Crystal's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 30 Apr 2025 05:41:45 -0700 60 Crystal's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Death on the Caldera 213798189 A blend of fantasy and Golden Age crime, set in an unforgiving landscape that steams with sulphur and bubbles with lava.
The Linde siblings—Kellen, Davina, and Morel—are anxious to return to the kingdom of Halgyr before their father dies, leaving Kellen to assume the throne as king. They book tickets on a luxury express train, expecting a swift journey home—but disaster strikes when the train engine explodes, stranding the siblings atop a caldera bubbling with volcanic magic.
The crash triggers Davina's latent witch powers, but her magic disrupts her ability to remember what she was doing when the explosion took place. While a witch would be the prime suspect for the explosion, the only ones who knew Davina might become one are her brothers—who never warned her, driving her away from them. And, to add insult to injury, somebody is bumping off the surviving train crew and passengers. But it can't be Davina, can it?

While the surviving passengers try to determine who sabotaged the engine and catch the killer, the fractured siblings attempt to stay one step ahead, concealing not only Davina's powers but their own secrets. Luckily, they aren't the only shifty characters on the train. But that small degree of good fortune quickly sours when powerful men turn up dead, suggesting the saboteur is still at work. And who better a mark for the murderer than the heirs to a foreign throne?]]> 447 Emily Paxman 1835411592 Crystal 0 to-read 4.56 Death on the Caldera
author: Emily Paxman
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/30
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]]> <![CDATA[The Gentleman and His Vowsmith]]> 214565619
Lord Nicholas Monterris, the last remaining heir of a crumbling ducal house, must marry to save his family from complete decline. His father chooses Lady Leaf Serral, eldest daughter of his greatest rival, at which point Nic is sure it can’t get any worse. Until he learns the head negotiator is to be Dashiell sa Vare, an old flame he has neither forgiven nor forgotten, a man their rigid class structure forbids him to love.

Locked in the mouldering grandeur of Monterris Court (a house more haunting manifestation of dynastic ambition and ancestral guilt than home), the first dead body is troubling. The second, a warning that someone doesn’t want the contract to go ahead. But while Nic and his wife-to-be team up to banter their way through a secret murder investigation, it’s Dashiell he can’t stop thinking about. What would be worse? To love and have to let go, or to wholly deny the yearning of one’s heart forever?

Perfect for fans of Freya Marske and Alexis Hall, The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide is the perfect blend of gothic and romantic � including a locked room murder mystery, forbidden love and otherworldly automatons.]]> 464 Rebecca Ide 1668070936 Crystal 0 to-read 3.65 2025 The Gentleman and His Vowsmith
author: Rebecca Ide
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Witchfest (The Hollowbeck Paranormal Cozy Mysteries Book 4)]]> 220458456 323 Amelia Ash Crystal 0 currently-reading 4.44 2025 Witchfest (The Hollowbeck Paranormal Cozy Mysteries Book 4)
author: Amelia Ash
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Morgan Is My Name (Morgan le Fay, #1)]]> 91894330
When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers. Vengeful and brilliant, it's not long before Morgan becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin, influential sorcerer to the king. But fighting for her freedom, she risks losing everything � her reputation, her loved ones and her life.]]> 366 Sophie Keetch 1039006507 Crystal 0 4.28 2022 Morgan Is My Name (Morgan le Fay, #1)
author: Sophie Keetch
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/22
date added: 2025/04/22
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]]> Wilder Girls 42505366
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.]]> 357 Rory Power 0525645586 Crystal 4 3.46 2019 Wilder Girls
author: Rory Power
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/21
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]]> The Thirteenth Child 205366148 Drawing on the Grimm Brothers� dark fairytale, “Godfather Death,� this new novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows is a sweeping, fantastical saga of actions and consequences.

This is the story of Hazel, a young healer navigating a ruthless court to save the life of the king, grappling with a pantheon of gods with questionable agendas as she fights for agency and true love in her own life as the goddaughter of none other than Death himself.

All gifts come with a price.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for� what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love?]]> 501 Erin A. Craig 0593482603 Crystal 0 4.19 2024 The Thirteenth Child
author: Erin A. Craig
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/20
date added: 2025/04/20
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]]> Between Two Fires 13543121
Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission to confront the evil that has devastated the earth, and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.

As hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, saints, and the risen dead, and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.]]> 432 Christopher Buehlman 1937007863 Crystal 0 to-read 4.20 2012 Between Two Fires
author: Christopher Buehlman
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/18
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]]> Upon a Starlit Tide 211004131 A dark and enchanting fairy tale-inspired historical fantasy combining elements of "The Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella" into a wholly original tale of love, power, and betrayal.

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758.
For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo's wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven. While her sisters are interested in securing advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of escaping her elegant but stifling home and joining a ship's crew. Only Samuel—Luce's best friend and an English smuggler—understands her longing for the sea, secretly teaching her to sail whenever she can sneak away. For Luce, the stolen time on the water with Samuel is precious.

One stormy morning, Luce's plans are blown off course when she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the youngest son of the most powerful ship-owner in Saint-Malo, from the sea. Immediately drawn to his charm and sense of adventure, she longs to attend the glittering ball held in honor of his safe return and begins to contemplate a different kind of future for herself.

But it is not only Luce's hopes at stake—the local fae are leaving Brittany and taking their magic with them, while the long-standing war with the English means Saint-Malo is always at risk of attack. As Luce is plunged into a world of magic, brutality, and seduction, secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface. The truth of her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.

Or the scales of a sea-maid's tail.]]> 432 Kell Woods 125085251X Crystal 0 to-read 4.29 2025 Upon a Starlit Tide
author: Kell Woods
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/17
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]]> <![CDATA[The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam (Hart and Mercy, #3)]]> 215547926 From the author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy comes a new heartwarming fantasy rom-com with an opposites-attract twist set in the delightful world of Tanria.

Immortal demigod Rosie Fox has been patrolling Tanria for decades, but lately, the job has been losing its luster. After one hundred and fifty-seven years of being alive, everything is beginning to lose its luster. When Rosie dies (again) by electrocution (again) after poking around inside a portal choked with shadowy thorns only she can see, she feels stuck in the rut that is her unending life.

Thanks to Rosie’s meddling, the portal’s inventor, Dr. Adam Lee, must come in person to repair the damage. When all the portals begin to break down, he declares an emergency evacuation of Tanria. In the mad rush to get out, Rosie and Adam end up trapped inside the Mist. Together.

And uptight Adam Lee in his bespoke menswear seems to know a lot more about what’s happening than he lets on�.

Rosie is determined to crack the shell of his cool exterior. But the more she learns about Adam, the more she realizes that they both have personal histories as tangled and thorny as the plant that has them trapped inside the Mist. Maybe two people who have found themselves stuck in this life can find a way to unstick each other � just when their time on this earth seems to be running out.]]> 432 Megan Bannen 0316568279 Crystal 5 4.40 2025 The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam (Hart and Mercy, #3)
author: Megan Bannen
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/15
date added: 2025/04/15
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]]> <![CDATA[The Lies of the Ajungo (Forever Desert, #1)]]> 60784306 Moses Ose Utomi's debut novella, The Lies of the Ajungo, follows one boy’s epic quest to bring water back to his city and save his mother’s life. Prepare to enter the Forever Desert.

A Library Journal Best Book of the Month!

They say there is no water in the City of Lies. They say there are no heroes in the City of Lies. They say there are no friends beyond the City of Lies. But would you believe what they say in the City of Lies?

In the City of Lies, they cut out your tongue when you turn thirteen, to appease the terrifying Ajungo Empire and make sure it continues sending water. Tutu will be thirteen in three days, but his parched mother won’t last that long. So Tutu goes to his oba and makes a deal: she provides water for his mother, and in exchange he will travel out into the desert and bring back water for the city. Thus begins Tutu’s quest for the salvation of his mother, his city, and himself.

The Lies of the Ajungo opens the curtains on a tremendous world, and begins the epic fable of the Forever Desert. With every word, Moses Ose Utomi weaves magic.]]> 87 Moses Ose Utomi 1250849063 Crystal 0 to-read 4.20 2023 The Lies of the Ajungo (Forever Desert, #1)
author: Moses Ose Utomi
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater, #1)]]> 36454667 Hadrian Marlowe, a man revered as a hero and despised as a murderer, chronicles his tale in the galaxy-spanning debut of the Sun Eater series, merging the best of space opera and epic fantasy.

It was not his war.
On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe started down a path that could only end in fire. The galaxy remembers him as a the man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. They remember him as a the devil who destroyed a sun, casually annihilating four billion human lives—even the Emperor himself—against Imperial orders.
But Hadrian was not a hero. He was not a monster. He was not even a soldier.
Fleeing his father and a future as a torturer, Hadrian finds himself stranded on a strange, backwater world. Forced to fight as a gladiator and into the intrigues of a foreign planetary court, he will find himself fight a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand.]]> 753 Christopher Ruocchio 0756413028 Crystal 0 to-read 4.01 2018 Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater, #1)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/13
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]]> Foster 61206869 An international bestseller and one of The Times' "Top 50 Novels Published in the 21st Century," Claire Keegan's piercing contemporary classic Foster is a heartbreaking story of childhood, loss, and love; now released as a standalone book for the first time ever in the US

It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household--where everything is so well tended to--and this summer must soon come to an end.

