Dwon 's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 06 Apr 2025 18:01:47 -0700 60 Dwon 's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Writer 215749267 Her bestsellers explore the wildest, strangest crimes. Now her husband has been murdered� is she a target, a victim, or is this even darker?�

NYPD Detective Declan Shaw gets the call from his lieutenant at 9:42 p.m.ĚýHow fast can you get to 211 Central Park West? The Beresford Building.

At Apartment 18A, Shaw’s partner briefs him. The woman inside called 911 to report a break-in—and the murder of her husband. She fired a round at first responders, then made a baffling demand.ĚýNobody comes in but Detective Declan Shaw.

The woman answers, covered in blood. She appears to be in shock. A body is lying dead on the floor of the luxurious living room.Ěý

Shaw walks in and spots floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with hardcover books. He recognizes the name—bestselling true-crime author Denise Morrow. When he looks closer, he sees they all show the same familiar picture on the back.Ěý

“This is you?� Shaw asks. “You’re a writer?�
�
The real question Is she also a killer?]]> 400 James Patterson 0316570001 Dwon 0 to-read 4.36 The Writer
author: James Patterson
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty]]> 210454076 Power, privilege, and blood—this is the definitive and thrilling true story of Alex Murdaugh’s violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case.
Ěý
Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator—the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers� association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family’s law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect—and fear—for a hundred miles.

When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex’s world could no longer hold. His forefathers had covered up a midnight suicide at a remote railroad crossing, a bootlegging ring run from a courthouse, and the attempted murder of a pregnant lover. Alex, too, almost walked away from his unspeakable crimes with his reputation intact, but his downfall was secured by a twist of fate, some stray mistakes, and a fateful decision by an old friend who’d finally seen enough.

Why would a man who had everything kill his wife and grown son? To unwind the roots of Alex’s ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. When the jurors made their pilgrimage to the crime scene, trying to envision Maggie and Paul’s last moments, she walked right behind them, sensing the ghosts that haunt the Murdaughs� now-shattered legacy.

Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex’s life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told.]]> 480 Valerie Bauerlein 059350058X Dwon 0 currently-reading 4.46 2024 The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty
author: Valerie Bauerlein
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)]]> 76705490 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.

It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.]]> 420 Sarah J. Maas 1639730966 Dwon 0 dnf 4.34 2013 Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> The Briar Club 181110045 A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era.

Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; police officer’s daughter Nora, who is entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Bea, whose career has ended along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears apart the house, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?]]> 432 Kate Quinn 0063244748 Dwon 5 4.26 2024 The Briar Club
author: Kate Quinn
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
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]]> Aftertaste 220161226 What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.

Konstantin Duhovny is a haunted man. His father died when he was ten, and ghosts have been hovering around Kostya ever since. Kostya can’t exactly see the ghosts, but he can taste their favorite foods. Flavors of meals he’s never eaten will flood his mouth, a sign that a spirit is present. Kostya has kept these aftertastes a secret for most of his life, but one night, he decides to act on what he’s tasting. And everything changes.

Kostya discovers that he can reunite people with their deceased loved ones—at least for the length of time it takes for them to eat a dish that he’s prepared. He thinks his life’s purpose might be to offer closure to grieving strangers, and sets out to learn all he can by entering a particularly fiery ring of Hell: the New York culinary scene. But as his kitchen skills catch up with his ambitions, Kostya is too blind to see the catastrophe looming in the Afterlife. And the one person who knows Kostya must be stopped also happens to be falling in love with him.

Set in the bustling world of New York restaurants and teeming with mouthwatering food writing, Aftertaste is a whirlwind romance, a heart-wrenching look at love and loss, and a ghost story about all the ways we hunger—and how far we’d go to find satisfaction.

Lavelle’s debut is a multi-course tasting menu of a book that will sate, delight, excite, comfort, and inspire even the pickiest of readers.]]> 400 Daria Lavelle 1668061597 Dwon 5 This book was really cool. The storyline was completely original and very interesting and I loved every second.
Kostya gets tastes from people that have passed on. The first time it happens when he is 10 years old, and the aftertaste in the back of his throat reminds him of his father's favorite dish. As he grows older, he continues to get these "aftertastes" throughout his life, and one day he accidentally finds out that by making the food (or drink) that he tastes, he can bring back a ghost for obe last conversation with their lost loved one.
This book is great for anyone that has ever worked in a restaurant, anyone that has lost someone they love, and anyone that believes in ghosts. Basically it's for everyone. Just read it, you won't regret it!]]> 4.25 2025 Aftertaste
author: Daria Lavelle
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book was really cool. The storyline was completely original and very interesting and I loved every second.
Kostya gets tastes from people that have passed on. The first time it happens when he is 10 years old, and the aftertaste in the back of his throat reminds him of his father's favorite dish. As he grows older, he continues to get these "aftertastes" throughout his life, and one day he accidentally finds out that by making the food (or drink) that he tastes, he can bring back a ghost for obe last conversation with their lost loved one.
This book is great for anyone that has ever worked in a restaurant, anyone that has lost someone they love, and anyone that believes in ghosts. Basically it's for everyone. Just read it, you won't regret it!
]]> Such Quiet Girls 222668031 Ten children, abducted in broad daylight—and buried alive.

Sage and her sister won’t make it home from school today. Neither will the other children on Bus 315. But that’s only the beginning of the nightmare.

New bus driver Jessa blames herself for what happened. She couldn’t protect the kids she was supposed to deliver to daycare, just like she couldn’t protect her own daughter three years ago. But this time, everything will be different. It has to be.

Trapped in a shipping container buried twenty feet underground, Jessa and the children do their best to stay calm. The kidnappers insist that if everyone behaves, they’ll be freed when the ransom is paid. But Sage isn’t sure they’ll last that long. Neither is Jessa. It’s dark and cramped, and with every passing minute it’s getting harder to breathe.

With time—and air—running thin, Jessa and the children must find a way to outsmart their captors, or face an unthinkable fate.

Such Quiet Girls was inspired by actual events.


]]> Noelle W. Ihli Dwon 0 currently-reading 4.52 Such Quiet Girls
author: Noelle W. Ihli
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Time Quintet, #3)]]> 77276 278 Madeleine L'Engle 0440401585 Dwon 0 currently-reading 4.09 1978 A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Time Quintet, #3)
author: Madeleine L'Engle
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)]]> 6148028 Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.]]> 391 Suzanne Collins 0439023491 Dwon 5 4.34 2009 Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
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review:

]]> You Like It Darker 201242757 From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

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

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

King’s ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.]]> 512 Stephen King 1668037718 Dwon 0 currently-reading 4.16 2024 You Like It Darker
author: Stephen King
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
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]]> Black Woods Blue Sky 213243955 An unforgettable dark fairy tale that asks, Can love save us from ourselves?

Birdie’s keeping it together; of course she is. So she’s a little hungover sometimes, and she has to bring her daughter, Emaleen, to her job waiting tables at an Alaskan roadside lodge, but she’s getting by as a single mother in a tough town. Still, Birdie can remember happier times from her youth, when she was free in the wilds of nature.

Arthur Neilsen, a soft-spoken and scarred recluse who appears in town only at the change of seasons, brings Emaleen back to safety when she gets lost in the woods. Most people avoid him, but to Birdie he represents everything she’s ever longed for. She finds herself falling for Arthur and the land he knows so well. Against the warnings of those who care about them, Birdie and Emaleen move to his isolated cabin in the mountains on the far side of the Wolverine River.

It’s just the three of them in the vast black woods, far from roads, telephones, electricity, and outside contact, but Birdie believes she has come prepared. At first, it’s idyllic, but soon Birdie discovers that Arthur is something much more mysterious and dangerous than she could have imagined, and that like the Alaska wilderness, a fairy tale can be as dark as it is beautiful.]]> 306 Eowyn Ivey 0593231023 Dwon 0 dnf 3.71 2025 Black Woods Blue Sky
author: Eowyn Ivey
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> Kill for Me, Kill for You 176451879
One dark evening on New York City’s Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, especially loneliness and an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed their families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you.

In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shares with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She’s attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there?

Intricate, heart-racing, and from an author who “is the real deal� (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Kill for Me, Kill for You will keep you breathless until the final page.]]> 340 Steve Cavanagh 1668049341 Dwon 5 4.14 2023 Kill for Me, Kill for You
author: Steve Cavanagh
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
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]]> The Bones Beneath My Skin 211004023 A spine-tingling thriller by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about a 10-year-old girl with an impossible power, her father, and an unlikely stranger, who come together to confront the dangerous forces that want her at all costs. A strange story of family, love, comets, and bacon. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things.

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It's not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears.

Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 1250890438 Dwon 5 4.13 2018 The Bones Beneath My Skin
author: T.J. Klune
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
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]]> The Red Tent 4989 The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.]]> 324 Anita Diamant 0312353766 Dwon 0 dnf 4.21 1997 The Red Tent
author: Anita Diamant
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> Change of Heart 1609451
One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a miracle to happen.

For Shay Bourne, life holds no more surprises. The world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. In a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. Now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with June's eleven-year-old daughter, Claire. But between Shay and Claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child.

Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish?

Once again, Jodi Picoult mesmerizes and enthralls readers with this story of redemption, justice, and love.]]> 448 Jodi Picoult 0743496744 Dwon 5 3.93 2008 Change of Heart
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
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]]> Fifty-Fifty (Eddie Flynn, #5) 50805422 Alexandra Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife.

Sofia Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom.

Both women are to go on trial at the same time. A joint trial in front of one jury.

But one of these women is lying. One of them is a murderer. Sitting in a jail cell, about to go on trial with her sister for murder, you might think that this is the last place she expected to be.

You'd be wrong.

]]> 349 Steve Cavanagh Dwon 5 WOW! Seriously, it's the best courtroom drama/thriller I've read in a long time! Twists coming out of nowhere, murder happening left and right, and justice in more ways than one. I absolutely loved it, and now my TBR just got a whole lot longer because I have to read everything Steve Cavanagh has written.]]> 4.31 2020 Fifty-Fifty (Eddie Flynn, #5)
author: Steve Cavanagh
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
WOW! Seriously, it's the best courtroom drama/thriller I've read in a long time! Twists coming out of nowhere, murder happening left and right, and justice in more ways than one. I absolutely loved it, and now my TBR just got a whole lot longer because I have to read everything Steve Cavanagh has written.
]]> <![CDATA[The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom]]> 214151420 From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.�

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.� No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.]]> 320 Shari Franke 1668065398 Dwon 5 4.44 2025 The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom
author: Shari Franke
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sideways Life of Denny Voss]]> 216625366 In this poignant and funny novel, a man who is defined by his limitations sets out to fight a murder charge—and discovers unexpected truths about himself, his family, and the world at large.

