> Men Who Hate Women 48635408
Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes eye-opening interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back.

Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many hate-fueled misogynistic attacks online. At first, the vitriol seemed to be the work of a small handful of individual men... but over time, the volume and consistency of the attacks hinted at something bigger and more ominous. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.
In the book, Bates explores:

Extreme communities like incels, pick-up artists, MGTOW, Men's Rights Activists and more
The hateful, toxic rhetoric used by these groups
How this movement connects to other extremist movements like white supremacy
How young boys are targeted and slowly drawn in
Where this ideology shows up in our everyday lives in mainstream media, our playgrounds, and our government

By turns fascinating and horrifying, Men Who Hate Women is a broad, unflinching account of the deep current of loathing toward women and anti-feminism that underpins our society and is a must-read for parents, educators, and anyone who believes in equality for women.]]> 366 Laura Bates Najma 0 tbr-fiction 4.34 2020 Men Who Hate Women
author: Laura Bates
name: Najma
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: tbr-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Chill in the Flame (Villains, #1)]]> 205886093 From USA Today bestselling author and TikTok sensation Piper CJ comes the first in a standalone dark romantasy duology. Discover the origins of demons and darkness and uncover the twisted politics behind the sprawling, bloody continent in the Villains books, set in Piper's beloved The Night and Its Moon universe.

Shattered by her sister's murder, Princess Ophir's gift for fire magic spirals in her grief, threatening to incinerate the castle. That is, until mysterious siren Dwyn arrives from the sea, pledging both assistance and something more. They work to quench Ophir's flames, all the while Dwyn's longtime rival watches from the shadows: Tyr, who has tracked Dwyn's abilities across the continent and now finds himself embroiled in a sinister competition with her for Ophir's heart.

But everything changes when Dwyn's calculated lessons unlock a second power in Ophir, the most rare and dangerous of all magic…manifestation.

Ophir knows three things for certain. One, she burns passionately for both the beautiful siren and the rugged master of secrets. Two, with their powers combined, the trio can seek revenge against her sister's killers.

And three, no one can be trusted.]]> 464 Piper C.J. 1464218722 Najma 0 to-read 3.59 A Chill in the Flame (Villains, #1)
author: Piper C.J.
name: Najma
average rating: 3.59
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Burnable Book (John Gower, #1)]]> 18090082 A Burnable Book is an irresistible thriller, reminiscent of classics like An Instance of the Fingerpost, The Name of the Rose and The Crimson Petal and the White.

London, 1385. Surrounded by ruthless courtiers—including his powerful uncle, John of Gaunt, and Gaunt’s flamboyant mistress, Katherine Swynford—England’s young, still untested king, Richard II, is in mortal peril, and the danger is only beginning. Songs are heard across London—catchy verses said to originate from an ancient book that prophesies the end of England’s kings—and among the book’s predictions is Richard’s assassination. Only a few powerful men know that the cryptic lines derive from a “burnable book,� a seditious work that threatens the stability of the realm. To find the manuscript, wily bureaucrat Geoffrey Chaucer turns to fellow poet John Gower, a professional trader in information with connections high and low.

Gower discovers that the book and incriminating evidence about its author have fallen into the unwitting hands of innocents, who will be drawn into a labyrinthine conspiracy that reaches from the king’s court to London’s slums and stews--and potentially implicates his own son. As the intrigue deepens, it becomes clear that Gower, a man with secrets of his own, may be the last hope to save a king from a terrible fate.

Medieval scholar Bruce Holsinger draws on his vast knowledge of the period to add colorful, authentic detail—on everything from poetry and bookbinding to court intrigues and brothels—to this highly entertaining and brilliantly constructed epic literary mystery that brings medieval England gloriously to life.]]> 464 Bruce Holsinger 0062240323 Najma 0 to-read 3.52 2014 A Burnable Book (John Gower, #1)
author: Bruce Holsinger
name: Najma
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet]]> 55145261 A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.

Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.]]> 304 John Green 0525555218 Najma 5 4.37 2021 The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
author: John Green
name: Najma
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/09
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: non-fiction, favorites, bookshelf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1)]]> 46777 Welcome to the realm of very scary faeries!

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death.]]> 272 Holly Black 0689867042 Najma 0 to-read 3.72 2002 Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1)
author: Holly Black
name: Najma
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Galatea 18162954 An enchanting short story from Madeline Miller that boldly reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion.

In ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece � the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen � the gift of life. Now his wife, he expects Galatea to please him, to be obedience and humility personified. But she has desires of her own and yearns for independence.

In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, Galatea is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But with a daughter to rescue, she is determined to break free, whatever the cost...]]> 27 Madeline Miller 1408848147 Najma 0 to-read 3.93 2013 Galatea
author: Madeline Miller
name: Najma
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1)]]> 28876 356 Naomi Novik 0345481283 Najma 0 to-read 4.06 2006 His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1)
author: Naomi Novik
name: Najma
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fierce Heart (Elven Alliance, #1)]]> 97202308
When a diplomatic meeting goes horribly wrong, Essie, a human princess, finds herself married to the elf prince and warrior Laesornysh. Fitting in to the serene, quiet elf culture might be a little difficult for this talkative princess, but she’s determined to make it work.

With impending war and tenuous alliances, it will be up to Essie to unite her two peoples. And maybe get her hands on elven conditioner while she’s at it.]]> 303 Tara Grayce Najma 0 to-read 4.20 2019 Fierce Heart (Elven Alliance, #1)
author: Tara Grayce
name: Najma
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Dark and Drowning Tide 174146852 A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor's murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.

Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness to secure his reign of the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she’s only ever read about.

The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader—Lorelei’s beloved mentor—is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are her five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again—and a coup begins in earnest.

But there are other dangers lurking in the forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons waiting beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.

