Luce's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 18 Dec 2024 19:50:55 -0800 60 Luce's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Death of the Heart 91494 The Death of the Heart is perhaps Elizabeth Bowen's best-known book. As she deftly and delicately exposes the cruelty that lurks behind the polished surfaces of conventional society, Bowen reveals herself as a masterful novelist who combines a sense of humor with a devastating gift for divining human motivations.

In this piercing story of innocence betrayed set in the thirties, the orphaned Portia is stranded in the sophisticated and politely treacherous world of her wealthy half-brother's home in London. There she encounters the attractive, carefree cad Eddie. To him, Portia is at once child and woman, and he fears her gushing love. To her, Eddie is the only reason to be alive. But when Eddie follows Portia to a sea-side resort, the flash of a cigarette lighter in a darkened cinema illuminates a stunning romantic betrayal—and sets in motion one of the most moving and desperate flights of the heart in modern literature.]]> 418 Elizabeth Bowen 0385720173 Luce 0 to-read 3.66 1938 The Death of the Heart
author: Elizabeth Bowen
name: Luce
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1938
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Anna Karenina 15823480 Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature - with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions.

Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, 'He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.]]> 964 Leo Tolstoy 0345803922 Luce 0 to-read 4.11 1878 Anna Karenina
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Luce
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1878
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Around the World in Eighty Days]]> 17314773 294 Jules Verne 0141194766 Luce 0 to-read, classics 3.85 1872 Around the World in Eighty Days
author: Jules Verne
name: Luce
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1872
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves: to-read, classics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City, #3)]]> 52857700
Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she's going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.

Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he's in the Asteri's dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce's fate. He's desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri's leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt's world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.]]> 835 Sarah J. Maas 1681193094 Luce 0 currently-reading 4.15 2024 House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City, #3)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/26
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Night She Lied 198707315
It’s midnight in the hospital when Jude ’s phone rings, interrupting her precious fifteen-minute break. When she sees it’s her seventy-year-old mother, Margaret , she braces herself for the usual complaints. But her blood runs cold at four words that will change everything... ‘Something terrible has happened.�

Margaret has been accused of an unspeakable crime committed twenty years ago. She insists she’s not guilty, and begs Jude to help her prove it. But as Jude is drawn into the dark secrets of her family’s past, she starts to question whether her mother is really as innocent as she claims to be.

Soon, Jude realises what happened twenty years ago is more entangled with her own life than she could ever have imagined. And as she stands face-to-face with her mother’s accuser, she knows the cost of protecting her family will be someone else’s life...]]> 330 Lucy Dawson 1835253180 Luce 0 currently-reading 3.48 2023 The Night She Lied
author: Lucy Dawson
name: Luce
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/14
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)]]> 78411
I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket]]> 162 Lemony Snicket 0439206472 Luce 4 Decided to re read these books (since I was 12) and it has made me feel so nostalgic.
Such a great start up novel setting the scene and the goal beginning this very long adventurous series. For technically being childrens books, incredibly witty, entertaining and clever. Characters are brilliant, I love but hate Count Olaf. Can't wait to power through the rest.]]> 4.02 1999 The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)
author: Lemony Snicket
name: Luce
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/14
date added: 2024/02/14
shelves:
review:
Reread.
Decided to re read these books (since I was 12) and it has made me feel so nostalgic.
Such a great start up novel setting the scene and the goal beginning this very long adventurous series. For technically being childrens books, incredibly witty, entertaining and clever. Characters are brilliant, I love but hate Count Olaf. Can't wait to power through the rest.
]]> The Sea of Tranquility 16151178 I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.]]> 449 Katja Millay Luce 0 to-read 4.26 2012 The Sea of Tranquility
author: Katja Millay
name: Luce
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2)]]> 40132775
The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels� plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.

In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the #1 bestseller House of Earth and Blood, Sarah J. Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode―and the people who will do anything to save it.]]> 805 Sarah J. Maas 1408884429 Luce 4
I can't help it, I just love everything Sarah J Maas writes. I honestly think this is my favourite series of hers so far. I love the advancement into adult fantasy fiction (as her previous were borderline YA) and the the world she has created in Crescent City.
The characters are INCREDIBLE - so complex and raw and just feel real.
I preferred this one over the first in the series, perhaps because I was more invested this time around, but it flowed so well (despite the complex constant sub plots) but it was sensational. Particularly that ending - my GOD, so epic.
I see she has set up the ending for something massive to come in the next (definitely will mean a lot if you have read her ACOTAR series). I am hopeful that this comes together smoothly AND that the momentum continues - fingers crossed !
the 4.5 stars is purely because I think it could have been slightly shorter and more concise - in saying that though I am not complaining as I do love living in that world.
Overall, cannot wait for the next one. Love. love. love

]]> 4.41 2022 House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/09
date added: 2024/02/08
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars.

I can't help it, I just love everything Sarah J Maas writes. I honestly think this is my favourite series of hers so far. I love the advancement into adult fantasy fiction (as her previous were borderline YA) and the the world she has created in Crescent City.
The characters are INCREDIBLE - so complex and raw and just feel real.
I preferred this one over the first in the series, perhaps because I was more invested this time around, but it flowed so well (despite the complex constant sub plots) but it was sensational. Particularly that ending - my GOD, so epic.
I see she has set up the ending for something massive to come in the next (definitely will mean a lot if you have read her ACOTAR series). I am hopeful that this comes together smoothly AND that the momentum continues - fingers crossed !
the 4.5 stars is purely because I think it could have been slightly shorter and more concise - in saying that though I am not complaining as I do love living in that world.
Overall, cannot wait for the next one. Love. love. love


]]> A Ship of Bones & Teeth 138358709
Princess Maren is a woman with a secret.

Ten years agoshe sold her soul to the sea witch Edonia, giving up a life underwater in exchange for the love of Prince Aerik on land. But after a decade of abuse and misery inflicted by the cruel prince, Maren wants nothing more than to leave him and her royal role behind and find Edonia to reverse the spell.

An opportunity for escape presents itself when the prince and princess are traveling overseas and are taken hostage by a band of notorious pirates, led by the fearsome Captain Ramsay "Bones" Battista. Maren has heard the sordid stories about the infamous pirate--not only is his ship supposedly haunted and crewed by the damned, but that no prisoners ever survive.

Fortunately for Maren, she learns that the captain also has a score to settle with the sea witch. With any luck, Maren may be able to get her old life back, even if it's being held in the captain's wicked hands.

But Ramsay gets more than he bargained for when he learns who--and what --Maren is, and that her appetite for revenge, freedom, and bloodlust rivals his.

Meanwhile Maren finds herself falling for the pirate's dark nature, even as she discovers that Ramsay has a secret more deadly than her own.

When it comes to the high seas, not all monsters lurk beneath the surface.]]> 442 Karina Halle Luce 0 to-read 3.77 2023 A Ship of Bones & Teeth
author: Karina Halle
name: Luce
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 99 Red Balloons 35157345 Two girls go missing, decades apart. What would you do if one was your daughter?

When eight-year-old Grace goes missing from a sweetshop on the way home from school, her mother Emma is plunged into a nightmare. Her family rallies around, but as the police hunt begins, cracks begin to emerge.

What are the secret emails sent between Emma’s husband and her sister? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is Emma really as innocent as she seems?

Meanwhile, ageing widow Maggie Taylor sees Grace’s picture in the newspaper. It’s a photograph that jolts her from the pain of her existence into a spiralling obsession with another girl � the first girl who disappeared�

]]> 353 Elisabeth Carpenter 0008264023 Luce 2 Honestly thought it was average, okay, standard. I wouldn’t say it knocked my socks off and I don’t think it’s one I will remember. However I was entertained enough to finish it, plot was alright but I think it lost its momentum a little throughout.
Decent thriller read! ]]> 3.84 2017 99 Red Balloons
author: Elisabeth Carpenter
name: Luce
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2023/12/31
date added: 2023/12/31
shelves:
review:
2.5 stars overall.
Honestly thought it was average, okay, standard. I wouldn’t say it knocked my socks off and I don’t think it’s one I will remember. However I was entertained enough to finish it, plot was alright but I think it lost its momentum a little throughout.
Decent thriller read!
]]> The Secrets We Buried 65147580 'If you ever tell my secret, you'll be dead to me.'

THE FRIEND: When ordinary mum Frankie moves into her new seaside home, it is a dream come true. Her new neighbours - glamorous Zara, ambitious Nadine and social butterfly Geneva - soon take her under their wing. The four women become inseparable. Until the morning when Geneva's body is found on the beach.

THE HUSBAND: Suspicion is immediately cast on Geneva's husband. Everyone believes he must be guilty. But when the police don't charge him, he vanishes without trace. Now, five years later, he's back.

THE SUSPECTS: And he's not the only one. Soon no one is beyond suspicion. Dark secrets that have been hiding behind closed doors begin to be revealed, with devastating consequences.

But one person will do whatever it takes to make sure that one secret never comes to the surface...]]> 264 Becca Day Luce 0 to-read 3.61 2023 The Secrets We Buried
author: Becca Day
name: Luce
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Just My Luck 49014109
For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff � the kids, marriages, jobs and houses � and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.

But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.

Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.

Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping take on friendship, money and betrayal, and good luck gone bad…]]> 382 Adele Parks 0008284709 Luce 0 to-read 3.73 2020 Just My Luck
author: Adele Parks
name: Luce
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Notes on a Murder 128468469
It started with an invitation to dinner. An evening of good food and good company at a luxury villa. But as the night progresses, the party takes a dark turn.

The host makes you an offer, a party favour he calls it: another guest has committed a heinous crime, you can end their life, stop their terror. He tells you there will be no consequences; do you believe him?

