Amber's bookshelf: all en-US Tue, 08 Apr 2025 10:51:43 -0700 60 Amber's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Great Big Beautiful Life 218559595 Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

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

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

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

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

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

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can¡¯t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they¡¯re in the same room.

And it¡¯s becoming abundantly clear that their story¡ªjust like the tale Margaret¡¯s spinning¡ªcould be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad¡­depending on who¡¯s telling it.]]> 384 Emily Henry 059344129X Amber 0 currently-reading 4.26 2025 Great Big Beautiful Life
author: Emily Henry
name: Amber
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Partner Plot (The Greene Sisters, #2)]]> 165938562
To Violet Greene, fashion is everything. As a successful celebrity stylist, she travels all over the world, living out her dreams. Professionally, she¡¯s thriving, but her personal life is in shambles. After surviving a very public breakup with her ex-fianc¨¦ six months ago, Violet is now determined to focus on her career. But life hands her something¡ªor rather, someone¡ªthat might derail everything¡­

Xavier Wright did not expect to run into his high school girlfriend Violet¡ªthe girl he once thought he¡¯d marry¡ªon a birthday trip to Vegas. As a high school teacher and basketball coach, he rarely leaves his New Jersey hometown, so what were the chances? But when the initial shock wears off, they decide to celebrate together. They feel young and reckless as they party the night away¡ªand reckless they clearly were when the following morning, they wake up beside each other with rings on their fingers.

Their impulsive nuptials might be a blessing in disguise, though, when they realize that both of their careers could benefit from the marriage. So they play the part of a blissfully wedded couple. Yet when their passion comes hurling back, they realize their feelings are just as real as they were back when they were teens. But are their lives too different to stick it through or will they finally get a happy ending?]]> 416 Kristina Forest 0593546458 Amber 0 3.77 2024 The Partner Plot (The Greene Sisters, #2)
author: Kristina Forest
name: Amber
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves:
review:

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

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

Passionate and violent, The Bridge Kingdom is a seductive fantasy perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.]]> 448 Danielle L. Jensen 0593975189 Amber 4
For this to be an enemies to lovers, I didn't really pick up on the enemies bit. Aren gave her lots of liberties and he felt rather two dimensional.]]> 4.01 2018 The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)
author: Danielle L. Jensen
name: Amber
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:
The ending was the full reason I gave this four stars.

For this to be an enemies to lovers, I didn't really pick up on the enemies bit. Aren gave her lots of liberties and he felt rather two dimensional.
]]> <![CDATA[The Serpent and the Wolf (Dark Inheritance Trilogy, #1)]]> 207297940 Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson¡¯s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Koz¨¢r has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother¡ªher only remaining parent¡ªto a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid¡¯s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins¡ªand help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid¡¯s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother¡¯s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?]]> 352 Rebecca Robinson 1668052482 Amber 5
I don't even know where to start, I loved this book. From the start, The Serpent and the Wolf grabbed my attention and Vaasa was an incredible main character. Yes the romance was important and their tension was just right, but Vaasa's storyline of trying to escape her callous brother and then finding a group of people to call family was incredibly satisfying]]> 4.00 2024 The Serpent and the Wolf (Dark Inheritance Trilogy, #1)
author: Rebecca Robinson
name: Amber
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves:
review:
I like books again I guess.

I don't even know where to start, I loved this book. From the start, The Serpent and the Wolf grabbed my attention and Vaasa was an incredible main character. Yes the romance was important and their tension was just right, but Vaasa's storyline of trying to escape her callous brother and then finding a group of people to call family was incredibly satisfying
]]> <![CDATA[Servant of Earth (The Shards of Magic, #1)]]> 208930983 In the underground Fae realm, only the strongest and most ruthless have power¡ªbut a young human woman forced into a life of servitude is about to change everything.

Kenna Heron is best known in her village for being a little wild¡ªsome say ¡°half feral¡±¡ªbut she¡¯ll need every ounce of that ferocity to survive captivity in the cruel Fae court.

Trapped as a servant in the faeries¡¯ underground kingdom of Mistei, Kenna must help her new mistress undertake six deadly trials, one for each branch of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn¡¯t, the punishment is death¡ªfor both mistress and servant.

With no ally but a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and grueling physical tests. But worse dangers wait underground, and soon Kenna gets caught up in a secret rebellion against the inventively sadistic faerie king. When her feelings for the rebellion¡¯s leader turn passionate, Kenna must decide if she¡¯s willing to risk her life for a better world and a chance at happiness.

Surviving the trials and overthrowing a tyrant king will take cunning, courage, and an iron will... but even that may not be enough.]]> 451 Sarah Hawley 0593819799 Amber 4
Don't go into this one expecting a romance; it may become more evident in the second one, but this one is just a brutal fantasy.

Also pay attention to trigger warnings because as I said, whew.]]> 4.21 2024 Servant of Earth (The Shards of Magic, #1)
author: Sarah Hawley
name: Amber
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves:
review:
Whew. This one was deadly, shocking, and delivered a unique world. Despite this being a long book, the pacing was on point and I was never bored.

Don't go into this one expecting a romance; it may become more evident in the second one, but this one is just a brutal fantasy.

Also pay attention to trigger warnings because as I said, whew.
]]> Safe and Sound 194803837
In a town no one ever leaves, there are only so many places to hide.

As kids, Amelia and Kylee were found unharmed in their upstairs bedroom the night their teenage cousin Grace, who was babysitting them, vanished from the farmhouse in Beaumont, Missouri, leaving only a smear of blood on a door. Scrappy and driven, Grace had been on the verge of escaping their dead-end town, the first in their family to go to college instead of getting married and going to work at the meatpacking plant. Her disappearance is a warning to any local girl who dared hope for better.

Now, as their own high school graduation looms, Amelia and Kylee dream about getting out of Beaumont, but the likelihood of that happening seems as low as that of Grace being found. When human remains are discovered in town, the sisters think they finally know who took Grace¡ªbut as they dig deeper into her past, they unearth long-buried secrets and a growing list of suspects.

Amelia and Kylee vow to find Grace, dead or alive. But as they draw closer to the truth and slip deeper into danger, they question how far someone would go to put a woman in her place, or to cover up a crime. The answer is worse than they could have imagined, and in the end, it won¡¯t just be Grace they¡¯re trying to save¡ªthey¡¯ll have to fight for their lives.]]> 304 Laura McHugh 0593448855 Amber 4
I fully went into this expecting a psychological thriller of sorts and what I got was so much more depressing. An emotional look at feeling trapped and family ties that do more harm than good.]]> 3.71 2024 Safe and Sound
author: Laura McHugh
name: Amber
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

I fully went into this expecting a psychological thriller of sorts and what I got was so much more depressing. An emotional look at feeling trapped and family ties that do more harm than good.
]]> <![CDATA[Two Dances and a Duke (The Seduction #1)]]> 200838129 Shamed for her curves and plagued by a Mean Girl, Bea is miserable¡ªuntil she triumphs over social disaster and wins the hand and heart of a duke. One of Eloisa James¡¯s most exuberant and emotional novellas.

Miss Beatrice Valentine is having a horrible first Season, shamed for her curves by Lady Regina Haywood.

Despite Regina's attempts to make Bea a wallflower, Bea finds herself torn between Regina¡¯s fianc¨¦, the rakish, quick-tempered Lord Peregrine, and Regina¡¯s brother, the war-hero, the Duke of Lennox.

Bea is determined to marry a kindly man, and certainly no one close to Regina. But both of these gentlemen are determined to seduce her...and one will succeed.

Previously published as The Bea [Episodes 1-18] on Kindle Vella. ]]> 138 Eloisa James Amber 4 4.12 2023 Two Dances and a Duke (The Seduction #1)
author: Eloisa James
name: Amber
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Shadowheart (UNSUB #4) 153518515 333 Meg Gardiner 1982627522 Amber 4 3.94 2023 Shadowheart (UNSUB #4)
author: Meg Gardiner
name: Amber
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:

]]> The Night Guest 127306444
I?unn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ¨D have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night I?unn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she¡¯s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she¡¯s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won¡¯t anyone believe her?]]> 197 Hildur Kn¨²tsd¨®ttir 1250322049 Amber 3 3.30 2021 The Night Guest
author: Hildur Kn¨²tsd¨®ttir
name: Amber
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves:
review:
I'ma be real, I have no idea what happened.
]]> Memorials 207294741 A group of students encounter a supernatural terror while on a road trip through Appalachia in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the ¡°unforgettable and scary¡± (Harlan Coben) Chasing the Boogeyman. 1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another. But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can¡¯t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents¡­or is something terrifying at work here?]]> 480 Richard Chizmar 1668009196 Amber 4 3.75 2024 Memorials
author: Richard Chizmar
name: Amber
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves:
review:
What a tragic tale that's got everything: creepy small towns, building tension and three friends you can't help but like. This was tragic, but I'm happy to have gone on their journey.
]]> I Can't Even Think Straight 217223402 Big decisions and messy relationships. It's all part of life for Kai. A must-read queer coming of age story for fans of Sarah Crossan and Sex Education, written in verse by Stonewall-Award-winning, Carnegie-shortlisted author Dean Atta.

Kai is going into a new school year with some big decisions to when to come out as gay, what he wants to do in life and who he wants to date. Is it any wonder he can't think straight?

Best friends Matt and Kai made a promise to each other to stay in the closet. Matt isn't ready to come out, but Kai wants nothing more than to write his own story. He decides it's time to break his promise and show his true self to the world.

Now out and proud, Kai starts dating super-hot Obi, but it's far from smooth sailing. Is love closer to home than Kai realises?]]> 304 Dean Atta 0063158035 Amber 0 3.57 2025 I Can't Even Think Straight
author: Dean Atta
name: Amber
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves:
review:

]]> We Used to Live Here 199798006
As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can¡¯t believe the killer deal they¡¯ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they¡¯re working in the house one day, there¡¯s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family¡¯s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can¡¯t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family¡ªor is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel ¡°is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it¡± (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).]]> 312 Marcus Kliewer 1982198788 Amber 4
That was so trippy!

The beginning was very disorienting and sometimes dragged, but that ending made all of it worth it.]]> 3.68 2024 We Used to Live Here
author: Marcus Kliewer
name: Amber
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars

That was so trippy!