As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth—and resist their growing feelings for one another—they discover that their professor had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, or if this kingdom is worth saving at all.]]> 384 Allison Saft 0593722345 Najma 0 to-read 3.59 2024 A Dark and Drowning Tide
author: Allison Saft
name: Najma
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Sugar and Spice (Wicked Darlings, #1)]]> 63257044
This is a spicy, adult, fantasy romance retelling of "The Nutcracker" fairytale.

Trigger warnings are available on the author's website and in the front matter of the book.]]> 373 Rebecca F. Kenney Najma 0 to-read 3.42 2022 A Court of Sugar and Spice (Wicked Darlings, #1)
author: Rebecca F. Kenney
name: Najma
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Constellation of Vital Phenomena]]> 18428067
In the final days of December 2004, in a small rural village in Chechnya, eight-year-old Havaa hides in the woods when her father is abducted by Russian forces. Fearing for her life, she flees with their neighbor Akhmed—a failed physician—to the bombed-out hospital, where Sonja, the one remaining doctor, treats a steady stream of wounded rebels and refugees and mourns her missing sister. Over the course of five dramatic days, Akhmed and Sonja reach back into their pasts to unravel the intricate mystery of coincidence, betrayal, and forgiveness that unexpectedly binds them and decides their fate.

With The English Patient's dramatic sweep and The Tiger's Wife's expert sense of place, Marra gives us a searing debut about the transcendent power of love in wartime, and how it can cause us to become greater than we ever thought possible.]]> 416 Anthony Marra 0770436420 Najma 0 to-read 4.10 2013 A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
author: Anthony Marra
name: Najma
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Prospectors 90586177 A sweeping rags-to-riches story of survival and greed across American history following a family transformed by the Klondike Gold Rush

The middle daughter of struggling California fruit farmers, Alice Bush is accustomed to feeling inferior and destitute. But when her elder sister’s husband strikes a vein of gold in the Yukon Territory, Alice finally seizes control of her destiny by joining a wave of white settlers making the dangerous trek to the Klondike. What follows is an awakening of ambition for the quietly opportunistic Alice, who, by luck and circumstance, becomes tightly intertwined in her sister and brother-in-law’s newfound fortune, as well as the beginning of a generations-long family quest for wealth that unfolds against the icy Canadian wilderness and the booming oilfields of California. One hundred years later, in 2015, Alice’s great-great-granddaughter Anna must grapple with moral conflict and questions of justice as she travels to the Klondike to bequeath her would-be inheritance to the First Nations peoples who paid the price for its creation.]]> 448 Ariel Djanikian 0063289733 Najma 0 to-read 3.59 2023 The Prospectors
author: Ariel Djanikian
name: Najma
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI]]> 204927599 From the author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world.

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens have accumulated enormous power. But despite allour discoveries, inventions, and conquests, we now find ourselves in an existential crisis. The world is on the verge of ecological collapse. Misinformation abounds. And we are rushing headlong into the age of AI—a new information network that threatens to annihilate us. For all that we have accomplished, why are we so self-destructive?

Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power. He explores how different societies and political systems throughout history have wielded information to achieve their goals, for good and ill. And he addresses the urgent choices we face as non-human intelligence threatens our very existence.

Information is not the raw material of truth; neither is it a mere weapon. Nexus explores the hopeful middle ground between these extremes, and in doing so, rediscovers our shared humanity.]]> 528 Yuval Noah Harari 059373422X Najma 0 to-read 4.14 2024 Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
author: Yuval Noah Harari
name: Najma
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Resurrectionist 210365385 Historical fiction, true crime, and dark academia intertwine in a harrowing tale of murder, greed, and the grisly origins of modern medicine.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1828. Naïve but determined James Willoughby has abandoned his posh, sheltered life at Oxford to pursue a lifelong dream of studying surgery in Edinburgh. A shining beacon of medical discovery in the age of New Enlightenment, the city’s university offers everything James desires—except the chance to work on a human cadaver.

For that he needs to join one of the private schools in Surgeon’s Square, at a cost he cannot afford. In desperation he strikes a deal with Aneurin “Nye� MacKinnon, a dashing young dissectionist with an artist’s eye for anatomy and a reckless passion for knowledge. Nye promises to help James gain the surgical experience he craves—but it doesn’t take long for James to realize he’s made a devil’s bargain... Nye is a body snatcher—and James has unwittingly become his accomplice.]]> 336 A. Rae Dunlap 1496750349 Najma 0 to-read 3.88 2024 The Resurrectionist
author: A. Rae Dunlap
name: Najma
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[City of Last Chances (The Tyrant Philosophers, #1)]]> 60147395
There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.
What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?
Despite the city's refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood � that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.

Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.

Ilmar,
City of Long Shadows.
City of Bad Decisions.
City of Last Chances.]]> 500 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1801108420 Najma 0 to-read 3.84 2022 City of Last Chances (The Tyrant Philosophers, #1)
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Najma
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Between (The Chronicles of Between, #1)]]> 55557417 Sasha Pierce hasn’t had a single dream since she was a child�

... until she accepts a substitute teaching position in the charmingly witchy village of Old Middleton. Her first dream in twenty-five years ought to be enchanting, but her wonder quickly turns to shock when she realizes that it’s not a dream at all, but an entirely different sort of magic. Catapulted into the fairy tale kingdom of Between through an ancient portal, Sasha’s astonishment is swiftly upgraded to panic when she accidentally performs a supposedly impossible feat and is declared the True Queen of Between � and betrothed to its infuriatingly handsome sorcerer-king.

Lorn, Shadow King of Between, is desperate to break free from Between’s clutches. Magically tethered to the ramshackle kingdom, he wages a daily battle to save his disreputable subjects from rampaging magical creatures, sinkholes, and catastrophes of the distressingly lethal variety. To avoid an early grave, he needs an escape plan, not a wife...until he learns that this magicless mortal holds the key to his freedom.