Winner of the prestigious Davy Byrnes Award and published in an abridged version in the New Yorker, this internationally bestselling contemporary classic is now available for the first time in the US in a full, standalone edition. A story of astonishing emotional depth, Foster showcases Claire Keegan's great talent and secures her reputation as one of our most important storytellers.]]> 128 Claire Keegan 0802160158 Crystal 5 4.39 2010 Foster
author: Claire Keegan
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/10
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]]> Starter Villain 62326571 Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 264 John Scalzi 0765389231 Crystal 5 4.30 2023 Starter Villain
author: John Scalzi
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/10
date added: 2025/04/10
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]]> Greenteeth 214229691 From an outstanding new voice in cozy fantasy comesGreenteeth,a tale of fae, folklore, and found family, narrated by a charismatic lake-dwelling monster with a voice unlike any other, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher.

Beneath the still surface of a lake lurks a monster with needle sharp teeth. Hungry and ready to pounce.

Jenny Greenteeth has never spoken to a human before, but when a witch is thrown into her lake, something makes Jenny decide she's worth saving. Temperance doesn't know why her village has suddenly turned against her, only that it has something to do with the malevolent new pastor.

Though they have nothing in common, these two must band together on a magical quest to defeat the evil that threatens Jenny's lake and Temperance's family, as well as the very soul of Britain.]]> 304 Molly O'Neill Crystal 0 to-read 3.98 2025 Greenteeth
author: Molly O'Neill
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/10
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]]> They Never Learn 124948406 From the author of the “raw, ingenious, and utterly fearless� (Wendy Walker, USA TODAY bestselling author) Temper comes a dynamic psychological thriller about two women who give bad men exactly what they deserve.

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.

Every year, she searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she’s avoided drawing attention to herself—but as she’s preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Scarlett insinuates herself into the investigation and charms the woman in charge, Dr. Mina Pierce. Everything’s going according to her master plan…until she loses control with her latest victim, putting her secret life at risk of exposure.

Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies and fade into the background. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident—everything Carly wishes she could be—and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is sexually assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay...and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.

Featuring Layne Fargo’s trademark “propulsive writing style� (Kirkus Reviews) and “sinister, of the moment� (Chicago Review of Books) suspense, They Never Learn is a feminist serial killer story perfect for fans of Killing Eve and Chelsea Cain.]]> 349 Layne Fargo Crystal 3 3.86 2020 They Never Learn
author: Layne Fargo
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
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]]> <![CDATA[World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War]]> 8908
Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, "By excluding the human factor, aren't we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn't the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as 'the living dead'?"

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.]]> 342 Max Brooks 0307346609 Crystal 3 4.02 2006 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
author: Max Brooks
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/08
date added: 2025/04/08
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]]> Dark Sisters 222376679 Three women must chase a curse through the generations in order to reclaim their power in this fierce and stunning novel from Such a Pretty Smile author Kristi DeMeester.

1750: Anne Bolton sets off with her daughter to begin a life of secrecy. In town, they are killing women accused of witchcraft every day, and as a healer, she’ll soon be persecuted too. But then she makes a deal with the Dark Sisters to protect those under her purview–and unleashes a devastating power with consequences that will echo for three hundred years.

1953: Mary Shephard is a new mother, a picture-perfect wife, and dutiful member of The Path–a community of faith that holds piety and family values above all else. But Mary feels oppressed by these limiting expectations, so she takes a part-time job. Then she meets Sharon, and their star-crossed love story begins. But that’s the thing about star-crossed lovers–people just want to tear you apart.

2007: Camilla Burson is the preacher’s daughter, and she knows how to play the game. But now women in The Path are dying of a rare disease, including her mother, and this time she’ll push her father too far. Her punishment: The Retreat, a place that shows troublemakers like Camilla that toeing the line is best for everyone. But there is an old, forgotten power awaiting her; a power that if Camilla can claim, will change everything.

"Magnificent.� - Rachel Harrison

"A visceral, mesmerizing nightmare. I couldn't look away." - Hannah Morrissey]]> 336 Kristi DeMeester 1250286816 Crystal 3 4.31 Dark Sisters
author: Kristi DeMeester
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Reflections of Lilje Damselfly]]> 223165287
In hope of relieving her chronic pain and fatigue, she tries her best to fit in and silence her ability to speak with the elements, plants, and animals around her. But when the secret of her heritage is revealed and Lilje falls in love with a human, she faces a difficult choice. Give up everything she thought she was, or live forever in pain and regret of what could have been.

Reflections of Lilje Damselfly is a short standalone novel set in a magical version of early 20th century England.]]> Natalie Kelda Crystal 4 4.44 Reflections of Lilje Damselfly
author: Natalie Kelda
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
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]]> <![CDATA[The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)]]> 91981
Simon, a kitchen boy from the royal castle unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, will be sent on a quest that offers the only hope of salvation, a deadly riddle concerning long-lost swords of power. Compelled by fate and perilous magics, he must leave the only home he’s ever known and face enemies more terrifying than Osten Ard has ever seen, even as the land itself begins to die.

After the landmark Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, the epic saga of Osten Ard continues with the brand-new novel, The Heart of What Was Lost. Then don’t miss the upcoming trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, beginning with The Witchwood Crown!]]> 672 Tad Williams 0756402697 Crystal 4 DNF at 75% Just kind of long 3.96 1988 The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)
author: Tad Williams
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/02
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DNF at 75% Just kind of long
]]> <![CDATA[Demon World Boba Shop: Vol. 5 (Demon World Boba Shop, #5)]]> 223804291 Arthur has one more journey to make. With Coldbrook settled down, he’s sent by the town to the capital of the Demon World to present and explain their new inventions in front of the largest audience Arthur has ever seen.

With a fluffy owl, a water elemental, and a sparrow blacksmith that finds new ways to get into trouble, Arthur carries the hopes and knowledge of Coldbrook on his shoulders as he tries to find his footing in the capital. As he’s learned again and again, the Demon World is a friendly place. Somewhere that catches him every time he falls. That’s going to come in handy as he runs into his biggest obstacle yet.

The final volume in the fan-favorite cozy fantasy series, Demon World Boba Shop is “a story about community, and found families, and at times about how difficult it can be to let people help, and how much of a challenge it can be to find a way of being happy.� ]]> 373 R.C. Joshua Crystal 5 4.67 2025 Demon World Boba Shop: Vol. 5 (Demon World Boba Shop, #5)
author: R.C. Joshua
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
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]]> <![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 Crystal 5 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/22
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]]> <![CDATA[A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace]]> 219520694 In this charming fantasy with a swoony friends-to-lovers romance, two soldiers must decide the futures they want in the wake of a last-chance hook-up on the night before the world was supposed to end.

On the eve of the battle that will decide the realm of Telrus’s fate, Katrien takes a hard look at her prospects. A mere legionnaire, she and her spear will be at the fore in the morning, facing off against the Demon Lord and his wretched army, and it’s all but certain she’ll perish in the fight. But if the end of the world is mere hours away, there’s no reason not to hook up with her handsome, dedicated battle partner Emory—despite any anti-fraternization policies their centurion may have in place.

Only, the world doesn’t end the next day. Instead, an insufferable prince raised in hiding comes out of nowhere with a plucky band of heroes, defeats the Demon Lord, and seals the rift to the hellish plane. The realm is saved. The war is over. And Kat suddenly has a lot more future than she knows what to do with. It’s a future that could include Emory . . . if only he weren’t so set on staying enlisted with the very army Kat was unwillingly drafted into.

And while the Demon Lord has been destroyed, peace is still a long march away. When Kat inadvertently draws the eye of the prince, she, Emory, and the rest of their motley unit are pulled to the fore of the formation—and the heart of the danger—as the army embarks on one last campaign. The mission: laying a road as a foundation for the prince’s future rule. The real mission: scouring the last of the Demon Lord’s servants from the material plane.

As Kat and Emory work to secure a lasting peace, they’ll have to decide what they want their futures to look like—and if there’s room for love at the end of the road.]]> 368 Emily Skrutskie 0593974077 Crystal 5 4.37 2025 A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace
author: Emily Skrutskie
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/22
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]]> <![CDATA[Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection]]> 220341389 John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest disease.

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

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

In Everything is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.]]> 208 John Green 0525556575 Crystal 0 to-read 4.52 2025 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
author: John Green
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Devils (The Devils #1) 212276037 A brand-new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie, featuring a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey

Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds.

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side]]> 560 Joe Abercrombie 125088005X Crystal 0 to-read 4.43 2025 The Devils (The Devils #1)
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> Gifted & Talented 211004124 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes the story of three siblings who, upon the death of their father, are forced to reckon with their long-festering rivalries, dangerous abilities, and the crushing weight of all their unrealized adolescent potential.

Where there’s a will, there’s a war.

Thayer Wren, the brilliant CEO of Wrenfare Magitech and so-called father of modern technology, is dead. Any one of his three telepathically and electrokinetically gifted children would be a plausible inheritor to the Wrenfare throne.

Or at least, so they like to think.

Meredith, textbook accomplished eldest daughter and the head of her own groundbreaking biotech company, has recently cured mental illness. You're welcome! If only her father's fortune wasn't her last hope for keeping her journalist ex-boyfriend from exposing what she really is: a total fraud.

Arthur, second-youngest congressman in history, fights the good fight every day of his life. And yet, his wife might be leaving him, and he's losing his re-election campaign. But his dead father’s approval in the form of a seat on the Wrenfare throne might just turn his sinking ship around.

Eilidh, once the world's most famous ballerina, has spent the last five years as a run-of-the-mill marketing executive at her father’s company after a life-altering injury put an end to her prodigious career. She might be lacking in accolades compared to her siblings, but if her father left her everything, it would finally validate her worth—by confirming she'd been his favorite all along.