The beginning was very disorienting and sometimes dragged, but that ending made all of it worth it.
]]> The God of the Woods 199698485 When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn¡¯t just any thirteen-year-old: she¡¯s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region¡¯s residents. And this isn¡¯t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara¡¯s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore¡¯s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore¡¯s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.]]> 490 Liz Moore Amber 4 4.16 2024 The God of the Woods
author: Liz Moore
name: Amber
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:
That was wild! I wouldn't call this a thriller by any means, but it kept me guessing and looking for clues.
]]> <![CDATA[When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall, #1)]]> 202507554 moons.

They certainly did not expect them to fall.

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

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

The echo of the past sings louder than the Creators themselves, and even Raeve can¡¯t ignore the truths blaring at her from a warmer, happier time.
However.
There¡¯s more to this song than meets the eye, and some truths ¡­
They¡¯re too poisonous to swallow.

When the Moon Hatched is a fast-paced fantasy romance for fans of witty banter and strong, sassy protagonists. Beneath the cover is an immersive, vibrant world with mysterious creatures, a unique magic system, and a love that blazes through the ages. ]]> 718 Sarah A. Parker Amber 2 3.99 2024 When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall, #1)
author: Sarah A. Parker
name: Amber
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:
There is not a universe where this needed to be 700 pages.
]]> <![CDATA[A Tempest of Desire (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #5)]]> 212872261 New York Times?bestselling author Lorraine Heath returns to the fan favorite series, The Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, with the story of a viscount who has retreated to a small, secluded island only to have a mysterious and beautiful woman wash up on shore.

After surviving a horrific railway accident, Viscount Langdon retreats to his private island to recover and conquer the nightmarish memories that continue to haunt him. The very last thing he wants¡ªor expects¡ªis for London¡¯s most infamous courtesan to wash up on his beach.?

Marlowe is known for her bold flirtations, but her most daring exploits involve flying in her hot air balloon. When a storm blows her off course, she discovers herself alone with the isle¡¯s only inhabitant. The gorgeous, seductive lord tempts her beyond reason, but giving into temptation would lead to her ruination because the all-consuming liaison would demand complete surrender. And she has secrets to protect.

Langdon finds the captivating beauty near impossible to resist, but he can¡¯t risk her learning the true reason behind his isolation. However, a powerful tempest of desire is swirling wildly between them, urging them to give in to the perilous passion that could destroy them . . . or perhaps show them the way to love.


]]> 382 Lorraine Heath 0063384469 Amber 3 3.98 2024 A Tempest of Desire (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #5)
author: Lorraine Heath
name: Amber
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:
I can very much believe their attraction for each other, but I don't buy that they're in love. There just seemed to be a disconnect between initial meeting, growing attraction, and all-consuming love.
]]> <![CDATA[Nav's Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love]]> 181254401 Giving the new girl lessons in romance so she can woo your best friend couldn¡¯t possibly go wrong¡­right? Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Casey McQuiston, this romantic comedy from Jessica Lewis is packed with heart.

Nav knows how to flirt, but she also knows love is a messy, losing proposition. She doesn¡¯t need her best friend, Hallie, the serial monogamist, to demonstrate it to her over and over. So when shy new girl Gia asks Nav for help getting Hallie¡¯s attention, Nav makes sure she seems genuine¡ªshe doesn't want to add another heartbreak to Hallie's never-ending list. They strike a bargain, and Nav agrees to give Gia lessons in romance. If it works, maybe Hallie can date someone decent for a change.

Except¡­Gia¡¯s not just bad at flirting, she¡¯s terrible. She¡¯s too anxious to even speak to Hallie, never mind date her. But somehow, every awkward joke and catastrophic practice date makes Nav like Gia a little bit more. And not in a friend way. As the three girls¡¯ feelings get spun around, Nav will have to question if she¡¯s as much of an expert as she thought¡­or if love might be worth every bit of trouble after all.]]> 384 Jessica Lewis Amber 0 4.87 2025 Nav's Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love
author: Jessica Lewis
name: Amber
average rating: 4.87
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:

]]> The Gilded Heiress 59972550 From USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe comes a spicy Anastasia story full of secrets and betrayal, set among the glittering streets of New York City's Gilded Age.

In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.

After being raised in a children¡¯s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she¡¯ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won¡¯t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.

Leo Hardy isn¡¯t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby¡¯s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.

As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what¡¯s real from what¡¯s just gilding.]]> 352 Joanna Shupe 0063310317 Amber 0 to-read 3.91 2025 The Gilded Heiress
author: Joanna Shupe
name: Amber
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[¤Õ¤·¤®ß[‘ï °×»¢ÏÉÓ› 1 [Fushigi Y¨±gi: Byakko Senki 1]]]> 38111407
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¤Ä¤¤¤Ë¥·¥ê©`¥º×îºó¤ÎËÄÉñ¡¸°×»¢¡¹±à¤¬¿ªÄ»---!!

´ýÍû¤Î¡¸¤Õ¤·¤®ß[‘ï °×»¢ÏÉÓ›¡¹µÚÒ»Ž†¤¬¡¢¤¤¤è¤¤¤è°k‰Ó¤È¤Ê¤ë!!


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°ÂÌïÓÀÖ®Öú¤ÎÄï?¶àϲ×Ӥȡ¢ËÄÉñÌìµØÊé¤Ë¤Þ¤Ä¤ï¤ëÐþÎä¤ÎÎïÓï¤Ï¡¢
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¤½¤Îʼþ¤Î¡±ÕæÏࡱ¤òÖª¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤¿¤Î¤Ï¡¢°ÂÌï¤ÎµÜ×ӤǤ¢¤Ã¤¿´óɼ¡£
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¤¢¤ëÈÕ????!?±Õ±Õ> 192 Yuu Watase 4098701170 Amber 3 4.24 2018 ¤Õ¤·¤®ß[‘ï °×»¢ÏÉÓ› 1 [Fushigi Y¨±gi: Byakko Senki 1]
author: Yuu Watase
name: Amber
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Twice-Sold Soul (McKenna Ellerbeck, #1)]]> 212987922 I locked away my magic and ran?from home for a?good reason. So why am I ready to undo everything when my demon ex finally tracks me down??

You can¡¯t outrun your demons¡ªMcKenna Ellerbeck knows this all too well. She¡¯s been running from literal demons for a decade, one that will stop at nothing to take McKenna¡¯s magic for their own and one that shattered her heart by grasping for dark power. After a horrible run-in with hellhounds on the streets of Paris, McKenna is ready to hide again when she¡¯s confronted by her ex, the Archdemon of Desire Remiel Blake. Remi, the sexiest of gender-shifting demons, calls in an old debt that McKenna owes her, though unlike other deals?the terms of fulfillment are all she needs to do is return to her hometown of Arcadia Commons, Massachusetts, for seven days.

Disgruntled and disguised at her own insistence, McKenna returns home to the magical community, intent on simply staying in her hotel room watching pay-per-view. But with her high school reunion conveniently happening in the same hotel she¡¯s staying at¡ªthe one owned by her ex-boyfriend Bastien Lemaire¡ªand her brother mysteriously picking fights with the town¡¯s most prominent witch family, she finds she can¡¯t stay away for long and?decides it¡¯s finally time to face her past and the witches, werewolves, demons, and friends she left behind.

If you miss Supernatural, True Blood, or Buffy, you'll love this sexy and magical?contemporary fantasy from a marvelous new voice in fiction, Katie Hallahan!]]> 381 Katie Hallahan 031658018X Amber 4
When I first started this book I felt like I was diving into the second book of a series. There is so much plot that happens before the events of this book. But when I got my bearings, I had a good time and enjoyed the characters.]]> 4.09 The Twice-Sold Soul (McKenna Ellerbeck, #1)
author: Katie Hallahan
name: Amber
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves:
review:
3.5 Stars

When I first started this book I felt like I was diving into the second book of a series. There is so much plot that happens before the events of this book. But when I got my bearings, I had a good time and enjoyed the characters.
]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)]]> 60556912
Every day I clean the Winchesters¡¯ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew¡¯s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it¡¯s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina¡¯s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina¡¯s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it¡¯s like. But she soon finds out¡­ and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it¡¯s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don¡¯t know who I really am.

They don¡¯t know what I¡¯m capable of¡­

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won¡¯t be able to put this down!]]> 329 Freida McFadden 1803144378 Amber 4
The problem with reading so many books by McFadden is that you get used to all the twists and turns.]]> 4.31 2022 The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Amber
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

The problem with reading so many books by McFadden is that you get used to all the twists and turns.
]]> <![CDATA[Rules for Ruin (The Crinoline Academy, #1)]]> 62342354 No one betrays the Academy. But now Euphemia must decide: break the rules for her enemy, or let the rules break her heart.

On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim¡ªtrain young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful politician¡¯s systematic attack on women¡¯s rights, the Academy summons its brightest¡ªand most bitter¡ªpupil to infiltrate the odious man¡¯s inner circle. A deal is struck: bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom.

But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. The viscount is the perfect pawn to insulate Gabriel¡¯s underworld empire from government interference. He¡¯s not about to let some crinoline-clad miss destroy his carefully constructed enterprise¡ªno matter how captivating he finds her threats.

From the rookeries of St. Giles to the ballrooms of Mayfair, Euphemia and Gabriel engage in a battle of wits and wills that¡¯s complicated by a blossoming desire. Soon Euphemia realizes it¡¯s not the broken promises to her Academy sisters she should fear. . . . It¡¯s the danger to her heart.]]> 400 Mimi Matthews 0593639294 Amber 0 to-read 4.40 2025 Rules for Ruin (The Crinoline Academy, #1)
author: Mimi Matthews
name: Amber
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Solving for the Unknown 58301816 In this sweet, incredibly heartfelt companion to A Pho Love Story, Vietnamese Americans Viet and Evie juggle family expectations with their desire to forge their own path in between college classes and falling in love.

To his friends back home, Viet Ho is calm and collected and a lovable oddball who nurses an obsession with forensic science. He¡¯s relieved to head off to UC Davis and escape from being in the middle of his bickering immigrant parents. Yet, on campus and with the school year unfolding at an overwhelming pace, Viet struggles to belong and to keep his depression hidden.

Evie Mai is a junior biology major and the eldest daughter who has never trod far off the beaten path. She has everything: good grades, a solid group of friends, and a smart, ambitious boyfriend, who¡¯s the son of a well-connected university board member. But their busy schedules, as well as their interests, no longer align. Determined to close the distance, she and her boyfriend both apply to a student-run clinic for underserved communities. But will that save or expose the gaps in their relationship?