On the surface, Denny Voss’s life in rural Minnesota is a quiet one. At thirty years old, he lives at home with his elderly mother and his beloved blind and deaf Saint Bernard, George. He cleans up roadkill to help pay the bills. Though his prospects are limited by a developmental delay—the result of an accident at birth—Denny has always felt that he has “a good life.�

So how did he wind up being charged with the murder of a mayoral candidate—after crashing a sled full of guns into a tree?

As Denny awaits trial, his court-appointed therapist walks him through the events of the past year. Denny’s had other scuffles with the law, the first for kidnapping a neighbor’s cantankerous goose. And then there was the time he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. It seems like whenever Denny tries to do the right thing, chaos ensues.

Untangling the events around the murder reveals even more painful truths about his family’s past. He’s always been surrounded by people who love him, but now it’s up to Denny to set his life on a new course.]]> 330 Holly Kennedy 1662525915 Dwon 4 Let me start by saying this is definitely one of those books that is 100% better on audio. The narrator did such an excellent job capturing the essence of Denny's character and personality, and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this on audio.
Denny's story is poignant, but i also found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book. Denny's literal interpretation of life is both sweet and hilarious. I really enjoyed reading Denny's story and I was rooting for him from the beginning of the book. I loved the little bit of mystery throughout the story (I won't specify what I'm referring to in order to avoid any spoilers). I loved George and Nana Jo. I'm still on the fence about Angus, but I think he means we'll.
All In all, this was a great book. A little repetitive at times, but the repetition is necessary because it's Denny's point of view and that's his personality.
I definitely think you should listen to this audio book!]]> 4.62 2025 The Sideways Life of Denny Voss
author: Holly Kennedy
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
Let me start by saying this is definitely one of those books that is 100% better on audio. The narrator did such an excellent job capturing the essence of Denny's character and personality, and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this on audio.
Denny's story is poignant, but i also found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book. Denny's literal interpretation of life is both sweet and hilarious. I really enjoyed reading Denny's story and I was rooting for him from the beginning of the book. I loved the little bit of mystery throughout the story (I won't specify what I'm referring to in order to avoid any spoilers). I loved George and Nana Jo. I'm still on the fence about Angus, but I think he means we'll.
All In all, this was a great book. A little repetitive at times, but the repetition is necessary because it's Denny's point of view and that's his personality.
I definitely think you should listen to this audio book!
]]> <![CDATA[Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome, #2)]]> 61897968 A small-town sweetheart and an emotionally unavailable bad boy try to find some common ground in this chemistry-filled romance from the author of The Cheat Sheet and When in Rome.

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match—someone who complements her happy, quiet life running the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. But finding her dream man may be harder than Annie imagined. Everyone knows everyone in her hometown, and the dating prospects are getting fewer by the day. After she overhears her latest date say she is “so unbelievably boring,� Annie starts to think the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice . . . and Annie has the perfect person in mind to be her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will—the sexy, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard—is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement builds for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker, Annie’s brother. He has one personal objective while on the job: stay away from Annie Walker and any other possible attachments to this sleepy town. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will finds himself tasked with helping Annie find the love of her life by becoming the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie. He knows for a fact that some stuffy, straitlaced guy won’t make her happy, but he doesn’t have the heart to say no.

Amid steamy practice dates and strictly “educational� tutoring lessons, Annie discovers there are more layers to Will’s usual stoic attitude. As the lines of their friendship become dangerously blurred, Annie reconsiders her dream guy. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real.]]> 335 Sarah Adams 0593500806 Dwon 5 4.00 2023 Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome, #2)
author: Sarah Adams
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves:
review:

]]> We Used to Live Here 199798006
As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it� (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).]]> 312 Marcus Kliewer 1982198788 Dwon 4 What. 3.68 2024 We Used to Live Here
author: Marcus Kliewer
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:
What.
]]> What Kind of Paradise 218695909 A teenage girl breaks free from her father's world of isolation in this exhilarating novel of family, identity, and the power we have to shape our own destinies—from the New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Things and Watch Me Disappear

The first thing you have to understand is that my father was my entire world.

Growing up in an isolated cabin in Montana in the mid-1990s, Jane knows only the world that she and her father live the woodstove that heats their home, the vegetable garden where they try to eke out a subsistence existence, the books of nineteenth-century philosophy that her father gives her to read in lieu of going to school.ĚýHer father is elusive about their pasts, giving Jane little beyond the facts that they once lived in the Bay Area and that her mother died in a car accident, the crash propelling him to move Jane off the grid to raise her in a Thoreau-like utopia.

As Jane becomes a teenager she starts pushing against the boundaries of her restricted world. She begs to accompany her father on his occasional trips away from the cabin.ĚýBut when Jane realizes that her devotion to her father has made her an accomplice to a horrific crime, she flees Montana to the only place she knows to look for answers about her mysterious past, and her mother's San Francisco.ĚýIt is a city in the midst of a seismic change, where her quest to understand herself will force her to reckon with both the possibilities and the perils of the fledglingĚýInternet, and whereĚýshe will come to question everything she values.]]> 368 Janelle Brown 0593449789 Dwon 5 Wow! This story was completely engrossing from the very first chapter. Jane and her father, Saul, live off the land in the middle of Montana. Saul is a conspiracy theorist, and he wants the world to hear what he has to say about how technology is going to be the death of society as we know it. As the dominos began to fall, Jane is caught in the middle and has to choose whether to believe her father or make her own decisions based on the information she is given.
I loved everything about this book. I love seeing into the mind of someone who is a little more than a little nuts. I loved seeing Jane figuring things out on her own and becoming her own person, separate from.her father (basically the only person she has contact with her entire life). I loved this book!]]> 4.34 2025 What Kind of Paradise
author: Janelle Brown
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Wow! This story was completely engrossing from the very first chapter. Jane and her father, Saul, live off the land in the middle of Montana. Saul is a conspiracy theorist, and he wants the world to hear what he has to say about how technology is going to be the death of society as we know it. As the dominos began to fall, Jane is caught in the middle and has to choose whether to believe her father or make her own decisions based on the information she is given.
I loved everything about this book. I love seeing into the mind of someone who is a little more than a little nuts. I loved seeing Jane figuring things out on her own and becoming her own person, separate from.her father (basically the only person she has contact with her entire life). I loved this book!
]]> We All Live Here 213243915 The #1 New York Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach about love, and what it actually means to be family.]]> 450 Jojo Moyes 1984879324 Dwon 5 3.89 2025 We All Live Here
author: Jojo Moyes
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo]]> 29405093 Inside Amy Schumer and the acclaimed film Trainwreck has taken the entertainment world by storm with her winning blend of smart, satirical humor. Now, Amy Schumer has written a refreshingly candid and uproariously funny collection of (extremely) personal and observational essays.

In The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, Amy mines her past for stories about her teenage years, her family, relationships, and sex and shares the experiences that have shaped who she is - a woman with the courage to bare her soul to stand up for what she believes in, all while making us laugh.

Ranging from the raucous to the romantic, the heartfelt to the harrowing, this highly entertaining and universally appealing collection is the literary equivalent of a night out with your best friends - an unforgettable and fun adventure that you wish could last forever. Whether she's experiencing lust-at-first-sight while in the airport security line, sharing her own views on love and marriage, admitting to being an introvert, or discovering her cross-fit instructor's secret bad habit, Amy Schumer proves to be a bighearted, brave, and thoughtful storyteller that will leave you nodding your head in recognition, laughing out loud, and sobbing uncontrollably - but only because it's over.]]> 323 Amy Schumer 1501139886 Dwon 5 3.71 2016 The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
author: Amy Schumer
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)]]> 2767052
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.]]> 374 Suzanne Collins 0439023483 Dwon 5 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Here One Moment 208516656 If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.

Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.

How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.�

Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.

A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.

If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.]]> 512 Liane Moriarty 0593798600 Dwon 5 3.99 2024 Here One Moment
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Beach Vibes 212431577 What would you do if you caught your brother cheating on your best friend?

While Beth is proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches, she's even prouder of her charismatic brother, Rick, who rose from foster care all the way through surgical residency. She makes subs, he saves lives. Things takes a turn for the happy after she finds out Rick is dating her new best friend, Jana. Then Jana’s handsome brother adds even more sparkle to Beth’s days…and nights.

But when she catches Rick with another woman—like, with with—her visions of an idyllic family future disappear in one awful instant. Either she betrays her brother or she keeps his secret and risks losing the man she loves and her best friend.

Love and loyalty collide with secrets and betrayal in this witty and emotional tale about the lengths we’ll go to for family, from Susan Mallery, bestselling author of The Boardwalk Bookshop.]]> 384 Susan Mallery 1335402535 Dwon 3 First, I just want to say that I don't think this is really in the romance genre. Is there some romance? Sure. But there's also so much drama and other situations that it feels more like women's fiction to me (I could be totally wrong, just my opinion).
Also, I don't think the title really fits the story. When I think of beach vibes, I think relaxing, fun, sunshine, tropical drinks, etc. Again, just my opinion. Yes, the setting is a beach town. There is a character that is a surfer, and there is one instance where a few characters go to the beach. But still, the story itself doesn't really give "beach vibes" if that makes sense?
I did enjoy the story. I'm glad that Beth came to her senses, and her character arc was great. I loved how family oriented Janna and Teddy's families were and how they supported each other with all the things.
Overall, this book was ok. It's just not what I was expecting based on the title. Oh! I also kinda felt like there's a spoiler in the actual blurb for the book because one of the situations mentioned doesn't even happen until over 50% in.
Anyway, if you enjoy this author, you'll enjoy this book. But if you're looking for a beach vibe type beach read, I don't think this is it.]]> 3.88 Beach Vibes
author: Susan Mallery
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
First, I just want to say that I don't think this is really in the romance genre. Is there some romance? Sure. But there's also so much drama and other situations that it feels more like women's fiction to me (I could be totally wrong, just my opinion).
Also, I don't think the title really fits the story. When I think of beach vibes, I think relaxing, fun, sunshine, tropical drinks, etc. Again, just my opinion. Yes, the setting is a beach town. There is a character that is a surfer, and there is one instance where a few characters go to the beach. But still, the story itself doesn't really give "beach vibes" if that makes sense?
I did enjoy the story. I'm glad that Beth came to her senses, and her character arc was great. I loved how family oriented Janna and Teddy's families were and how they supported each other with all the things.
Overall, this book was ok. It's just not what I was expecting based on the title. Oh! I also kinda felt like there's a spoiler in the actual blurb for the book because one of the situations mentioned doesn't even happen until over 50% in.
Anyway, if you enjoy this author, you'll enjoy this book. But if you're looking for a beach vibe type beach read, I don't think this is it.
]]> <![CDATA[Presumed Guilty (Presumed Innocent #3)]]> 213890792 New from the author of Presumed Innocent, the #1 bestseller that redefined the legal thriller and is the basis for Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series ever.