Unwilling to leave her world to accept the crown—or the husband—Sasha must race against the clock to disentangle herself from this fairy tale. But her empty throne leaves a dangerous rift between their worlds. As dark forces descend upon Old Middleton, the two must make a choice: work together or unleash fairytale chaos upon their realms.

Between is the spellbinding first novel in The Chronicles of Between fantasy series. Filled with feisty, fairytale-savvy heroines, swoon-worthy sorcerers, slow burn romance, morose minotaurs, and bawdy witches it’s a laugh-out-loud fairy tale romp.]]> 1018 L.L. Starling 1733244832 Najma 0 to-read 4.31 Between (The Chronicles of Between, #1)
author: L.L. Starling
name: Najma
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel, #1)]]> 50702014 Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year�

Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind�

From the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far side of despair.]]> 366 T. Kingfisher Najma 0 to-read 4.09 2020 Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel, #1)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Najma
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Visit of the Selkie 42208512

Rumors abound about Berenice's ancestors, though she wishes only for a peaceful life. That would be possible, if it weren't for these black dogs that haunt her. Only she can see them. Is she losing her mind?

This stalking, though, is only the first of her problems. Her world turns upside down with the return of Iszak, the boy who abandoned her six years ago to "go back to his water kingdom." He's not the only unexpected visitor —there's also Beatrix, a traveller with a suspicious interest in the local folklore and in Berenice's private life.

Who can she trust? Are Iszak's intentions honest, or is his visit somehow related to the book that Berenice's family has been guarding for generations, supposedly full of spells long-lost to the merpeople?

In the middle of this chaos, Berenice knows that retaking control of her life will come at a high cost —a price that shall be paid in blood.]]> 425 Libertad Delgado Najma 0 to-read 4.57 2017 The Visit of the Selkie
author: Libertad Delgado
name: Najma
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> All the Colors of the Dark 203019740 From the New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End comes a soaring thriller and an epic love story that spans decades.

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Mohammed Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.

When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy with one eye, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession, and the blinding light of hope.]]> 608 Chris Whitaker 0593798872 Najma 0 to-read 4.24 2024 All the Colors of the Dark
author: Chris Whitaker
name: Najma
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Tom Lake 63241104 In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.]]> 309 Ann Patchett 006332752X Najma 0 to-read 3.92 2023 Tom Lake
author: Ann Patchett
name: Najma
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)]]> 212127083
In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn't much a girl wouldn't do for a glass of water.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen's reservoirs for as long as she can remember.

But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently re-opens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares... but it turns out they're real, and Saeris has landed herself in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist's magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him . . . or her.

Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he's the only way Saeris is going to make it home.]]> 588 Callie Hart Najma 0 to-read, pretty-covers 4.35 2024 Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)
author: Callie Hart
name: Najma
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/02
shelves: to-read, pretty-covers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)]]> 34703445 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, a special gift edition of Edgedancer, a short novel of the Stormlight Archive.

Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older--a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can't help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.

]]> 272 Brandon Sanderson 1250166543 Najma 0 dnf 4.15 2016 Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Najma
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> Looking Forward 213344701
Growing up in an exclusive Tennessee neighborhood, Mallory Hunt never fit in. Chubby and brunette in a sea of blond future debutantes, she takes solace in her tight-knit family and best friend Luna. Together, the girls bond over their favorite band, 5Forward, imagining exciting, glamorous futures.

Years later, Mal is suddenly thrust into the world of high fashion modeling. She transforms herself from small town outcast to model, meeting people she’s only seen in magazines …including Oliver Smith, the handsome former member of 5Forward!

From Dubai to Paris, London to Coachella, Mallory finds herself desperately in love with the former boy-bander despite fame, attention, and personal demons that threaten them both. As their fantasy love affair goes from private intimacy to public meltdown, Mallory learns the pain and heartache when your love goes from girlhood fantasy to real life drama.
]]> 0 Maya Henry Najma 0 to-read 2.47 2024 Looking Forward
author: Maya Henry
name: Najma
average rating: 2.47
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Reign & Ruin (Mages of the Wheel, #1)]]> 50607309 “All magic is beautiful,� she said, “and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.�

She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy.

She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people.

His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war.

Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion.

They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm�

Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning. ]]> 420 J.D. Evans 1951607015 Najma 0 to-read 4.17 2020 Reign & Ruin (Mages of the Wheel, #1)
author: J.D. Evans
name: Najma
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mine Till Midnight (The Hathaways, #1)]]> 693016 Two hearts steeped in scandal . . .

When an unexpected inheritance elevates her family to the ranks of the aristocracy, Amelia Hathaway discovers that tending to her younger sisters and wayward brother was easy compared to navigating the intricacies of the ton. Even more challenging: the attraction she feels for the tall, dark, and dangerously handsome Cam Rohan.

Wealthy beyond most men’s dreams, Cam has tired of society’s petty restrictions and longs to return to his “uncivilized� Gypsy roots. When the delectable Amelia appeals to him for help, he intends to offer only friendship—but intentions are no match for the desire that blindsides them both. But can a man who spurns tradition be tempted into that most time-honored arrangement: marriage? Life in London society is about to get a whole lot hotter . . .]]> 360 Lisa Kleypas 0312949804 Najma 0 to-read 4.06 2007 Mine Till Midnight (The Hathaways, #1)
author: Lisa Kleypas
name: Najma
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Like Water for Chocolate 6952
The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes.