When a clumsy accident brings Viet and Evie together, they bond over their shared hometown and similar history¡ªand their orbits grow smaller as their friends collide. The more time they spend with each other and support each other, mentally and emotionally, the more their friendship shifts into something else.

A sweet, emotional slice-of-life story, Solving for the Unknown is about characters questioning the paths they have taken and finding a new path that will lead them to their happiest selves.]]> Loan Le Amber 0 4.01 2025 Solving for the Unknown
author: Loan Le
name: Amber
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Witchcraft for Wayward Girls 207611566 There¡¯s power in a book¡­

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

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

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

In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a ¡°horror master¡± (NPR).]]> 482 Grady Hendrix 0593548981 Amber 0 to-read 4.02 2025 Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Amber
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Sign of Affection, Vol. 1 50514218 198 Suu Morishita 1646593383 Amber 3 4.42 2019 A Sign of Affection, Vol. 1
author: Suu Morishita
name: Amber
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/03
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Thirteen: The serial killer isn¡¯t on trial. He¡¯s on the jury]]> 74666088 THE SERIAL KILLER ISN'T ON TRIAL.

HE'S ON THE JURY...

*

'THIRTEEN is my favourite read of the year.' Sarah Pinborough

'Outstanding.' Lee Child

'Smart and original. This is a belter of a book.' Clare Mackintosh

*

'To your knowledge, is there anything that would preclude you from serving on this jury?'

Murder wasn't the hard part. It was just the start of the game.

Joshua Kane has been preparing for this moment his whole life. He's done it before. But this is the big one.

This is the murder trial of the century. And Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house.

But there's someone on his tail. Someone who suspects that the killer isn't the man on trial.

Kane knows time is running out - he just needs to get to the conviction without being discovered.

*

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY ... YOU MUST READ THIS

'An oh so clever hook for an oh so clever, gripping book. THIRTEEN is courtroom drama at its finest, blended with page-turning twists and characters you can't get enough of. Steve Cavanagh is the John Grisham for a new generation. Slick, thrilling and unique, THIRTEEN is my favourite read of the year.'
Sarah Pinborough

'Outstanding - an intriguing premise, a tense, gripping build-up, and a spectacular climax. This guy is the real deal. Trust me.'
Lee Child

'Smart and original. This is a belter of a book.'
Clare Mackintosh

'Great hook. Great plot. Great book. Thirteen is a real page turner and one you won't want to put down.'
Simon Kernick

'A brilliant, twisty, ingeniously constructed puzzle of a book. Steve Cavanagh pulls off an enviable premise with panache.'
Ruth Ware

'I've been tracking Steve Cavanagh for a few years now and Thirteen is his best, a dead bang beast of a book that expertly combining his authority on the law with an absolutely great thrill ride. Books this ingenious don't come along very often.'
Michael Connelly

'Quite simply deserves to be HUGE. If you read a thriller as good this year, it's only because you've read this one twice.'
Mark Billingham

'Tore through this between dusk and dawn. Absolute 5-star cracker from Steve Cavanagh, who's gotta be among top legal thriller writers out there nowadays. A powerhouse of a book that's much more than its high-concept hook.'
Craig Sisterson

'Wow! This book is friggin' awesome! Utterly immersive.'
Emma Kavanagh

'Fantastically gripping? Guilty as charged!'
Angela Clarke

'An absolute cracker.'
Susi Holliday

'Guilty of thrills, twists, and expertly manipulating the reader.'
Mason Cross

'An absolute rollercoaster of a read. Thrilling.'
Cass Green

]]> 357 Steve Cavanagh Amber 3 4.14 2018 Thirteen: The serial killer isn¡¯t on trial. He¡¯s on the jury
author: Steve Cavanagh
name: Amber
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Model Home 205363963
The three Maxwell siblings keep their distance from the lily-white gated enclave outside Dallas where they grew up. When their family moved there, they were the only Black family in the neighborhood. The neighbors acted nice enough, but right away bad things, scary things¡ªthe strange and the unexplainable¡ªbegan to happen in their house. Maybe it was some cosmic trial, a demonic rite of passage into the upper-middle class. Whatever it was, the Maxwells, steered by their formidable mother, stayed put, unwilling to abandon their home, terrors and trauma be damned.

As adults, the siblings could finally get away from the horrors of home, leaving their parents all alone in the house. But when news of their parents' death arrives, Ezri is forced to return to Texas with their sisters, Eve and Emanuelle, to reckon with their family¡¯s past and present, and to find out what happened while they were away. It was not a ¡°natural¡± death for their parents . . . but was it supernatural?

Rivers Solomon turns the haunted-house story on its head, unearthing the dark legacies of segregation and racism in the suburban American South. Unbridled, raw, and daring, Model Home is the story of secret histories uncovered, and of a queer family battling for their right to live, grieve, and heal amid the terrors of contemporary American life.]]> 304 Rivers Solomon 0374607133 Amber 4 3.73 2024 Model Home
author: Rivers Solomon
name: Amber
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves:
review:
Intense and graphic, Solomon spared no details when looking into trauma, grief, and the things that haunt us.
]]> <![CDATA[The Scorpion and the Night Blossom (The Three Realms, #1)]]> 210234399 In a world at war with demons, one girl will face the ultimate test when she is forced to enter into an ancient, deadly competition for the chance to save her mother's soul¡­ before she loses her forever. From the New York Times bestselling author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night comes the beginning of a dark and opulent fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Throne of Glass.

Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore ?n¡¯y¨©ng¡¯s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and m¨®¡ªbeautiful, ravenous demons¡ªroam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.

?n¡¯y¨©ng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life¡ªthe one thing ?n¡¯y¨©ng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition.

Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, ?n¡¯y¨©ng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Y¨´¡¯ch¨¦n is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting ?n¡¯y¨©ng.

The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, ?n¡¯y¨©ng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she¡¯s falling for or if he¡¯s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.]]> 400 Am¨¦lie Wen Zhao Amber 0 3.81 2025 The Scorpion and the Night Blossom (The Three Realms, #1)
author: Am¨¦lie Wen Zhao
name: Amber
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves:
review:

]]> (S)Kin 199635094
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.¡­ While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past¡ªher mother.

Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies¡¯ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn¡¯t even thought to ask.

But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.]]> 400 Ibi Zoboi 0062888870 Amber 0 4.04 2025 (S)Kin
author: Ibi Zoboi
name: Amber
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Beast Takes a Bride (The Palace of Rogues, #8)]]> 206728280 In?USA Today?bestselling author Julie Anne Long¡¯s latest installment in the?Palace of Rogues?series, an estranged couple decide to fake their way through the London season to repair their good name¡­ but neither are prepared for the genuine sparks that begin flying between them.

A blue-blooded beauty bartered to a Beast¡­

He would pay any price to possess her. But even though Alexandra Bellamy sacrifices herself to save her family¡¯s fortunes, a shocking betrayal sunders her marriage to a taciturn brute of a war hero, Colonel Magnus Brightwall, before it even begins. Five years of icy separation later, a scandal¡ªwith Alexandra at the middle¡ªreunites them, and Magnus issues an edict:?they will confront the?ton, rescue their reputations, then Magnus will banish her to another continent¡ªforever.?

But alone in a suite at the Grand Palace on the Thames, a new battle begins¡ªbetween pride and the unexpected volcanic passion stirring between them. The danger is Magnus rediscovers why Alexandra is the only woman who could ever break him. And even as she lays bare the beautiful heart beating beneath the battered hide of the near-stranger she married, Alexandra knows she may have already lost him¡ªeven as she finally falls fatally, irrevocably in love.]]> 364 Julie Anne Long 0063280981 Amber 4
This one was super sweet but I wanted a bit more pining. (Also maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't need any more about Delilah and Angelique. They're happy and their lives are perfect, we get it). ]]> 4.16 2024 The Beast Takes a Bride (The Palace of Rogues, #8)
author: Julie Anne Long
name: Amber
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/07
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

This one was super sweet but I wanted a bit more pining. (Also maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't need any more about Delilah and Angelique. They're happy and their lives are perfect, we get it).
]]> How to Survive a Slasher 216180339
There¡¯s a reason CJ Smith¡¯s hometown of Satterville is known as Slasherville: it was the site of not one, but two Friday the 13th-style massacres. CJ¡¯s dad survived the first attack; only CJ survived the second. And thanks to the mysterious writer Moon Satter¡¯s bestselling novels based on the events, the town¡ªand CJ¡ªwill always be defined by this horrific past.

Then a new, unpublished Moon Satter manuscript shows up addressed to CJ. But unlike the others, this story isn¡¯t about the past. Instead, it predicts new murders. On the day the book says the first murder will occur, CJ sets out to stop it. But in saving one classmate, the final girl ends up dead. CJ and their friends have suddenly gone from extras to leads¡ªand they¡¯ll have to use everything they know about the rules of horror to make it out alive.]]> 304 Justine Pucella Winans 1547616318 Amber 0 to-read 3.87 2025 How to Survive a Slasher
author: Justine Pucella Winans
name: Amber
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Wildest Things 211003939 In this sapphic Snow White retelling, if Snow is to save her kingdom from being ravaged by the Blight, she¡¯ll have to kill the Evil Queen¡¯s daughter¡­if she doesn¡¯t fall in love with her first.

When her glass coffin unexpectedly shatters, Snow White awakens to anything but a dream. The land is rotting. The animals have mutated. In the twenty years that have passed since Snow bit into the poisoned apple, the kingdom of Roanfrost has transformed from a luscious wild land to a blight-ravaged nightmare. In search of answers and a way to restore her kingdom to its former glory, Snow sets out on a dangerous journey that will test the strength she never knew she had.

Friends will become foes.

New alliances will form.

The Queen with the blood red lips will stop at nothing to seize her power as well as her heart.

If Snow has any chance to survive and restore not only her kingdom, but all of Garedenne, her only option is to become the Seasonkeeper and access the life-giving magic that will heal the plague. But the path to becoming the Seasonkeeper is more treacherous than she could ever imagine¡ªbecause the wild things have awakened and Snow¡¯s darker impulses yearn to set them free.]]> 320 Andrea Hannah 1250884497 Amber 0 3.44 2025 The Wildest Things
author: Andrea Hannah
name: Amber
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:

]]> This Cursed House 205064715 In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth. They¡¯re under a curse, and they think she can break it.

In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago¡ªand the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over.?