Rusty is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with a loving soon-to-be wife, Bea, with whom he shares both a restful home on an idyllic lake in the rural Midwest and a plaintive hope that this marriage will be his best, and his last. But the peace that’s taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea’s young adult son, Aaron, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession, disappears. If Aaron doesn’t return soon, he will be sent back to jail.

Aaron eventually turns up with a vague story about a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, that ended in a fight and a long hitchhike home. Days later, when she still hasn’t returned, suspicion falls on Aaron, and when Mae is subsequently discovered dead, Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first degree murder.

Faced with few choices and even fewer hopes, Bea begs Rusty to return to court one last time, to defend her son and to save their last best hope for happiness. For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent—it’s whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.]]> 544 Scott Turow 1538706369 Dwon 0 to-read 4.24 2025 Presumed Guilty (Presumed Innocent #3)
author: Scott Turow
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Favorites 211399784 A love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating about a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship. Then a shocking incident at the Olympic Games suddenly ends their partnership.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the "real story" through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can't stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy either. So after a decade of silence she's telling her story, from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.]]> 448 Layne Fargo 0593732049 Dwon 0 to-read 4.20 2025 The Favorites
author: Layne Fargo
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> We Are All Guilty Here 221545082
Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.

But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?]]> 400 Karin Slaughter 0063336804 Dwon 0 to-read 4.50 2025 We Are All Guilty Here
author: Karin Slaughter
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Little Life 22822858
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride.ĚýYet 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 Dwon 5 4.28 2015 A Little Life
author: Hanya Yanagihara
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves:
review:

]]> The Sublet 224277538 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Greer Hendricks comes a chilling story about the hidden cost of perfection.

Anne is barely keeping it together. A frazzled ghostwriter and aspiring novelist, she juggles nine-year-old twins and a listless marriage from an overcrowded Manhattan apartment, spreading herself thinner each day. Just as Anne is about to give up on her dreams, she lands her biggest client Melody Wells.

Melody paints a picture of serenity and empowerment in the lavender haze of her visualization workshops—however, the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher is demanding for her new motivational book. Enter Anne.

As Melody invites Anne deeper into her magical world, Anne finds herself working impossibly long days and traveling far beyond her comfort zone.

When Melody passes along a lead on a spacious sublet complete with East River views, built-in closets, and three bedrooms, Anne can’t believe her luck. Melody seems to know just what her family needs. But as small, unsettling incidents begin to accumulate, Anne starts to wonder what price she’s willing to pay for the good life.]]> 49 Greer Hendricks 1662528515 Dwon 3 3.24 2025 The Sublet
author: Greer Hendricks
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Larger Than Life 22839919 From Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Storyteller and My Sister’s Keeper, comes a gripping and beautifully written novella, now available exclusively as an eBook. Set in the wilds of Africa, Larger Than Life introduces Alice, the unforgettable character at the center of Picoult’s anticipated new novel, Leaving Time.
Ěý
A researcher studying memory in elephants, Alice is fascinated by the bonds between mother and calf—the mother’s powerful protective instincts and her newborn’s unwavering loyalty. Living on a game reserve in Botswana, Alice is able to view the animals in their natural habitat—while following an important She must only observe and never interfere. Then she finds an orphaned young elephant in the bush and cannot bear to leave the helpless baby behind. Thinking back on her own childhood, and on her shifting relationship with her mother, Alice risks her career to care for the calf. Yet what she comes to understand is the depth of a parent’s love.
Ěý
Praise for Jodi Picoult
Ěý
“Picoult is a skilled wordsmith, and she beautifully creates situations that not only provoke the mind but touch the flawed souls in all of us.� —The Boston Globe
Ěý
“Picoult is a rare writer who delivers book after book, a winning combination of the literary and the commercial.� —Entertainment Weekly
Ěý
“Jodi Picoult’s novels do not gather dust on the bedside table. They are gobbled up quickly and the readers want more.� —Los Angeles Times ]]> 92 Jodi Picoult 0553392107 Dwon 5 4.02 2014 Larger Than Life
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves:
review:

]]> Overdue: A Novel 222376487 Is it time to renew love or start a new chapter?

Ingrid Dahl, a cheerful twenty-nine-year-old librarian in the cozy mountain town of Ridgetop, North Carolina, has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years without ever discussing marriage. But when Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory feel pressured to consider their future. Neither has ever been with anybody else, so they make an unconventional decision. They'll take a one-month break to date other people, then they'll reunite and move toward marriage. Ingrid even has someone in mind: her charmingly grumpy coworker, Macon Nowakowski, on whom she’s secretly crushed for years. But plans go awry, and when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they’re not ready to resume their relationship� and Ingrid’s harmless crush on Macon has turned into something much more complicated.

Overdue is a beautiful, slow-burn romance full of lust and longing about new beginnings and finding your way.]]> 416 Stephanie Perkins 1250313465 Dwon 5 Wow! This was seriously the slowest of slow burns and I loved every second of it. I loved Ingrid's bubbly yet introverted personality. I loved Macon's grumpiness but also just how genuinely kind and attentive he was. I loved how the main characters were older than most romcom characters. loved how the author had such a variety of characters from all different backgrounds and different lifestyles, I loved how mental health was a background topic that was so delicately talked about. Basically, I just loved this book so much and I think you should read it.]]> 3.89 2025 Overdue: A Novel
author: Stephanie Perkins
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Wow! This was seriously the slowest of slow burns and I loved every second of it. I loved Ingrid's bubbly yet introverted personality. I loved Macon's grumpiness but also just how genuinely kind and attentive he was. I loved how the main characters were older than most romcom characters. loved how the author had such a variety of characters from all different backgrounds and different lifestyles, I loved how mental health was a background topic that was so delicately talked about. Basically, I just loved this book so much and I think you should read it.
]]> Sing You Home 8554005
The Zoe falls in love again, out of the blue, and finds herself with an unexpected second chance to have a family.

But Max has found a new life too - one with no place in it for people like Zoe. And he will stand up in court to say that her new choice of partner makes her an unfit mother.

Jodi Picoult's most powerful novel yet asks who has the right to decide what makes the ideal family?]]> 466 Jodi Picoult 1439102724 Dwon 5 3.78 2011 Sing You Home
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish]]> 201294595 Part memoir, part explosive window into the mind of a catfisher, a thrilling personal account of three women coming face-to-face with an internet predator and teaming up to expose them

In 2011 three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this fascinating man. His detailed excuses about broken webcams and complicated international calling plans seemed believable, as did last-minute trip cancellations. After all, why would he lie? Ethan wasn't after money—he never convinced his marks to shell out thousands of dollars for some imagined crisis. Rather, he ensnared these women in a web of intense emotional intimacy.

After the trio independently began to question inconsistencies in their new flame's stories, they managed to find one another and uncover a greater deception than they could have ever imagined. As Anna Akbari and the women untangled their catfish’s web, they found other victims and realized that without a proper crime, there was no legal reason for “Ethan� to ever stop.

There is No Ethan catalogues Akbari's experience as both victim and observer. By looking at the bigger picture—a world where technology mediates our relationships; where words and images are easily manipulated; and where truth, reality, and identity have become slippery terms—Akbari provides an explanation for why these stories matter.]]> 304 Anna Akbari 1538742195 Dwon 3 3.58 2024 There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish
author: Anna Akbari
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Taken Ones (Steinbeck and Reed, #1)]]> 62726715 Two girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes—decades of secrets yet to be unearthed.

Summer 1980: With no fear of a local superstition, three girls go into a Minnesota wood. Only one comes out. Dead silent. Memory gone. No trace of her friends. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation.

Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide—a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Van follows her gut. Harry trusts in facts. Their common ground is the need to catch a killer before he kills again. They have something else in common: each has ties to the original case in ways they’re reluctant to share.

As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood—and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return.]]> 339 Jess Lourey 1662507607 Dwon 5 4.23 2023 The Taken Ones (Steinbeck and Reed, #1)
author: Jess Lourey
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Falling Overboard 216626120 Forbidden love on the sun-kissed Mediterranean. Regardless of the risks, it’s easy to get swept away in a breathtaking romance by Sariah Wilson, the USA Today bestselling author of Hypnotized by Love.

Lucky Salerno’s dream is to own a bakery. To earn enough money to achieve it, she has secured a lucrative job as chief stewardess on a superyacht cruising the Mediterranean. Aboard the ship, there’s one unbreakable no hookups among the crew. No problem. The last thing Lucky has time for is a man. Then she meets Hunter Smith, the gorgeous new deckhand sharing her cabin. Is the universe trying to test her willpower?

Who needs the drama that comes with a relationship? Not Hunter. Who can ignore a witty, beautiful bunkmate like Lucky? Also not Hunter. There’s something just as enticing for a tantalizing mystery behind Hunter’s piercing blue eyes she can’t wait to solve. But at what risk?