A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation, Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her, so that Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.]]> 222 Laura Esquivel Najma 0 to-read 3.96 1989 Like Water for Chocolate
author: Laura Esquivel
name: Najma
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Timekeeper's Conspiracy 53787327
Simon and his best friend Luke are drawn into a complex war with Dr. Tate Pedersen and his vast team, who have vowed to create a pandemic by releasing a deadly virus upon the world. Dr. Pedersen will stop at nothing to see his mission accomplished. Kidnapping, manipulation, poisoning and murder are just a few of his tactics.

The countdown has begun, they have 8 months to prevent the virus from being unleashed on March 18th. As the war rages Simon is forced to uncover ugly truths about his past, the people he loves, and the world he thought he lived in.

Can Tate be stopped?

Just how deep does the conspiracy go?

How many will die?

Who will survive?

Only time will tell.]]> Nicole Mainwaring Najma 0 to-read 5.00 The Timekeeper's Conspiracy
author: Nicole Mainwaring
name: Najma
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/16
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]]> Still Beating 55882116 WARNING: This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers. There is dark and triggering content between these pages. 18+ only. Please read responsibly.

When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side.

And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.

To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.

After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they’d end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive.

But Cora and Dean have no idea their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them together with far more than just chains.]]> 314 Jennifer Hartmann Najma 0 to-read 4.18 2020 Still Beating
author: Jennifer Hartmann
name: Najma
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)]]> 22313627 The Knights Radiant must stand again.

The ancient oaths have at last been spoken; the spren return. Men seek what was lost; I fear the quest will destroy them.

It is the nature of the magic. A broken soul has cracks into which something else can be fit. Surgebindings, the power of creation themselves; they can brace a broken soul, but they can also widen its fissures.

The Windrunner is lost in a shattered land, balanced upon the boundary between vengeance and honor. The Lightweaver, slowly being consumed by her past, searches for the lie she must become. The Bondsmith, born in blood and death, now strives to rebuild what was destroyed. The Explorer, straddling the fates of two peoples, is forced to choose between slow death and a terrible betrayal of all she believes.

It is past time for them to awaken, for the Everstorm looms.

And the Assassin has arrived.]]> 1310 Brandon Sanderson 0765365286 Najma 5 4.80 2014 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Najma
average rating: 4.80
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/13
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women]]> 195791053 An up-close and striking look at modern beauty culture―from Botox and Instagram filters to lip flips and editing apps―and the realities of coming of age online

We live in a new age of beauty. With advancements in cosmetic surgery, walk-in treatments, augmented-reality face filters, photo-editing apps, and exposure to more images than ever, we have the ability to craft the image we want everyone to see. We pinch, pull, squeeze, tweeze, smooth, and slice ourselves beyond recognition. But is modern beauty culture truly empowering? Are we really in control?

In Pixel Flesh, Ellen Atlanta holds a mirror up to our modern beauty ideal and the pressure to present a perfect image, to live in an age of constant comparison and curated feeds. She weaves in her personal story with others� to reconfigure our obsession with the cult of beauty and to explore the reality of living in a world of paradoxes: We know our standards are unhealthy, but following them helps us succeed. We resent social media but continue to scroll. We know digital beauty is artificial, yet we strive for it.

From Love Island to lip filler, "blackfishing" to the "beauty tax," Pixel Flesh exposes what young women face under a dominant industry. Nuanced, unflinching, and razor sharp, it unmasks the absurdities of the standards we suddenly find ourselves upholding and acts as a rallying cry and a refusal to suffer in silence.]]> 384 Ellen Atlanta 1250286220 Najma 0 to-read 4.14 2024 Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women
author: Ellen Atlanta
name: Najma
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Sorceress Comes to Call 195790847 A dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic

Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.]]> 327 T. Kingfisher 1250244072 Najma 0 to-read 4.07 2024 A Sorceress Comes to Call
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Najma
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity]]> 58537365 Celebrating special interests Cultivating Autistic relationships Reframing Autistic stereotypes And rediscovering your valuesIt’s time to honor the needs, diversity, and unique strengths of Autistic people so that they no longer have to mask—and it’s time for greater public acceptance and accommodation of difference. In embracing neurodiversity, we can all reap the rewards of nonconformity and learn to live authentically, Autistic and neurotypical people alike.]]> 304 Devon Price 0593235231 Najma 0 to-read 4.38 2022 Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity
author: Devon Price
name: Najma
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ultimate Timeline of World History]]> 13777848 129 Christoph Marx 0764165658 Najma 0 to-read 3.73 2012 The Ultimate Timeline of World History
author: Christoph Marx
name: Najma
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of it]]> 58468792 "I am the fiery life of divine substance, I blaze above the beauty of the fields, I shine in the waters, I burn in sun, moon and stars" - Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1179)

The middle ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings, saints and kings: a patriarchal society which oppressed and excluded women. But when we dig a little deeper into the truth, we can see that the 'dark' ages were anything but.

Oxford and BBC historian Janina Ramirez has uncovered countless influential women's names struck out of historical records, with the word FEMINA annotated beside them. As gatekeepers of the past ordered books to be burnt, artworks to be destroyed, and new versions of myths, legends and historical documents to be produced, our view of history has been manipulated.

Only now, through a careful examination of the artefacts, writings and possessions they left behind, are the influential and multifaceted lives of women emerging. Femina goes beyond the official records to uncover the true impact of women like Jadwiga, the only female King in Europe, Margery Kempe, who exploited her image and story to ensure her notoriety, and the Loftus Princess, whose existence gives us clues about the beginnings of Christianity in England. See the medieval world with fresh eyes and discover why these remarkable women were removed from our collective memories.]]> 464 Janina RamĂ­rez 0753558254 Najma 0 to-read 4.06 2022 Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of it
author: Janina RamĂ­rez
name: Najma
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When You Are Engulfed in Flames]]> 1044355 When You Are Engulfed in Flames confirms once again that David Sedaris is a master of mystery and suspense.