On the pipeline of gifted kid to clinically depressed adult, nobody wins—but which Wren will come out on top?]]> 512 Olivie Blake 1250883407 Crystal 0 to-read 3.83 2025 Gifted & Talented
author: Olivie Blake
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Pat of Silver Bush (Pat of Silver Bush, #1)]]> 3580 278 L.M. Montgomery 0770422470 Crystal 3 3.92 1933 Pat of Silver Bush (Pat of Silver Bush, #1)
author: L.M. Montgomery
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1933
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)]]> 214333691 When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 400 Suzanne Collins 1546171479 Crystal 5 Devastating. 4.68 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.68
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves:
review:
Devastating.
]]> A Land So Wide 222419258 From the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Roots and Ruin, comes an irresistible blend of dark fairytale and romantic fantasy set in the beautiful but brutal Canadian wilderness.

Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious Scottish lumber merchant, the tiny town on the edge of the American continent is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks� pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.

Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Swiftly realizing that the stories she was raised on might be more myth than fact, Greer figures out a way to escape Mistaken for the very first time. Determined to rescue Ellis, she begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But Greer is being hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding, as well as her own origins.

Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman’s relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and claim her own future.]]> 368 Erin A. Craig 0593686802 Crystal 3 3.98 2025 A Land So Wide
author: Erin A. Craig
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Stormborne Vine (Leaf and Scale)]]> 224091278 Determined spinster vs carnivorous wallflower�

In a corner of rural England, Fern Oakby makes a living through her knowledge of botany. An unusual case erupts during a storm when a Boston ivy turns monstrous and…carnivorous.

However, the solution is not as simple as hacking down the exceedingly rare and hungry plant. The storm also gave life to an origami dragon and bound it to the vine. When a lonely woman pleads with Fern to save the tiny dragon, she is forced to confront a profound question—what defines the value of a life?

In a world where ancient magic lingers, every life—no matter how small or strange—holds immeasurable worth. As Fern races against time to unravel dark secrets at the estate, the vine continues to grow. She must find a way to destroy it before it spreads or snatches more lives. Nor, as she discovers, is the little dragon the only life in need of saving�

Start a brand new cozy fantasy series from the author of MANNERS AND MONSTERS. Set in Regency England, explore a world that celebrates friendship and where magic and nature intertwine.]]> 310 Tilly Wallace 1067038132 Crystal 3 3.83 2025 The Stormborne Vine (Leaf and Scale)
author: Tilly Wallace
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Tomb of Dragons (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #3)]]> 211492066
While his title may be gone, his duties are not. Celehar contends with a municipal cemetery with fifty years of secrets, the damage of a revethavar he’s terrified to remember, and a group of miners who are more than willing to trade Celehar’s life for a chance at what they feel they’re owed.

Celehar does not have to face these impossible tasks alone. Joining him are his mentee Velhiro Tomasaran, still finding her footing with the investigative nature of their job; Iäna Pel-Thenhior, his beloved opera director friend and avid supporter; and the valiant guard captain Hanu Olgarezh.

Amidst the backdrop of a murder and a brewing political uprising, Celehar must seek justice for those who cannot find it themselves under a tense political system. The repercussions of his quest are never as simple they seem, and Celehar’s own life and happiness hang in the balance.]]> 336 Katherine Addison 1250821010 Crystal 0 4.62 2025 The Tomb of Dragons (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #3)
author: Katherine Addison
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
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]]> <![CDATA[The Grief of Stones (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #2)]]> 58724898 In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel to The Witness For The Dead...

Celehar’s life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city—the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse.

At once touching and shattering, Celehar’s witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.]]> 245 Katherine Addison 1250813891 Crystal 5 4.27 2022 The Grief of Stones (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #2)
author: Katherine Addison
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Penric’s Demon (Penric and Desdemona, #1)]]> 25791216
Set in the fantasy world of the author's acclaimed novels THE CURSE OF CHALION, PALADIN OF SOULS and THE HALLOWED HUNT, this novella has the depth of characterization and emotional complexity that distinguishes all Bujold's work.]]> 103 Lois McMaster Bujold Crystal 0 to-read 4.21 2015 Penric’s Demon (Penric and Desdemona, #1)
author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2)]]> 213618143 The brilliant detective Ana Dolabra may have finally met her match in the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

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

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

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

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

Din has seen Ana solve impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and Ana seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, he fears that his superior has finally met an enemy she can’t defeat.]]> 465 Robert Jackson Bennett 0593723821 Crystal 5 4.55 2025 A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
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]]> Witchcraft for Wayward Girls 207611566 There’s power in a book�

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.

In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master� (NPR).]]> 482 Grady Hendrix 0593548981 Crystal 0 to-read 4.00 2025 Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Radiant King (Astral Kingdoms, #1)]]> 215755502 The first installment ofUSA Today bestseller David Dalglish's latest epic fantasy trilogy about immortal demigods, civil wars,and ancient evil will be irresistible to classic fantasy fans and will appeal to readers of James Islingtonand Anthony Ryan.�

Six immortal siblings.Five sworn to peace.One demands a throne.

Radiance, the mysterious power of life and creation, is theirs to command. Death cannot claim them. For hundreds of years, the ever-living ruled with ease. Yet when the world is nearly broken beneath their reign, the humbled six swear a They will sit upon no thrones, wear no crowns, and no longer teach humanity the gifts of radiance.

But after centuries of peace, Eder rejects their vow, anoints himself Voice of Father, and spreads a new, cruel faith across the land.

Faron cannot allow such indiscretion. Returning from a self-imposed exile, he swears to crush Eder’s kingdom, and he will not do so alone—Sariel, their cold and calculating brother, knows all too well that an ever-living’s dominion is bound for brutality and destruction. But to overthrow a nation, they will need more than each other. They will need an army and a ruler who can take the throne their own vow forbids. And so, they pledge themselves to the fanatical Bastard Princess, a woman with incredible powers she insists were given to her by the goddess Leliel.

But Eder’s conquest is not what it seems, and it will take more than a holy war to stop an immortal who has heard the desperate plea of a god.]]> 525 David Dalglish 0316576689 Crystal 5
Exhilarating. Imaginative. Wholly original. If you can't tell I really enjoyed this book. It's the kind of book that leaves a phantom in your brain for a couple of days afterward. Every time I think about opening my kindle, I imagine I'm going back to this world, only to remember that I finished this book days ago and am on to something new. Which does not bode well for the next book on my TBR because I think I need a palate cleanser.

The characters in this novel are so completely fascinating. Each of them are broken in their own unique way and are all insane. Deeply insane, but trying to lead/control this world of humans as the only 6 immortal beings with power. As we can see, that does not help their case. Who does deserve to lead? Should rulers lead with compassion or be merciless in a pursuit of justice. Questions that are on the top of all our minds at the moment. This book doesn't give us an answer but does illustrate the questions well.

It is also completely crazy pants. In the best of ways. The last few pages are absolutely insane and compelling. I recommend this book for anyone who likes darker fantasy with very high stakes. Can't wait for the next book in the series.]]> 3.83 2025 The Radiant King (Astral Kingdoms, #1)
author: David Dalglish
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:
Holy cow! What did I just read?!

Exhilarating. Imaginative. Wholly original. If you can't tell I really enjoyed this book. It's the kind of book that leaves a phantom in your brain for a couple of days afterward. Every time I think about opening my kindle, I imagine I'm going back to this world, only to remember that I finished this book days ago and am on to something new. Which does not bode well for the next book on my TBR because I think I need a palate cleanser.

The characters in this novel are so completely fascinating. Each of them are broken in their own unique way and are all insane. Deeply insane, but trying to lead/control this world of humans as the only 6 immortal beings with power. As we can see, that does not help their case. Who does deserve to lead? Should rulers lead with compassion or be merciless in a pursuit of justice. Questions that are on the top of all our minds at the moment. This book doesn't give us an answer but does illustrate the questions well.

It is also completely crazy pants. In the best of ways. The last few pages are absolutely insane and compelling. I recommend this book for anyone who likes darker fantasy with very high stakes. Can't wait for the next book in the series.
]]> Guard in the Garden 224267315 Embark on a wholesome journey of healing and self-discovery. A cozy fantasy tale of forging new friendships and overcoming fears. A quiet quest of family bonds and budding romance.

From dragon fire to garden flowers �

Felton Holdum spent his entire life training to become one of Galium’s elite dwarven warriors. When a bloody battle leaves him injured, he has no choice but to move into his eccentric twin aunts� quaint home in the town’s quiet Garome District.

With his life of military service seemingly over, the captain of the city guard gives Felton his only chance at a fresh start in the new life he never wanted.

But when a human woman barges through his front door, the grumpy dwarf starts to wonder if there is more to life than war. The sunshine woman invites him to visit her garden, where Felton gains a new nemesis and a new purpose in life.

Take a walk through the garden and see what magic awaits.

Come enjoy the hospitality of the whimsical Garome District. Meet new friends as you sample new breads at the bakery, play a game of Castle Brick at the tavern, and taste homemade pies during the annual pie baking contest at the Fall Festival.

“Virgin River meets The Hobbit� in this heartwarming, feel-good fantasy.]]> Z.S. Diamanti 1961580136 Crystal 0 to-read 4.58 Guard in the Garden
author: Z.S. Diamanti
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> Hemlock & Silver 217388302 DELUXE EDITION—a gorgeous hardcover edition featuring bright green sprayed edges, a foil stamp on the casing, and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White� steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.

Not to die, but to save—seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.

But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.