As they get to know each other, a secret romance buds at sea, and Lucky has to choose. Abide by the rules to make her career dreams come true, or pursue her love for Hunter—another dream that’s just as near to her heart.]]> 377 Sariah Wilson 1662514255 Dwon 3 This was a slow burn, forced proximity (can't get much closer than a cabin on a yacht!) romance. I liked most of it, I think Lucky and Hunter had great chemistry and I really liked how they tried respecting rules of their employment as best they could. I enjoyed reading a romcom with a yacht setting (new for me!) and learning about all the things the employees do, as well as how terrible some of the guests on the boat were. My only real complaint is not knowing what Emily's fate was. I sincerely hope she meets karma in the worst way possible.
Narrators were both excellent, and I would definitely recommend this audio book!]]> 3.81 Falling Overboard
author: Sariah Wilson
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
This was a slow burn, forced proximity (can't get much closer than a cabin on a yacht!) romance. I liked most of it, I think Lucky and Hunter had great chemistry and I really liked how they tried respecting rules of their employment as best they could. I enjoyed reading a romcom with a yacht setting (new for me!) and learning about all the things the employees do, as well as how terrible some of the guests on the boat were. My only real complaint is not knowing what Emily's fate was. I sincerely hope she meets karma in the worst way possible.
Narrators were both excellent, and I would definitely recommend this audio book!
]]> Expiration Dates 176443178
From the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and One Italian Summer comes the romance that will define a generation.

Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake.

But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful. Because Daphne knows things Jake doesn’t, information that—if he found out—would break his heart.

Told with her signature warmth and insight into matters of the heart, Rebecca Serle has finally set her sights on romantic love. The result is a gripping, emotional, passionate, and (yes) heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves. Expiration Dates is the one fans have been waiting for.]]> 272 Rebecca Serle 1982166827 Dwon 4 3.58 2024 Expiration Dates
author: Rebecca Serle
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Reaping (Steinbeck and Reed, #2)]]> 198712881 By-the-book forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck and rogue BCA agent Van Reed must catch a cold-case killer who’s returned to abduct a small town’s children one by one in this heart-stopping novel from the Edgar Award–nominated author of Unspeakable Things.

In 1998 an Alku, Minnesota, family of five was brutally murdered in their sleep. The event shook the insulated community but, without any solid leads, was relegated to the cold case files, where it moldered for twenty-five years. Until today.

Agent Harry Steinbeck hoped never to return to the northland, a place that holds terrible memories of his sister’s abduction. But when a recent homicide is connected to Alku’s unsolved mass murder, he and cold case agent Evangeline Reed have no choice but to investigate.

The case grows impossibly darker as, one by one, the children of Alku begin disappearing. And Harry and Van can’t shake the sensation that someone is watching every move they make.

As an elusive killer’s trail leads to a truth more sinister than either imagined, Harry knows there’s only one way to crack this he must finally face the secrets of his own past—even if doing so will cost him everything.]]> 326 Jess Lourey 1662513992 Dwon 0 to-read 4.11 2024 The Reaping (Steinbeck and Reed, #2)
author: Jess Lourey
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Where the Rivers Merge 217223380 "This is book club fiction at its finest!" —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author

FromĚýNew York TimesĚýbestselling author Mary Alice Monroe comes her highly anticipated Where the Rivers Merge, the first of two epic and triumphant novels celebrating one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South.

1908: The Lowcountry of South Carolina is at the cusp of change. Mayfield, the grand estate held for generations by the Rivers family, is the treasured home of young Eliza. Free spirited, she refuses to be confined by societal norms. Instead, Eliza revels in exploring the golden fields and sparkling ponds of Mayfield, observing wildlife, and riding horses.

But her halcyon days are cut short by the Great War, coastal storms, and unexpected challenges to Mayfield. As Eliza battles personal pains and the ravages of family turmoil over the years, her love and devotion for the natural world puts her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era.

1988:ĚýAt 88, Eliza is the scion of the Rivers/DeLancey family. She’s fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son. She must make decisions that will assure the future of the land and her family—or watch them both be split apart.ĚýĚý

Set against the evocative landscape of the twentieth-century low country,ĚýWhere the Rivers MergeĚýis a dramatic and sweeping multigenerational family story of unyielding love, lessons learned, profound sacrifices, and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to persevere in the face of change in order to protect her family legacy and the land she loves.]]> 352 Mary Alice Monroe 0063249421 Dwon 5 This was a beautifully written historical fiction. I loved how the timeline switched from present day to the past, and I especially loved that there was a different narrator for each time in Eliza's life. I had no idea when I requested this book that it was only the first of two, and I'm kinda mad that I have to wait and see what happens next! I can't even find the next book on goodreads yet ]]> 4.45 Where the Rivers Merge
author: Mary Alice Monroe
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/28
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
This was a beautifully written historical fiction. I loved how the timeline switched from present day to the past, and I especially loved that there was a different narrator for each time in Eliza's life. I had no idea when I requested this book that it was only the first of two, and I'm kinda mad that I have to wait and see what happens next! I can't even find the next book on goodreads yet
]]> Can't Get Enough 218372325 “Kennedy Ryan pours her whole soul into everything she writes, and it makes for books that are heart-searing, sensual, and life affirming.”―EMILY HENRY, #1 New York Times bestselling author Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry's rarefied air. Your vision board? She’s probably living it.

She’s a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions—always striving upward.ĚýAnd in the midst of everything, she's facing her toughest challenge caring for an aging parent.

Who has time for romance? From her experience, there's a low ROI on relationships. She hasn't met the man who canĚýkeep up with her anyway. Until...him.

Tech mogul Maverick Bell is a dilemma wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit and knee-melting charm. From their first charged glance at the summer's hottest party, Hendrix feels like she’s met her match. Only he can’t be. Mav may be the first to make her feel this seen and desired and appreciated, but he’s the last one she can have. Forbidden fruit is the juiciest, and this man is off limits if she plans to stay the course she’s set for herself.

But when Maverick gives chase—pursuing her, spoiling her,ĚýunderstandingĚýher—is it time to let herself have something more?


A deeply moving and personal novel about sacrifice, self-reliance, and finding true happiness from “one of the finest romance writers of our age.� �Entertainment Weekly]]> 448 Kennedy Ryan 1538772809 Dwon 0 to-read 4.51 2025 Can't Get Enough
author: Kennedy Ryan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dying to Meet You 217432720 The acclaimed USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author returns with a twisty thriller that probes how well we actually know the men in our lives.

Rowan Gallagher is a devoted single mother and a talented architect with a high-profile commission restoring an historic mansion for the most powerful family in Maine. But inside, she’s a mess. She knows that stalking her ex’s avatar all over Portland on her phone isn't the healthiest way to heal from their breakup. But she’s out of ice cream and she's sick of romcoms.

Watching his every move is both fascinating and infuriating. He's dining out while she's wallowing on the couch.ĚýThe last straw comes when he parks inĚýtheirĚýfavorite spot on the waterfront. In a weak moment, she leashes the dog and sets offĚýtoĚýsee who else is in his car.

Instead of catching her ex in a kiss, Rowan becomes the first witness to his murder—and the primary suspect.

But Rowan isn’t the only one keeping secrets. As she digs for the truth, she discovers the dead man was stalking her too, gathering intimate details about her job and her past.

Struggling to clear her name, Rowan finds herself spiraling into the shadowy plot that killed him.

Will she be the next to die?]]> 368 Sarina Bowen 0063280647 Dwon 0 to-read 4.08 2025 Dying to Meet You
author: Sarina Bowen
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Can't Help Falling (Forever Yours, #2)]]> 49567668 The more you resist,
the deeper you’ll fall

Serafine St. Romain doesn’t need her psychic powers to know she’s no longer in Tyler Leshuski’s good graces. True, she did tear him to pieces when he asked her out, accusing him of being shallow and selfish. Despite the energy crackling between them, the gorgeous sports writer is a no-strings, no-kids kind of guy. And Serafine, raised in the foster system, intends to be a foster parent herself. She won’t compromise that dream, even for a man as annoyingly appealing as Tyler.

In a simpler world, Tyler would already have gotten Serafine out of his system. For him, women equal fun. Not this kind of bone-deep, disconcerting desire. Life gets even more complicated when he becomes the guardian of his much younger sister. Suddenly, he’s way out of his depth. Serafine’s the only person who can connect with Kylie. He can’t jeopardize that for a fling.

But maybe…just maybe…he’s finally ready to risk everything on forever.]]> 384 Cara Bastone 1488056013 Dwon 5 3.79 2020 Can't Help Falling (Forever Yours, #2)
author: Cara Bastone
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Wind in the Door (Time Quintet, #2)]]> 18130 Every time a star goes out, another Echthros has won a battle.

Just before Meg Murry's little brother, Charles Wallace, falls deathly ill, he sees dragons in the vegetable garden. The dragons turn out to be Proginoskes, a cherubim composed out wings and eyes, wind and flame. It is up to Meg and Proginoskes, along with Meg's friend Calvin, to save Charles Wallace's life. To do so, they must travel deep within Charles Wallace to attempt to defeat the Echthroi—those who hate—and restore brilliant harmony and joy to the rhythm of creation, the song of the universe.]]> 236 Madeleine L'Engle 0440487617 Dwon 4 4.00 1973 A Wind in the Door (Time Quintet, #2)
author: Madeleine L'Engle
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1973
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves:
review:

]]> Fever Beach 217245548 Another instant classic from Carl Hiaasen—laugh-out-loud funny, tackling the current chaotic and polarized American culture (following in the path of Squeeze Me), with two wonderful new Hiaasen heroes

“The afternoon of September first, dishwater-gray and rainy, a man named Dale Figgo picked up a hitchhiker on Gus Grissom Boulevard in Tangelo Falls, Florida. The hitchhiker, who reminded Figgo of Danny DeVito, asked for a lift to the interstate. Figgo said he’d take him there after finishing an errand.�

Thus begins Fever Beach, with an errand that leads—in pure Hiaasen-style—into the depths of Florida at its most a sun-soaked bastion of right-wing extremism, white power, greed, and corruption. Figgo, it turns out, is the only hate-monger ever to be kicked out of the Proud Boys for being too dumb and incompetent. On January 6, 2021 he thought he was defacing a statue of Ulysses S. Grant, but he wound up spreading feces all over a statue of James Zacharia George, a Civil War Confederate war leader.

Figgo's already messy life is about to get more complicated, thanks to two formidable adversaries. Viva Morales is a newly transplanted Floridian, a clever woman recently taken to the cleaners by her ex-husband, now working at the Mink Foundation, a supposedly philanthropical organization, and renting a room in Figgo’s apartment because there’s no place else she can afford. Twilly Spree has an anger management problem, especially when it comes to those who deface the environment, and way too many inherited millions of dollars. He's living alone a year after his dog died, two years after he sank a city councilman’s party barge, and three years after his divorce.