Your decision will change your life. Choose carefully.]]> 384 B.P. Walter 0008618704 Luce 0 to-read 3.06 2023 Notes on a Murder
author: B.P. Walter
name: Luce
average rating: 3.06
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Throne of Swans (A Throne of Swans, #1)]]> 50066713
With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.

Written in rich detail and evocative language, this is the start of an irresistible, soaring duology about courage, broken loyalties and fighting for your place in the world.]]> 352 Katharine Corr 1471408752 Luce 0 to-read 3.73 2019 A Throne of Swans (A Throne of Swans, #1)
author: Katharine Corr
name: Luce
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of Darkness (House of Shadows, #1)]]> 60290140
Then the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Deina jumps at the chance. But to win, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers she neither likes nor trusts.

So begins their perilous journey into the realm of Hades... The prize of freedom is before her - but what will it take to reach it?

Enter the Underworld in an epic new fantasy, where the Gods of ancient Greece rule everything but fate.]]> 420 Katharine Corr 1471410919 Luce 0 to-read 3.74 2022 Daughter of Darkness (House of Shadows, #1)
author: Katharine Corr
name: Luce
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> She Says She's My Daughter 146507010
Fourteen years ago , our family holiday ended in tragedy when my darling four-year-old girl was snatched from us on the beach. Not a day goes by when I don’t picture her wide brown eyes, and the freckles dusting her cheeks. I only looked away for a second, and I have never forgiven myself.

Today , a seventeen-year-old girl has walked into a police station near our house. She says she’s my daughter. Abigail is back. I can’t believe it. After years of grieving, my family is finally complete again.

This should be the happiest moment of my life, but something doesn’t feel quite right. As hard as I try, I don’t know the teenager in front of me. Then holes appear in Abigail’s story, her accent starts to slip, and I catch her faking tears for the journalists outside � and I’m more certain than ever that she is not my daughter. That she is a stranger. And that we cannot trust her�

But if this mysterious girl isn’t Abigail, then who is she � and what does she want with my family?

A totally unputdownable psychological thriller with a twist that will blow you away. If you are a fan of K.L. Slater, Shari Lapena or B.A. Paris, you will be hooked!]]> 338 Lauren North 1837906556 Luce 0 to-read 4.25 She Says She's My Daughter
author: Lauren North
name: Luce
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Yellowface 62047984
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.

But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.]]> 319 R.F. Kuang 000853277X Luce 0 to-read 3.69 2023 Yellowface
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Luce
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)]]> 61431922 Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile� humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die]]> 528 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 Luce 0 to-read 4.56 2023 Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Luce
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[If He Had Been With Me (If He Had Been with Me, #1)]]> 15835031 If he had been with me everything would have been different...

I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial.

So let me tell you...]]> 336 Laura Nowlin 1402277822 Luce 0 to-read 3.76 2013 If He Had Been With Me (If He Had Been with Me, #1)
author: Laura Nowlin
name: Luce
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1)]]> 44778083
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.]]> 803 Sarah J. Maas 1635574048 Luce 4 I forgot how much I love Sarah's books, having read her first series when I was 16. This definitely is 'adult fantasy' becoming more realistic and raw (introduction of drug/alcohol references, swearing) compared to her other series that are more YA category
I loved the world she created, a step up from her previous worlds. Set in an urban fantasy vibe, it was so cool seeing the dystopian modern world mixed in with Fae and introduction of wolves, sprites etc. Very cool and not tacky whatsoever (something I find lots of fantasy novels tend to become).
The characters were brilliant, I loved the minor ones just as much as our two main ones and the relationships between them all was genuine and wholesome. Every character had depth and both positive and negative aspects, making them interesting and realistic.
My only slight complaint would be the beginning of the novel was tough, there was a lot of complex world building instantly and it was really difficult to keep up and understand every element straight up. Having finished it now, it is rewarding and the world building does make more sense.
Ending was also brilliant, I powered through it.
Overall - absolutely loved it, cannot wait to knock over the next one.]]> 4.43 2020 House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/18
date added: 2023/12/18
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars.
I forgot how much I love Sarah's books, having read her first series when I was 16. This definitely is 'adult fantasy' becoming more realistic and raw (introduction of drug/alcohol references, swearing) compared to her other series that are more YA category
I loved the world she created, a step up from her previous worlds. Set in an urban fantasy vibe, it was so cool seeing the dystopian modern world mixed in with Fae and introduction of wolves, sprites etc. Very cool and not tacky whatsoever (something I find lots of fantasy novels tend to become).
The characters were brilliant, I loved the minor ones just as much as our two main ones and the relationships between them all was genuine and wholesome. Every character had depth and both positive and negative aspects, making them interesting and realistic.
My only slight complaint would be the beginning of the novel was tough, there was a lot of complex world building instantly and it was really difficult to keep up and understand every element straight up. Having finished it now, it is rewarding and the world building does make more sense.
Ending was also brilliant, I powered through it.
Overall - absolutely loved it, cannot wait to knock over the next one.
]]> Sometimes I Lie 32326398 1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie

Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?]]> 387 Alice Feeney 0008225354 Luce 0 to-read 3.73 2017 Sometimes I Lie
author: Alice Feeney
name: Luce
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bunny (Bunny, #1) 53285047 We were just these innocent girls in the night trying to make something beautiful. We nearly died. We very nearly did, didn't we?

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other Bunny, and seem to move and speak as one.

But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled Smut Salon, and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus Workshop where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.

The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.

Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Vogue, Electric Literature, and The New York Public Library]]> 305 Mona Awad 0525559752 Luce 1 Honestly, just too weird for me didn’t really understand the hype or what was going on lol just girls chopping peoples heads off and sucking up to each other.
Got through half the audiobook which was already a struggle. Don’t have the energy to push through.]]> 3.43 2019 Bunny (Bunny, #1)
author: Mona Awad
name: Luce
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2023/11/05
date added: 2023/11/05
shelves:
review:
DNF.
Honestly, just too weird for me didn’t really understand the hype or what was going on lol just girls chopping peoples heads off and sucking up to each other.
Got through half the audiobook which was already a struggle. Don’t have the energy to push through.
]]> <![CDATA[Pestilence (The Four Horsemen, #1)]]> 123272656 They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.

Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.

Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her� and hers towards him.

And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

From bestselling indie author Laura Thalassa comes a dark fantasy romance between the Horseman Pestilence and Sara, the girl who shoots Pestilence down only to realize he can't be killed. He takes her as prisoner, but the longer they're together, the more uncertain their feelings for each other grow.]]> 416 Laura Thalassa 1728280168 Luce 0 to-read 3.82 2018 Pestilence (The Four Horsemen, #1)
author: Laura Thalassa
name: Luce
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)]]> 16034235
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.]]> 406 Sarah J. Maas 1619630346 Luce 0 fantasy, young-adult 4.15 2012 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves: fantasy, young-adult
review:

]]> Truly Madly Guilty 29776973 The electrifying new novel from the international bestselling author, Liane Moriarty

Despite their differences, Erika and Clementine have been best friends since they were children. So when Erika needs help, Clementine should be the obvious person to turn to. Or so you'd think.

For Clementine, as a mother of a two desperately trying to practise for the audition of a lifetime, the last thing she needs is Erika asking for something, again.

But the barbecue should be the perfect way to forget their problems for a while. Especially when their hosts, Vid and Tiffany, are only too happy to distract them.

Which is how it all spirals out of control...

Praise for Big Little Lies

'The author of last year's bestseller, The Husband's Secret, is back with another sure-fire hit. Unputdownable' The Sun on Sunday

'Absolutely brilliant, even better than The Husband's Secret. Loved it. Liane Moriarty has that rare Anne Tyler thing of being able to make fun of people while clearly having compassion for them' Louise Candlish, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Sudden Departure of the Frasers

'Here at Company HQ we're all obsessed with Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. This juicy seaside-town murder mystery will be one of the biggest books this autumn' Company Magazine

'This fantastically written story, with its little clues casually dropped in along the way, will keep you guessing until the very end ... Another compelling, funny and thought-provoking winner from Liane Moriarty. Do whatever you can to get your hands on a copy - it's brilliant' Heat Magazine

'It's not often that a book about murder mingled with domestic and sexual violence has you howling with laughter, but Moriarty pulls it off here ... Her ironic turn of phrases infuses even poignant moments with humour. Blending romance, comedy and mystery, this is a wonderful book - full of brains, guts and heart' The Sunday Mirror

'A brilliantly plotted story with characters to care for who kept me reading, utterly gripped' Woman and Home Magazine

'Take this page-turner on holiday with you - you won't be able to put it down!' Closer Magazine

'A twisted thriller' Now Magazine

'Another riveting thriller. Tackling difficult subjects with intelligence and humanity' Hello Magazine

'A compelling summer read not to be missed' OK Magazine

'This addictive new thriller from bestselling author Liane Moriarty weaves three stories together to a shocking and unpredictable climax' Take A Break Magazine

'It all reads terrifyingly real, with the viciousness of the women at the school gates and the hell they can make each others' lives. It's a fine book' The Sunday Sport