Or it might be the thing that kills them all.]]> 368 T. Kingfisher 1250342031 Crystal 5
This is a Snow White retelling but really an imaginative one. It strays from the main story in ways that makes this novel interesting and fresh. It’s not as action forward as some of the authors previous novels, but that is a really good thing here as it is very in tune with the main characters personality. She is one of my favorite types of characters, a middle age woman with a sharp mind, clever sense of humor and wit, and intellectual curiosity that gets her into no end of trouble. She is completely un-ordinary. I really enjoyed her a lot. I fully recommend this book just on the strength of her characterization. That is even with the great story, and a very nice, subtle slow burn romance.]]> 4.31 2025 Hemlock & Silver
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/28
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves:
review:
I mean � fairy tale retelling � middle aged main character � auto buy author. Of course, I loved this!

This is a Snow White retelling but really an imaginative one. It strays from the main story in ways that makes this novel interesting and fresh. It’s not as action forward as some of the authors previous novels, but that is a really good thing here as it is very in tune with the main characters personality. She is one of my favorite types of characters, a middle age woman with a sharp mind, clever sense of humor and wit, and intellectual curiosity that gets her into no end of trouble. She is completely un-ordinary. I really enjoyed her a lot. I fully recommend this book just on the strength of her characterization. That is even with the great story, and a very nice, subtle slow burn romance.
]]> The Phoenix Keeper 203163900 Set in a magical zoo teeming with mythical beasts from dragons and unicorns to kelpies and krakens, The Phoenix Keeper is a fierce joy of a cozy fantasy novel with a soul-restoring queer romance at its heart, for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea and Legends and Lattes.

As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila's childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There's just one glaring caveat: her zoo's breeding program hasn't functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.

But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons... Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. But mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo's most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.

Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the face of a goddess who's convinced that Aila's beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit. With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila's success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job...

She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species � and her love life � now rests on her shoulders.]]> 496 S.A. MacLean 0316573094 Crystal 0 to-read 3.80 2024 The Phoenix Keeper
author: S.A. MacLean
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[What Comes of Attending the Commoners Ball]]> 215353471 Hester Flanders went to the ball for the food. She didn’t expect a prince to follow her home.

If there’s one rule Hester learned during her country upbringing, it’s never accept a gift; that’s how the Folk get you. Although she’s left her farm behind, she can’t leave her superstitions, even if no one else in the capital city seems to care. Hardworking but hungry, she’s looking for loopholes, and the king’s annual Commoners Ball seems like the perfect way to get a free meal that’s not technically a gift—and it would have been, too, except a pesky prince took a shine to her.

Inglebert Lucas Chesingwick isn’t just the crown prince; he’s also practical, responsible, and very annoyed to see his younger brother causing a scene by flirting with a peasant at the ball. He can separate them for one night, but his mischievous brother is determined to see the poor girl again. And again. And for some reason, Lucas keeps running into her, too. If only there was some way he could help her.

The princes might mean well, but Hester knows better than to accept favors from anyone, even royalty—even if it’s cheese—and even if saying no breaks her heart. After all, just because the Folk have never been seen in the city doesn’t mean they’re not around.

Cinderella meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this cozy fantasy romance from debut author Elisabeth Aimee Brown. Whirl away into a whimsical story of glittering gaslamps, frisky Folk, and huggable hogs.]]> 278 Elisabeth Aimee Brown Crystal 5 4.23 2024 What Comes of Attending the Commoners Ball
author: Elisabeth Aimee Brown
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves:
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]]> 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 Crystal 3 3.66 2024 We Used to Live Here
author: Marcus Kliewer
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves:
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]]> Once Was Willem 212987930 From the bestselling author M. R. Carey comes an utterly unique and enchantingly dark epic fantasy fable like no other.

This is the tale of Once Was Willem, who - eleven hundred and some years after the death of Christ, in the kingdom that had but recently begun to call itself England - rose from the dead to defeat a great evil facing the humble village of Cosham.

Pennick for all its beauty was ever a place with a dark reputation. The forests of the Chase were said to be home to nixies and boggarts, and there was a common belief, passed down through many generations, that the castle housed an unquiet ghost of terrible and malign power. These rumours I can attest were all true; indeed they fell short of the truth by a long way . . .]]> 310 M.R. Carey 0316505129 Crystal 5 4.10 2025 Once Was Willem
author: M.R. Carey
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale, #2)]]> 42975172 The Handmaid's Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her--freedom, prison or death.

With The Testaments, the wait is over.

Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than fifteen years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades.

"Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in." --Margaret Atwood

An alternate cover edition of ISBN 978-0385543781 can be found here.]]> 422 Margaret Atwood Crystal 4 4.16 2019 The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale, #2)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audio and the narrators were absolutely fantastic. Ann Dowd will always be Aunt Lydia for me. The book is not The Handmaid's Tale, but I didn't expect her to capture that lightning in a bottle again. It is a good sequel that serves to tie up some loose ends.
]]> <![CDATA[The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)]]> 38447
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.]]> 311 Margaret Atwood 038549081X Crystal 5 favorites 4.15 1985 The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: favorites
review:
Provocative. Infuriating. Frightening. Better than I thought it would be. Lived up to all expectations. Second read through.
]]> The God of the Woods 199698485 When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.]]> 490 Liz Moore Crystal 0 4.15 2024 The God of the Woods
author: Liz Moore
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves:
review:

]]> The Crimson Road 214353924 A captivating dark gothic fantasy set in the same universe as the award-winning author's All The Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns and The Briar Book of the Dead. A tale of vampires, assassins, ancient witches and broken promises.

Violet Zennor has had a peculiar upbringing. Training as a fighter in underground arenas, honing her skills against the worst scum, murderers and thieves her father could pit her against, she has learned to be ruthless. To kill.

Until the day Hedrek Zennor dies. Violet thinks she’s free � a rich young heiress with a world of possibilities in front of her. Then, to her horror, Violet learns that her father planned to send her into the Darklands, where the Leech Lords reign. Where Violet’s still-born brother was taken years ago after Hedrek sold him to a man bearing the mark of the mysterious Anchorhold.

Her father’s solicitor and the city’s bishop are insistent she fulfil her duty, but Violet steadfastly refuses. Until one night two assassins attempt to slaughter her � and it becomes if she wants to enjoy a future free of the interference of either solicitors, bishops or assassins, she’s going to have to clean up the mess her father made.

On her journey, Violet seeks the help of Miren O’Malley in the hidden estate of Blackwater, whose family once produced the purest, strangest silver; Ellie Briar of Silverton, the Briar Witch who guards the gateway to the realm of the Leech Lords; and Asher Todd of Whitebarrow, who did terrible things and found The Three Who Went Beneath.

Ultimately, Violet must go alone. Into the Darklands. To the Anchorhold where it all began. Where it will all end. To do what must be done.

By turns gripping and bewitching, sharp and audacious, this mesmerising story takes you on a journey into the dark heart of Slatter's sinister and compelling fantasy world, where blood is currency and magic is a weapon.]]> 400 A.G. Slatter 1803364572 Crystal 0 4.04 2025 The Crimson Road
author: A.G. Slatter
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The Briar Book of the Dead 174057875 Set in the same universe as the acclaimed All the Murmuring Bones and The Path of Thorns (one of Oprah Daily's Top 25 Fantasy Novels of 2022), this beautifully told Gothic fairy tale of ghosts, witches, deadly secrets and past sins, will be perfect for fans of Hannah Whitten and Ava Reid.

Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations. The Briar family of witches run the town of Silverton, caring for its inhabitants with their skills and magic. In the usual scheme of things, they would be burnt for their sorcery, but the church has given them dispensation in return for their protection of the borders of the Darklands, where the much-feared Leech Lords hold sway.

Ellie is being trained as a steward, administering for the town, and warding off the insistent interest of the church. When her grandmother dies suddenly, Ellie's cousin Audra rises to the position of Briar Witch, propelling Ellie into her new role. As she navigates fresh challenges, an unexpected new ability to see and speak to the dead leads her to uncover sinister family secrets, stories of burnings, lost grimoires and evil spells. Reeling from one revelation to the next, she seeks answers from the long dead and is forced to decide who to trust, as a devastating plot threatens to destroy everything the Briar witches have sacrificed so much to build.

Told in the award-winning author's trademark gorgeous, addictive prose, this is an intricately woven tale of a family of witches struggling against the bonds of past sins and persecution.]]> 379 A.G. Slatter Crystal 5 4.33 2024 The Briar Book of the Dead
author: A.G. Slatter
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/14
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Demon World Boba Shop: Vol. 4 (Demon World Boba Shop, #4)]]> 220193210 Brick by brick, Arthur and his friends have made Coldbrook into their new home. But can it survive a monster wave? It’s going to take everyone and everything for Coldbrook to weather this storm.

When Arthur first arrived on the Demon World, he couldn’t have possibly imagined that one day he would be leading his own town against a horde of monsters. As he works with Coldbrook residents to build up its defenses, he’s getting help from unexpected places. Like he was promised, the Demon World is a nice place and even in the most dire of circumstances, he can still find that promise of nice coming true.

The fourth volume in a cozy, slice-of-life series, Demon World Boba Shop has been described as “BEST BOOK OF THE PAST DECADE.� We agree. ]]> 386 R.C. Joshua Crystal 5 4.62 2024 Demon World Boba Shop: Vol. 4 (Demon World Boba Shop, #4)
author: R.C. Joshua
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings]]> 174124784 The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, All The Murmuring Bones, and The Path of Thorns, comes a collection of twelve short stories showcasing the scope of her extraordinary talent.

Throughout The Wrong Girl and Other Warnings, Slatter shows us that ‘innocent� should never be mistaken for ‘safe�, while spinning tales of witches, Victorian-era detectives, bad parents, unrepentant killers, and ancient wisdom.