Viva and Twilly are plunged into a mystery—involving dark money and darker motives—they are determined to solve, and become entangled in a world populated by some of Hiaasen’s most outrageous Claude and Eletra Mink—billionaire philanthropists with way too much plastic surgery and a secret right-wing agenda—and Congressman Clure Boyette—who dreams of being Florida’s (and maybe America’s) most important politician. The only things standing in his way are his love for hookers and young girls, and his total lack of intelligence. We meet Noel Kristianson—a Scandinavian agnostic injured when Figgo thinks he’s aJewish threat to humanity and runs him over with his car; Jonus Onus—Figgo’s partner in white power idiocy; and many, many more. Hiaasen ties them all together and delivers them to their appropriate fates, in his wildest and most entertaining novel to date.]]> 384 Carl Hiaasen 0593320948 Dwon 5 I loved this book! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard and so often while reading. This was the perfect palate cleanser/break from my normal thriller and romance stories. I will say that I probably enjoyed this so much because I am on the same page politically as the author, so if you're on the other side of the aisle you'll probably hate it.
This is my first book by this author but definitely won't be the last.]]> 4.02 Fever Beach
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.02
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I loved this book! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard and so often while reading. This was the perfect palate cleanser/break from my normal thriller and romance stories. I will say that I probably enjoyed this so much because I am on the same page politically as the author, so if you're on the other side of the aisle you'll probably hate it.
This is my first book by this author but definitely won't be the last.
]]> The Great Gatsby 41733839 here and here.

James L.W. West III to include the author’s final revisions and features a note on the composition and text, a personal foreword by Fitzgerald’s granddaughter, Eleanor Lanahan—and a new introduction by two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,� it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]> 180 F. Scott Fitzgerald Dwon 3 3.96 1925 The Great Gatsby
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1925
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)]]> 16160797 456 Robert Galbraith 0316206849 Dwon 3 3.88 2013 The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)
author: Robert Galbraith
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves:
review:

]]> All Our Beautiful Goodbyes 216286419 From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes an epic tale of unrequited love that is by turns breathtaking, heartbreaking—and utterly unforgettable.

1946: World War II is over, and Emma Clarkson is poised to take flight. With dreams of attending university, she’s ready to leave behind the wild beauty of Sable Island, the only home she’s ever known. But when a handsome British sea captain is rescued from a nearby shipwreck, her destiny is forever changed.

Emma falls deeply in love with Oliver Harris, but their romance is not meant to be. Oliver returns to the sea, while Emma vows to forget him and pursue her own ambitions. When a handsome veterinarian arrives on the island to study the wild horses, Emma finds love again, but soon discovers that all is not as it seems�

1995: Mourning the death of her beloved grandmother, Joanna Griffin is shocked to learn that her grandfather once loved a young woman named Emma, but lies, betrayals, and catastrophic events separated them forever. As Joanna crosses an ocean to solve the secrets of her grandfather’s past, she learns that love is a powerful force, even mightier than the passage of time�

A shining thread of hope illuminates this epic tale of lost love and fallen dreams, set in the remote splendor of Nova Scotia and spanning decades.]]> 356 Julianne MacLean 1662519109 Dwon 0 to-read 4.40 All Our Beautiful Goodbyes
author: Julianne MacLean
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Beautiful Little Fools 56922665 USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic The Great Gatsby in this atmospheric historical novel with echoes of Big Little Lies, told in three women’s alternating voices.

On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby.

Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire.

Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan.

Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well.

Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women’s freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who’s trapped in a terrible marriage.

Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.

Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women’s perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.]]> 368 Jillian Cantor 0063051265 Dwon 5 4.01 2022 Beautiful Little Fools
author: Jillian Cantor
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Every Precious and Fragile Thing]]> 213568974 A mother and daughter try desperately to reconcile just as a decades-old secret threatens to shatter their relationship forever in this powerful story from the bestselling author of The Echo of Old Books.

For social worker Mallory Ward, working with at-risk youth is a calling. But when one of her clients is tragically killed, she finds herself at a crossroads. Despite long-held resentments toward her distant mother, Mallory retreats to her childhood home on the Rhode Island coast to contemplate her future. Instead, she’s confronted by her past, not only in the renewed tensions with her mother but in the unexpected appearance of a familiar face―and the wrenching losses that drove her away a decade ago.

Helen Ward’s home is filled with precious keepsakes from her patients, a testament to decades spent caring for the terminally ill. Her work has always come first, though, leaving little time to connect with her daughter. Over the years, the rift between them has become a chasm, so when Mallory appears unannounced, Helen sees it as an opportunity to repair their broken relationship.

But hidden among Helen’s mementos are the keys to her past…and a terrible secret that threatens to destroy the fragile new trust between them forever.]]> 404 Barbara Davis 1662514484 Dwon 0 to-read 4.40 2025 Every Precious and Fragile Thing
author: Barbara Davis
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West]]> 394535 Blood Meridian is an epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, brilliantly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West. Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into a nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving.]]> 351 Cormac McCarthy Dwon 0 dnf 4.18 1985 Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Theo Tan and the Iron Fan (Theo Tan, #2)]]> 53826879 A Chinese American Boy and his snarky fox spirit face down demon kings as they race against time to be reunited with his brother’s spirit in Jesse Q. Sutanto's magical, action-packed sequel to Theo Tan and the Fox Spririt.

Theo Tan and his fox spirit, Kai, are willing to go to hell and back for their family. Literally.

After exposing the corruption at Reapling Corporation and trapping the demon king Niu Mo Wang, they learn that Jamie (Theo’s beloved brother and Kai’s first human master) was not allowed to move on after death, and is now trapped in a waiting room in Diyu.

If they can reach his soul before it faces judgement on the solstice, they might be able to convince King Qingguang to send his soul back to earth! Still, a trip to Diyu is no easy matter, and Theo and Kai can’t do it alone. Fortunately, they have good friends who are happy to help.

But even with Namita’s knowledge and Danny’s powerful dragon familiar, the odds are stacked against them. Can Theo and Kai’s new bond hold up against lying demons with grudges, impatient Kings of Hell, and the wrath of the demon king’s powerful wife, Princess Iron Fan?]]> 320 Jesse Q. Sutanto Dwon 0 ethan 4.17 2023 Theo Tan and the Iron Fan (Theo Tan, #2)
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dead Children's Playground]]> 200546592
Kylie Macklin is eager to live a normal life. Freshly moved from Florida to Alabama and finally in remission from cancer, the optimistic nine-year-old is used to dodging her overprotective mom’s warnings. So when a new playmate invites her to hang out, the happy girl thinks nothing of the playground being located in a graveyard for young victims of the Spanish Flu� and a local serial killer.

Kayla Macklin hates starting over. Forced to relocate after her little sister’s recovery, the sullen nineteen-year-old despises her new home more when she sees a terrifying vision in the nearby crypt. And as kids around town start to fall gravely ill, she begins to suspect there is something sinister at play.

Tormented by a frightening specter’s ever-closer appearances, Kylie turns to her older sibling for help. But as Kayla digs into the history of the haunted ground, the twisted truths she discovers hint at a bloodthirst that can never be sated.

Can they face down the malevolent force without tripping into their own graves?]]> 306 James Kaine Dwon 4 4.36 2024 The Dead Children's Playground
author: James Kaine
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:

]]> You Killed Me First 212376504 Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in � she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret � and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?]]> John Marrs 1662506503 Dwon 0 to-read 4.19 2025 You Killed Me First
author: John Marrs
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)]]> 76703559 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.]]> 406 Sarah J. Maas 163973094X Dwon 4 4.18 2012 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scythe & Sparrow (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #3)]]> 127616032 Discover the serial killer romance series everyone is talking about!From the no.1 New York Times bestselling author of the genre-breaking international TikTok sensation Butcher & Blackbird and Leather & Lark comes the final book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy - a friends-with-benefits dark romantic comedy.

Murder.

Mayhem.

And spice.

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiance and his derailed surgical career. It's a simpler head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the real circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she's not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with an injured leg, Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up.

***


Friends with benefits
Small town romance
Fish out of water
Forced proximity
Hurt/care
Touch her and die]]> 416 Brynne Weaver Dwon 5 4.11 2025 Scythe & Sparrow (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #3)
author: Brynne Weaver
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Bright Young Women 112978985
The survivors, including key witness Pamela Schumacher, will be forever changed by this night. They have all become victims. But they tell their perspectives here, they remain masters of their stories. And they hunt the perpetrator on their own - against resistance from the justice system and the police; against public opinion, which idolizes the serial killer.]]> 384 Jessica Knoll Dwon 3 4.06 2023 Bright Young Women
author: Jessica Knoll
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Nothing Ever Happens Here 212378262 When I Was You

Nothing ever happens in small towns�

When Shelby Dawson survives a harrowing attack that should have left her dead, she tries to move past it—for herself, and for her family. Fifteen months later, with the help of her best friend, Mackenzie, she finally feels safe again in the snowy Minnesota town she calls home. But when an anonymous note appears on her windshield bearing the same threats her attacker made, Shelby realizes that her nightmare has only just begun.

As new evidence surfaces, and a group of well-meaning senior citizens accidentally makes the case go viral online, the situation quickly goes from bad to worse. And with suspicious accidents targeting those closest to her happening all over town, Shelby can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. Fighting to stay one step ahead of disaster, she finds herself asking the question on everyone’s lips: Who attacked her that night?