'Moriarty is happy to thread a thin line between mummy lit and fluffy thriller. It's easy to get stuck into this book, thanks to neat plotting that keeps you guessing. Just dive right in because this book slips down as easily as a strawberry soufflé' Irish Independent ]]> 480 Liane Moriarty 0718180275 Luce 2 Honestly do not understand the hype for this book at all. My god this tested my inner strength to finish it.
‘Big Little Lies� was my first book by this author and it was half the reason I decided to give this one a go. This book is 500 pages and like an 18 hour audiobook (which is what I listened to) and it really could’ve been done in half.
I think a big fault of the author is her book titles are SO much more intriguing and dramatic than the book actually is. It seems they are just middle class dramas and the ‘big plot twist� is super anticlimactic.
One thing she does well, is her characters do seems realistic and human like however the slow pacing of this book really really dragged it down.
The big ‘plot reveal� left me sort of going is that it? And the ending did not feel rewarding for a reader.
I would probably try another one of her novels, because they’re not allll bad but it won’t be for a while. ]]> 3.57 2016 Truly Madly Guilty
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Luce
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2023/08/15
date added: 2023/08/15
shelves:
review:
Tossing up between 2 and 2.5 stars.
Honestly do not understand the hype for this book at all. My god this tested my inner strength to finish it.
‘Big Little Lies� was my first book by this author and it was half the reason I decided to give this one a go. This book is 500 pages and like an 18 hour audiobook (which is what I listened to) and it really could’ve been done in half.
I think a big fault of the author is her book titles are SO much more intriguing and dramatic than the book actually is. It seems they are just middle class dramas and the ‘big plot twist� is super anticlimactic.
One thing she does well, is her characters do seems realistic and human like however the slow pacing of this book really really dragged it down.
The big ‘plot reveal� left me sort of going is that it? And the ending did not feel rewarding for a reader.
I would probably try another one of her novels, because they’re not allll bad but it won’t be for a while.
]]> A Little Life 22822858
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride.Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.]]> 720 Hanya Yanagihara 0385539258 Luce 0 to-read 4.28 2015 A Little Life
author: Hanya Yanagihara
name: Luce
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![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 Luce 4 The tale that Offred tells, stuck in this 90’s dystopian alternate reality world, is one of an oppressive regime with no hope or joy for the women involved.
The author shows us what we would be in if we followed the misogynistic views of the Old Testament with such high intensity, paired with a complete lack of self identity or any type of tradition or culture.
I think what makes it so haunting is the plausibility of this world one day. The Handmaid’s are manipulated into accepting this reality they are stuck in, the men justifying the world and it’s existence is literally terrifying.
Given the cultures that we already hear of around the world, or even the ways of the Taliban, is proof that this book cannot be dismissed as fictional or outrageous. It should be read, taken as both a tale and a warning.
Thought provoking and haunting, I recommend it to all.]]> 4.15 1985 The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Luce
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/21
date added: 2023/07/21
shelves: classics, sci-fi, dystopia, english-lit
review:
I was tossing up as to how I might review this book. To say I enjoyed it would be inaccurate and wrong. I was certainly gripped by how terrifyingly powerful it was.
The tale that Offred tells, stuck in this 90’s dystopian alternate reality world, is one of an oppressive regime with no hope or joy for the women involved.
The author shows us what we would be in if we followed the misogynistic views of the Old Testament with such high intensity, paired with a complete lack of self identity or any type of tradition or culture.
I think what makes it so haunting is the plausibility of this world one day. The Handmaid’s are manipulated into accepting this reality they are stuck in, the men justifying the world and it’s existence is literally terrifying.
Given the cultures that we already hear of around the world, or even the ways of the Taliban, is proof that this book cannot be dismissed as fictional or outrageous. It should be read, taken as both a tale and a warning.
Thought provoking and haunting, I recommend it to all.
]]> <![CDATA[Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)]]> 58763686
I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave.
He's always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.


The Shadow

I didn't mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can't stay away.
I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.
The way she undresses...
I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I'll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to.]]> 583 H.D. Carlton Luce 0 to-read 3.95 2021 Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Luce
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Heart Bones 51007311
With only two short months separating her from the future she's built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go during the interim. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah's plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan.

Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface.

She comes from a life of poverty and neglect; he comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they do have in common is that they're both drawn to sad things. Which means they're drawn to each other. With an almost immediate connection too intense for them to continue denying, Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. What Beyah doesn't realize is that a rip current is coming, and it's about to drag her heart out to sea.]]> 338 Colleen Hoover Luce 4 My first Colleen Hoover novel, and I totally get the hype now. She really does write beautifully, this was both deep and heartbreaking yet simple and wholesome. Loved the characters and the fact that nothing felt cheesy, forced or too much.
Truly stunning love story when it comes to the end with so many other themes too woven in. Learning to trust and listening to your heart. Highly recommend, can’t wait to read another one of her novels! ]]> 4.20 2020 Heart Bones
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Luce
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/18
date added: 2023/07/18
shelves:
review:
4.5/5!
My first Colleen Hoover novel, and I totally get the hype now. She really does write beautifully, this was both deep and heartbreaking yet simple and wholesome. Loved the characters and the fact that nothing felt cheesy, forced or too much.
Truly stunning love story when it comes to the end with so many other themes too woven in. Learning to trust and listening to your heart. Highly recommend, can’t wait to read another one of her novels!
]]> <![CDATA[Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)]]> 11235712
She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.]]> 390 Marissa Meyer 0312641893 Luce 2
After years of having this on my ‘want to read� list, I finally got ahold of the audiobook and boy was I disappointed. I wanted to love it, I really did, but I did not understand the hype at all. It was a struggle to get through it.
I loved the concept and idea, a retelling of Cinderella, set in New Beijing, cyborgs etc. But the author definitely bit off more than she could chew. Nothing is fleshed out, no characters are developed, and so much is left untold. It is all SO superficial and did not feel real at all. The main character, Cinder, and even the love interest are both such boring characters with no real clear attributes.
I have read that the series gets better as you go on and more developed but with how weak this was, it would be a major struggle for me to start the next. ]]> 4.14 2012 Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Luce
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2023/07/10
date added: 2023/07/10
shelves:
review:
2.5/5.

After years of having this on my ‘want to read� list, I finally got ahold of the audiobook and boy was I disappointed. I wanted to love it, I really did, but I did not understand the hype at all. It was a struggle to get through it.
I loved the concept and idea, a retelling of Cinderella, set in New Beijing, cyborgs etc. But the author definitely bit off more than she could chew. Nothing is fleshed out, no characters are developed, and so much is left untold. It is all SO superficial and did not feel real at all. The main character, Cinder, and even the love interest are both such boring characters with no real clear attributes.
I have read that the series gets better as you go on and more developed but with how weak this was, it would be a major struggle for me to start the next.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Luce 5 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Luce
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/12
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Look For Me (Detective D.D. Warren, #10)]]> 35106781
The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one—a sixteen-year-old girl—missing. Was she lucky to have escaped? Or is her absence evidence of something sinister? Detective D. D. Warren is on the case—but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.]]> 392 Lisa Gardner 1524742058 Luce 3 3.90 2018 Look For Me (Detective D.D. Warren, #10)
author: Lisa Gardner
name: Luce
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/06
date added: 2023/06/06
shelves:
review:
Only 3 ish stars. Perhaps my own fault because I took forever to finish this, but I just didn’t love it. Was it the best most gripping novel I’ve ever read? No. Was it entertaining? Yes. I probably would try another one of the Detective Warren stories eventually but it just wasn’t as thrilling as it could’ve been in my opinion.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)]]> 2
Harry has had enough. He is beginning to think he must do something, anything, to change his situation, when the summer holidays come to an end in a very dramatic fashion. What Harry is about to discover in his new year at Hogwarts will turn his world upside down...]]> 912 J.K. Rowling Luce 5 4.50 2003 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Luce
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/30
date added: 2023/05/30
shelves:
review:
They just get better and better. So complex. I love the shades of grey that began to emerge. Not one character is good or even fully bad for that matter. The complexity is brilliant. Even the ending, whilst raw and sad, so good. Just absolutely love these books.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)]]> 6 734 J.K. Rowling 0439139597 Luce 5 4.56 2000 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Luce
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/09
date added: 2023/05/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)]]> 5 435 J.K. Rowling 043965548X Luce 5 This is the last in the series where Harry is still a child, things start getting darker, more serious and the story deepens. Loved the addition of Remus and Sirius, all the hidden details that will come out later too.
5/5 of course. ]]> 4.57 1999 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Luce
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/01
date added: 2023/04/27
shelves: children, young-adult, fantasy
review:
Just. So. Good.
This is the last in the series where Harry is still a child, things start getting darker, more serious and the story deepens. Loved the addition of Remus and Sirius, all the hidden details that will come out later too.
5/5 of course.
]]> <![CDATA[Bridget Jones’s Diary (Bridget Jones, #1)]]> 227443 a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise

"129 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)..."

"Bridget Jones' Diary" is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement � a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult - and learn to program the VCR.