But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn¡¯t what it seems. Light enough to pass as white, the Black family members look down on brown-skinned Jemma. Their tenuous hold on reality extends to all the members of their eccentric clan, from haughty grandmother Honorine to beautiful yet inscrutable cousin Fosette.?And soon the shocking truth comes The Duchons are under a curse. And they think Jemma has the power to break it.

As Jemma wrestles with the gift she¡¯s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.]]> 384 Del Sandeen 0593639529 Amber 4 3.62 2024 This Cursed House
author: Del Sandeen
name: Amber
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
WHEW! This family takes family drama to the extreme.
]]> <![CDATA[This Much Is True (The Liars' Club, #3)]]> 219816618 USA Today?bestselling author Vivienne Lorret returns with the third book in her Liars¡¯ Club series with a sexy and hilarious romance about a thrill-seeking debutante and a highwayman who is more than he seems on the surface¡­

Althea Hartley has lost her spark. As the youngest daughter of an eccentric family, playwrighting is in her blood. But two failed Seasons have left her disenchanted. In desperate need of inspiration, she takes matters into her own hands by?creating a tale of a dashing highwayman. What could possibly go wrong?

But her stories prove to be a little too true for the actual highwayman living beneath the?tons¡¯ nose.

Jasper Trueblood, Viscount St. James, needs to put an end to the bewitching Miss Hartley¡¯s incriminating tales. Society can never suspect that he isn¡¯t the clumsy oaf he pretends to be. Or that, under the cover of darkness, he greets scoundrels and lightens their purses. Not too much. Just enough to keep those closest to him safe from his menacing uncle.

Then sparks fly when this unlikely pair meets one perfect night. And while she is eager to unmask him, he is determined to stay hidden. But there¡¯s no denying the chemistry that neither of them are able to resist¡­

The only thing for certain is that Thea needs to guard her heart before the highwayman steals it.]]> Vivienne Lorret 0063352516 Amber 0 to-read 4.05 2025 This Much Is True (The Liars' Club, #3)
author: Vivienne Lorret
name: Amber
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount (The Liars' Club, #2)]]> 204901464 USA Today bestselling author Vivienne Lorret returns with the second book in her Liars¡¯ Club series with a sparkling romance about the spirited middle sister, a dashing rogue, and a very real engagement¡­except he¡¯s not the viscount he¡¯s pretending to be.

Honoria Hartley enjoys flirting far too much to consider marrying. And besides, she¡¯s been betrothed since birth to the long-lost Viscount Vandemere. But no one has actually ever met the viscount and, without an heir, the title will soon become extinct. So she¡¯s willing to do anything to keep her viscount alive, even if she has to invent him herself.

Oscar Flint is a first-rate gambler. Estranged from his father¡¯s side of the family his entire life, he grew up beneath the tutelage of a legendary con artist. There isn¡¯t anyone who could pull the wool over his eyes. Not until he crosses paths with Honoria. Losing to her puts him in a bind¡­ Until he remembers her story about a lost heir to a viscountcy. An heir that no one has ever met. Not yet, anyway.

When Oscar arrives on Honoria¡¯s doorstep, claiming to be Vandemere, she is thrown for a loop. This rogue is not her viscount. The only problem is, he¡¯s quite convincing, and when he kisses her, the line between the lie and the truth becomes hazy in all the steam they create. Honoria refuses to gamble with her heart. But Oscar has never played by the rules and he¡¯s determined to win, no matter the cost.]]> 396 Vivienne Lorret 006335246X Amber 4 3.96 2024 The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount (The Liars' Club, #2)
author: Vivienne Lorret
name: Amber
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/14
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves:
review:
Real fun! Some of the shenanigans were a bit too chaotic for my tastes, but I guess that's what you get with a family of actors.
]]> The Otherwhere Post 214268980 The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel Magnifique returns with another glittering dark fantasy about a deadly mystery that spans worlds and a teenage girl who must risk everything to uncover the truth.

Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father¡¯s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she¡¯ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy¡ªthe dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father¡¯s past draws more attention than she¡¯d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she¡¯s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation¡ªor else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.]]> 400 Emily J. Taylor 0593404548 Amber 0 4.10 2025 The Otherwhere Post
author: Emily J. Taylor
name: Amber
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/09
date added: 2024/10/09
shelves:
review:

]]> The Message 210943364
The first of the book¡¯s three intertwining essays is set in Dakar, Senegal. Despite being raised as a strict Afrocentrist, Coates had never set foot on the African continent until now. He roams the ¡°steampunk¡± city of ¡°old traditions and new machinery,¡± but everywhere he goes he feels as if he¡¯s in two places at once: a modern city in Senegal and a mythic kingdom in his mind. Finally he travels to the slave castles off the coast and has his own reckoning with the legacy of the Afrocentric dream.

He takes readers along with him to Columbia, South Carolina, where he meets an educator whose job is threatened for teaching one of Coates¡¯s own books. There he discovers a community of mostly white supporters who were transformed by the ¡°racial reckoning¡± of 2020. But he also explores the backlash to this reckoning and the deeper myths of the community¡ªa capital of the confederacy with statues of segregationists looming over its public squares.

And in Palestine, Coates discovers the devastating gap between the narratives we¡¯ve accepted and the clashing reality of life on the ground. He meets with activists and dissidents, Israelis and Palestinians¡ªthe old, who remember their dispossessions on two continents, and the young, who have only known struggle and disillusionment. He travels into Jerusalem, the heart of Zionist mythology, and to the occupied territories, where he sees the reality the myth is meant to hide. It is this hidden story that draws him in and profoundly changes him¡ªand makes the war that would soon come all the more devastating.

Written at a dramatic moment in American and global life, this work from one of the country¡¯s most important writers is about the urgent need to untangle ourselves from the destructive nationalist myths that shape our world¡ªand our own souls¡ªand embrace the liberating power of even the most difficult truths.]]> 232 Ta-Nehisi Coates 0593230388 Amber 4
Coates parallels white supremacy and violence against Black Americans to his experience visiting Palestine (and) Israel. His on-the-ground experience while exploring how this came to be really put colonization and the United States' interest into perspective.

There is a smaller essay about book banning and his response to his own book being challenged, which didn't feel like it fit the overall theme, but I'm happy the topic was brought up.]]> 4.52 2024 The Message
author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
name: Amber
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/03
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves:
review:
Whew that was a lot!

Coates parallels white supremacy and violence against Black Americans to his experience visiting Palestine (and) Israel. His on-the-ground experience while exploring how this came to be really put colonization and the United States' interest into perspective.

There is a smaller essay about book banning and his response to his own book being challenged, which didn't feel like it fit the overall theme, but I'm happy the topic was brought up.
]]> Ronit & Jamil 30317423 Romeo and Juliet that transports the star-crossed lovers to the modern-day Israel-Palestine conflict.

Ronit, an Israeli girl, lives on one side of the fence. Jamil, a Palestinian boy, lives on the other side. Only miles apart but separated by generations of conflict¡ªmuch more than just the concrete blockade between them. Their fathers, however, work in a distrusting but mutually beneficial business arrangement, a relationship that brings Ronit and Jamil together. And lightning strikes. The kind of lightning that transcends barrier fences, war, and hatred.

The teenage lovers fall desperately into the throes of forbidden love, one that would create an irreparable rift between their families if it were discovered. But a love this big can only be kept secret for so long. Ronit and Jamil must face the fateful choice to save their lives or their loves, as it may not be possible to save both.]]> 177 Pamela L. Laskin 0062458558 Amber 3 2.84 2017 Ronit & Jamil
author: Pamela L. Laskin
name: Amber
average rating: 2.84
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2017/04/08
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves:
review:

]]> Bitter Is the Heart 203613973 Haunted by childhood abuse, a woman is forced to care for her cruel elderly mother in this electrifying horror novel exploring generational trauma, perfect for fans of Cassandra Khaw and T. Kingfisher.

Tamar Glass fled an abusive mother when she was eighteen, running away from home to find a better life elsewhere. She has lived in freedom from her mother, Ruth, for decades, until one night she wakes to find her now-elderly mother standing over her bed.

As Tamar takes in her mother, strange events start happening inside her the house is oppressively hot, lights flicker, and cupboards open and shut on their own. Whispers filter beneath her bedroom door. Tamar learns that Ruth has been kicked out of her assisted living home and other facilities refuse to house her and endanger their own residents. Tamar has spent years suppressing her childhood trauma, but it comes rushing back with each strange event in her home. As Tamar copes with their disturbing past which her mother stubbornly refuses to admit to, Tamar can¡¯t shake the feeling that there¡¯s something worse than her mother lurking in the shadows.

Perfect for fans of The Haunting of Hill House, this terrifying novel unravels one dark strand at a time.]]> 304 Mina Hardy 1639108637 Amber 0 to-read 3.67 2024 Bitter Is the Heart
author: Mina Hardy
name: Amber
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Psychopomp & Circumstance 211004153 Ignyte and Mythopoeic Award-winning author Eden Royce pens a Southern Gothic historical fantasy story of a contentious funeral in her adult fiction debut.

Phee St. Margaret is a daughter of the Reconstruction, born to a family of free Black business owners in New Charleston. Coddled to within an inch of her life by a mother who refuses to let her daughter live a life other than the one she dictates, Phee yearns to demonstrate she's capable of more than simply marrying well.

When word arrives that her Aunt Cleo, long estranged from the family, has passed away, Phee risks her mother's wrath to step up and accept the role of pomp¨Dthe highly honored duty of planning the funeral service. Traveling alone to the town of Horizon and her aunt's unsettling home, Phee soon discovers that visions and shadows beckon from every reflective surface, and that some secrets transcend the borders of life and death.]]> 176 Eden Royce 1250330963 Amber 0 to-read 4.80 2025 Psychopomp & Circumstance
author: Eden Royce
name: Amber
average rating: 4.80
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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

When Ophelia and her sister discovers their mother brutally murdered, there is no time to grieve: Ophelia has inherited both her powerful death-driven magic and enormous debt on their home. Circumstances go from dire to deadly, however, when Ophelia¡¯s sister decides to pay off the loan by entering Phantasma¡ªa competition where most contestants don¡¯t make it out alive and the winner is granted a single wish.

The only way to save her sister is to compete. But Phantasma is a cursed manor, with twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, and filled with enticing demons and fatal temptations. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win... if her fears don¡¯t overtake her first.