But Shelby isn’t the only one with questions. Mackenzie’s husband, Leo, vanished without a trace on that terrible night, and over a year later, no one knows why. Until a deep dive into his finances reveals a history of debts, mismanaged funds, and hidden accounts—one of which is still active. Their suspicion that Leo is still alive only complicates things further, though, and when another person connected to Shelby goes missing, she’s caught in a race against time before her attacker becomes a killer.]]> 304 Seraphina Nova Glass 1525836722 Dwon 4 Shelby Dawson survives an attack on the sane day her best friend's husband goes missing. Waa Leo the one that attacked Shelby? Is he still somehow trying to kill her and her family without being seen in the town he disappeared from?
I really enjoyed this audio book. I loved that there were 3 different narrators (Shelby, Florence, and Mac). It always helps me keep the story straight when an audio book has a different voice for each perspective that tells the story. I loved Florence and her gang of detectives/podcasters trying to solve the crimes. This wasn't an edge of your sear thriller for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it!]]> 3.49 2025 Nothing Ever Happens Here
author: Seraphina Nova Glass
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/14
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
Shelby Dawson survives an attack on the sane day her best friend's husband goes missing. Waa Leo the one that attacked Shelby? Is he still somehow trying to kill her and her family without being seen in the town he disappeared from?
I really enjoyed this audio book. I loved that there were 3 different narrators (Shelby, Florence, and Mac). It always helps me keep the story straight when an audio book has a different voice for each perspective that tells the story. I loved Florence and her gang of detectives/podcasters trying to solve the crimes. This wasn't an edge of your sear thriller for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it!
]]> <![CDATA[The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog]]> 22238176 Set against the most dramatic time in our species' history, The Dog Master tells the story of one tribe's struggle for survival and one extraordinary man's bond with a wolf--a friendship that changed mankind forever

Thirty thousand years ago, ice was storming the planet. Among the species forced out of the trees and onto the steppes by the advancing cold was modern man, who was both predator and prey.

No stranger to the experiences that make us human--a mother's love and a father's betrayal, tribal war and increasing famine, political intrigue and forbidden love, joy and hope and devastating loss--our ancestors competed for scant resources in a brutal landscape.

Mankind stood on the cold brink of extinction...but they had a unique advantage over other species, a new technology--domesticated wolves.

Only a set of extraordinary circumstances could have transformed one of these fierce creatures into a hunting companion, a bodyguard, a soldier, and a friend. The Dog Master by W. Bruce Cameron is an evocative glimpse of prehistory, an emotional coming-of-age saga, a thrilling tale of survival against all odds, and the exciting, imaginative story of the first dog.]]> 416 W. Bruce Cameron 0765374633 Dwon 0 to-read 4.12 2015 The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog
author: W. Bruce Cameron
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Dog's Perfect Christmas 51096898 The perfect, feel-good holiday gift from W. Bruce Cameron, the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the A Dog’s Purpose series

The problems fracturing the Goss family as Christmas approaches are hardly unique, though perhaps they are handling them a little differently than most people might. But then a true emergency arises, one with the potential to not only ruin Christmas, but everything holding the family together.

Is the arrival of a lost puppy yet another in the string of calamities facing them, or could the little canine be just what they all need?

A Dog’s Perfect Christmas is a beautiful, poignant, delightful tale of what can happen when family members open their hearts to new possibilities. You’ll find love and tears and laughter—the ideal holiday read.]]> 283 W. Bruce Cameron 1250163587 Dwon 3 3.79 2020 A Dog's Perfect Christmas
author: W. Bruce Cameron
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/14
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dark Fire (The Last Dragon Chronicles, #5)]]> 6793336 462 Chris d'Lacey 1846169550 Dwon 0 ethan 4.10 2009 Dark Fire (The Last Dragon Chronicles, #5)
author: Chris d'Lacey
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> The Fall Risk 223199392 Two good neighbors make the best of a bad Valentine’s Day in a funny and improbably romantic short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.]]> 82 Abby Jimenez 1662529082 Dwon 5 4.13 2025 The Fall Risk
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/12
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves:
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]]> Hidden Nature 217388081 The #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a new novel about an injured cop who must fight to bring down a pair of twisted killers�

Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.

After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents� peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.

She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.

Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case—and she's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes to stop the horror.]]> 448 Nora Roberts 125037085X Dwon 5 I love the way that Nora Roberts tells a story. The mystery/suspense, the romance, the details about the story and the setting, and the way she just connects you to the characters and their story is not something a lot of author's can do. This story was so good. The first chapter had me hooked and I was invested in seeing Sloane recover, find herself and what's really important in her life, and kick some major butt at her job. The mystery kept me guessing, the romance wasn't over the top, and I loved every minute.]]> 4.15 2025 Hidden Nature
author: Nora Roberts
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/12
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I love the way that Nora Roberts tells a story. The mystery/suspense, the romance, the details about the story and the setting, and the way she just connects you to the characters and their story is not something a lot of author's can do. This story was so good. The first chapter had me hooked and I was invested in seeing Sloane recover, find herself and what's really important in her life, and kick some major butt at her job. The mystery kept me guessing, the romance wasn't over the top, and I loved every minute.
]]> After We Were Stolen 59437669
A fire. Her escape. And the realization her entire life has been a lie.

When nineteen-year-old Avery awakens to flames consuming her family’s remote compound, she knows it’s her only chance to escape her father’s grueling survival training, bizarre rules, and gruesome punishments. She and her brother Cole flee the grounds for the first time in their lives, suddenly homeless in a world they know nothing about. After months of hiding out, they are arrested for shoplifting and a shocking discovery is made—Avery and Cole were kidnapped fifteen years earlier, stolen by cult leaders they knew as Mom and Dad.

Cole is immediately returned to his birth family, leaving Avery alone and desperate. She is uncertain if her “parents� survived the fire and is terrified to find out. The loss of Cole and the trauma of her former life threaten to undo her, but when the police investigation reveals there may be more survivors, Avery must uncover the truth about the fire to truly be free.

Suspenseful, emotionally charged, and deeply thought-provoking, After We Were Stolen delves into the idea of family—those we’re born into and those we make—resilience, and the lengths a cult survivor will go to finally be free of her painful past. Brooke Beyfuss’s powerful debut novel sparkles with heart, grit, and extraordinary characters who will stay with you long after the last page.]]> 388 Brooke Beyfuss 1728248698 Dwon 4 3.90 2022 After We Were Stolen
author: Brooke Beyfuss
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:
I would have enjoyed this more without the huge spoiler in the blurb. Not sure why they would want that in there when it doesn't happen until halfway through the book.
]]> Allegedly 30037870
Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? She wouldn’t say.

Mary survived six years in baby jail before being dumped in a group home. The house isn’t really “home”—no place where you fear for your life can be considered a home. Home is Ted, who she meets on assignment at a nursing home.

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary must find the voice to fight her past. And her fate lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But who really knows the real Mary?]]> 390 Tiffany D. Jackson 0062422642 Dwon 5 4.06 2017 Allegedly
author: Tiffany D. Jackson
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/10
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]]> Handle with Care 3720975 An alternate cover edition can be found here
When Willow is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, her parents are devastated--she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health.

Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte had known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life?]]> 477 Jodi Picoult 0743296419 Dwon 5 4.00 2009 Handle with Care
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
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]]> Monday's Not Coming 35068534
As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?]]> 448 Tiffany D. Jackson 0062422693 Dwon 0 to-read 4.24 2018 Monday's Not Coming
author: Tiffany D. Jackson
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Forest of Vanishing Stars 55711683 The New York Times bestselling author of the The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.

After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.

Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel.]]> 376 Kristin Harmel 198215893X Dwon 5 4.22 2021 The Forest of Vanishing Stars
author: Kristin Harmel
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
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]]> The Book of Lost Names 52762903 The Book of Lost Names.

The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer—but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named RĂ©my, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and RĂ©my disappears.

An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.]]> 388 Kristin Harmel 1982131896 Dwon 0 to-read 4.41 2020 The Book of Lost Names
author: Kristin Harmel
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Ambush (Sanctuary #1) 216052864 She'll do anything to uncover the truth of her parents' murder--even work alongside the man who once broke her heart.

Paradise Alden's childhood in Nova Cambridge, Alabama, was idyllic until the night her parents were murdered. Since then life has left her scarred. The abuse she suffered in the foster care system, her first love's betrayal, and the jaguar attack that nearly destroyed her career have led to an unshakable distrust--in men, in God, and maybe in even in herself.

After fifteen years, returning to her hometown is a last resort to finding her life again. She's hoping the wildlife refuge where she's accepted a veterinarian job will be the perfect place to heal from her recent traumas and unlock her memories about the night her parents died. But on the day she arrives at The Sanctuary, a body is discovered on the grounds. And soon, a series of deadly events threatens not only her future but the man who, despite all odds, still makes her pulse stutter. Arson, a shooting, a break-in, and multiple instances of animals being freed from their enclosures all point back to him, but Paradise knows Blake Lawson isn't responsible. Not the man who has been helping his mother manage The Sanctuary these past six months and care for his stepbrothers in the wake of their father's death . . . even if his betrayal years ago cost her everything.

Someone dangerous is lurking beneath the town's moss-draped trees, and Paradise refuses to let another murderer disappear into the shadows.]]> 352 Colleen Coble 084071422X Dwon 3 This was my first book by Colleen Coble. I was very excited when I read the blurb because I thought the premise sounded interesting. Paradise returns to her hometown after 15 years to help get closure and possibly answers to who killed her parents. Her high school boyfriend, Blake, is one of the 1st people she sees once she has arrived and apparently they have some animosity from their past. Immediately (and I mean Immediately), there is a murder. Lots of random "accidents" happen at the sanctuary where Blake and Paradise work, and pretty soon it becomes clear that someone is trying to sabotage either the sanctuary, Paradise, or Blake.
This book really just fell flat for me. I didn't care for any of the characters, and everything seemed very rushed as far as the romance aspect. I was also surprised at the religious turn the book took at about the halfway mark. I'm not sure if that's normal in this author's books but it definitely felt like it came out if nowhere.
This wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't for me. I'm sure if you usually like Colleen Coble, you'll like this one too.]]> 3.99 2025 Ambush (Sanctuary #1)
author: Colleen Coble
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for honest review!
This was my first book by Colleen Coble. I was very excited when I read the blurb because I thought the premise sounded interesting. Paradise returns to her hometown after 15 years to help get closure and possibly answers to who killed her parents. Her high school boyfriend, Blake, is one of the 1st people she sees once she has arrived and apparently they have some animosity from their past. Immediately (and I mean Immediately), there is a murder. Lots of random "accidents" happen at the sanctuary where Blake and Paradise work, and pretty soon it becomes clear that someone is trying to sabotage either the sanctuary, Paradise, or Blake.
This book really just fell flat for me. I didn't care for any of the characters, and everything seemed very rushed as far as the romance aspect. I was also surprised at the religious turn the book took at about the halfway mark. I'm not sure if that's normal in this author's books but it definitely felt like it came out if nowhere.
This wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't for me. I'm sure if you usually like Colleen Coble, you'll like this one too.
]]> <![CDATA[The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness]]> 171681821
A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.