In "A Matter Of Light", detective Kit Casswell is called upon to lend her experience with the supernatural to a very unwilling consulting detective. In "Widows� Walk", a quartet of witches band together in a single house, secretly working to protect young women. In the titular tale, "The Wrong Girl", a frustrated artist turns the romance of her fickle friend and tiresome sister into a deadly masterpiece.

Wry, savage, and written with the precision of a writer at the top of her game, The Wrong Girl and Other Warnings is a gift to those who already love Slatter’s fiction and those discovering her exquisite stories for the first time.]]> 184 Angela Slatter 1922479608 Crystal 4 4.16 2023 The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings
author: Angela Slatter
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Of Sorrow and Such 25664279
When a foolish young shapeshifter goes against the wishes of her pack, and gets herself very publicly caught, the authorities find it impossible to deny the existence of the supernatural in their midst any longer; Gideon and her like are captured, bound for torture and a fiery end.

Should Gideon give up her sisters in return for a quick death? Or can she turn the situation to her advantage?]]> 160 Angela Slatter 1466891920 Crystal 5 4.01 2015 Of Sorrow and Such
author: Angela Slatter
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Night Stair: A Sourdough Tale]]> 224080553 Angela Slatter’s The Night Stair is a gothic fantasy tale of vampires, vengeance, and treachery set in the award-winning author’s Sourdough universe.
Two of Adlisa’s sisters have been selected to serve, adopting the role of dutiful daughter to the dark Lady who rules the manor. Two of Adlisa’s sisters were eaten, devoured when the Lady’s fixations soured and they were deemed expendable.
Now it’s Adlisa’s turn to serve, selected from seven candidates to step into the opulent luxury of her new life. Her survival depends on maintaining a fragile illusion, standing in for the child Her Ladyship lost centuries before.
Yet Adlisa is no helpless daughter, here to serve and earn coin for her family until her untimely death. She plays her own games with the Lord and Lady of the house, and she is not as helpless as she seems.
This chapbook presents a stand-alone story set in the world of A.G. Slatter’s The Crimson Road, alongside an author’s note and an updated chronology of the Sourdough universe. ]]> 50 Angela Slatter Crystal 5 4.31 The Night Stair: A Sourdough Tale
author: Angela Slatter
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
review:
I usually dislike vampire stories but this was so fantastic. Angela Slatter is an auto-buy for me.
]]> <![CDATA[The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)]]> 51901147
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.]]> 541 Suzanne Collins Crystal 4 3.99 2020 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
review:
Liked it much better the second time through. She does a great job of outlining what a complete maliganant narcissist Snow is. Now I need to watch the movie.
]]> The Sunlit Man 60531420 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson―creator of The Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn Saga, and countless bestselling works of science fiction and fantasy―comes this standalone novel showing a rare glimpse of a future Cosmere universe.

Running. Putting distance between himself and the relentless Night Brigade has been Nomad’s strategy for years. Staying one or two steps ahead of his pursuers by skipping through the Cosmere from one world to the next.

But now, his powers too depleted to escape, Nomad finds himself trapped on Canticle, a planet that will kill anyone who doesn’t keep moving. Fleeing the fires of a sunrise that melts the very stones, he is instantly caught up in the struggle between a heartless tyrant and the brave rebels who defy him.

Failure means a quick death, incinerated by the sun� or a lifetime as a mindless slave. Tormented by the consequences of his past, Nomad must fight not only for his survival―but also for his very soul.]]> 447 Brandon Sanderson 1938570391 Crystal 4 4.28 2023 The Sunlit Man
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves:
review:

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

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

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

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

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]> 541 Brandon Sanderson Crystal 4 fantasy 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)]]> 203578847 The long-awaited explosive climax to the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive―the iconic epic fantasy masterpiece that has sold more than 10 million copies, from acclaimed bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.

Dalinar Kholin challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions with the future of Roshar on the line. The Knights Radiant have only ten days to prepare―and the sudden ascension of the crafty and ruthless Taravangian to take Odium’s place has thrown everything into disarray.

Desperate fighting continues simultaneously worldwide―Adolin in Azimir, Sigzil and Venli at the Shattered Plains, and Jasnah at Thaylen City. The former assassin, Szeth, must cleanse his homeland of Shinovar from the dark influence of the Unmade. He is accompanied by Kaladin, who faces a new battle helping Szeth fight his own demons . . . and who must do the same for the insane Herald of the Almighty, Ishar.

At the same time, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain work to unravel the mystery behind the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram and her involvement in the enslavement of the singer race and in the ancient Knights Radiants killing their spren. And Dalinar and Navani seek an edge against Odium’s champion that can be found only in the Spiritual Realm, where memory and possibility combine in chaos. The fate of the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.]]> 1344 Brandon Sanderson 1250319188 Crystal 5 4.36 2024 Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Deviant: The Shocking and True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho]]> 391284 0 Harold Schechter 0671644823 Crystal 0 to-read 3.94 1989 Deviant: The Shocking and True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho
author: Harold Schechter
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Renewal Edition, #1)]]> 10862575
This new edition of Sailor Moon will feature:

- An entirely new, incredibly accurate translation!
- Japanese-style, right-to-left reading!
- New cover art never before seen in the U.S.!
- The original Japanese character names!
- Detailed translation notes!

This version of Sailor Moon will be completely true to original. Join us as Sailor Moon returns to the U.S. for the first time in years!]]> 240 Naoko Takeuchi 1935429744 Crystal 5 japanese, manga 4.29 2003 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Renewal Edition, #1)
author: Naoko Takeuchi
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2011/11/18
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: japanese, manga
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Undead Mr. Tenpenny (The Cassie Black Trilogy #1)]]> 57186338
"...a clever, hilarious romp through a new magical universe" --Sarah Angleton, author of Gentleman of Misfortune

Cassie Black works at a funeral home. She's used to all manner of dead bodies. What she's not used to is them waking up. Which they seem to be doing on a disturbingly regular basis lately.

Just when Cassie believes she has the problem under control, the recently-deceased Busby Tenpenny insists he's been murdered and claims Cassie might be responsible thanks to a wicked brand of magic she's been exposed to. The only way for Cassie to get her life back to normal is to tame her magic and uncover Mr. Tenpenny's true killer.

Simple right? Of course not. Because while Cassie works on getting her newly-acquired magic sorted, she's blowing up kitchens, angering an entire magical community, and discovering her past is more closely tied to Busby Tenpenny than she could have ever imagined.

If you like contemporary fantasy with snarky humor, unforgettable characters, and paranormal mystery such as Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series, you'll find it hard to pry yourself away from this first book of the Cassie Black Trilogy.

Selected as one of Apple's Most Anticipated Books of 2021
Winner of the Novel Excerpt Prize from the League of American PEN Women
Finalist in the Yeah You Write! Novel Contest
The Cassie Black Trilogy is a fish-out-of-water tale that takes you from the streets of Portland to the Tower of London. It's got magic and mystery, pastries and zombies, sentient gnomes and an evil wizard...because there's always an evil wizard, isn't there?

Note: While this book delivers plenty of wry giggles and a few hexes, it's fairly clean with only an itty-bitty bit of light cursing, one fight scene, and no hanky panky or sexual situations.]]> 354 Tammie Painter Crystal 0 to-read 3.98 2021 The Undead Mr. Tenpenny (The Cassie Black Trilogy #1)
author: Tammie Painter
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Long Walk 9014 370 Richard Bachman 0451196716 Crystal 0 to-read 4.11 1978 The Long Walk
author: Richard Bachman
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)]]> 17250966 The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson

After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar's crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.

Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin's scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.]]> 1231 Brandon Sanderson Crystal 5 4.66 2020 Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:
Five stars. I mean of course it's five stars. Did anyone think it would be otherwise. The last 10% is a crazy ride!
]]> Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Crystal 4 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/23
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)]]> 54511226
When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akina, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn't fallen into enemy hands. Knights Radiant who fly too near find their Stormlight suddenly drained, so the voyage must be by sea.

Shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a Stormlight-ingesting winged larkin, a species once thought extinct. Now Rysn's pet is ill, and any hope for Chiri-Chiri’s recovery can be found only at the ancestral home of the larkin: Akinah. With the help of Lopen, the formerly one-armed Windrunner, Rysn must accept Navani's quest and sail into the perilous storm from which no one has returned alive. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.]]> 171 Brandon Sanderson 193857026X Crystal 5 4.39 2020 Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves:
review:

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

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

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1248 Brandon Sanderson Crystal 5 4.60 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bladed Faith (The Vagrant Gods, #1)]]> 57941271
Cyrus was only twelve years old when his gods were slain, his country invaded, and his parents—the king and queen—beheaded in front of him. Held prisoner in the invader's court for years, Cyrus is suddenly given a chance to escape and claim his revenge when a mysterious group of revolutionaries comes looking for a figurehead. They need a hero to strike fear into the hearts of the imperial and to inspire and unite the people. They need someone to take up the skull mask and swords and to become the legendary "Vagrant"—an unparalleled hero and assassin of otherworldly skill.