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

Because in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart.]]> 497 Kaylie Smith 1538769255 Amber 0 to-read 4.06 2024 Phantasma (Wicked Games, #1)
author: Kaylie Smith
name: Amber
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Haunt Sweet Home 203579272 On the set of a kitschy reality TV show, staged scares transform into unnerving reality in this spooky ghost story from multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Sarah Pinsker.

¡°Don¡¯t talk to day about what we do at night.¡±

When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin¡¯s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show Haunt Sweet Home, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplicity. But as she hides fog machines in the woods and improvises scares to spook new homeowners, a series of unnerving incidents on set and a creepy new coworker force Mara to confront whether the person she's truly been deceiving and hiding from all along¡ªis herself.

Eerie and empathetic, Haunt Sweet Home is a multifaceted, supernatural exploration of finding your own way into adulthood, and into yourself.]]> 165 Sarah Pinsker 1250330262 Amber 2 3.34 2024 Haunt Sweet Home
author: Sarah Pinsker
name: Amber
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/09/15
shelves:
review:
I found the main character to be kind of annoying and I'm not too sure what was accomplished in this book. Also not a horror book.
]]> I'll Be Waiting 203578924 From New York Times Bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a spellbinding new tale of supernatural horror involving a haunted-house, seances, lost loved ones, and a sinister spirit out for blood...

Nicola Laughton never expected to see adulthood, being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. Then medical advances let her live into her thirties and she met Anton, who taught her to dream of a future¡­ together. Months after they married, Anton died in a horrible car, but lived long enough to utter five words to her, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±

That final private moment became public when someone from the crash scene took it to the press¡ªthe terminally ill woman holding her dying husband as he promised to wait for her on the other side. Worse, that person claimed it wasn¡¯t Anton who said the words but his ghost, hovering over his body.

Since their story went public, Nicola has been hounded by spiritualists promising closure. In the hopes of stopping her downward spiral, friends and family find a reputable medium¡ªa professor of parapsychology. For the s¨¦ance, they rent the Lake Erie beach house that Anton¡¯s family once owned.

The medium barely has time to begin his work before things start happening. Locked doors mysteriously open. Clouds of insects engulf the house. Nicola hears footsteps and voices and the creak of an old dumbwaiter¡­in an empty shaft. Throughout it all she¡¯s haunted by nightmares of her past. Because, unbeknownst to the others, this isn¡¯t her first time contacting the dead. And Nicola isn¡¯t her real name.

That¡¯s when she finds the first body....

In this atmospheric, thrilling new ghost story, Kelley Armstrong's full talents are on display to thrill, chill and leave the reader guessing how Nicola escapes with her life--if she can.]]> 325 Kelley Armstrong 125028421X Amber 3 3.69 2024 I'll Be Waiting
author: Kelley Armstrong
name: Amber
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/10
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves:
review:
Not the spooky read I was looking for. The seances and ransom bumps in the night got boring after a while, and I'm not sure I buy the ending.
]]> The Coworker 123423832 Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can't be taken back.

Dawn Schiff is strange. At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.

So when Dawn doesn't show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell¡ªbeautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running¡ªis surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything¡­

It turns out Dawn wasn't just an awkward outsider¡ªshe was being targeted by someone close. And now Natalie is irrevocably tied to Dawn as she finds herself caught in a twisted game of cat and mouse that leaves her wondering: who's the real victim?

But one thing is incredibly clear: somebody hated Dawn Schiff. Enough to kill.

The Coworker is a tense, unputdownable thriller from New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden that explores the dark ways the past can echo through the present¨Dwith deadly consequences.]]> 362 Freida McFadden 172829620X Amber 4 3.5 stars 3.68 2023 The Coworker
author: Freida McFadden
name: Amber
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars
]]> Ex Marks the Spot 212643715 A swoony rivals-to-lovers romance . . .
Family secrets that can't stay buried . . .
A globe-spanning treasure hunt with puzzles to solve . . .

This latest YA novel by acclaimed writer Gloria Chao takes readers on a soaring adventure through love, loss, and the lively streets of Taiwan.

For Gemma's whole life, it has always been her and her mom against the world. As far as she knew, all her grandparents¡ªand thus her ties to Taiwanese culture¡ªwere dead. Until one day when a mysterious man shows up at her door with two shocking the news that her grandfather has just recently passed, and the first clue to a treasure hunt that Gemma hopes will lead to her inheritance.

There's just one major problem: to complete the hunt, she has to go to her grandfather's home in Taiwan. And the only way she can get there is by asking her ex and biggest high-school rival, Xander, for help. But after swallowing her pride, Gemma finds herself halfway across the world, ready to unearth her life-changing prize. Soon Gemma discovers that the treasure hunt is about much more than money¡ªit's about finally learning about her family, her cultural roots, and maybe even finding true love.

Filled with ingenious puzzles, a vibrant Taipei setting, and a delicious romance, Ex Marks the Spot is an exciting adventure by award-winning writer Gloria Chao, perfect for fans of Loveboat Taipei, The Inheritance Games, and Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes.]]> 384 Gloria Chao 0593692713 Amber 0 3.85 2024 Ex Marks the Spot
author: Gloria Chao
name: Amber
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (Hart and Mercy, #2)]]> 149187311 From the author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy comes a heartwarming fantasy with a best friends-to-lovers rom com twist--When Harry Met Sally, but with dragons!¡ªset in the delightful demigod and donut-filled world of Tanria.

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

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

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

Soon, the friends wind up ensnared in a nefarious plot that goes far deeper than any lucrative Tanrian mineshaft. But as the danger closes in and Twyla and Frank's investigation becomes more complicated, so does their easy friendship. And Twyla starts to realize that her true soul mate might just be the person who has lived next door all along...]]> 464 Megan Bannen 0356521923 Amber 4 4.04 2024 The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (Hart and Mercy, #2)
author: Megan Bannen
name: Amber
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/25
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves:
review:

]]> The Teacher 195967140 A mind-bending, psychological thriller from Freida McFadden, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Housemaid!

Lesson #1: trust no one

Eve has a good life. She gets up each day, gets a kiss from her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except¡­

Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye.

Addie can't be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that's what everyone says.

But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet.

From the New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a story of twisting secrets and long-awaited revenge.]]> 379 Freida McFadden 1728296218 Amber 4 3.82 2024 The Teacher
author: Freida McFadden
name: Amber
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/31
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves:
review:
Super gross to read about a predatory teacher, but damn that ending.
]]> I Was a Teenage Slasher 199798522
It¡¯s the summer before senior year for best friends Tolly Driver and Amber Dennison. They¡¯re not in the marching band, they¡¯re not in the FFA ¨C they don¡¯t really count. Amber¡¯s the only Native student in town, and Tolly¡¯s only on the radar due to his father¡¯s recent death.

This is all about to change.

Bodies are going to be dropping fast in this small West Texas town. For a few unbearably hot days that will resonate through the decades and even get made into a TV movie, Tolly and Amber will be famous. Notorious even. Finally, everyone will know their names.

This is Stephen Graham Jones x-raying the slasher genre, interrogating its motivations over the shoulder and in the voice of the killer itself ¨C from a town he did some growing up in, in a year he was also seventeen.

The kills will be poignant, the jokes will hurt, and the violence will be endearing. Everything¡¯s turned around for Tolly, for Amber ¨C for all of Lamesa, Texas.

Be happy you weren¡¯t there.

Be happy you¡¯re only reading about it.]]> 373 Stephen Graham Jones 1668022249 Amber 4
That was unexpectedly heartbreaking.

Horror fans will enjoy all of the slasher rules, but it's SGJ's detailing of small town life and the friendship between Tolly and Amber that will stay with you.]]> 3.54 2024 I Was a Teenage Slasher
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Amber
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/24
date added: 2024/08/24
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars

That was unexpectedly heartbreaking.

Horror fans will enjoy all of the slasher rules, but it's SGJ's detailing of small town life and the friendship between Tolly and Amber that will stay with you.
]]> A Cruel Thirst 60290692 A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together--against their better judgment¡ªto rid the world of monsters in this irresistible romantic fantasy.

Carolina Fuentes has always wanted to join her family in hunting down the bloodthirsty monsters that plague her pueblo. But these days, her father wants her out of town with a husband of his choosing. That¡¯s not happening. Carolina plans to show everyone that she¡¯d make a better vampire slayer than wife. But when she runs into a sediento that is not only handsome but kind, she questions everything.

Lalo Villalobos doesn¡¯t act on impulses. As the eldest of two, his duties were to carry on the family business, marry, and have children. But then he is turned into a sediento and must flee the city, taking lives as he goes north, where he believes the first vampire was made. Surely, the pueblo there will have the answers to reverse this curse or end sedientos altogether. Another unexpected turn? Lalo runs right into a beautiful young woman who¡¯d gladly stake him.

Fortunately, mostly for him, they share a common enemy. They can stop these evil beasts. Together. And if along the way, Lalo and Fernanda discover what it is to truly live and love, then they¡¯ll have won anyway.]]> 432 Angela Montoya 0593643372 Amber 0 3.86 2024 A Cruel Thirst
author: Angela Montoya
name: Amber
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 18071466 LES ANGES NE SONT PAS CE QUE L'ON CROIT. ILS D?TRUISENT LE MONDE, ?RADIQUENT L'ESP?CE HUMAINE.


D¨¦sormais seule, Penryn cherche sans rel?che Paige, sa petite soeur, dans les rues vides de San Francisco. Pendant ce temps, Raffe doit imp¨¦rativement retrouver ses ailes, sans lesquelles il ne pourra revenir parmi les siens. Mais, une fois qu'il sera confront¨¦ ¨¤ l'ultime choix ¨C r¨¦cup¨¦rer ses ailes ou sauver Penryn ¨C, quelle sera sa priorit¨¦ ?]]> 314 Susan Ee 147781728X Amber 4 4.26 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Amber
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 12983100 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee Amber 4
2013?????

Kay.
._____________.

.__________________________________________________.]]> 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Amber
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/12/02
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: dying-to-read, ebook, immortals-challenge, angels, dystopia, ya
review:
2013?

2013?????

Kay.
._____________.

.__________________________________________________.
]]> Suburban Hell 60018623
Amy Foster considers herself lucky. After she left the city and moved to the suburbs, she found her place quickly with neighbors Liz, Jess, and Melissa, snarking together from the outskirts of the PTA crowd. One night during their monthly wine get-together, the crew concoct a plan for a clubhouse She Shed in Liz¡¯s backyard¡ªa space for just them, no spouses or kids allowed.