“With tenacity and candor, Haidt lays out the consequences that have come with allowing kids to drift further into the virtual world . . . While also offering suggestions and solutions that could help protect a new generation of kids.� —Shannon Carlin, ,i>TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024

After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why?

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood� began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood� in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood� has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the “collective action problems� that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.

Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot afford to ignore his findings about protecting our children—and ourselves—from the psychological damage of a phone-based life.]]> 400 Jonathan Haidt 0593655036 Dwon 5 4.36 2024 The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness
author: Jonathan Haidt
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Michael Without Apology 218136409 A film student struggling with self-acceptance finally stops looking away from his traumatic past in a powerful novel by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Michael Woodbine was seven years old when a near-fatal fireworks accident scarred him and led to his placement in foster care. Now a college freshman, he is still trying to hide the effects of his trauma from his classmates, his adoptive family, and himself.

When Michael signs up for a film class, he meets Robert Dunning, a teacher who wears his own scars unapologetically. Robert encourages Michael to make a documentary that explores body image and self-perception. Michael places an ad seeking people who feel unattractive and rejected by society—and is surprised to learn that this is essentially everyone. Although some participants are recovering from injuries or surgeries, others are dealing with more everyday factors like aging or the changes to a body from giving birth.

As he collects these stories—and finally tells his own—Michael feels more connected to the world than he ever has before. But he knows his journey of self-acceptance has one more his crushing doubts about why his birth parents wouldn’t fight to keep him.]]> 273 Catherine Ryan Hyde 1662522312 Dwon 5 I love Catherine Ryan Hyde and I was so excited to learn she had a new book on Netgally! This book has everything that i have loved in every book of hers that I've read. The heart break, the overcoming of obstacles, new perspectives, and putting your heart back together without you even realizing it happened.
This is a book about love and loss and overcoming things that are holding you back from living your best life. I loved it.]]> 4.64 Michael Without Apology
author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.64
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I love Catherine Ryan Hyde and I was so excited to learn she had a new book on Netgally! This book has everything that i have loved in every book of hers that I've read. The heart break, the overcoming of obstacles, new perspectives, and putting your heart back together without you even realizing it happened.
This is a book about love and loss and overcoming things that are holding you back from living your best life. I loved it.
]]> Forget Me Not 217387937 A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.

With the entire summer now looming ahead—a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother—Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents� as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.

Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.]]> 368 Stacy Willingham 1250887976 Dwon 0 to-read 4.37 2025 Forget Me Not
author: Stacy Willingham
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dryad Storm (The Black Witch Chronicles, #5)]]> 66098774
Magical forces clash and Erthia hovers on the brink of ruin in the can't-miss finale of Laurie Forest’s epic fantasy series, The Black Witch Chronicles!

Who can survive the Shadow storm?

Black Witch of prophecy Elloren Gardner Grey has unleashed her powers and embraced her legacy as a Dryad and guardian of the Forest. But the losses—of life, of love—have been almost too great to withstand as the Shadow continues to devour the world. With only a tattered shred of hope remaining, the Bearers of the Wand of Myth must battle their way back to each other to mount a final stand.

But Elloren and her allies are not only facing Mage Vogel's advancing forces—the armies of the Eastern Realm will stop at nothing to see the Black Witch struck down.

With Elloren's bonded mate prophesied to kill her, Shadow demons rising, and the ties between allies unraveling, can this fracturing world unite to face down the coming storm?

Read all the books in the Black Witch Chronicles!

*Also available in print in The Rebel Mages anthology]]> 752 Laurie Forest 1335458050 Dwon 3 3.23 2025 The Dryad Storm (The Black Witch Chronicles, #5)
author: Laurie Forest
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.23
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Just a Heartbeat Away (Forever Yours, #1)]]> 52271834 Some people change your life
Others change your heart

Newly widowed dad Sebastian Dorner was unraveling at the edges—until his son’s teacher, Via DeRosa, threw him a lifeline. Now, two years later, they reconnect at Matty’s new school, and an inconvenient but unmistakable jolt of attraction crackles between them. But why does the first person to spark with Sebastian in years have to be a millennial? Is twentysomething Via really too young for him or does fortysomething Sebastian just feel too damn old?

A former foster kid, Via’s finally forged the stable life she’s always dreamed of—new job, steady income, no drama. The last thing she needs are rumors about her and a single dad at school. But why does she keep being drawn into his capable, worn-flannel orbit? And why does being around Sebastian, Matty and even their dog, Crabby, seem to spark so much want?

They’re trying to ignore the tension threatening their friendship. But sometimes what’ll heal you is just a touch—and a heartbeat—away…]]> 384 Cara Bastone 1488055904 Dwon 4 3.82 2020 Just a Heartbeat Away (Forever Yours, #1)
author: Cara Bastone
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves:
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]]> The Last Party 205837684 A loving mother. A notorious murderer. They both have reasons to hide their secrets in a novel of escalating shock and suspense by New York Times bestselling author A. R. Torre.

Perla Wultz lives with her husband, Grant, and their precious daughter, Sophie, in a gated Pasadena community. Affluent, sociable, and accomplished, Perla plays the part of loving wife and mother to perfection. It seems an ideal life, if not for a decades-old crime that has become Perla’s dark and consuming secret obsession.

Twenty-three years ago, Leewood Folcrum confessed to murdering two young girls during a birthday party. Though he’s been condemned to a life sentence, his crime is not forgotten. Not by Perla, nor by an inquisitive doctoral student interviewing Folcrum for his dissertation. He’s getting the killer to open up—about his motives, his confession, and the truth of what really happened on that horrible night.

As the past and the present entwine, the deceptions behind the infamous murder begin to surface. But who’s deceiving who now? And why? And as an ingeniously twisted plan is set in motion, who will be the next to die?]]> 349 A.R. Torre 1662519583 Dwon 0 to-read 4.08 2024 The Last Party
author: A.R. Torre
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Crash 216223609 The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.
]]> 384 Freida McFadden 1464227322 Dwon 4 3.72 2025 The Crash
author: Freida McFadden
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves:
review:
Audio would have been much better if each perspective was a different narrator.
]]> <![CDATA[Nobody’s Fool (Detective Sami Kierce #2)]]> 217394492 In this stunningly twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce’s college days comes back to haunt him. His memory is clear, but all these years later, the facts don’t add up…which is something he cannot ignore.

Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He doesn’t know what happened. His screams drown out his thoughts—and then he runs.

Twenty-two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by doing low level surveillance jobs and teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. As soon as Kierce makes eye contact with her, she bolts. For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.

His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool.]]> 352 Harlan Coben 1538756358 Dwon 4 This book has a lot going on! An old murder, a murderer getting released early, a kidnapping, and another murder. Everything is being investigated by Sami Kierce (an ex cop that didn't exactly leave the force on hood terms) and his amateur sleuths from a class he teaches. The book has a lot of action and kept me interested throughout. I really enjoyed all the Sherlock Holmes references. The ending was awesome and I'm hoping there's going to be another book because I definitely need to see how that last paragraph plays out!]]> 4.20 2025 Nobody’s Fool (Detective Sami Kierce #2)
author: Harlan Coben
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book has a lot going on! An old murder, a murderer getting released early, a kidnapping, and another murder. Everything is being investigated by Sami Kierce (an ex cop that didn't exactly leave the force on hood terms) and his amateur sleuths from a class he teaches. The book has a lot of action and kept me interested throughout. I really enjoyed all the Sherlock Holmes references. The ending was awesome and I'm hoping there's going to be another book because I definitely need to see how that last paragraph plays out!
]]> James 173754979 A brilliant reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—both harrowing and satirical—told from the enslaved Jim's point of view

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

Brimming with nuanced humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim's agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first-century American literature.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780385550369.]]> 303 Percival Everett Dwon 5 4.47 2024 James
author: Percival Everett
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3) 209439446
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.]]> 527 Rebecca Yarros 1649374186 Dwon 3 4.19 2025 Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves:
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 Dwon 0 to-read 4.24 2024 All the Colors of the Dark
author: Chris Whitaker
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Love Haters 217387810 It’s a thin line between love and love-hating.

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch� Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but fakes it that she can.

Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!

But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.]]> 320 Katherine Center 1250283825 Dwon 5 I have loved every single book I've read by Katherine Center and The Love Haters exceeded my expectations. I loved Beanie and Kate's friendship and how supportive Beanie was about Kate's body image issues. I LOVED Rue from the second she was introduced into the story and I loved her even more when I read her back story and how she came to foster/adopt Cole and Hutch.
The romance checked all the feel good, heartwarming boxes, and the story itself did a wonderful job with a sensitive subject such as body image. I also thought it was super cool how Katherine Center did so much research on the coast guard rescue missions. I just really, really loved this book. I can't wait for her next one ]]> 4.03 2025 The Love Haters
author: Katherine Center
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for honest review!
I have loved every single book I've read by Katherine Center and The Love Haters exceeded my expectations. I loved Beanie and Kate's friendship and how supportive Beanie was about Kate's body image issues. I LOVED Rue from the second she was introduced into the story and I loved her even more when I read her back story and how she came to foster/adopt Cole and Hutch.
The romance checked all the feel good, heartwarming boxes, and the story itself did a wonderful job with a sensitive subject such as body image. I also thought it was super cool how Katherine Center did so much research on the coast guard rescue missions. I just really, really loved this book. I can't wait for her next one
]]> <![CDATA[Things My Son Needs to Know About the World]]> 42833687 Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood.

As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the "firsts" that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn't shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life crises to practical jokes and poop.

In between the sleep-deprived lows and wonderful highs, Backman takes a step back to share the true story of falling in love with a woman who is his complete opposite, and learning to live a life that revolves around the people you care about unconditionally. Alternating between humorous side notes and longer essays offering his son advice as he grows up and ventures out into the world, Backman relays the big and small lessons in life, including:

-How to find the team you belong to
-Why airports explain everything about religion and war
-The reason starting a band is crucial to cultivating and keeping friendships
-How to beat Monkey Island 3
-Why, sometimes, a dad might hold onto his son's hand just a little too tight.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove shares an irresistible and moving collection of heartfelt, fictional, humorous essays about fatherhood, providing his newborn son with the perspective and tools he'll need to make his way in the world. ]]> 208 Fredrik Backman 1501196863 Dwon 5 4.00 2012 Things My Son Needs to Know About the World
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/22
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Thief Knot (Greenglass House, #4)]]> 43261164 Ghosts, a kidnapping, a crew of young detectives, and family secrets mix in this new standalone mystery set in the world of the bestselling Greenglass House, from a National Book Award nominee and Edgar Award-winning author.