Or how about...

when set on fire, most of us either fumble for our wallets or waste valuable time feeling sorry for ourselves. David Sedaris has studied this phenomenon, and his resulting insights may very well save your life. Author of the national bestsellers Should You Be Attacked By Snakes and If You Are Surrounded by Mean Ghosts, David Sedaris, with When You Are Engulfed in Flames, is clearly at the top of his game.

Oh, all right...

David Sedaris has written yet another book of essays (his sixth). Subjects include a parasitic worm that once lived in his mother-in-law's leg, an encounter with a dingo, and the recreational use of an external catheter. Also recounted is the buying of a human skeleton and the author's attempt to quit smoking In Tokyo.

Master of nothing, at the dead center of his game, Sedaris proves that when you play with matches, you sometimes light the whole pack on fire.
(front flap)]]> 323 David Sedaris 0316143472 Najma 0 to-read, skulls-on-cover 4.08 2005 When You Are Engulfed in Flames
author: David Sedaris
name: Najma
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read, skulls-on-cover
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)]]> 944073
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.

]]> 515 Joe Abercrombie 0575079797 Najma 0 to-read 4.21 2006 The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Najma
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The House of the Spirits 9328
The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate.]]> 448 Isabel Allende 0553383809 Najma 0 tbr-fiction 4.26 1982 The House of the Spirits
author: Isabel Allende
name: Najma
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/01
shelves: tbr-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood and Salt (Blood and Salt, #1)]]> 23845997 Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror.

“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.�

These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.]]> 341 Kim Liggett 0399166483 Najma 0 to-read 3.58 2015 Blood and Salt (Blood and Salt, #1)
author: Kim Liggett
name: Najma
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Around the World in Eighty Days]]> 236897 304 Jules Verne 014036711X Najma 4 3.75 1872 Around the World in Eighty Days
author: Jules Verne
name: Najma
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1872
rating: 4
read at: 2011/06/03
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Night Ends with Fire (The Night Ends with Fire, #1)]]> 201129898 Infused with magic and romance, this sweeping fantasy adventure inspired by the legend of Mulan follows a young woman determined to choose her own destiny—even if that means going against everyone she loves.

The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry. But when Meilin discovers her husband-to-be is another violent, ill-tempered man, she realizes that nothing will change for her unless she takes matters into her own hands.

The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.

In the army, Meilin's relentless hard work brings her recognition, friendship—and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner. But has she simply exchanged one prison for another? As her kingdom barrels toward destruction, Meilin begins to have visions of a sea dragon spirit that offers her true power and freedom, but with a deadly price.

With the future of the Three Kingdoms hanging in the balance, Meilin will need to decide whom to trust—Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; the sea dragon spirit, who has his own murky agenda; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew—about her kingdom and about her own heart.]]> 432 K.X. Song 0593815726 Najma 0 to-read 3.80 2024 The Night Ends with Fire (The Night Ends with Fire, #1)
author: K.X. Song
name: Najma
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Little Life 22822858
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.]]> 720 Hanya Yanagihara 0385539258 Najma 0 tbr-non-fiction 4.28 2015 A Little Life
author: Hanya Yanagihara
name: Najma
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves: tbr-non-fiction
review:

]]> The Light Between Oceans 13158800 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

M. L. Stedman's mesmerizing, beautifully written debut novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel's decision to keep this "gift from God." And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another's tragic loss.]]> 362 M.L. Stedman 1451681739 Najma 4 pretty-covers 4.02 2012 The Light Between Oceans
author: M.L. Stedman
name: Najma
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/24
date added: 2024/08/24
shelves: pretty-covers
review:

]]> 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 Najma 0 dnf 3.74 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Najma
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/18
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> This Raging Sea 205989369 18-year-old Briar Winters must untangle the horrifying eldritch secrets of her picture-perfect coastal town in order to save the boy she loves after he disappears from time itself in this YA dark fantasy for fans of Bly Manor.

Historic Loch Creek is a witchy New England tourist trap—but it’s just a trap for Briar, who’s convinced she’ll die there among the waves that devoured her twin brother thirteen years ago. But when her best friend who she's loved since childhood, Finn, vanishes from the seaside carnival, there’s only one person who can help Briar find him: Morgan, her biggest enemy who knows her darkest secret.

As Briar uncovers hidden truths as deep and dark as the water that haunts her, it quickly becomes clear that Finn has gone much further than anyone could have imagined. He’s lost in time, and neither of them are safe. If Briar and Finn look too hard, they might find terrifying answers—not just about what’s buried beneath the shores, but also the threads tying them to each other. As past and future collide, the seductive yet evil underwater entity that intends to claim Briar still needs its sacrifice . . .

And it’s too hungry to go unsated.

Equal parts epic bisexual romance and pulse-pounding horror, This Raging Sea is a dual POV dark fantasy as sweepingly powerful as the ocean that threatens to consume everything and everyone Briar has ever loved—prepare to be devoured.]]> De Elizabeth Najma 0 to-read, dark-romance 4.69 2025 This Raging Sea
author: De Elizabeth
name: Najma
average rating: 4.69
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/15
shelves: to-read, dark-romance
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Secrets About Men Every Woman Should Know]]> 21353181
Create the relationship with men that you never thought possible � world renowned relationship counsellor, Barbara de Angelis shows you how.