But the night after they christen the She Shed, things start to feel . . . off. They didn¡¯t expect Liz¡¯s little home-improvement project to release a demonic force that turns their quiet enclave into something out of a nightmare. And that¡¯s before the homeowners¡¯ association gets wind of it.

Even the calmest moms can¡¯t justify the strange burn marks, self-moving dolls, and horrible smells surrounding their possessed friend, Liz. Together, Amy, Jess, and Melissa must fight the evil spirit to save Liz and the neighborhood . . . before the suburbs go completely to hell.]]> 336 Maureen Kilmer 0593422376 Amber 4
Never move to the suburbs, got it.

This was a fun and entertaining read that never really gets into "creepy" territory.]]> 3.49 2022 Suburban Hell
author: Maureen Kilmer
name: Amber
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/04
date added: 2024/08/04
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

Never move to the suburbs, got it.

This was a fun and entertaining read that never really gets into "creepy" territory.
]]> If You're Not the One 199743720
Anisa Shirani is¡­well, perfect. A fact, not an opinion. Of course, it¡¯s all a front to feed her own praise-obsessed ego. Behind closed doors, she is¡ªsome might say¡ªa little slobbish and snobbish, and she works obsessively to maintain her God-given talents. Fate has favored her, but Ani knows better than anyone that fate is made by effort.

But she must, especially when all signs point to her being a top-notch lawyer with a top-notch education and being destined to marry Isaac, total heartthrob and eldest son of the richest family in the community. A perfect girl deserves a perfect life, and Ani¡¯s perfect life is going exactly the way it should¡­

Until Ani¡¯s parents announce they¡¯re getting divorced.

Until Isaac shows all the signs of¡­cheating. Sort of.

Until she starts catching feelings for Marlow, an overly friendly weirdo she¡¯s hated since the moment she laid eyes on him in class.

How can fate be so wrong??]]> 352 Farah Naz Rishi 0063251507 Amber 0 3.92 2024 If You're Not the One
author: Farah Naz Rishi
name: Amber
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/31
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...A Love Story]]> 207298501 Jason Reynolds tackles it¡ªyou know¡­it¡ªfrom the guy¡¯s perspective in this stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first.

Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren¡¯t for the dog¡¯s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine.

Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon¡¯s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven¡¯t taken that next big step¡­yet, they¡¯ve starting talking about¡­that.

Twenty-four days ago: Neon¡¯s mom finds her¡ªgulp¡ªbra in his room. Hey! No judging! Those hook thingies are complicated! So he¡¯d figured he¡¯d better practice, what with the big day only a month away.

Twenty-four minutes ago: Neon leaves his shift at work at his dad¡¯s bingo hall, making sure to bring some chicken tenders for Aria. They¡¯re not candlelight and they definitely aren¡¯t caviar, but they are her favorite.

And right this second? Neon is locked in Aria¡¯s bathroom, completely freaking out because twenty-four seconds from now he and Aria are about to¡­about to¡­ Well, they won¡¯t do anything if he can¡¯t get out of his own head (all the advice, insecurities, and what ifs) and out of this bathroom!]]> 256 Jason Reynolds 1665961279 Amber 0 4.14 2024 Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...A Love Story
author: Jason Reynolds
name: Amber
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/21
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power]]> 198902257 13 TIMES WE SURVIVED THE FIRST KILL.

The White Guy Dies First is a powerful and entertaining collection for YA readers featuring thirteen scary stories in which the white guy dies first.

Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling and critically acclaimed Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah ?b¨ªk¨¦-?y¨ªm¨ªd¨¦, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.]]> 306 Terry J. Benton-Walker 1250861268 Amber 3
Most of the stories involved race and/or racism, which, so readers seeking out that specific brand of horror will enjoy this collection. Stand out titles were by Tiffany S Jackson and H.E. Edgmon (warning: very graphic).]]> 3.80 2024 The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power
author: Terry J. Benton-Walker
name: Amber
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/17
date added: 2024/07/17
shelves:
review:
This is a hard one to rate because it's impossible not to compare it to The Black Girl Survives This One. The stories in this one were definitely darker, almost to the point where I felt as if it should have been adult.

Most of the stories involved race and/or racism, which, so readers seeking out that specific brand of horror will enjoy this collection. Stand out titles were by Tiffany S Jackson and H.E. Edgmon (warning: very graphic).
]]> A Sorceress Comes to Call 195790847 A dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic

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

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

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.]]> 327 T. Kingfisher 1250244072 Amber 4 4.07 2024 A Sorceress Comes to Call
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Amber
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/11
date added: 2024/07/11
shelves:
review:
It's a slower paced book, but it reads like a fairytale! You'll be cheering for Cordelia to escape her mother's controlling clutches and all of the secondary characters are downright charming.
]]> Under the Heron's Light 200982312 Inspired by stories about the real-world Great Dismal Swamp, this dual POV Young Adult fantasy by Randi Pink explores alternate history, a family¡¯s supernatural connections to the swamp, and the strength that comes in knowing your roots. ¡°Four-thousand-six-hundred-forty-two steps in,¡± Grannylou interrupted. ¡°You remember that now, Baby. Four-thousand-six-hundred-forty-two steps to paradise.¡±On a damp night in 1722, Babylou Mac and her three siblings witness the murder of their mother at the hands of the preacher¡¯s son¡ªso Babylou kills him in retaliation. With plantation dogs now on their heels, the four siblings breach the treacherous confines of the Great Dismal Swamp. Deeper and deeper into Dismal they delve, amid the biting moccasins and pitch-black waters, eventually creating a refuge within the swamp¡¯s natural¡ªand supernatural¡ªprotection.Centuries later, college student Atlas comes home for the annual Bornday cookout and hog a celebration of the fact that she and her three cousins were all born on the same day almost nineteen years ago and share a birthday with their Grannylou. But this Bornday, Grannylou¡¯s usual riddles and folktales about a marvelous paradise deep in the Great Dismal Swamp start to take on a tangible quality. Change coming.When Dismal calls, sucking Grannylou in, it¡¯s up to Atlas and her cousins to uncover the history that the black waters hold. Centuries of family tension, with roots all over Virginia and North Carolina, are about to be dug up. Because Babylou and Grannylou are one and the same, and the power she helped cultivate¡ªsteeped in Black resistance, familial love, and the otherworldly mysteries of the Great Dismal Swamp¡ªis bubbling back up. But so is a bitterness that runs deep as the swamp¡¯s waters. And some are ready to take what they feel they¡¯re owed.]]> 352 Randi Pink 1250820375 Amber 0 3.58 2024 Under the Heron's Light
author: Randi Pink
name: Amber
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/10
date added: 2024/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> Two Sides to Every Murder 198563720 From the author of How to Survive Your Murder comes a propulsive thriller about two teens who return to the site of the famous murder case that sealed their fates.

Most people¡¯s births aren¡¯t immortalized in a police report¡ªbut Olivia was born during the infamous Camp Lost Lake murders. Seventeen years later, Olivia¡¯s life looks pretty perfect . . . until she discovers the man she calls dad is not her biological father. Now she wants answers about her bloodline, and the only place she knows to look is Camp Lost Lake.

Most people don¡¯t spend their formative years on the run with an alleged murderer¡ªbut Reagan did. In the court of public opinion, her mom was found guilty of the deaths at Camp Lost Lake, and both of them have been in hiding ever since. But Reagan believes in her mother¡¯s innocence and is determined to clear her name.

Luckily for Olivia and Reagan, Camp Lost Lake is finally reopening, providing the perfect opportunity to find answers. But someone else is dead set on keeping the past hidden, even if it means committing murder.]]> 282 Danielle Valentine 059335205X Amber 4 3.67 2024 Two Sides to Every Murder
author: Danielle Valentine
name: Amber
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/04
date added: 2024/07/05
shelves:
review:
Fun camp slasher vibes! I was expecting a tad bit more in terms of the reveal, but the ending scene was a nice twist.
]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)]]> 31076583 229 Sarah J. Maas 168119631X Amber 4 3.77 2019 A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Amber
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/06
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves:
review:
happy that the gang is back together. I want Vassa's story like now
]]> <![CDATA[The Black Girl Survives in This One]]> 62342514
Celebrating a new generation of bestselling and acclaimed Black writers, The Black Girl Survives in This One makes space for Black girls in horror. Fifteen chilling and thought-provoking stories place Black girls front and center as heroes and survivors who slay monsters, battle spirits, and face down death. Prepare to be terrified and left breathless by the pieces in this anthology.

The bestselling and acclaimed authors include Erin E. Adams, Monica Brashears, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Desiree S. Evans, Saraciea J. Fennell, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Daka Hermon, Justina Ireland, L. L. McKinney, Brittney Morris, Maritza & Maika Moulite, Eden Royce, and Vincent Tirado, with a foreword by Tananarive Due.]]> 368 Desiree S. Evans 1250871654 Amber 4
A good mix of YA horror from the supernatural, space, to the very human.]]> 4.04 2024 The Black Girl Survives in This One
author: Desiree S. Evans
name: Amber
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/29
date added: 2024/06/29
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

A good mix of YA horror from the supernatural, space, to the very human.
]]> <![CDATA[Love Letters to a Serial Killer]]> 199262999 An aimless young woman starts writing to an accused serial killer while he awaits trial and then, once he¡¯s acquitted, decides to move in with him and take the investigation into her own hands in this dark and irresistibly compelling debut thriller. Recently ghosted and sick of watching her friends fade into the suburbs, thirty-something Hannah finds community in a true-crime forum that¡¯s on a mission to solve the murders of four women in Atlanta. After William, a handsome lawyer, is arrested for the killings, Hannah begins writing him letters. It¡¯s the perfect outlet for her pent-up frustration and rage. The exercise empowers her, and even feels healthy at first. Until William writes back. Hannah¡¯s interest in the case goes from curiosity to obsession, leaving space for nothing else as her life implodes around her. After she loses her job, she heads to Georgia to attend the trial and befriends other true-crime junkies like herself. When a fifth woman is discovered murdered, the jury has no choice but to find William not guilty, and Hannah is the first person he calls upon his release. The two of them quickly fall into a routine of domestic bliss. Well, as blissful as one can feel while secretly investigating their partner for serial murder¡­]]> 320 Tasha Coryell 0593640276 Amber 4 3.28 2024 Love Letters to a Serial Killer
author: Tasha Coryell
name: Amber
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/22
date added: 2024/06/23
shelves:
review:
The twist is predictable, but Hannah's narrative is fascinating. Like a car wreck you can't look away from.
]]> Heir (Heir Duology, #1) 206780522 An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.