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and � like millions of readers the world round � you'll find yourself shouting, "Bridget Jones is me!"]]> 288 Helen Fielding 014028009X Luce 3 chick-lit Read this because I enjoy the movies ever so much. The books were similar, noticed some direct quotes however there are a few more events in the book. Book Bridget is a lottt more obsessed with dieting, smoking, drinking, how she looks than in the movies (it is mentioned every second page in the book) which could become tedious for some readers. Is it the best book ever written? No. But what is the purpose of a book, especially one in the chick lit category? To entertain, make one laugh, have a relaxed read. Which is exactly what Bridget Jones is. A fun, light read (with a few serious notes).]]> 3.81 1996 Bridget Jones’s Diary (Bridget Jones, #1)
author: Helen Fielding
name: Luce
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/10
date added: 2023/04/26
shelves: chick-lit
review:
3.5 stars.
Read this because I enjoy the movies ever so much. The books were similar, noticed some direct quotes however there are a few more events in the book. Book Bridget is a lottt more obsessed with dieting, smoking, drinking, how she looks than in the movies (it is mentioned every second page in the book) which could become tedious for some readers. Is it the best book ever written? No. But what is the purpose of a book, especially one in the chick lit category? To entertain, make one laugh, have a relaxed read. Which is exactly what Bridget Jones is. A fun, light read (with a few serious notes).
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)]]> 15881
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girls� bathroom. But then the real trouble begins � someone is turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects� Harry Potter himself!]]> 352 J.K. Rowling Luce 5 4.42 1998 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Luce
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/23
date added: 2023/04/19
shelves:
review:
God I love these books. Just get better and better. Loved the introduction of Voldemort again, Moaning Myrtle, Lockhart etc. Also love the bond between the three growing even more
]]> Big Little Lies 33516773 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

From the author of Truly Madly Guilty and The Husband s Secret comes a novel about the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.]]> 460 Liane Moriarty 0399587195 Luce 4 Brilliant, funny, terrifying but so juicy. This book was so good, the twists at the end were fabulous. I was worried it would be predictable but it kept me on my toes pretty much the whole way through. It does deal with some pretty real, rough stuff at times but I think the execution was perfect in terms of it wasn’t overly depressing yet realistic. Characters were amazing, you sorta loved and didn’t love everyone.
Keen to see how the tv show adaptation folds out! ]]> 4.40 2014 Big Little Lies
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Luce
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/03
date added: 2023/04/03
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars.
Brilliant, funny, terrifying but so juicy. This book was so good, the twists at the end were fabulous. I was worried it would be predictable but it kept me on my toes pretty much the whole way through. It does deal with some pretty real, rough stuff at times but I think the execution was perfect in terms of it wasn’t overly depressing yet realistic. Characters were amazing, you sorta loved and didn’t love everyone.
Keen to see how the tv show adaptation folds out!
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)]]> 3 309 J.K. Rowling 0439554934 Luce 5 4.47 1997 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Luce
average rating: 4.47
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/22
date added: 2023/03/26
shelves:
review:
Forever a classic. Beautiful start up novel to Harry Potter and his world.
]]> <![CDATA[The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)]]> 26032912 He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity�

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy.]]> 321 Holly Black 0316310409 Luce 5
My god. What a brilliant ending. I truly cannot believe I have to say goodbye to this world, it’s characters, Holly Black did an amazing job. I was never ready for any twists and turns she had ready, right till the end. Which was perfect.
One of the key standouts: the character of Madoc, crafted beautifully. The dynamic of him and Jude, as father and daughter, both fighting and loving each other, their parallels. And their heartbreaking demise.
Only negative feedback I’d have is the length, I do believe it could’ve been stretched out a little further than 300 pages, with some ‘scenes� being extended and fleshed out. Saying that though, it did jump into the action almost straight away and was constantly intriguing.
Overall though I loved it, one of the best I’ve read in a while.]]> 4.33 2019 The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)
author: Holly Black
name: Luce
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/21
date added: 2023/03/22
shelves:
review:


My god. What a brilliant ending. I truly cannot believe I have to say goodbye to this world, it’s characters, Holly Black did an amazing job. I was never ready for any twists and turns she had ready, right till the end. Which was perfect.
One of the key standouts: the character of Madoc, crafted beautifully. The dynamic of him and Jude, as father and daughter, both fighting and loving each other, their parallels. And their heartbreaking demise.
Only negative feedback I’d have is the length, I do believe it could’ve been stretched out a little further than 300 pages, with some ‘scenes� being extended and fleshed out. Saying that though, it did jump into the action almost straight away and was constantly intriguing.
Overall though I loved it, one of the best I’ve read in a while.
]]> <![CDATA[The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)]]> 26032887 The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince.

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.]]> 336 Holly Black 0316310336 Luce 5 I still love all the characters, the way they all have their own part to play, both likeable and I likeable. The romance playing behind the scenes was subtle yet thrilling when readers were treated to it, it did not take over the story or undermine the lead character.
The plot has grown to be addictive, so many twists and turns, I genuinely didn’t know what was coming most of the time, particularly that ending - my god.

]]> 4.27 2019 The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)
author: Holly Black
name: Luce
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/14
date added: 2023/03/15
shelves:
review:
I can officially say I am onboard this series, I totallyyy get the hype. This was BRILLIANT. I find fantasy novels hard to nail, overdo it and it becomes tacky and not believable but this was so enchanting, compelling, so immersive.
I still love all the characters, the way they all have their own part to play, both likeable and I likeable. The romance playing behind the scenes was subtle yet thrilling when readers were treated to it, it did not take over the story or undermine the lead character.
The plot has grown to be addictive, so many twists and turns, I genuinely didn’t know what was coming most of the time, particularly that ending - my god.


]]> <![CDATA[The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)]]> 26032825 Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.]]> 370 Holly Black 0316310271 Luce 4 The characters were brilliant, complex enough that no one is solely bad nor good (even Jude the main). I usually don’t care much for Faerie stories and found the setting/description a touch weak early on but the world was built strongly towards the end.
I am extremely intrigued, desperate to get my hands on the next one. Might add; another audiobook listen, the narrator Caitlin Kelly smashed it. One of my new favourite narrators.]]> 4.01 2018 The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)
author: Holly Black
name: Luce
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/08
date added: 2023/03/09
shelves:
review:
I was rather pleasantly surprised with this. Beginning it, I thought it was another fantasy YA novel, like many I have read, however it turned into a really compelling novel. An excellent start for what looks like an extravagant series.
The characters were brilliant, complex enough that no one is solely bad nor good (even Jude the main). I usually don’t care much for Faerie stories and found the setting/description a touch weak early on but the world was built strongly towards the end.
I am extremely intrigued, desperate to get my hands on the next one. Might add; another audiobook listen, the narrator Caitlin Kelly smashed it. One of my new favourite narrators.
]]> <![CDATA[Taming Toxic People: The Science of Identifying and Dealing with Psychopaths at Work & at Home]]> 35492496 "I didn't know how to deal with the poisonous and toxic people in my life or why they behaved the way they did, so I went looking for an answer. This book is what I found."

Bestselling author David Gillespie turns his attention to a phenomenon that damages businesses, seeds mental disease and discomfort and can bring civilisations to the brink of implosion- the psychopath.

Psychopaths are often thought of as killers and criminals, but actually five to ten per cent of people are probably psychopathic without ever indulging in a single criminal act. These everyday psychopaths may be charming in the early stages of relationships or employment but, Gillespie argues, their presence in your life is at best disruptive, and at worst highly dangerous: they will leave you feeling cheated and humiliated, dominating and manipulating you to the point where you question your sanity. Worse, he caution, at a societal level their tendency to gravitate towards positions of power can be disastrous.

Taming Toxic People is a practical guide to restraining that difficult person in your life, be it your boss, your spouse or a parent. But it is also a serious and meticulously researched warning: if we value a free and well-functioning society, we need to rebuild the sense of community that has historically kept the everyday psychopath in check, and we must understand and act to manage the psychopathic behaviour in our midst.]]> 288 David Gillespie 1743535872 Luce 3 Another audiobook read. Found so much of this super interesting, particularly the history of psychopaths at the beginning and the numerous studies and tests performed regarding. Love the psychology aspect. Some parts were a bit repetitive, broad (e.g when dealing with them in ‘real life�) or I kinda lost interest, however overall a really interesting and crucial read, given the rise of ‘psychopaths� in our modern world.]]> 3.61 2017 Taming Toxic People: The Science of Identifying and Dealing with Psychopaths at Work & at Home
author: David Gillespie
name: Luce
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/03/04
shelves:
review:
3.5 !
Another audiobook read. Found so much of this super interesting, particularly the history of psychopaths at the beginning and the numerous studies and tests performed regarding. Love the psychology aspect. Some parts were a bit repetitive, broad (e.g when dealing with them in ‘real life�) or I kinda lost interest, however overall a really interesting and crucial read, given the rise of ‘psychopaths� in our modern world.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unhoneymooners (Unhoneymooners, #1)]]> 42201431
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781501128035.]]> 432 Christina Lauren 1501128035 Luce 4 3.88 2019 The Unhoneymooners (Unhoneymooners, #1)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Luce
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/02/27
shelves:
review:
Another audiobook read. I actually found myself totally loving this. It was charming, fun, cute and I found most of the dialogue rather quite funny and witty. I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers and this one hit the spot. I didn’t find Olive the main protagonist annoying or try hard (which can happen with novels like this) but instead strong headed, smart and hilarious. Great read for something lighter or to get out of a reading slump.
]]> One True Loves 27189194
On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.]]> 352 Taylor Jenkins Reid Luce 5 4.03 2016 One True Loves
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Luce
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/02/27
shelves:
review:
Another devastatingly beautiful read by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. I loved the way it was written as always, and surpassingly found myself sympathising for every character and wasn’t sure how I wanted it to end. Charming and loved the final message it left me with. So realistic, depicting how life doesn’t always have a happy ending, or a right or a wrong answer. Another 5/5.
]]> Just Got Real 58908156 THE HILARIOUS AND RAZOR-SHARP NEW NOVEL FROM THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING QUEEN OF REVENGE COMEDY

'Gripping, sharp and brilliantly twisty. A rollercoaster of revenge' DAILY MAIL
'Her best yet! Ingenious and entertaining' MARIAN KEYES
'Razor sharp, sassy, witty and entertaining' 5 READER REVIEW
'Fabulous characters and a story that just will not let you go!' RUTH JONES
'Funny, fresh and clever' CLARE MACKINTOSH
_________

He's not who he says he is. Then again, neither is she . . .
When Joni finds Ant via a dating app, neither is entirely honest about who they are.

But when they meet in real life, they fall for each other.