6 biggest mistakes women make with men� what men say…and what they really mean� men’s top twenty turnoffs� how to spot � and avoid � the men that will give you the most trouble.� how to get the man you love to open up� techniques for becoming a powerful woman]]> 304 Barbara De Angelis 0007384734 Najma 1 Fast forward 6 years later, I am in a healthy relationship and find myself having to unlearn all the things I believed by these kinds of books. The stereotypical gendered view is not only untrue but also destructive and hinders the formation of deep human bonds. Men are complex human beings as much as women. Not so different by nature but probably subjected to a different set of societal expectations. Societal expectations are a factor that is deeply engrained in all humans and shapes their behavior. This is seen not only in men, but also women and people coming from different backgrounds and ethnicities.]]> 2.56 1990 Secrets About Men Every Woman Should Know
author: Barbara De Angelis
name: Najma
average rating: 2.56
book published: 1990
rating: 1
read at: 2018/11/03
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves:
review:
I read this book in my early adulthood while I was single. I truly believed everything it said and viewed men the way this book told me to.
Fast forward 6 years later, I am in a healthy relationship and find myself having to unlearn all the things I believed by these kinds of books. The stereotypical gendered view is not only untrue but also destructive and hinders the formation of deep human bonds. Men are complex human beings as much as women. Not so different by nature but probably subjected to a different set of societal expectations. Societal expectations are a factor that is deeply engrained in all humans and shapes their behavior. This is seen not only in men, but also women and people coming from different backgrounds and ethnicities.
]]> The Dutch House 44318414
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.]]> 337 Ann Patchett 0062963678 Najma 0 to-read 4.08 2019 The Dutch House
author: Ann Patchett
name: Najma
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Vanishing Half 51791252
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.]]> 343 Brit Bennett 0525536299 Najma 0 4.11 2020 The Vanishing Half
author: Brit Bennett
name: Najma
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: tbr-fiction, historical-fiction
review:

]]> The Women 127305853 From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie� McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.]]> 471 Kristin Hannah 1250178630 Najma 0 to-read 4.59 2024 The Women
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Najma
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lessons in Chemistry 58065033 390 Bonnie Garmus Najma 0 to-read 4.23 2022 Lessons in Chemistry
author: Bonnie Garmus
name: Najma
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)]]> 5043 Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape.

Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

For the TV tie-in edition with the same ISBN go to this Alternate Cover Edition
]]> 976 Ken Follett 045122213X Najma 0 to-read 4.34 1989 The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
author: Ken Follett
name: Najma
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1989
rating: 0
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]]> Homegoing 27071490 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.]]> 305 Yaa Gyasi Najma 0 to-read, historical-fiction 4.48 2016 Homegoing
author: Yaa Gyasi
name: Najma
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society]]> 39832183 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE ON NETFLIX - A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

"I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers." January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb...

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.]]> 291 Mary Ann Shaffer 1984801813 Najma 0 to-read 4.27 2008 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
author: Mary Ann Shaffer
name: Najma
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)]]> 77197
Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.]]> 435 Robin Hobb 055357339X Najma 0 to-read 4.21 1995 Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)
author: Robin Hobb
name: Najma
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1)]]> 104086
Five men and women find themselves flung into the magical land of Fionavar, First of all Worlds. They have been called there by the mage Loren Silvercloak, and quickly find themselves drawn into the complex tapestry of events. For Kim, Paul, Kevin, Jennifer and Dave all have their own part to play in the coming battle against the forces of evil led by the fallen god Rakoth Maugrim and his dark hordes.

Guy Gavriel Kay’s classic epic fantasy plays out on a truly grand scale, and has already been delighting fans of imaginative fiction for twenty years.]]> 383 Guy Gavriel Kay 0451458222 Najma 0 to-read 3.97 1984 The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1)
author: Guy Gavriel Kay
name: Najma
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1984
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[A Touch of Darkness (Hades & Persephone #1)]]> 58750487
She remembered the words she had whispered to him in the back of the limo after La Rose. "You will worship me, and I won't even have to order you." His request felt sinful and devious, and she reveled in it.

She answered, "Yes."

---

Persephone is the Goddess of Spring in title only. Since she was a little girl, flowers have only shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hoped to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. All of that changes when she sits down in a forbidden nightclub to play a hand of cards with a hypnotic and mysterious stranger.

Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. But nothing has ever intrigued him as much as the goddess offering him a bargain he can't resist.

After her encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead, and his terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. The bet does more than expose Persephone's failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows―a love that is both captivating and forbidden.]]> 379 Scarlett St. Clair 1728258456 Najma 0 tbr-fiction 3.87 2019 A Touch of Darkness (Hades & Persephone #1)
author: Scarlett St. Clair
name: Najma
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 68428 What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

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

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

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

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]> 541 Brandon Sanderson Najma 4 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Najma
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/17
date added: 2024/08/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 53321665 676 Brandon Sanderson Najma 4 4.56 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Najma
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/08/05
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki]]> 49228706
PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you?

ME: I don't know, I'm � what's the word � depressed? Do I have to go into detail?

Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her - what to call it? - depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends, performing the calmness her lifestyle demands. The effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can't be normal. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a yen for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?

Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period, and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions, and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Part memoir, part self-help book, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a book to keep close and to reach for in times of darkness. It will appeal to anyone who has ever felt alone or unjustified in their everyday despair.


—â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä”â¶Ä�


Aku: Bagaimana caranya agar bisa mengubah pikiran bahwa saya ini standar dan biasa saja?

Psikiater: Memangnya hal itu merupakan masalah yang harus diperbaiki?

Aku: Iya, karena saya ingin mencintai diri saya sendiri.

-----

I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokpokki adalah esai yang berisi tentang pertanyaan, penilaian, saran, nasihat, dan evaluasi diri yang bertujuan agar pembaca bisa menerima dan mencintai dirinya.

Buku self improvement ini mendapatkan sambutan baik karena pembaca meraskan hal yang sama dengan kisah Baek Se Hee sehingga buku ini mendapatkan predikat bestseller di Korea Selatan.]]> 232 Baek Se-hee 6237351035 Najma 0 dnf 3.26 2018 I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki
author: Baek Se-hee
name: Najma
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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shelves: dnf
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]]> The Origin of Species 22463
Yet The Origin of Species (1859) is also a humane and inspirational vision of ecological interrelatedness, revealing the complex mutual interdependencies between animal and plant life, climate and physical environment, and—by implication—within the human world.