And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hotheaded mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her people for an unforgivable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who uses magic to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Martial Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected attraction, Sirsha learns her mission might cost her far more than she's willing to give up.

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire and nephew of a venerated empress, but he¡¯s loath to take the throne when his aunt steps down. As the son of a reviled emperor, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives¨Dand their hearts. Literally.]]> 484 Sabaa Tahir 0593616944 Amber 0 4.25 2024 Heir (Heir Duology, #1)
author: Sabaa Tahir
name: Amber
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/06/23
date added: 2024/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> Horror Movie 200101541 A chilling twist on the ¡°cursed film¡± genre from the bestselling author of?The Pallbearers Club and?The Cabin at the End of the World.

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part??Only three of the film¡¯s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played ¡°The Thin Kid¡± is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he¡¯s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions ¡ª demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost??

Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the ¡°cursed film¡± that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.]]> 277 Paul Tremblay 0063070014 Amber 3 What the hell was that. 3.31 2024 Horror Movie
author: Paul Tremblay
name: Amber
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/06/17
shelves:
review:
What the hell was that.
]]> <![CDATA[Bad Dreams in the Night (Horror Stories by Adam Ellis)]]> 176440291
A new take on a classic format, Bad Dreams in the Night is an updated, illustrated take on the horror anthologies the author grew up with as a kid, such as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and In a Dark, Dark Room . These self-contained stories grew rapidly in popularity among the author's online audience, and even inspired production of a motion picture from Buzzfeed Studios and Lionsgate Films. Filled with spine-tingling, pulse-increasing tales of mystery and supernatural occurrences, this book of never-before-seen comics will be the perfect gift for people who love? Black Mirror ?and? Stranger Things ?and listened to podcasts like? Welcome to Nightvale ?and? Rabbits.?]]> 256 Adam Ellis 1524887188 Amber 4 4.14 2024 Bad Dreams in the Night (Horror Stories by Adam Ellis)
author: Adam Ellis
name: Amber
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/06/05
shelves:
review:
Short collection The fans will love
]]> <![CDATA[How to Solve Your Own Murder (Castle Knoll Files, #1)]]> 181350367 For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate.... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer.

It¡¯s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances¡¯s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn¡¯t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances¡¯s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt¡¯s fate instead of her fortune.]]> 358 Kristen Perrin 0593474015 Amber 3 3.76 2024 How to Solve Your Own Murder (Castle Knoll Files, #1)
author: Kristen Perrin
name: Amber
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves:
review:
The Knives Out comp was pretty spot on. This book is probably good litmus test for deciding if cozy mystery is for you.
]]> She's Not Sorry 140111148
Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom to a teenage daughter and working as a full time nurse. While on duty at the hospital one day, a patient named Caitlin arrives in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, having jumped from a bridge and plunging over twenty feet to the train tracks below.?

But when a witness comes forward with shocking details about the fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was Caitlin? pushed ?and if so, by whom and why??

Meghan has always tried to stay emotionally detached from her patients, but this time, she mistakenly lets herself get too close until she¡¯s deeply entangled in Caitlin¡¯s and her family¡¯s lives. Only when it¡¯s too late, does she realize that she and her daughter could be the next victims.]]> 330 Mary Kubica 0778308065 Amber 4 3.77 2024 She's Not Sorry
author: Mary Kubica
name: Amber
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves:
review:
The twist that introduced part two had me reeling!!! I enjoyed this one, even if the ending didn't answer all of my questions.
]]> <![CDATA[The Reappearance of Rachel Price]]> 182484360
Lights. Camera. Lies.

18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom¡¯s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can¡¯t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn¡¯t sure it¡¯s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And ¨C could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl¡¯s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.]]> 448 Holly Jackson 0593374207 Amber 4
It's hard not to compare this to Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and there are some nuggets, but this one has a different vibes. Missing red herrings, Jackson plays this one closer to home as she explores a family full of secrets.]]> 4.09 2024 The Reappearance of Rachel Price
author: Holly Jackson
name: Amber
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/05/27
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

It's hard not to compare this to Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and there are some nuggets, but this one has a different vibes. Missing red herrings, Jackson plays this one closer to home as she explores a family full of secrets.
]]> The Paradise Problem 199797582
Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There¡¯s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather¡¯s will, Liam won¡¯t see a penny until he¡¯s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he¡¯s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he¡¯s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents ¡ª his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam¡¯s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.]]> 352 Christina Lauren 1668017725 Amber 0 to-read 4.07 2024 The Paradise Problem
author: Christina Lauren
name: Amber
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1)]]> 127305713
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe ¨C a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution ¨C who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune¡¯s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow fa?ade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she¡¯s the very villain he¡¯s been hunting?

Kristen Ciccarelli¡¯s The Crimson Moth is the thrilling start to a romantic fantasy duology where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch¡­ is falling in love.]]> 406 Kristen Ciccarelli 1250866901 Amber 4 4.16 2024 Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1)
author: Kristen Ciccarelli
name: Amber
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves:
review:
Fast-paced cat and mouse game with lots of smoldering tension. This is another book that probably should have been new adult (or even just adult) instead of YA. I'm curious to see how everything unravels in the second book!
]]> The Night Is Ours 58615375
It¡¯s the longest day of the year, and eighteen-year-old Brandy Bailey has just received the worst news of her She¡¯s been accepted to a top nursing school, making her mother overwhelmingly proud.

The thing is, Brandy wants to be an artist. She knows all the risks of chasing her dream. She¡¯s heard them from her mother over and over.

On top of that, Brandy¡¯s annoying classmate from high school, the startlingly handsome Ben Nolan, is catching his far-fetched dream of being an actor. Why does he get to be fearless while she has to be practical? Ben is the last thing Brandy wants on her mind, so of course today is the day he decides to glue himself to her hip. Now his perfect face is right there in the cacophony crashing through her head.

Spinning in too many directions, Brandy¡¯s emotions clash with the flashing lights at the town¡¯s summer carnival. Can she have one extraordinary night before everything changes?]]> Ronni Davis Amber 0 3.72 2024 The Night Is Ours
author: Ronni Davis
name: Amber
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/01/14
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves:
review:

]]> We Don't Have Time for This 199392358
What's more romantic than saving the earth?

Two presidents. One club. A sizzling connection.

Isa Brown wishes her life would slow down. She doesn¡¯t want to leave for college. Not now that her dad finally gets to spend some time at home. Not now that she¡¯s finally been in one place for longer than a year. But nothing lasts forever. With wildfires ravaging her community and a new natural gas pipeline threatening her dad¡¯s job, the last thing Isa can do is relax. The school¡¯s environmental justice club seems like a promising way to make real change. If only her annoying co-president Darius would stop being such a control freak.

Darius Freeman can¡¯t stop hustling. If he does, how will he beat the other honors kids to be valedictorian? How will he get into the top schools in the country? How will he launch his political career? No. Darius can¡¯t stop, and the next step in his plan is leading the environmental justice club this year¡ªputting on a policy summit and rounding out his college applications with a leadership role. But then Isa joins the club and becomes co-president. Is she the stumbling block on his road to success?

As Isa and Darius clash over the best way to lead the environmental justice club, deeper feelings emerge. About what¡¯s at stake for their communities if they can¡¯t figure out how to work together. And about the sparks they feel between them.

Will Darius and Isa figure out how to burn brightly together? Or will their flames leave nothing but ashes behind?]]> 272 Brianna Craft 1368092330 Amber 0 3.87 2024 We Don't Have Time for This
author: Brianna Craft
name: Amber
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/13
date added: 2024/05/13
shelves:
review:

]]> The Familiar 133286777 From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

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

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

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive¡ªeven if that means enlisting the help of Guill¨¦n Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 387 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Amber 3 3.74 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Amber
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/02
date added: 2024/05/02
shelves:
review:
This one fell flat for me, but the ending felt right. There are so many luscious descriptions of the location, but I never connected with the characters.
]]> Funny Story 194802722 A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Daphne always loved the way her fianc¨¦, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children¡¯s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra¡¯s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic¡ªwith a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads¡ªMiles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she¡¯s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it¡¯s all just for show, of course, because there¡¯s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fianc¨¦¡¯s new fianc¨¦e¡¯s ex... right?]]> 400 Emily Henry Amber 5
Banter ??
Sexual tension ??
Complicated family relationships ??
Budding female friendships ??
Library shenanigans ??

I am fulfilled.]]> 4.21 2024 Funny Story
author: Emily Henry
name: Amber
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/14
date added: 2024/04/14
shelves:
review:
Perfection, excuse me while I reread this over and over again.

Banter ??
Sexual tension ??
Complicated family relationships ??
Budding female friendships ??
Library shenanigans ??

I am fulfilled.
]]> One Week in Paradise 86030372
Enter the effortlessly handsome Caspian 'Cash' Reid, who just so happens to be her brother Dane's best friend. He's never seemed to like Bailey, but when Dane jokingly suggests Cash accompany her to Jamaica and get a free holiday, Bailey can't get the idea out of her head.

Surprisingly, Cash agrees to be her fake boyfriend all in the name of content. Their agreement is simple enough, but one week in paradise brings them closer than ever before and an undeniable spark ignites between them.

But Bailey has secrets, and the closer they get to one another, the closer Cash gets to unravelling her shameful past. As the lines blur between their fake dating agreement and their real feelings, will Bailey let Cash into her life or will she let her past destroy her future?

A steamy fake dating contemporary romance.]]> 222 Anise Starre Amber 4 3.90 One Week in Paradise
author: Anise Starre
name: Amber
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/12
date added: 2024/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> With Love, Miss Americanah 60500540 Sisi Americanah¡ªthe Young Adult contemporary romance debut from Jane Igharo¡ªsees a teenager move from Nigeria to America and navigate her senior year with the help of classic teen movies and a new crush, while working through grief and the rigid expectations of her mother.

17-year-old Enore Adesuwa doesn¡¯t dive into things, she wades in very carefully. So when she and her mother and sister move from Nigeria to America shortly after her father¡¯s death, she wants to be as prepared as possible for attending an American high school. Her cousin, Adrian, doesn¡¯t have time to explain the ins and outs to her but, luckily, he recommends the perfect research teen movies.