Soon they are a happy, steady item. Until Joni discovers Ant is still on the app, still dating other women . . .

Having secret rivals devastates Joni. So she decides to take revenge. But not on them.

Can she turn these rivals into allies to get back at the real enemy . . . Ant?
_________

NO ONE CAN GET ENOUGH OF JUST GOT REAL . . .

'This escapist gem is loud-snort funny' HEAT
'Witty, smart, topical and full of heart' TAMMY COHEN
'Wry observation and razor-sharp wit' SUNDAY EXPRESS
'Jane just keeps getting better and better. So smart, funny and warm' ADELE PARKS
'Her best yet! Especially gorgeous on female friendship' MARIAN KEYES
'We drop everything for a Jane Fallon novel and this is one of her best' CLOSER
'A brilliantly spiky read. Loved it' SAM BAKER
'Another brilliant tale from best-selling author Jane Fallon' HELLO!
'Seems to slip down like a glass of nicely chilled white wine' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'Witty, funny, beautifully written' CATHY KELLY
'I loved it. The killer twist of the year. Totally brilliant' TONY PARSONS
'Sharply observed, wickedly funny, with real depths of emotion' MILLY JOHNSON
'Just Got Real is an absolute joy' JOANNA CANNON
'A real page turner . . . Such a treat to read' ALICE FEENEY
'Smart and funny' SUN]]> 400 Jane Fallon 0241541158 Luce 4 Was exactly what I wanted, a fun, witty, entertaining read. I enjoyed all the characters - the female friendship theme between the main three really standing out. Nothing felt forced, the book flowed well and towards the end I felt myself smiling or reacting out loud to the characters.
This would be the perfect beach read or on a long flight! Light, fun with some beautiful emotional moments weaved in. ]]> 3.70 2022 Just Got Real
author: Jane Fallon
name: Luce
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/02/21
shelves:
review:
Loved this! Listened to the audiobook version of this one (something I don’t usually do) but I think it really added to the experience, the narrator (Tamzin something) did a brilliant job.
Was exactly what I wanted, a fun, witty, entertaining read. I enjoyed all the characters - the female friendship theme between the main three really standing out. Nothing felt forced, the book flowed well and towards the end I felt myself smiling or reacting out loud to the characters.
This would be the perfect beach read or on a long flight! Light, fun with some beautiful emotional moments weaved in.
]]> Maybe in Another Life 23492661
From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.]]> 342 Taylor Jenkins Reid Luce 3 3.77 2015 Maybe in Another Life
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Luce
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/01/11
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars! I learnt upon finishing this book that this was one of Taylor’s first novels she wrote and it makes a lot more sense, seeing where she started and her writing become stronger. I definitely enjoyed this book but it doesn’t resonate with me as much as ‘Seven Husbands..� or even ‘Daisy Jones�. At times it almost felt like a “choose your own adventure� novel and unfortunately lines were often repeated in the storyline’s, making it repetitive. I can’t really fault it, I enjoyed it and wanted to see how it all unfolded but just not as strong of a novel. Will always gladly read a book from Taylor Jenkins-Reid and am glad overall I knocked this one over too.
]]> Daisy Jones & The Six 40597810 Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n� roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.]]> 368 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1524798622 Luce 4 Having read the first of Taylor Jenkins-Reid’s books last year, I was interested to see how this one would go! Debating whether last years was just a one hit wonder for me but my god, there’s something so hauntingly beautiful about her books and writing style for me. Whilst completely different (different characters, story, writing style), they are oddly so touching - to me at least.

Loved the exploration of addiction, something many authors easily overdo or don’t depict in an accurate light. It was devastatingly real.

The relationships between all female characters was one of my favourite touches. Hate over the top feminism books, makes it seem fake and tacky. All the female characters in this were amazing, and strong in their own ways. Written perfectly.

Loved the 70’s vibe, the rock and roll, the sex, the drugs, the harsh reality and the soft crumble of it all at the end. Another ripper book. ]]> 4.20 2019 Daisy Jones & The Six
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Luce
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/12/06
shelves:
review:
4.5/5
Having read the first of Taylor Jenkins-Reid’s books last year, I was interested to see how this one would go! Debating whether last years was just a one hit wonder for me but my god, there’s something so hauntingly beautiful about her books and writing style for me. Whilst completely different (different characters, story, writing style), they are oddly so touching - to me at least.

Loved the exploration of addiction, something many authors easily overdo or don’t depict in an accurate light. It was devastatingly real.

The relationships between all female characters was one of my favourite touches. Hate over the top feminism books, makes it seem fake and tacky. All the female characters in this were amazing, and strong in their own ways. Written perfectly.

Loved the 70’s vibe, the rock and roll, the sex, the drugs, the harsh reality and the soft crumble of it all at the end. Another ripper book.
]]> <![CDATA[The Rosie Result (Don Tillman, #3)]]> 41018628 I was standing on one leg shucking oysters when the problems began�

Don and Rosie are back in Melbourne after a decade in New York, and they’re about to face their most important project.

Their son, Hudson, is having trouble at school: his teachers say he isn’t fitting in with the other kids. Meanwhile, Rosie is battling Judas at work, and Don is in hot water after the Genetics Lecture Outrage. The life-contentment graph, recently at its highest point, is curving downwards.

For Don Tillman, geneticist and World’s Best Problem-Solver, learning to be a good parent as well as a good partner will require the help of friends old and new.

It will mean letting Hudson make his way in the world, and grappling with awkward truths about his own identity.

And opening a cocktail bar.

Hilarious and thought-provoking, with a brilliant cast of characters and an ending that will have readers cheering for joy, The Rosie Result is the triumphant final instalment of the internationally bestselling series that began with The Rosie Project.]]> 376 Graeme Simsion 1925773477 Luce 4 Wholesome ending.]]> 3.99 2019 The Rosie Result (Don Tillman, #3)
author: Graeme Simsion
name: Luce
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/11/05
shelves:
review:
Excellent conclusion to this wholesome series. Loved the introduction of Hudson and that he’s a mini Don in a way. Loved the consistency of Don’s character, his quirks and remarks still made me giggle like the first and second books. Really genuine and realistic insight to autism as well, dealing with a serious topic in a heartfelt way.
Wholesome ending.
]]> <![CDATA[The Rosie Effect (Don Tillman, #2)]]> 23492671
Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he's left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie.

As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting Gene and Claudia to reconcile, servicing the industrial refrigeration unit that occupies half his apartment, helping Dave the Baseball Fan save his business, and staying on the right side of Lydia the social worker, he almost misses the biggest problem of all: he might lose Rosie when she needs him the most.]]> 368 Graeme Simsion 1476767327 Luce 3 3.62 2014 The Rosie Effect (Don Tillman, #2)
author: Graeme Simsion
name: Luce
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/10
date added: 2022/10/10
shelves:
review:
Okay so this book took me months to read. Yes, I had gotten very lazy with reading but I think the weaker plot definitely contributed to my slump. It was a bit harder to start and get through the middle yet I absolutely loved the last 150 or so last pages. There was some hilarious quotes in this one, and I’ve grown to really enjoy Don as the main narrator given he is so different to ones you usually read. He’s an extremely consistent and clear character. In saying this, Rosie is not, or at least was not very strong in this sequel. I am hoping she picks up for the final instalment. Overall though, very wholesome ending, made me smile. The writing is easy to power through once you are invested enough - I am keen to see how the story finishes (with a child now involved!)
]]> Breakfast at Tiffany's 5668535 Breakfast at Tiffany's is a brilliant glimmer of the excitement of 40's New York. Holly Golightly - brashly beautiful with a slim black dress, a mysterious past and dark glasses over varicoloured eyes - entrances all the men she meets, including the young writer living above her, though her recklessness may yet catch up with her. Also containing three short stories, this edition shows the elegance and warmth of Capote's writing at its most flawless.]]> 157 Truman Capote 0141037261 Luce 0 3.65 1958 Breakfast at Tiffany's
author: Truman Capote
name: Luce
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1958
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/06/15
shelves: to-read, english-lit, classics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rosie Project (Don Tillman, #1)]]> 16181775
Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful� husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.]]> 292 Graeme Simsion 1476729085 Luce 4 Highly recommend. ]]> 4.00 2013 The Rosie Project (Don Tillman, #1)
author: Graeme Simsion
name: Luce
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/05/27
shelves:
review:
Incredibly charming, heartwarming and a nice light read. Initially struggled with Don as the narrator of the book but once used to him after a couple chapters he really grew on me and I enjoyed the storytelling through him. Rosie was great too - not annoying and cliche. Looking forward to where the sequel takes their story, hopefully not overdone!
Highly recommend.
]]> <![CDATA[The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)]]> 22456248 Librarian's Note: An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.

Percy Jackson’s seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get... well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy’s friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.

In this fresh, funny, and hugely anticipated follow up to The Lightning Thief, Percy and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their beloved camp. But first, Percy will discover a stunning new secret about his family—one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon’s son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.]]> 280 Rick Riordan 1423103343 Luce 0 fantasy 4.18 2006 The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Luce
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/10/15
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)]]> 38611293 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

Aelin Galathynius has vowed to save her people � but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. The knowledge that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, but her resolve is unraveling with each passing day�

With Aelin captured, friends and allies are scattered to different fates. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever. As destinies weave together at last, all must fight if Erilea is to have any hope of salvation.

Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an explosive conclusion as Aelin fights to save herself―and the promise of a better world.]]> 992 Sarah J. Maas 1408872927 Luce 4 4.74 2018 Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.74
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2021/02/19
date added: 2021/10/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)]]> 29589906
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?]]> 693 Sarah J. Maas 1408872900 Luce 4 4.65 2016 Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2021/02/19
date added: 2021/10/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo]]> 32620332
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the �80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501139231 Luce 5 4.39 2017 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Luce
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/10/13
shelves:
review:
Absolutely in love with this book. I found Evelyn Hugo and her story incredibly compelling, so heartbreakingly beautiful. Definitely my book of the year - loved everything about it.
]]> Conversations with Friends 32187419 A sharply intelligent novel about two college students and the strange, unexpected connection they forge with a married couple.

Frances is twenty-one years old, cool-headed, and darkly observant. A college student and aspiring writer, she devotes herself to a life of the mind--and to the beautiful and endlessly self-possessed Bobbi, her best friend and comrade-in-arms. Lovers at school, the two young women now perform spoken-word poetry together in Dublin, where a journalist named Melissa spots their potential. Drawn into Melissa's orbit, Frances is reluctantly impressed by the older woman's sophisticated home and tall, handsome husband. Private property, Frances believes, is a cultural evil--and Nick, a bored actor who never quite lived up to his potential, looks like patriarchy made flesh. But however amusing their flirtation seems at first, it gives way to a strange intimacy neither of them expect. As Frances tries to keep her life in check, her relationships increasingly resist her control: with Nick, with her difficult and unhappy father, and finally even with Bobbi. Desperate to reconcile herself to the desires and vulnerabilities of her body, Frances's intellectual certainties begin to yield to something new: a painful and disorienting way of living from moment to moment.

Written with gem-like precision and probing intelligence, Conversations With Friends is wonderfully alive to the pleasures and dangers of youth."]]> 304 Sally Rooney 0451499077 Luce 3 3.74 2017 Conversations with Friends
author: Sally Rooney
name: Luce
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/10/13
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars. I found the writing style very fresh and realistic in terms of dialogue. Plot was lacking somewhat in the sense of direction and the characters often entirely self absorbed, selfish and nasty. Although I think this is what the author had in mind writing it - and it’s refreshing, reminding me that not all stories and characters are positive or terribly kind - just like in life I suppose. I was definitely intrigued whilst reading, but it did also miss something too.
]]> The Chemist 32940867 In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life.

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.

In this tautly plotted novel, Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she's one of the world's bestselling authors.]]> 521 Stephenie Meyer 0316387843 Luce 1 3.78 2016 The Chemist
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Luce
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2016
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2021/05/26
shelves:
review:
God, so awful and so boring. Worst book I’ve read all year. Feel like nothing happened at all
]]> <![CDATA[Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine]]> 31434883 No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she'll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all.

Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .

the only way to survive is to open your heart.]]> 336 Gail Honeyman 0735220689 Luce 1 4.21 2017 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
author: Gail Honeyman
name: Luce
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2021/04/15
shelves:
review:
It just really wasn’t for me. Found it boring and not really memorable. I wanted to love it but unfortunately I just didn’t get the hype.
]]> The Great Gatsby 4671 The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald’s family and from his lifelong publisher.

This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author’s own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published by Scribner in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]> 180 F. Scott Fitzgerald 0743273567 Luce 4 english-lit, classics Classic and brilliant. 3.93 1925 The Great Gatsby
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Luce
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1925
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/03/23
shelves: english-lit, classics
review:
Classic and brilliant.
]]> Th1rt3en (Eddie Flynn, #4) 36217425 The serial killer isn't on trial.

He's on the jury...

They were Hollywood's hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife.

This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.

All the evidence points to Robert's guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie's mind.

What if there's more than one actor in the courtroom?

What if the killer isn't on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?]]> 356 Steve Cavanagh 1409170667 Luce 4 Such a smart read, clear the author spent time threading everything together. I absolutely loved the last third of the book. The execution and reveals were phenomenal.
Can be read as a stand alone novel (I didn't realise there were more Eddie Flynn books) but I will definitely be reading more from the author.]]> 4.19 2018 Th1rt3en (Eddie Flynn, #4)
author: Steve Cavanagh
name: Luce
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/02/19
shelves:
review:
The premise of this book was spectacular. I will admit, it took me 50-60 pages to get into it as it involves a lot of courtroom and police lingo, but once I got used to this I found it so captivating and interesting.
Such a smart read, clear the author spent time threading everything together. I absolutely loved the last third of the book. The execution and reveals were phenomenal.
Can be read as a stand alone novel (I didn't realise there were more Eddie Flynn books) but I will definitely be reading more from the author.
]]> The Other Passenger 53168499 Our House, winner of the Crime and Thriller Book of the Year Award
You’re feeling pretty smug about your commute to work by riverboat. No more traffic gridlock or getting stuck on the tube in tunnels (you’re claustrophobic); now you’ve got an iconic Thames view, fresh air?—a whole lifestyle upgrade. You’ve made new friends onboard—led by your hedonistic young neighbour, Kit?—and just had your first ‘water rats� Christmas drinks.

But the first day back after Christmas, Kit isn’t on the morning boat. The river landmarks are all the same, but something’s off. You disembark to find the police waiting. Kit’s wife, Melia, has reported him missing and another passenger witnessedthe two of you arguing on the last boat home after your drinks. Police say you had a reason to lash out at him. To kill him.

You protest. You and Kit are friends?—ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your private lives? No, whatever coincidences might have occurred that night, you are innocent, totally innocent.

Aren’t you?]]> 11 Louise Candlish 1471184536 Luce 5 Shoutout to mum for gifting me this! ]]> 3.65 2019 The Other Passenger
author: Louise Candlish
name: Luce
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/02/09
shelves:
review:
Incredible. My first 5 stars of the year and it’s well deserved. I absolutely loved this, Louise’s writing was full of depth and complex, I was hooked after the first 50 pages. Had me guessing right up until the end. 100% recommend.
Shoutout to mum for gifting me this!
]]> Why Men Love Bitches 9201647
Do you feel like you are too nice? Sherry Argov's Why Men Love Bitches delivers a unique perspective as to why men are attracted to a strong woman who stands up for herself. With saucy detail on every page, this no-nonsense guide reveals why a strong woman is much more desirable than a "yes woman" who routinely sacrifices herself. The author provides compelling answers to the tough questions women often ask:

· Why are men so romantic in the beginning and why do they change?
· Why do men take nice girls for granted?
· Why does a man respect a woman when she stands up for herself?

Full of advice, hilarious real-life relationship scenarios, "she says/he thinks" tables, and the author's unique "Attraction Principles," Why Men Love Bitches gives you bottom-line answers. It helps you know who you are, stand your ground, and relate to men on a whole new level. Once you've discovered the feisty attitude men find so magnetic, you'll not only increase the romantic chemistry—you'll gain your man's love and respect with far less effort.]]> 288 Sherry Argov 1605501557 Luce 3 3.78 2009 Why Men Love Bitches
author: Sherry Argov
name: Luce
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/02/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)]]> 33648131
Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. It is a story of miracles and emotions that will stay with you forever.]]> 227 Nicholas Sparks Luce 3 Some beautiful life quotes throughout which I loved! But definitely needed a bit more oomph. ]]> 4.32 1996 The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Luce
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/02/04
shelves:
review:
Beautiful but also quite simple and flat at times. I think Sparks could’ve done a lot more with it in terms of dialogue and plot.
Some beautiful life quotes throughout which I loved! But definitely needed a bit more oomph.
]]> The Arrangement 42201920
Though more than thirty years her senior, Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney, seems like the perfect candidate, and within a month, they are madly in love. At least, Nat is…Gabe already has a family, whom he has no intention of leaving.

So when he abruptly ends things, Nat can’t let go. She begins drinking heavily and stalking him: watching him at work, spying on his wife, even befriending his daughter, who is not much younger than she is. But Gabe’s not about to let his sugar baby destroy his perfect life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement devolves into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and, when a body is found near Gabe’s posh Upper East Side apartment, murder.]]> 343 Robyn Harding 198211049X Luce 2 The ending did salvage things a little bit mainly disappointing because this could’ve been an amazing read. Unfortunately, it missed the mark a little. ]]> 3.70 2019 The Arrangement
author: Robyn Harding
name: Luce
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2021/02/01
shelves:
review:
Very intriguing plot but felt it wasn’t executed well. The author’s writing was very weak, often feeling as if she was doing more telling than seeing. The main characters were both unlikeable, at times I really struggled with Natalie’s narrative, finding it melodramatic and frustrating.
The ending did salvage things a little bit mainly disappointing because this could’ve been an amazing read. Unfortunately, it missed the mark a little.
]]> All the Bright Places 18460392 The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders� of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.]]> 388 Jennifer Niven 0385755880 Luce 1 I can’t decide if I really loved it to be honest. I’m getting so tired of these John Green type books. I felt the characters seemed quite fake at times, used as like plot tools to extract our emotions. I knew how this was going to end like halfway through.
Not my cup of tea, unfortunately don’t understand the hype. ]]> 4.12 2015 All the Bright Places
author: Jennifer Niven
name: Luce
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2021/01/25
shelves:
review:
1.5 stars.
I can’t decide if I really loved it to be honest. I’m getting so tired of these John Green type books. I felt the characters seemed quite fake at times, used as like plot tools to extract our emotions. I knew how this was going to end like halfway through.
Not my cup of tea, unfortunately don’t understand the hype.
]]> The Other People 45706883 A gripping new thriller about a man's quest for the daughter no one else believes is still alive, from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man and The Hiding Place.

Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl's face appear in the rear window. She mouths one word: 'Daddy.' It's his five-year-old daughter, Izzy.

He never sees her again.

Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights travelling up and down the motorway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe that Izzy is dead.

Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the motorway. Not searching. But running. Trying to keep one step ahead of the people who want to hurt them. Because Fran knows the truth. She knows what really happened to Gabe's daughter.