Written for the general reader, in a style which combines the rigour of science with the subtlety of literature, The Origin of Species remains one of the founding documents of the modern age.]]> 703 Charles Darwin Najma 0 on-hold 4.01 1859 The Origin of Species
author: Charles Darwin
name: Najma
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1859
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/03
shelves: on-hold
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]]> <![CDATA[The Best Way to Bury Your Husband]]> 179548436
When Sally kills her husband with a cast-iron skillet, she’s more fearful of losing her kids than of disposing of a fresh corpse. That just wouldn’t be fair—not after twenty years of marriage to a truly terrible man. But Sally isn’t the only woman in town reaching the brink. Soon, Sally finds herself leading an extremely unusual self-help group, and among them there are four bodies to hide. Can they all figure out the perfect way to bury their husbands . . . and get away with it?

First to join is former nurse, Ruth, who met her husband as a single mom. Now her son is grown and her husband’s violence builds by the day until an attack on the stairs leads to a fatal accident—for him. A few doors down, Samira’s last straw comes when she discovers her husband is planning a campaign of violence against her eldest daughter, who has just come out. Janey, Sally’s best friend, has just had her first child at forty-two. Sleep-deprived Janey needs a hero to slay the monster in the fairy tales she whispers to her daughter each night . . . and as her husband’s violence escalates, it might just be her.

Together, fueled by righteous anger but tempered by a moral core, the four women must help each other work out a plan to get rid of their husbands for good. Along the way, Sally, Ruth, Samira and Janey rediscover old joys and embark on new passions in work, education, and life. Friendship and laughter really are the best medicine—and so is getting away with murder.]]> 400 Alexia Casale 0593654609 Najma 0 to-read 3.66 2024 The Best Way to Bury Your Husband
author: Alexia Casale
name: Najma
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)]]> 3236307
She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.]]> 471 Kristin Cashore 015206396X Najma 0 to-read 4.07 2008 Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)
author: Kristin Cashore
name: Najma
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/28
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]]> The Book of Doors 156009464
Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers—a lonely yet charming old man—dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading.

But this is no ordinary book�

It is the Book of Doors.

Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them.

Then she’s approached by a gaunt stranger in a rumpled black suit with a Scottish brogue who calls himself Drummond Fox. He’s a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes. The tome now in Cassie’s possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them.

Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books. With only her roommate Izzy to confide in, she has to decide if she will help the mysterious and haunted Drummond protect the Book of Doors—and the other books in his secret library’s care—from those who will do evil. Because only Drummond knows where the unique library is and only Cassie’s book can get them there.

But there are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets. And a dark force—in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman—is at the very top of that list.]]> 404 Gareth Brown 0063323982 Najma 0 to-read 4.01 2024 The Book of Doors
author: Gareth Brown
name: Najma
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> <![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 Najma 0 to-read 4.28 2024 The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Najma
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/23
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]]> <![CDATA[Breaking Lucia (Breaking Lucia, #1)]]> 58530087
I refuse to be a disposable pawn in my father's underworld dealings. If that means heading out in the middle of the night to get as far away as I can from my mafia family, so be it. I have everything planned, and it’s all going perfectly� right up until the point where they catch me.

Angelo. Scary, domineering, the bruiser. if he wants me, he’s not going to stop until he gets me � any way he has to. Saint tries to be the “nice guy,� but he’s got a filthy little habit of touching me when I’m sleeping, when I’m helpless. And Victor? He’s the most terrifying one of all, the brains behind the brawn, with a cold composure I’m desperate to crack. If I can get to him, the others will fall in line � but what if he gets to me first?

They promise to protect me as long as I do what I’m told, but just how far will I have to go � and how much of me will splinter in the process?]]> 314 Raissa Donovan Najma 0 skulls-on-cover, to-read 3.76 2021 Breaking Lucia (Breaking Lucia, #1)
author: Raissa Donovan
name: Najma
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/22
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]]> The Risk (Mindf*ck, #1) 33131867 Left too little.
I had nothing to lose...until him.

**

~Lana~

I didn't expect him.
I didn't want to fall in love.
But I can't let him go.

Logan Bennett makes the world a safer place.
He's brilliant.
He's a hero.
He locks away the sick and depraved.
But while he's saving lives, I'm taking them. Collecting the debts that are owed to me.

Ten years ago, they took from me. They left me for dead.
They should have made sure I stayed dead.

Now I'm taking from them.
One name at a time.

I've trained for too long.
I've been patient.
I can't stop now.

Revenge is best served cold...

They never see me coming, until I paint their walls red.

Logan doesn't know how they hurt me. He doesn't know about the screams they ignored. He doesn't know how twisted that town really is.

He just knows people are dying.
He doesn't know he's in love with their killer.

No one suspects a dead girl.
And Logan doesn't suspect the girl in his bed.

They're looking for a monster.
Not a girl who loves red.
Not a girl in love.

I'm a faceless nightmare.

At least until I tell them the story they've pretended never happened.

But in the end, will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?

**Graphic
**Adult language
**Some triggers could be too much for the easily disturbed reader
**Sexual content
**Fucked up moral compass; read at your own risk.]]> 132 S.T. Abby Najma 0 to-read 4.21 2016 The Risk (Mindf*ck, #1)
author: S.T. Abby
name: Najma
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)]]> 7235533 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of The Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.]]> 1007 Brandon Sanderson 0765326353 Najma 5 favorites 4.66 2010 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Najma
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/22
date added: 2024/07/22
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> The Family Ship 55509956
Maeve and Arthur Vergennes already suffered one loss when, five years earlier, their eldest son, Jude, stormed out and never returned. Now Maeve is pregnant again and something’s amiss. Verity yearns to follow her dreams, but how can she jump ship now? The problem, and perhaps the answer, lies with Jude.