But all is not as it seems. Creating the illusion of a hero is the work of many, and Cyrus will soon discover the true price of his vengeance.]]> 469 David Dalglish 075955708X Crystal 0 to-read 3.82 2022 The Bladed Faith (The Vagrant Gods, #1)
author: David Dalglish
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)]]> 17332218 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.]]> 1088 Brandon Sanderson 0765326361 Crystal 5 fantasy 4.76 2014 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.76
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fantasy
review:

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

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

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]> 304 Silvia Moreno-Garcia Crystal 5 3.76 2020 Mexican Gothic
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/15
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> The Other March Sisters 213870670 Giving all the “Little Women� the stories they deserve at last, this imaginative historical novel and companion to the much-loved classic draws Meg, Beth, and Amy March from behind the shadow of Jo � Louisa May Alcott’s alter-ego and the “author� of Little Women � asvibrant and unforgettable characters grappling with societal strictures, queer love, motherhood, chronic illness, artistic ambition, and more.

A riveting reimagining for readers of March by Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Miller’s Caroline and Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet.

I’m sure you believe you know their story from reading that other book, which told you an inspiring tale about four sisters. It told you a story, but did it tell you the story?

Four sisters, each as different as can be. Through the eyes and words of Jo, their characters and destinies became known to millions. Meg, pretty and conventional. Jo, stubborn, tomboyish, and ambitious. Beth, shy and good-natured, a mortal angel readily accepting her fate. And Amy, elegant, frivolous, and shallow. But Jo, for all her insight, could not always know what was in her sisters� thoughts, or in their hearts.

With Jo away in New York, pursuing her dreams of being a writer, Meg, Beth, and Amy follow their own paths. Meg, newly married with young twins, struggles to find the contentment that Marmee assured her would come with domesticity. Unhappy and unfulfilled, she turns to her garden, finding there not just a hobby but a calling that will allow her to help other women in turn.

Beth knows her time is limited. Still, part of her longs to break out of her suffocating cocoon at home, however briefly. A new acquaintance turns into something more, offering unexpected, quiet joy.

Amy, traveling in Europe while she pursues her goal of becoming an artist, is keenly aware of the expectation that she will save the family by marrying well. Through the course of her journey, she discovers how she can remain true to herself, true to her art, and true to the love that was always meant to be.

By purposefully leaving Jo off the page, authors Liz Parker, Ally Malinenko, and Linda Epstein give the other March sisters room to reveal themselves through conversations, private correspondence, and intimate moments—coming alive in ways that might surprise even daring, unconventional Jo.
]]> 368 Linda Epstein 149675025X Crystal 0 to-read 3.44 The Other March Sisters
author: Linda Epstein
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.44
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Katabasis 210223811 Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.

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

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.]]> 400 R.F. Kuang Crystal 0 to-read 4.03 2025 Katabasis
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)]]> 150247395
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

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

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

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

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.]]> 410 Robert Jackson Bennett 1984820702 Crystal 5 4.28 2024 The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Grave Empire (The Great Silence, #1)]]> 214229274 From critically acclaimed author Richard Swan, Grave Empire begins the epic tale of an empire on the verge of industrial revolution, where sorcery and arcane practices are outlawed � and where an ancient prophecy threatens the coming end of days.

Blood once turned the wheels ofempire. Now it is money.

A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and theEmpireof the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await.

But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, theEmpire’s proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse.

Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife. The monks believe this is the start of an ancient prophecy heralding the end of days—the Great Silence.

It falls to Renata Rainer, a low-ranking ambassador to an enigmatic and vicious race of mermen, to seek answers from those who still practice the arcane arts. But with the road south beset by war and theEmpireon the brink of supernatural catastrophe, soon there may not be a world left to save...]]> 529 Richard Swan Crystal 5
If you’ve picked up the authors first series written in this world (Empire of the Wolf) you know to expect an exquisitely written adventure series. This delivers in spades.

I have read the Empire of the Wolf, and while that is not necessary to your enjoyment of this book I really do wish I remembered more about the intricacies of those books so I can enjoy this one even better. It reminds me of the early days of watching the tv show Lost. When all the theories were wild and the mythology led to more and more outrageously delicious storylines. I want to dive into this world and become an expert. ]]> 4.16 2025 Grave Empire (The Great Silence, #1)
author: Richard Swan
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/25
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves:
review:
Absolutely bloody amazing!

If you’ve picked up the authors first series written in this world (Empire of the Wolf) you know to expect an exquisitely written adventure series. This delivers in spades.

I have read the Empire of the Wolf, and while that is not necessary to your enjoyment of this book I really do wish I remembered more about the intricacies of those books so I can enjoy this one even better. It reminds me of the early days of watching the tv show Lost. When all the theories were wild and the mythology led to more and more outrageously delicious storylines. I want to dive into this world and become an expert.
]]> The Teller of Small Fortunes 207610813 A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this warm and wonderful debut fantasy, perfect for readers of Travis Baldree and Sangu Mandanna.

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells "small" fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences�

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.]]> 336 Julie Leong 0593815904 Crystal 0 4.08 2024 The Teller of Small Fortunes
author: Julie Leong
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/02
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1)]]> 212174157 From an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy comes The Raven Scholar, a masterfully woven and playfully inventive tale of imperial intrigue, cutthroat competition, and one scholar’s quest to uncover the truth.

Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered.

It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.

If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.

We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.]]> 656 Antonia Hodgson 152933988X Crystal 5 4.47 2025 The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1)
author: Antonia Hodgson
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Water Moon 211479192 A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical journey when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike and enchanting fantasy novel.

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds.

But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.]]> 384 Samantha Sotto Yambao 0593724992 Crystal 0 to-read 3.79 2025 Water Moon
author: Samantha Sotto Yambao
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Orb of Cairado (The Chronicles of Osreth, #1.1)]]> 221288099 The Goblin Emperor, The Orb of Cairado offers an unlikely hero in historian Ulcetha Zhorvena.

Five years ago, Ulcetha was studying at the University of Cairado, working his way toward becoming a scholar first-class in the Department of History. Then a prize artifact disappeared and Ulcetha, deftly framed, was kicked out. Now he works for a crooked importer, using his knowledge of elven history to write provenances for the fake artifacts Salathgarad sells.

When the airship Wisdom of Choharo explodes, killing the emperor and three of his four sons, it takes with it Ulcetha's best friend, Mara Lilana. But Mara leaves behind a puzzle--the one thing Ulcetha can't resist. And the puzzle leads Ulcetha back to the Department of History... and maybe the chance to clear his name.]]> 120 Katherine Addison 1645242137 Crystal 5
This is such a short book, but as always, is so engrossing. They usually feature a mystery of some sort, which is not solved through fast paced action, but through introspection and reasoning. The characters are surprising in their depth and the reader comes away with empathy for their inner struggles.

This novella (or is it a short story?) is the same as the full length books in the series. I don’t want to go into too much detail because with a short story you run the very real risk of spoiling something and that would be truly egregious. If you couldn’t tell yet, I absolutely adore all of the books by this author and she is coming out with a new full length novel early next year. This will just keep me going until then. Maybe.]]> 4.09 2025 The Orb of Cairado (The Chronicles of Osreth, #1.1)
author: Katherine Addison
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves:
review:
When I get a new book in this series I just want to lie in bed and marinate in it.

This is such a short book, but as always, is so engrossing. They usually feature a mystery of some sort, which is not solved through fast paced action, but through introspection and reasoning. The characters are surprising in their depth and the reader comes away with empathy for their inner struggles.

This novella (or is it a short story?) is the same as the full length books in the series. I don’t want to go into too much detail because with a short story you run the very real risk of spoiling something and that would be truly egregious. If you couldn’t tell yet, I absolutely adore all of the books by this author and she is coming out with a new full length novel early next year. This will just keep me going until then. Maybe.
]]> Once Was Willem 212924038 From the bestselling M. R. Carey comes an utterly unique and enchantingly dark epic fantasy fable like no other.

This is the tale of Once Was Willem, who - eleven hundred and some years after the death of Christ, in the kingdom that had but recently begun to call itself England - rose from the dead to defeat a great evil facing the humble village of Cosham.

Pennick for all its beauty was ever a place with a dark reputation. The forests of the Chase were said to be home to nixies and boggarts, and there was a common belief, passed down through many generations, that the castle housed an unquiet ghost of terrible and malign power. These rumours I can attest were all true; indeed they fell short of the truth by a long way . . .]]> 320 M.R. Carey 0316505021 Crystal 0 to-read 4.03 2025 Once Was Willem
author: M.R. Carey
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Storyteller 57789640 This story follows a teenage girl’s quest to uncover the truth behind her secretive great aunt Anna, who just might be the long lost Russian princess Anastasia.

It’s not every day you discover you might be related to Anastasia…or that the tragic princess actually survived her assassination attempt and has been living as the woman you know as Aunt Anna.

For Jess Morgan, who is growing tired of living her life to please everyone else, discovering her late aunt’s diaries shows her she’s not the only one struggling to hide who she really is. But was her aunt truly a Romanov princess? Or is this some elaborate hoax?

With the help of a supremely dorky, but undeniably cute, local college student named Evan, Jess digs into the century-old mystery.

But soon Jess realizes there’s another, bigger truth waiting to be revealed: Jess Morgan. Because if she’s learned anything from Aunt Anna, it’s that only you can write your own story.]]> 368 Kathryn Williams 0063049392 Crystal 0 to-read 3.79 2022 The Storyteller
author: Kathryn Williams
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door]]> 207567816 From the author of The Magician's Daughter comes The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, a mythic, magical tale full of secret scholarship, faerie curses, and the deadliest spells of all—the ones that friends cast on each other.

All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it.

Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England's secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed.

But when Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself enmeshed in the seductive world of the country's magical aristocrats. The summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and old secrets are unearthed.

Years later, when the faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know it.]]> 464 H.G. Parry 0316383902 Crystal 5
I enjoy books set in academia. There is a fascination for me with being in this rarified air filled with scholars, readers and people who love learning. Maybe because that was not my experience growing up. In that way I have something in common with the main character of this book. She is a young woman from a working class background who is, through tragedy, exposed to the world of magic and is able to use that experience to launch her escape from a mundane life into a prestigious university.