Then, the car that Gabe saw driving away that night is found, in a lake, with a body inside and Gabe is forced to confront events, not just from the night his daughter disappeared, but from far deeper in his past.

His search leads him to a group called The Other People.

If you have lost a loved one, The Other People want to help. Because they know what loss is like. They know what pain is like. They know what death is like.

There's just one problem . . . they want other people to know it too.]]> 327 C.J. Tudor 1984824996 Luce 2 3.81 2020 The Other People
author: C.J. Tudor
name: Luce
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2021/01/19
shelves:
review:
This book didn’t wow me as it seemed to for everyone else apparently. All felt a bit disconnected and far fetched and just missed the mark for me unfortunately. Felt like the author was desperate to end each chapter on a cliffhanger. There was also a random paranormal twist at the end which just didn’t make sense at all. Great idea - just wasn’t executed well enough for me!
]]> Where the Crawdads Sing 36809135
But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.]]> 384 Delia Owens 0735219117 Luce 4 4.35 2018 Where the Crawdads Sing
author: Delia Owens
name: Luce
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/01/12
shelves:
review:
Absolutely beautiful. Little hard to get into so you do have to push through the first 60 pages but the writing is unique and touching.
]]> The Silent Patient 40097951
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.]]> 336 Alex Michaelides 1250301696 Luce 4 4.17 2019 The Silent Patient
author: Alex Michaelides
name: Luce
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Wuthering Heights 6650284 As darkness falls, a man caught in a snowstorm is forced to shelter at the strange, grim house Wuthering Heights. It is a place he will never forget. There he will come to learn the story of Cathy: how she was forced to choose between her well-meaning husband and the dangerous man she had loved since she was young. How her choice led to betrayal and terrible revenge � and continues to torment those in the present.]]> 279 Emily Brontë 0141045205 Luce 0 to-read 3.64 1847 Wuthering Heights
author: Emily Brontë
name: Luce
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1847
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/12/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)]]> 18006496
She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.]]> 648 Sarah J. Maas 1619636042 Luce 0 4.56 2015 Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/08/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Well Played (Well Met, #2) 50089191
When Stacey imagined "The One," it never occurred to her that her summertime Faire fling, Dex MacLean, might fit the bill. While Dex is easy on the eyes onstage with his band The Dueling Kilts, Stacey has never felt an emotional connection with him. So when she receives a tender email from the typically monosyllabic hunk, she's not sure what to make of it.

Faire returns to Willow Creek, and Stacey comes face-to-face with the man with whom she’s exchanged hundreds of online messages over the past nine months. To Stacey's shock, it isn't Dex—she's been falling in love with a man she barely knows.

Another laugh-out-loud romantic comedy featuring kilted musicians, Renaissance Faire tavern wenches, and an unlikely love story.]]> 332 Jen DeLuca 1984805401 Luce 0 to-read 3.50 2020 Well Played (Well Met, #2)
author: Jen DeLuca
name: Luce
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/08/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mr. Masters (Mr. Series, #1) 40222694 Job satisfaction has taken on a whole new meaning.

When I lied on my resume, I didn’t expect it to matter.
I mean any child would love me; I was born to be a nanny.
I applied for a position working for a woman, or so I thought.
But Julian Masters is definitely all man…the kind you dream of licking chocolate from.

The first day was bad.
The kids were the spawn of the devil and I spied through a window and caught him doing something obscene�. and equally fascinating.

The second day was worse, he caught me snooping in his bathroom cabinet in my skimpy pyjamas and all hell broke loose.

On the third day, I ran over him in a golf cart.

And by day four I had decided that I wanted that chocolate…all of it.
Melted�.on me.

But intelligent, widowed Judges don’t fall for ditzy nannies.
Or do they?]]> 460 T.L. Swan Luce 0 to-read 4.21 2018 Mr. Masters (Mr. Series, #1)
author: T.L. Swan
name: Luce
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> You Deserve Each Other 50027029 When your nemesis also happens to be your fiancé, happily ever after becomes a lot more complicated in this wickedly funny, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy debut.

Naomi Westfield has the perfect fiancé: Nicholas Rose holds doors open for her, remembers her restaurant orders, and comes from the kind of upstanding society family any bride would love to be a part of. They never fight. They're preparing for their lavish wedding that's three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.

Naomi wants out, but there's a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.

But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they're finally being themselves--and having fun with the last person they expect: each other.]]> 368 Sarah Hogle Luce 0 to-read 3.90 2020 You Deserve Each Other
author: Sarah Hogle
name: Luce
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)]]> 20613470 565 Sarah J. Maas 1619630656 Luce 4 4.47 2014 Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/07/15
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)]]> 17167166 "A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.

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

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

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

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.]]> 420 Sarah J. Maas 1619630621 Luce 0 4.35 2013 Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/15
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)]]> 7896527 Meet Celaena Sardothien.

Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

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

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.]]> 406 Sarah J. Maas Luce 0 fantasy, young-adult, romance 4.19 2012 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Luce
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/15
shelves: fantasy, young-adult, romance
review:

]]> Wonder (Wonder, #1) 23302416
You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

Narrated by Auggie and the people around him whose lives he touches forever, Wonder is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.]]> 318 R.J. Palacio Luce 4 4.41 2012 Wonder (Wonder, #1)
author: R.J. Palacio
name: Luce
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/03/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)]]> 36199084 A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases—a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice—with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan—from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...]]> 323 Helen Hoang 0451490819 Luce 0 to-read 3.88 2018 The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)
author: Helen Hoang
name: Luce
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My Life in Shambles 45020886 My Life in Shambles is an emotional and sexy new standalone contemporary romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Nordic King and The Pact.

When Valerie Stephens made the resolution to say yes to new adventures, she never thought she’d end up in the tiny town of Shambles, fake engaged to one of Ireland’s top rugby players. But there’s a first time for everything.

They say bad things happen in threes.

After my boyfriend broke off our engagement, I lost my apartment, and was laid off from my job, I can definitely attest to that.

They also say life is what happens when you say yes to new adventures.

So when my two sisters invited me to ring in the new year in Ireland, I decided to throw all caution to the wind and go for it. I was going to let “saying yes� be my new resolution.

Little did I know I’d spend New Year’s Eve having a hot and dirty one-night stand with Padraig McCarthy, one hell of a sexy Irishman. I also didn’t know that the brooding and intense sex god was one of Ireland’s top rugby players.

A rugby player with a proposition for me:

Come with him to his tiny hometown of Shambles and pretend to be his fiancé for a few days, just so that his ailing father can have some peace of mind.

It sounded simple enough.

It was anything but.

Not when a town gets up in your business, not when the media hunts you down, not when your past comes back in the picture, not when there are real hearts and feelings at stake.

Not when there are secrets that could break you.

They say life is what happens when you say yes to new adventures.

This is my life in Shambles.]]> 350 Karina Halle Luce 0 to-read 4.00 2019 My Life in Shambles
author: Karina Halle
name: Luce
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone, #1)]]> 41945163
Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.

The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.]]> 372 Abby Jimenez Luce 0 to-read 3.85 2019 The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone, #1)
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Luce
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Piece of Work (Red Lipstick Coalition, #1)]]> 44429353 An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.

Marble isn’t the only thing that’s hard at this museum.

His body is as chiseled as Adonis. His lips are as sculpted as David. And his ego is the size of the Guggenheim.

You know the type—wolfish smile and the gravity of a black hole. The kind of man who sucks all the air from the room the second he enters it. My cocky boss thinks this internship was wasted on me, and he doesn’t hesitate to let me know.

But he’s wrong, and I’m going to prove it to him. If I can stay away from his devil lips, that is. Lips that cut me down and kiss me in the same breath, leaving me certain he’s on a mission to ruin my life.

And maybe my heart.


*A brand new STANDALONE romantic comedy full of steam, laughs, and heart by bestselling author Staci Hart*]]> 297 Staci Hart Luce 0 to-read 3.45 2018 Piece of Work (Red Lipstick Coalition, #1)
author: Staci Hart
name: Luce
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Call Me Evie 39090206 Sharp Objects and Room, a seventeen-year-old girl struggles to remember the role she played on the night her life changed forever.

For the past two weeks, seventeen-year-old Kate Bennet has lived against her will in an isolated cabin in a remote beach town -- brought there by a mysterious man named Jim. Part captor, part benefactor, Jim calls her Evie and tells her he's hiding her to protect her. That she did something terrible one night back home in Melbourne -- something so unspeakable that he had no choice but to take her away. The trouble is, Kate can't remember the night in question.

The fragments of Kate's shattered memories of her old life seem happy: good friends, a big house in the suburbs, a devoted boyfriend. Jim says he'll help her fill in the blanks -- but his story isn't adding up. And as she tries to reconcile the girl she thought she'd been with the devastating consequences Jim claims she's responsible for, Kate will unearth secrets about herself and those closest to her that could change everything.