Marzana and her best friend are bored. Even though they live in a notorious city where normal rules do not apply, nothing interesting ever happens to them. Nothing, that is, until Marzana’s parents are recruited to help solve an odd crime, and she realizes that this could be the excitement she’s been waiting for. She assembles a group of kid detectives with special skills—including the ghost of a ship captain’s daughter—and together, they explore hidden passageways, navigate architecture that changes overnight, and try to unravel the puzzle of who the kidnappers are—and where they’re hiding. But will they beat the deadline for a ransom that’s impossible to pay?

Legendary smugglers, suspicious teachers, and some scary bad guys are just a few of the adults the crew must circumvent while discovering hidden truths about their families and themselves in this smart, richly imagined tale.]]> 464 Kate Milford 1328466892 Dwon 3 4.26 2020 The Thief Knot (Greenglass House, #4)
author: Kate Milford
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/21
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1)]]> 7736182 JASON HAS A PROBLEM. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and his best friend is a guy named Leo. They’re all students at the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids," as Leo puts it. What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Jason doesn't know anything—except that everything seems very wrong.

PIPER HAS A SECRET. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out, whether she wants to or not.

LEO HAS A WAY WITH TOOLS. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who's gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason's amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?

Join new and old friends from Camp Half-Blood in this thrilling first book in The Heroes of Olympus series. Best-selling author Rick Riordan has pumped up the action, humor, suspense, and mystery in an epic adventure that will leave readers panting for the next installment.]]> 576 Rick Riordan 142311339X Dwon 0 ethan 4.28 2010 The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4)]]> 28006109 In his penultimate adventure, a devastated but determined Apollo travels to Camp Jupiter, where he must learn what it is to be a hero, or die trying.

It's not easy being Apollo, especially when you've been turned into a human and banished from Olympus. On his path to restoring five ancient oracles and reclaiming his godly powers, Apollo (aka Lester Papadopoulos) has faced both triumphs and tragedies. Now his journey takes him to Camp Jupiter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Roman demigods are preparing for a desperate last stand against the evil Triumvirate of Roman emperors. Hazel, Reyna, Frank, Tyson, Ella, and many other old friends will need Apollo's aid to survive the onslaught. Unfortunately, the answer to their salvation lies in the forgotten tomb of a Roman ruler . . . someone even worse than the emperors Apollo has already faced.]]> 439 Rick Riordan 1368001440 Dwon 0 ethan 4.29 2019 The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3)]]> 28006096 Thanks a lot, Dad.

With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor--and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles--somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon. . . .]]> 448 Rick Riordan 1368024122 Dwon 0 ethan 4.24 2018 The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo, #2)]]> 30145666
After experiencing a series of dangerous--and frankly, humiliating--trials at Camp Half-Blood, Lester must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he's gaining in new friendships--with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride. . . .]]> 432 Rick Riordan 1484746422 Dwon 0 ethan 4.09 2017 The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1)]]> 26252859
By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.

But Apollo has many enemies—gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.]]> 376 Rick Riordan 148473274X Dwon 0 ethan 4.13 2016 The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Serpent's Shadow (The Kane Chronicles, #3)]]> 12893742 406 Rick Riordan 1423140575 Dwon 0 ethan 4.27 2012 The Serpent's Shadow (The Kane Chronicles, #3)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles, #2)]]> 9067850
And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.

First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.]]> 452 Rick Riordan 1423140567 Dwon 0 ethan 4.18 2011 The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, #1)]]> 7090447
On Christmas Eve, Sadie and Carter are reunited when their father brings them to the British Museum, with a promise that he's going to "make things right." But all does not go according to plan: Carter and Sadie watch as Julius summons a mysterious figure, who quickly banishes their father and causes a fiery explosion.

Soon Carter and Sadie discover that the gods of Ancient Egypt are waking, and the worst of them—Set—has a frightening scheme. To save their father, they must embark on a dangerous journey—a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and its links to the House of Life, a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.]]> 528 Rick Riordan 1423113381 Dwon 0 ethan 4.10 2010 The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Demigod Files (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)]]> 27396489 3 Rick Riordan 0739381245 Dwon 0 ethan 3.96 2009 The Demigod Files (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wrath of the Triple Goddess (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #2)]]> 199190261
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover settle into Hecate’s seemingly endless mansion and start getting acquainted with the fussy, terrifying animals. The trio has been warned not to touch anything, but while Percy and Annabeth are out at school, Grover can’t resist drinking a strawberry-flavored potion in the laboratory. It turns him into a giant frenzied goat, and after he rampages through the house, damaging everything in sight, and passes out, Hecuba and Gale escape. Now the friends have to find Hecate’s pets and somehow restore the house, all before Hecate gets back on Saturday. It’s going to take luck, demigod wiles, and some old and new friends to hunt down the animals and set things right again.]]> 322 Rick Riordan 1368112382 Dwon 0 ethan 4.14 2024 Wrath of the Triple Goddess (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #1)]]> 63035432
Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him yet. Poseidon breaks the bad news that if Percy expects to get into New Rome University, he will have to fulfill three quests in order to earn the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus.

The first task is to help Ganymede, Zeus’s cupbearer, retrieve his golden goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. You see, one sip from it can turn a mortal into a god, and Zeus would not be pleased with that result. Can Percy and his friends Grover and Annabeth find the precious cup in time? And if they do, will they be able to resist its special power?

Readers new to Percy Jackson universe and fans who have been awaiting this reunion for more than a decade will delight equally in this latest hilarious take on Greek mythology by the "storyteller of the gods."]]> 288 Rick Riordan 1368098177 Dwon 0 ethan 4.27 2023 The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: ethan
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, #2)]]> 5364 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

From the author of Outlander... a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland...

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ...about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ...and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ....

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ...in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ...and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves....]]> 947 Diana Gabaldon Dwon 0 to-read 4.33 1992 Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, #2)
author: Diana Gabaldon
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Outlander (Outlander, #1) 10964
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.]]> 850 Diana Gabaldon 0440242940 Dwon 4 4.25 1991 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
author: Diana Gabaldon
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/21
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves:
review:

]]> I'll Have What She's Having 217927684
There’s a woman I want to become, Chelsea Handler thought as a child. She’ll be strong and confident. She’ll light up a room and spread that light to make others feel better. She’ll make a living being herself. She’ll be a survivor.

At ten years old, Chelsea opened a lemonade stand and realized she’d make more money if the drinks were spiked. So she added vodka to her recipe and used her earnings to upgrade herself to first-class on a family vacation—leaving her parents and siblings in coach. She moved to Los Angeles and got fired from her temp job when she admitted she didn’t know how to transfer calls. She’s played pickleball with the scions of an American dynasty. She’s sexted a governor. She shared psychedelics with strangers in Spain. When she accidentally ended up at dinner with Woody Allen, she was not going to leave the table without asking him a very personal pointed question. She went on national television and talked about having threesomes. She's never been one to hold back.

But this life of adventure and absurdity is only part of her story. Chelsea knows what it is to truly show up for her family—canine and human, biological and chosen. She’s discovered how to spend time with herself, how to meditate, how to be open to love, and how to end a relationship with dignity. She is a sister to the many women who rely on her.

Surprisingly vulnerable and always outrageous, Chelsea Handler captures the antic-filled, exhilarating, and joyful life she’s built—a life that makes the rest of us think, I’ll have what she’s having.]]> 320 Chelsea Handler 0593596579 Dwon 4 I've loved Chelsea Handler forever. I used to watch Chelsea Lately every week because her personality is so awesome. She has the same birthday as my best friend, and I always thought we'd be friends if we ever met lol
I've read all of Chelsea's books. She's always funny and blunt and very protective of her family (while always admitting how dysfunctional they are). This book has a more serious vibe because she's applying all the things she learned in therapy to her life and kind of explaining how we can do the same. I think it's awesome how family oriented she is, and I absolutely adore her relationship with her rescue dogs. I think it's great that this book is released on her 50th birthday, because it shows how far she's come in her life. If you like Chelsea Handler, you'll love this book!]]> 4.26 I'll Have What She's Having
author: Chelsea Handler
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/21
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves:
review:
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for honest review!
I've loved Chelsea Handler forever. I used to watch Chelsea Lately every week because her personality is so awesome. She has the same birthday as my best friend, and I always thought we'd be friends if we ever met lol
I've read all of Chelsea's books. She's always funny and blunt and very protective of her family (while always admitting how dysfunctional they are). This book has a more serious vibe because she's applying all the things she learned in therapy to her life and kind of explaining how we can do the same. I think it's awesome how family oriented she is, and I absolutely adore her relationship with her rescue dogs. I think it's great that this book is released on her 50th birthday, because it shows how far she's come in her life. If you like Chelsea Handler, you'll love this book!
]]> Great Big Beautiful Life 218559595 Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years--or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.]]> 384 Emily Henry 059344129X Dwon 0 to-read 4.27 2025 Great Big Beautiful Life
author: Emily Henry
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping]]> 123029113 A whimsical and heartwarming novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests' shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power�

Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone...and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.]]> 336 Sangu Mandanna Dwon 0 to-read 4.36 2025 A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Dwon
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lie to Me 33258453 They built a life on lies

Sutton and Ethan Montclair's idyllic life is not as it appears. They seem made for each other, but the truth is ugly. Consumed by professional and personal betrayals and financial woes, the two both love and hate each other. As tensions mount, Sutton disappears, leaving behind a note saying not to look for her.

Ethan finds himself the target of vicious gossip as friends, family and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton Montclair. As the police investigate, the lies the couple have been spinning for years quickly unravel. Is Ethan a killer? Is he being set up? Did Sutton hate him enough to kill the child she never wanted and then herself? The path to the answers is full of twists that will leave the reader breathless.]]> 413 J.T. Ellison 0778330958 Dwon 4 3.75 2017 Lie to Me
author: J.T. Ellison
name: Dwon
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves:
review:

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