The thing I loved most about her is her unfailing honesty. The book is written by the character as an older woman, looking back at her years in school and shortly afterward, and she accurately examines her feelings and motivations even when it reveals her imperfections. I really enjoyed that part of her.

I remember watching the move Quiz Show years ago (ok I’m really dating myself here lol) and I was, being young and naive, enamored with the main characters family. Intellectuals who read “important� works and sit around the table spouting “important� ideas. I didn’t perceive the classism, intolerance and lack of empathy that was driving the main character into what ended up being his downfall. I just wished I had someone to talk about books and learning with. Clover makes the same mistakes and only later learns how classism, power structures and inequality is a feature and not a bug of the world she lives in.

This book touches on those subjects with clarity while also providing a really fun, absorbing fantasy story. I fully recommend it to everyone!]]> 4.16 2024 The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door
author: H.G. Parry
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/16
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
H. G. Parry’s books get stronger with every new release.

I enjoy books set in academia. There is a fascination for me with being in this rarified air filled with scholars, readers and people who love learning. Maybe because that was not my experience growing up. In that way I have something in common with the main character of this book. She is a young woman from a working class background who is, through tragedy, exposed to the world of magic and is able to use that experience to launch her escape from a mundane life into a prestigious university.

The thing I loved most about her is her unfailing honesty. The book is written by the character as an older woman, looking back at her years in school and shortly afterward, and she accurately examines her feelings and motivations even when it reveals her imperfections. I really enjoyed that part of her.

I remember watching the move Quiz Show years ago (ok I’m really dating myself here lol) and I was, being young and naive, enamored with the main characters family. Intellectuals who read “important� works and sit around the table spouting “important� ideas. I didn’t perceive the classism, intolerance and lack of empathy that was driving the main character into what ended up being his downfall. I just wished I had someone to talk about books and learning with. Clover makes the same mistakes and only later learns how classism, power structures and inequality is a feature and not a bug of the world she lives in.

This book touches on those subjects with clarity while also providing a really fun, absorbing fantasy story. I fully recommend it to everyone!
]]> <![CDATA[All Out of Leeds (DI Adams, #1)]]> 211421533
DI Adams fled London to escape bridge-dwelling monsters and magical toasties � a one-time experience she's in no hurry to repeat. She’s police, not some cryptid hunter.

Leeds has other plans, though.

Tasked with the seemingly mundane case of a missing necklace, Adams soon realises she’s stumbled into something inexplicable. The trinket is dangerous, and she’s the only one who recognises it for what it is � a weapon that could tear the north apart.

Juggling unhelpful colleagues, amnesiac witnesses, and problematic women of a certain age, Adams plunges into the treacherous, magic-soaked streets of Leeds. She may not have backup, but at least she has the invisible, caffeine-addicted dog by her side.

Plus a duck. And a very big stick.

She’s got this. She has to.

Because there’s no one else who can �

###

This is book one in the DI Adams Mysteries, but you may want to check out the prequel, What Happened in London, to discover the significance of that duck. The DI Adams Mysteries contain no graphic violence, scenes of a sexual nature, or strong language, but they do contain some blasphemy, as well as a truly disturbing level of caffeine consumption.]]> 308 Kim M. Watt 1067011609 Crystal 0 4.53 2024 All Out of Leeds (DI Adams, #1)
author: Kim M. Watt
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/20
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves:
review:

]]> The Black Hunger 199667260
He must write his last testament before it is too late.

It is a story steeped in history and myth - a journey from stone circles in Scotland, to the barren wilderness of Ukraine where otherworldly creatures stalk the night, ending in the icy peaks of Tibet and Mongolia, where an ancient evil stirs...

The Black Hunger is a spine-tingling and sprawling gothic journey into the heart of horror: perfect for fans of Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian and Laura Purcell.]]> 372 Nicholas Pullen 0356522180 Crystal 5
I'm having a hard time coming up with a way to describe this book. Epistolary ... it is that. Chilling ... in spades. Fascinating ... heck yes. It visits such varied locales and customs, but retains its gothic chilling vibe. It feels a little as if Bram Stoker wrote an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.

None of the things I wrote in that paragraph comes close to telling you why I loved this book ... *sigh*. Why are reviews so hard to write when you have strong feelings about something?

You will come to love these characters from the first page. The love story between the two main characters is so very sweet and endearing. Sadly, you also know from the first this is going to end terribly for them. They are caught up in a battle that can only lead to the end of the world and are ultimately faced with the question, does the world even deserve to be saved? Now that is a new way of approaching the apocalypse and I thoroughly enjoyed the authors take on it!

I'm not sure what to say. If you still have a need for some creepy fall reading this is perfect. If you love classic gothic books, you want to read this. If you just plain want a well written fantasy book pick this up. I can't recommend it more.]]> 3.77 2024 The Black Hunger
author: Nicholas Pullen
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
Is this really a debut book? Amazing!

I'm having a hard time coming up with a way to describe this book. Epistolary ... it is that. Chilling ... in spades. Fascinating ... heck yes. It visits such varied locales and customs, but retains its gothic chilling vibe. It feels a little as if Bram Stoker wrote an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.

None of the things I wrote in that paragraph comes close to telling you why I loved this book ... *sigh*. Why are reviews so hard to write when you have strong feelings about something?

You will come to love these characters from the first page. The love story between the two main characters is so very sweet and endearing. Sadly, you also know from the first this is going to end terribly for them. They are caught up in a battle that can only lead to the end of the world and are ultimately faced with the question, does the world even deserve to be saved? Now that is a new way of approaching the apocalypse and I thoroughly enjoyed the authors take on it!

I'm not sure what to say. If you still have a need for some creepy fall reading this is perfect. If you love classic gothic books, you want to read this. If you just plain want a well written fantasy book pick this up. I can't recommend it more.
]]> Prophet Song 219359020 WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023 � INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Winner of the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Finalist for the 2024 Kirkus Prize

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police on her step. They have arrived to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

Ireland is falling apart, caught in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny. As the life she knows and the ones she loves disappear before her eyes, Eilish must contend with the dystopian logic of her new, unraveling country. How far will she go to save her family? And what—or who—is she willing to leave behind?

The winner of the Booker Prize 2023 and a critically acclaimed national bestseller, Prophet Song presents a terrifying and shocking vision of a country sliding into authoritarianism and a deeply human portrait of a mother’s fight to hold her family together.]]> 244 Paul Lynch 0802163025 Crystal 5 4.11 2023 Prophet Song
author: Paul Lynch
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Radical Act of Free Magic (The Shadow Histories, #2)]]> 55527237 A tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own, A Radical Act of Free Magic is the conclusion to this genre-defying series of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom in the early modern world.

The Concord has been broken, and a war of magic engulfs the world.

In France, the brilliant young battle-mage Napoleon Bonaparte has summoned a kraken from the depths, and under his command the Army of the Dead have all but conquered Europe. Britain fights back, protected by the gulf of the channel and powerful fire-magic, but Wilberforce's own battle to bring about free magic and abolition has met a dead end in the face of an increasingly fearful and repressive government. In Saint Domingue, Fina watches as Toussaint Louverture navigates these opposing forces to liberate the country.

But there is another, even darker war being fought beneath the surface: the first vampire war in hundreds of years. The enemy blood magician who orchestrated Robespierre's downfall is using the Revolutionary Wars to bring about a return to dark magic to claim all of Europe. Across the world, only a few know of his existence and the choices they make will shape the new age of magic.]]> 464 H.G. Parry 0316459143 Crystal 0 to-read 4.33 2021 A Radical Act of Free Magic (The Shadow Histories, #2)
author: H.G. Parry
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Gods Below (The Hollow Covenant, #1)]]> 208855018 520 Andrea Stewart 0316564893 Crystal 5 3.58 2024 The Gods Below (The Hollow Covenant, #1)
author: Andrea Stewart
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/13
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves:
review:

]]> The Hollow Places 51520204 A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.]]> 352 T. Kingfisher Crystal 5 3.99 2020 The Hollow Places
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Perfect Son 52616342
Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening when two detectives show up at her front door.

A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst--murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive.

Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth--Liam may have done the unthinkable.

Now she must ask herself:

How far will she go to protect her son?]]> 373 Freida McFadden Crystal 3 4.03 2019 The Perfect Son
author: Freida McFadden
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Lost Bookshop 65137920 The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

‘The thing about books,� she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.�

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found�

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder� where nothing is as it seems.]]> 432 Evie Woods 0008609209 Crystal 3 4.03 2023 The Lost Bookshop
author: Evie Woods
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/13
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Do Not Disturb 58778536
To avoid spending her life in prison, Quinn makes a run for it. She leaves behind her home, her job, and her family. She grabs her passport and heads for the northern border before the police can discover what she’s done.

But when an unexpected snowstorm forces her off the road, Quinn must take refuge at the broken-down, isolated Baxter Motel. The handsome and kindly owner, Nick Baxter, is only too happy to offer her a cheap room for the night.

Unfortunately, the Baxter Motel isn’t the quiet, safe haven it seemed to be. The motel has a dark and disturbing past. And in the dilapidated house across the way, the silhouette of Nick's ailing wife is always at the window. Always watching.

In the morning, Quinn must leave the motel. She'll pack up her belongings and get back on the road to freedom.

But first, she must survive the night.