A riveting debut novel that fearlessly plumbs the darkest recesses of the mind, Call Me Evie explores the fragility of memory and the potential in all of us to hide the truth, even from ourselves.]]> 368 J.P. Pomare 0525538151 Luce 0 to-read 3.60 2018 Call Me Evie
author: J.P. Pomare
name: Luce
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> After the Night 420739 FAITH DEVLIN: A poor, outcast child in Prescott, Louisiana, she'd always adored the town's golden boy from afar. But he called her white trash that sultry Southern night when his rich, respected father disappeared, along with her pretty Mom. Now Faith wanted to hate Gray Rouillard...not to feel a powerful surge of desire. But she couldn't quench her passion, any more than she could hide the truth about the past she had waited so long to unravel.
GRAY ROUILLARD: Even when he raised hell, he did it with style. Reckless, charming, and backed by Rouillard money, Gray controlled the town of Prescott -- and Devlin was a name he never wanted to hear again. But when he gazed at Faith Devlin, all he saw was a swirl of tangled sheets and her silken flesh beneath him. To care for her was impossible, unthinkable...because Gray Rouillard planned to use all his power to ruin her.]]> 352 Linda Howard 0671019708 Luce 5 LOVED IT! 4.06 1995 After the Night
author: Linda Howard
name: Luce
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/04
date added: 2019/05/01
shelves:
review:
LOVED IT!
]]> Field Notes on Love 43601774
Enter the new Margaret C. (Mae for short), an aspiring filmmaker with big dreams. After finding Hugo's spare ticket offer online, she's convinced it's the perfect opportunity to expand her horizons.

When the two meet, the attraction is undeniable, and both find more than they bargained for. As Mae pushes Hugo to explore his dreams for his future, he'll encourage her to channel a new, vulnerable side of her art. But when life off the train threatens the bubble they've created for themselves, will they manage to keep their love on track?]]> 271 Jennifer E. Smith 0399559418 Luce 0 to-read 3.80 2019 Field Notes on Love
author: Jennifer E. Smith
name: Luce
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Trouble with Henry and Zoe]]> 29423321
After jilting his childhood sweetheart on the eve of their wedding in the small town where they both grew up, Henry runs away to London, planning to reinvent himself and start afresh.

Zoe has her own healing to do and so she plans to leave London, travel the world, and figure out just what it is she wants out of life. She doesn't know where she's going, but she is determined to go there alone.

If Henry and Zoe had met one year ago, perhaps things could have worked out differently. But that's not the way it works; they meet seven months after their worlds have been turned upside down. And four months before Zoe is due to climb on a plane...]]> 464 Andy Jones 1471142469 Luce 3 3.59 2016 The Trouble with Henry and Zoe
author: Andy Jones
name: Luce
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2019/03/28
date added: 2019/03/30
shelves:
review:
Didn't really go anywhere for me, thought the ending was rather weak too. There were several moments throughout that I did enjoy, just not enough unfortunately.
]]> Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) 43263680
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs� are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.]]> 461 Leigh Bardugo 1250313074 Luce 0 to-read 4.00 2019 Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Luce
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)]]> 29774026 A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.]]> 848 Samantha Shannon Luce 0 to-read 4.15 2019 The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Luce
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One is a Promise (Tangled Lies, #1)]]> 34091798 One forever.

One look and I knew Cole was mine. My dark rebel in leather. My powerhouse of passion, devastating smiles, and impulsiveness.
When his job sends him overseas, he promises to return to me.
A promise that’s destroyed in the most irrevocable way.

Two years later, an arrogant suit invades my heartbroken loneliness.

Clean-cut and stern, Trace is everything Cole wasn’t.
At first, he’s a job that will rescue my dance company. But as he intrudes on my life, our hostile relationship evolves.
He knows I’m still in love with Cole, but his dedication is my undoing.

Then a catastrophic moment changes everything.

Promises resurface.
Lies entangle.
And an impossible choice shatters my world.

I love two men, and I can only have one.

The TANGLED LIES series must be read in order.
One is a Promise
Two is a Lie
Three is a War]]> 335 Pam Godwin 1547045191 Luce 0 to-read 4.11 2017 One is a Promise (Tangled Lies, #1)
author: Pam Godwin
name: Luce
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating]]> 40189670

Just friends. Just friends. JUST FRIENDS. If they repeat it enough, maybe it’ll be true . . .


Hazel knows she’s a lot to take � and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and taste for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter and tendency to say exactly the wrong thing will. Their loss. Not everyone can handle a Hazel.


Josh has known Hazel since college. From the first night they met � when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes � to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.


Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them . . . right?

]]> 309 Christina Lauren 1501165852 Luce 0 to-read 3.92 2018 Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
author: Christina Lauren
name: Luce
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I Stop Somewhere 29751533 320 T.E. Carter 1250124654 Luce 0 to-read 3.90 2018 I Stop Somewhere
author: T.E. Carter
name: Luce
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Miracle Creek 40121959 Miracle Creek is a powerhouse debut about how far we'll go to protect our families, and our deepest secrets.

In rural Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine. A pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives,� it's also a repository of hopes and dreams: the dream of a mom that her child can be like other kids; the dream of a young doctor desperate to cure his infertility and save his marriage; the dream of the Yoos themselves, Korean immigrants who have come to the United States so their teenage daughter can have a better life.

When the oxygen chamber mysteriously explodes, killing two people, all these dreams shatter with it, and the ensuing murder trial uncovers imaginable secrets and lies. In Miracle Creek, Angie Kim takes a classic form—courtroom drama—and draws on her own experience as an immigrant, a lawyer, and the mother of a real-life "submarine" patient to turn it into something wholly original, unputdownable . . . real. This is a spellbinding novel by an exciting new voice.]]> 355 Angie Kim 0374156026 Luce 0 to-read 3.86 2019 Miracle Creek
author: Angie Kim
name: Luce
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My Lovely Wife 39796904 A couple's fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting...

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780451491725]]> 390 Samantha Downing Luce 0 to-read 3.81 2019 My Lovely Wife
author: Samantha Downing
name: Luce
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)]]> 83144 Librarian note: alternate covers for this edition can be found here and here and here.

During the summer of 1941 the Metanov family are living a hard life in Leningrad. As the German armies advance their future looks bleak. For Tatiana, love arrives in the guise of Alexander, who harbours a deadly and extraordinary secret.]]> 637 Paullina Simons 0006513220 Luce 0 to-read 4.32 2000 The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)
author: Paullina Simons
name: Luce
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Problem with Forever 26721568 A story about friendship, survival, and finding your voice.

Growing up, Mallory Dodge learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it's been four years since her nightmare ended, she's beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime. Now, after years of homeschooling, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at a public high school. But she never imagined she'd run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn't seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn't take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet soon it becomes apparent that she's not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider's life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants and the truths that need to be heard.]]> 474 Jennifer L. Armentrout 0373212054 Luce 0 to-read 3.94 2016 The Problem with Forever
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Luce
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1)]]> 25526296 Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.]]> 176 Seanan McGuire 0765385503 Luce 1
Was super disappointed, maybe I just didn't get it. Would unfortunately not recommend.]]> 3.81 2016 Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1)
author: Seanan McGuire
name: Luce
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2016
rating: 1
read at: 2019/03/09
date added: 2019/03/11
shelves:
review:
Maybe it's me, but I found this incredibly odd and rather boring. Was initially very hard to get into (but I pushed through - since I'd read the raving reviews) and continued being difficult to read the whole way through.

Was super disappointed, maybe I just didn't get it. Would unfortunately not recommend.
]]> <![CDATA[5,331 Miles (The La Jolla Series, #1)]]> 43882901 We spent a lifetime chasing firefly dreams

Jaxson and I devised a life list when we were kids in Holmes Chapel. Just a few things on that list:

*Climb the Eiffel Tower.
*Visit every zoo in the world.
*Eat peanut butter every day.

But all the promises he made dissolved into dust, so when he comes around years later wanting to go live out our list, I want no part of it...or him. The universe seems to agree with me because everything we try is a disaster.

The heart though—it's a tricky beast; I'm just not sure mine is strong enough to survive Jaxson one more time.]]> Willow Aster Luce 0 to-read 3.94 2019 5,331 Miles (The La Jolla Series, #1)
author: Willow Aster
name: Luce
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dark Wild Night (Wild Seasons, #3)]]> 21942340 Librarian's Note: Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
But what didn't happen in Vegas seems to follow them everywhere.

Lola and Oliver like to congratulate themselves on having the good sense to not consummate their drunken Las Vegas wedding. If they’d doubled-down on that mistake, their Just Friends situation might not be half as great as it is now.

... Or so goes the official line.

In reality, Lola’s wanted Oliver since day one—and over time has only fallen harder for his sexy Aussie accent and easygoing ability to take her as she comes. More at home in her studio than in baring herself to people, Lola’s instinctive comfort around Oliver nearly seems too good to be true. So why ruin a good thing?

Even as geek girls fawn over him, Oliver can’t get his mind off what he didn’t do with Lola when he had the chance. He knows what he wants with her now ... and it’s far outside the friend zone. When Lola’s graphic novel starts getting national acclaim—and is then fast-tracked for a major motion picture—Oliver steps up to be there for her whenever she needs him. After all, she’s not the kind of girl who likes all that attention, but maybe she’s the kind who’ll eventually like him.

Sometimes seeing what’s right in front of us takes a great leap of faith. And sometimes a dark wild night in Vegas isn’t just the end of a day, but the beginning of a bright new life...]]> 358 Christina Lauren 1476777942 Luce 0 to-read 3.89 2015 Dark Wild Night (Wild Seasons, #3)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Luce
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When All Is Said 39863464 A tale of a single night. The story of a lifetime.

If you had to pick five people to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said and done?

This is the story of Maurice Hannigan, who, over the course of a Saturday night in June, orders five different drinks at the Rainford House Hotel. With each he toasts a person vital to him: his doomed older brother, his troubled sister-in-law, his daughter of fifteen minutes, his son far off in America, and his late, lamented wife. And through these people, the ones who left him behind, he tells the story of his own life, with all its regrets and feuds, loves and triumphs.

Beautifully written, powerfully felt, When All Is Said promises to be the next great Irish novel.]]> 326 Anne Griffin 125020058X Luce 0 to-read 3.94 2019 When All Is Said
author: Anne Griffin
name: Luce
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>