When disaster strikes and the family unravels, Verity must rally her sibling crew to keep the Nepenthe and all it symbolizes afloat. Sailing away from home, she discovers, is never easy—not if you ever hope to find your way back.]]> Sonja Yoerg Najma 0 to-read 4.13 2021 The Family Ship
author: Sonja Yoerg
name: Najma
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1)]]> 50548197
A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) � until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate� or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.]]> 320 Naomi Novik 0593128486 Najma 0 to-read 3.93 2020 A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1)
author: Naomi Novik
name: Najma
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Weyward 60654349 I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.]]> 329 Emilia Hart 125028080X Najma 0 to-read, pretty-covers 4.03 2023 Weyward
author: Emilia Hart
name: Najma
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/13
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]]> <![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 Najma 0 to-read 3.83 2023 The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
author: James McBride
name: Najma
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lives Not Lived 198800065
This book talks about child marriage, abuse, and courage. It's a story about all the innocent children who could not protect themselves. It’s a journey of women who always lived in silence. It’s a silent journey we all go through or see around us.

Haree, a young girl was married off when she was 16. She always lived a simple life. She had accepted the anger that her father had for her mother for giving birth to only girls the way women lived and were treated, everything was acceptable to her. She had no desire of any kind until she married Ram.

Naina is different from Haree. She did not want to accept the restrictions, neither she wants to break them. All she wants is to live in her own imagination where she could play and sing and dance. But everything changes for both of them when they came face to face with pain. When life broke them, they call out every ounce of courage to save themselves and others around them.]]> 386 Monika Bhatti 9356672946 Najma 0 tbr-fiction 4.12 Lives Not Lived
author: Monika Bhatti
name: Najma
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/11
shelves: tbr-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)]]> 55987278 How far would you go for happily ever after?

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy...]]> 408 Stephanie Garber 1250268397 Najma 3 4.06 2021 Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Najma
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/08
date added: 2024/06/08
shelves:
review:

]]> Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3) 13188676
With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn't know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won't keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that's not all he wants with her.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal and was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a gripping read from an author who's not afraid to take risks."

Don’t miss Restore Me, the electrifying fourth installment of this New York Times bestselling series, available now!]]> 408 Tahereh Mafi 006208559X Najma 5 4.46 2014 Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Najma
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/03
date added: 2024/06/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2) 13104080
It should have taken Juliette a single touch to kill Warner. But his mysterious immunity to her deadly power has left her shaken, wondering why her ultimate defense mechanism failed against the person she most needs protection from.

She and Adam were able to escape Warner’s clutches and join up with a group of rebels, many of whom have powers of their own. Juliette will finally be able to actively fight against The Reestablishment and try to fix her broken world. And perhaps these new allies can help her shed light on the secret behind Adam’s—and Warner’s—immunity to her killer skin.

Juliette’s world is packed with high-stakes action and tantalizing romance, perfect for fans of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard and the Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken.

Ransom Riggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, raved: "A thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love, the Shatter Me series is a must-read for fans of dystopian young-adult literature—or any literature!"]]> 480 Tahereh Mafi 0062085530 Najma 5 4.11 2013 Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Najma
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/01
date added: 2024/06/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World]]> 35820369 The dinosaurs. Sixty-six million years ago, the Earth’s most fearsome creatures vanished. Today they remain one of our planet’s great mysteries. Now The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs reveals their extraordinary, 200-million-year-long story as never before.

In this captivating narrative (enlivened with more than seventy original illustrations and photographs), Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field—naming fifteen new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork—masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy. Captivating and revelatory, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a book for the ages.

Brusatte traces the evolution of dinosaurs from their inauspicious start as small shadow dwellers—themselves the beneficiaries of a mass extinction caused by volcanic eruptions at the beginning of the Triassic period—into the dominant array of species every wide-eyed child memorizes today, T. rex, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and more. This gifted scientist and writer re-creates the dinosaurs� peak during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, when thousands of species thrived, and winged and feathered dinosaurs, the prehistoric ancestors of modern birds, emerged. The story continues to the end of the Cretaceous period, when a giant asteroid or comet struck the planet and nearly every dinosaur species (but not all) died out, in the most extraordinary extinction event in earth’s history, one full of lessons for today as we confront a “sixth extinction.�

Brusatte also recalls compelling stories from his globe-trotting expeditions during one of the most exciting eras in dinosaur research—which he calls “a new golden age of discovery”—and offers thrilling accounts of some of the remarkable findings he and his colleagues have made, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs; monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex; and paradigm-shifting feathered raptors from China.

An electrifying scientific history that unearths the dinosaurs� epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be a definitive and treasured account for decades to come.]]> 404 Steve Brusatte 0062490427 Najma 0 tbr-non-fiction 4.24 2018 The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World
author: Steve Brusatte
name: Najma
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/01
shelves: tbr-non-fiction
review:

]]> The Secret History 70897
Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.]]> 629 Donna Tartt 0140167773 Najma 4 4.25 1992 The Secret History
author: Donna Tartt
name: Najma
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/26
date added: 2024/05/27
shelves:
review:

]]> Good Material 96177629
Now he is. . .

Without a home

Waiting for his stand-up career to take off

Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn't looking

Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his ruined relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. But Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story�

In this sharply funny and exquisitely relatable story of romantic disaster and friendship, Dolly Alderton offers up a love story with two endings, demonstrating once again why she is one of the most exciting writers today, and the true voice of a generation.]]> 345 Dolly Alderton 0241523672 Najma 0 to-read 3.85 2023 Good Material
author: Dolly Alderton
name: Najma
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/20
shelves: to-read
review:

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