Do Not Disturb is a Hitchcock-style psychological thriller that will keep you tearing through the pages until you reach the shocking conclusion!]]> 325 Freida McFadden Crystal 3 3.93 2021 Do Not Disturb
author: Freida McFadden
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/06
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)]]> 61219635 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250886088.

A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes.

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success—not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.]]> 304 Travis Baldree Crystal 5 4.17 2022 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Final Scene 203859424 The cabin is unlocked, but there’s no escape.

When Brooke was kidnapped on her way home from work, she thought her life was over.

That was ten years ago.

She’s been held captive in an isolated cabin on the Oregon coast ever since, scrambling to follow her kidnappers� twisted instructions to the letter. Because the price of a mistake is death.

But when a new victim shows up, everything changes. Including the rules. And this time, the only way to survive is to break them.]]> 248 Steph Nelson Crystal 3 3.79 2024 The Final Scene
author: Steph Nelson
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 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 Crystal 3 4.08 2024 The Last Party
author: A.R. Torre
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/27
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Good and the Green (The Wilderise Tales, #1)]]> 205003392 Fans of Travis Baldree's Legends and Lattes will love this heartwarming tale of finding love and coping with loss in the beautiful (and magical) kingdom of Wilderise.

"Like a Hallmark movie set in Middle Earth." --Justin Reed

With the help of her late father, Alison Lennox has carved out a promising career path in a kingdom dominated by land-hoarding elves and industrial tycoon dwarves. But her salary barely covers the rising rent, let alone the luxury lifestyle she dreams of. So when she unexpectedly inherits a neglected property in a distant land, it seems like the solution she's been seeking.

All she needs to do to keep her life on track is get in, flip the cottage, and get out, hopefully with a pocket full of coin for the effort.

Upon her arrival, Alison quickly discovers she isn’t immune to the village’s charms. But maybe she could look past the quaint shops, the sweet little old ladies, and the adorable talking cat and stick to the plan if it weren’t for Keir Ainsley. At first, she finds the former doctor and town recluse good and irritating, and he’s definitely wrong about where his property ends and Alison’s begins. But then he has to go and save her life from a DIY disaster. And then he shows her that under his bristly exterior, there’s a tenderness that feels familiar and right.

Not good.

But the town does have a problem. A mysterious vine is spreading through the land, choking out everything in its path. “Cute cottage; minor overgrowth issue—probably not poisonous� isn’t going to work as a real estate listing, but that’s not all that’s wrong. The deeper her connection to Keir and the town grows, the further she strays from the life her father wanted for her.

And she’ll have to dig deep into the town’s thorny past to have any hope of stopping the vine.

The Good and the Green is the first novel in the planned four-novel series The Wilderise Tales. Visit amyyorke dot com to sign up for free giveaways and be the first to hear about new releases.

]]> 330 Amy Yorke Crystal 3 3.69 2024 The Good and the Green (The Wilderise Tales, #1)
author: Amy Yorke
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:
47% DNF - not for me. Can't connect with the main character.
]]> <![CDATA[Life's a Witch (The Hollowbeck Paranormal Cozy Mysteries Book 3)]]> 216385950 Strange magic? Check. A brother who’s still a cat? Check. A cryptic message from an ex-husband who’s in trouble? Wait� what?

Morgan and her ex-husband broke up on bad terms. But when he sends her a cryptic message, Morgan knows that whatever trouble he’s in, it’s likely her fault. Over Ruiner’s protests, she ventures beyond Hollowbeck’s borders to find him.

But instead of finding him, she finds a dead body.

Then she finds the Oubliette, an exclusive gambling club in the town of Darrowdale, which is a mirror image of Hollowbeck � only with a decidedly more dangerous population.

Treachery, dangerous deals, and soul-stealing coffee are all in the cards as Morgan and Ruiner try to find her ex-husband while staying one step ahead of the killer.

But the killer has plans that go beyond murder, and if they get their way, both Hollowbeck and Darrowdale will be lost forever.

Life’s A Witch is the third book in the Hollowbeck Paranormal Cozy Mysteries series from Amelia Ash and bestselling author Kim M. Watt.]]> 299 Amelia Ash Crystal 4 4.43 2024 Life's a Witch (The Hollowbeck Paranormal Cozy Mysteries Book 3)
author: Amelia Ash
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/04
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)]]> 199415360
Arthur Parnassus lives a good life, built on the ashes of a bad one. He's the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six magical and so-called dangerous children who live there.

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

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

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

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur's story.]]> 406 T.J. Klune Crystal 3 4.21 2024 Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)
author: T.J. Klune
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/30
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (Hart and Mercy, #2)]]> 201627007 From the author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy comes a heartwarming fantasy with a best friends-to-lovers rom com twist--When Harry Met Sally, but with dragons!—set in the delightful demigod and donut-filled world of Tanria.

The entire town of Eternity was shocked when widowed, middle-aged Twyla Banneker partnered up with her neighbor and best friend, Frank Ellis, to join the Tanrian Marshals. Eight years later, Twyla and Frank are still patrolling the dangerous land of Tanria, the former prison of the Old Gods.

Twyla might look like a small town mom who brings cheesy potatoes to funerals and whips up a batch of cookies for the school bake sale, but her rewarding career in law enforcement has been a welcome change from the domestic grind of mom life, despite the misgivings of her grown children.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) a recent decrease in on-the-job peril has made Twyla and Frank's job a lot safer ... and a lot less exciting. So when they discover the body of one of their fellow marshals covered in liquid glitter--and Frank finds himself the inadvertent foster dad to a baby dragon--they are more than happy to be back on the beat.

Soon, the friends wind up ensnared in a nefarious plot that goes far deeper than any lucrative Tanrian mineshaft. But as the danger closes in and Twyla and Frank's investigation becomes more complicated, so does their easy friendship. And Twyla starts to realize that her true soul mate might just be the person who has lived next door all along...]]> 377 Megan Bannen 0316568252 Crystal 5 4.16 2024 The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (Hart and Mercy, #2)
author: Megan Bannen
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The House Witch (The House Witch, #1)]]> 61337597 A heartwarming and humorous blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery featuring a witch with domestic powers and the royal household he serves . . . dinner.

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals.

But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that’s only the beginning—because Fin’s past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated . . .]]> 658 Delemhach 1039410243 Crystal 3 4.16 2022 The House Witch (The House Witch, #1)
author: Delemhach
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/09/14
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secret Service of Tea and Treason (Dangerous Damsels, #3)]]> 61686007 Two rival spies must brave pirates, witches, and fake matrimony to save the Queen.

Known as Agent A, Alice is the top operative within the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself. From managing deceptive witches to bored aristocratic ladies, nothing is beyond Alice’s capabilities. She has a steely composure and a plan always up her sleeve (alongside a dagger and an embroidered handkerchief). So when rumors of an assassination plot begin to circulate, she’s immediately assigned to the case.

But she’s not working alone. Daniel Bixby, otherwise known as Agent B and Alice’s greatest rival, is given the most challenging undercover assignment of his life� pretending to be Alice’s husband. Together they will assume the identity of a married couple, infiltrate a pirate house party, and foil their unpatriotic plans.

Determined to remain consummate professionals, Alice and Daniel must ignore the growing attraction between them, especially since acting on it might prove more dangerous than their target.]]> 334 India Holton 0593547268 Crystal 3 4.06 2023 The Secret Service of Tea and Treason (Dangerous Damsels, #3)
author: India Holton
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
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review:

]]> The Night Ship 59364158 Based on a true story, an epic historical novel from the award-winning author of Things in Jars that illuminates the lives of two characters: a girl shipwrecked on an island off Western Australia and, three hundred years later, a boy finding a home with his grandfather on the very same island.

1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks.

1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community where his late mother once resided. There, on the tiny reef-shrouded island, he discovers the story of an infamous shipwreck�

With her trademark “thrilling, mysterious, twisted, but more than anything, beautifully written� (Graham Norton, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling, Jess Kidd weaves “a true work of magic� (V.E. Schwab, author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue) about friendship, sacrifice, brutality, and forgiveness.]]> 400 Jess Kidd 1982180838 Crystal 3 3.90 2022 The Night Ship
author: Jess Kidd
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
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review:

]]> The Twisted Ones 44177839 When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods.

When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?

Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale.

From Hugo Award–winning author Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher.]]> 399 T. Kingfisher Crystal 4 3.84 2019 The Twisted Ones
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/26
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wild Robot Escapes (The Wild Robot, #2)]]> 34219841 279 Peter Brown 0316382043 Crystal 4 4.35 2018 The Wild Robot Escapes (The Wild Robot, #2)
author: Peter Brown
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Library at Mount Char 24579792 A missing God.
A library with the secrets to the universe.
A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away.

Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts.

After all, she was a normal American herself once.

That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.

In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God.

Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.

As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her, all of them with powers that far exceed her own.

But Carolyn has accounted for this.

And Carolyn has a plan.

The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human.]]> 390 Scott Hawkins 0553418610 Crystal 2 4.20 2015 The Library at Mount Char
author: Scott Hawkins
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2022/04/22
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2)]]> 18966819
A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.

He must live for more.]]> 466 Pierce Brown 0345539826 Crystal 2 otspsecretsisters-wishlist 4.48 2015 Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Crystal
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: otspsecretsisters-wishlist
review:

]]> The Miniaturist 22061531 Now a television miniseries, as seen on Masterpiece on PBS

Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam—a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion—a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant.

”There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . .�

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office—leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella’s world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist—an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes� gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand—and fear—the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.]]> 419 Jessie Burton 0062306839 Crystal 2 3.79 2014 The Miniaturist
author: Jessie Burton
name: Crystal
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2022/07/09
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]>