Still dealing with grief but armed with a list of rules of survival (including no drawing attention to herself) gathered from these beloved movies, Enore is ready as she¡¯ll ever be for senior year. But when she meets Davi Santiago, it may be much harder than she thought to keep to her rules. Because not only is he super thoughtful (and okay, very good looking), he encourages Enore to share her incredible singing voice. She prefers the background but it just might be time for her to take center stage, even in spite of her mother¡¯s own strict rules and desires for her.

With help from Davi, some new friends who don¡¯t quite fit the roles she expects them to play, and her younger sister, can Enore get through senior year with a new passion, new boldness, and new love?]]> 320 Jane Igharo 1250873371 Amber 0 3.87 2024 With Love, Miss Americanah
author: Jane Igharo
name: Amber
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/04/12
date added: 2024/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> The Chateau 62919401
Welcome to picturesque Provence, where the Lady of the Chateau, S¨¦raphine Demargelasse, has opened its elegant doors to her granddaughter Darcy and three friends. Twenty years earlier, the four girlfriends studied abroad together in France and visited the old woman on the weekends, creating the group¡¯s deep bond. But why this sudden invitation?

Amid winery tours, market visits, and fancy dinners overlooking olive groves and lavender fields, it becomes clear that each woman has a hidden reason for accepting the invitation. Then, after a wild evening¡¯s celebration, S¨¦raphine is found brutally murdered.

As the women search for answers to this shocking crime, fingers begin pointing and a sinister Instagram account pops up, exposing snapshots from the friends¡¯ intimate moments at the chateau, while threatening to reveal more.

As they race to uncover who murdered S¨¦raphine and is now stalking them, they learn the chateau houses many secrets¡­several worth killing for.]]> 336 Jaclyn Goldis 1668013010 Amber 3 3.47 2023 The Chateau
author: Jaclyn Goldis
name: Amber
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/03
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Onyx and Ivory (Rime Chronicles, #1)]]> 36039613
The high king¡¯s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror¡ªthe once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king¡¯s children will succeed him¡ªhe knows it¡¯s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that¡¯s fine by him. He¡¯d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father¡¯s life¡ªthe night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked¡ªand for him to be saved by Kate.

With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom¡ªone whose origins have dire implications for Kate¡¯s father¡¯s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime.]]> 497 Mindee Arnett 0062652664 Amber 4 3.5 stars 3.86 2018 Onyx and Ivory (Rime Chronicles, #1)
author: Mindee Arnett
name: Amber
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/13
date added: 2024/03/22
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[Rapunzella, Or, Don't Touch My Hair]]> 60436504
Rapunzella is imprisoned in an enchanted forest made of her own Afro and the might of the evil King Charming seems unstoppable. But is it? Can Rapunzella use her power to change the future?

You're fifteen, you spend your time at school and at Val's hair salon with Baker, Val's son, who has eyes that are like falling off a cliff into space. The salon is a space of safety, but also of possibility and dreams... Dreams of hair so rich and alive that it grow upwards and outwards into a wild landscape, becomes trees and leaves, and houses birds and butterflies and all the secret creatures that belong in such a forest.

Is there a future where such possibility and power is more than just a dream?

Ella McLeod's debut merges poetry and prose in a stunningly lyrical, heart-piercingly honest exploration of a teenager coming into her power as a young woman.

A bold new voice in YA fiction, Ella McLeod is a spoken word poet and performer.
Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Dean Atta and Kalynn Bayron.

A celebration of Black hair and the power of coming into your identity.]]> 384 Ella McLeod 0702313866 Amber 0 4.14 2022 Rapunzella, Or, Don't Touch My Hair
author: Ella McLeod
name: Amber
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2024/03/12
date added: 2024/03/12
shelves:
review:

]]> The Bodyguard 58724801 Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she's an elite bodyguard and she's just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.

Jack Stapleton's a Hollywood heartthrob - captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.

When Jack's mom gets sick, he comes home to the family's Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn't want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah - against her will and her better judgment - finds herself pretending to be Jack's girlfriend as a cover.

Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That's the hardest thing she's ever done...]]> 302 Katherine Center 1250219396 Amber 3 3.94 2022 The Bodyguard
author: Katherine Center
name: Amber
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/05
date added: 2024/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> A Step Past Darkness 169335533 SIX CLASSMATES. ONE TERRIFYING NIGHT. A MURDER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING¡­

There¡¯s something sinister under the surface of the idyllic, suburban town of Wesley Falls, and it¡¯s not just the abandoned coal mine that lies beneath it. The summer of 1995 kicks off with a party in the mine where six high school students witness a horrifying crime that changes the course of their lives.

The six couldn¡¯t be more different.

? Maddy, a devout member of the local megachurch
? Kelly, the bookworm next door
? James, a cynical burnout
? Casey, a loveable football player
? Padma, the shy straight-A student
? Jia, who¡¯s starting to see visions she can¡¯t explain

When they realize that they can¡¯t trust anyone but each other, they begin to investigate what happened on their own. As tensions escalate in town to a breaking point, the six make a vow of silence, bury all their evidence, and promise to never contact each other again. Their plan works ¨C almost.

Twenty years later, Jia calls them all back to Wesley Falls¡ªMaddy has been murdered, and they are the only ones who can uncover why. But to end things, they have to return to the mine one last time.]]> 440 Vera Kurian 0778310760 Amber 4 3.52 2024 A Step Past Darkness
author: Vera Kurian
name: Amber
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/05
date added: 2024/03/05
shelves:
review:
Juggling storylines in 1995 and 2015, this one kept me rapt at attention as unlikely friends tried to uncover a supernatural cult.
]]> How To Die Famous 77995247 A budding teen celebrity secretly investigates his brother's suspicious death while navigating the highs and lows of fame.

Rising star Abel Miller just landed a role in one of the hottest reboots on the Omni Channel, Sunset High. It looks like he¡¯ll be yet another budding celebrity plucked from obscurity, but he has a problem: His brother, Adam, a production associate, died during the filming of the last attempt at Sunset High, and no one knows how or why. Abel is going to find out, but when he meets the other stars of the show¡ªLucky, Ryan, Ella, and creator Lake Carter¡ªhe realizes there¡¯s darkness beneath the shimmer of fame. They all have secrets, and one of them is willing to kill to keep it that way. ?]]> Benjamin Dean 1398512591 Amber 0 3.64 2023 How To Die Famous
author: Benjamin Dean
name: Amber
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/02/27
date added: 2024/02/27
shelves:
review:

]]> Murder Road 196614815 A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel.

July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They¡¯re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to be a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.

When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.]]> 341 Simone St. James 0593200381 Amber 4
I don't know what I expected when I picked this one up, but I'm happy I did! I don't usually read paranormal mysteries, but this one kept me listening, even if the ending wasn't quite what I wanted.]]> 3.67 2024 Murder Road
author: Simone St. James
name: Amber
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/02/20
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

I don't know what I expected when I picked this one up, but I'm happy I did! I don't usually read paranormal mysteries, but this one kept me listening, even if the ending wasn't quite what I wanted.
]]> Prom Babies 179031732 A compelling, multi-generational novel from the Coretta Scott King and Printz Honor-winning author of How It Went Down, Light It Up, and The Minus-One Club, Prom Babies chronicles the stories of three teen girls who become pregnant on prom night. Eighteen years later, their three babies, now high school seniors, are headed to prom and facing their own set of complicated issues and questions.

Mina, Penny, and Sheryl have the typical expectations of prom night in 2005: dresses, dancing, and of course some coming of age moments. None of them plans to get pregnant, but when all three do, they band together as they face decisions that have the power to shape the rest of their lives.

In 2024, their three children--Blossom, Amber, and Cole--are high school seniors, gearing up to go to prom and facing some big decisions of their own. As they seek to understand who they are and who they want to be, they grapple with issues that range from consent to virginity, gendered dress codes, and the many patriarchal, heteronormative expectations that still come along with prom.

A generation later, will this prom night change lives too?]]> 278 Kekla Magoon 1250806240 Amber 0 3.83 2024 Prom Babies
author: Kekla Magoon
name: Amber
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/02/14
date added: 2024/02/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Not in Love (Not in Love, #1) 198716261 A forbidden, secret affair proves that all¡¯s fair in love and science.

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through - and he's a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can't stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business - one that plays for keeps.]]> 384 Ali Hazelwood 1408728915 Amber 0 to-read 3.59 2024 Not in Love (Not in Love, #1)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Amber
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Diamond and the Duke (All the Duke's Sins, #3)]]> 75462218 ?
Despite a hero¡¯s return to England from the Napoleonic Wars, Wesley Audley isolates from the ton. Deep wounds from the horrors of combat¡ªand the despair of a broken heart¡ªleft him scarred. As he struggles to cope and resume his place in Polite Society, Wesley is quick to cut himself off from everyone¡­except for Ellie Balfour.?
?
Independent and strong-willed, Ellie has dreams of captaining her own husband-free life and a penchant for meddling in other¡¯s business. She knows befriending Wesley is a risk but Ellie can¡¯t bear to see his heartache. Nor can she seem to silence all the temptingly intimate thoughts his nearness provokes.?
?
But Ellie is yet to face a battle she can¡¯t win¡ªand Wesley¡¯s heart is worth the fight. If only her campaigns ever went to plan¡­]]> 336 Christi Caldwell 0593334965 Amber 4
Beautifully developed characters and a grand gesture that'll have you smiling. Mary Jane Wells' narration is an added bonus!]]> 4.27 2023 The Diamond and the Duke (All the Duke's Sins, #3)
author: Christi Caldwell
name: Amber
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/06
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars

Beautifully developed characters and a grand gesture that'll have you smiling. Mary Jane Wells' narration is an added bonus!
]]> <![CDATA[Viscount in Love (Accidental Brides, #1)]]> 199530278 Two eccentric orphans bring together a grumpy viscount and the free-spirited heroine who steals his heart in the first novel in Eloisa James's new Accidental Brides series, in which haughty aristocrats find themselves married to the wrong women.

He wants a nanny, not a bride...

Suddenly guardian to twins, Viscount Dominic Kelbourne is luckily betrothed to a suitable lady--until she elopes. With no time to woo, Dominic decides to marry his fianc¨¦e's unconventional sister. Torie isn't perfect, but their kisses are so passionate that society thinks he's actually chosen her.

She wants to marry for love...

Torie has never been able to make sense of words on a page, so she has turned her talents to art. She longs for a man who values her as she is... but marries for the sake of the twins. She doubts Dominic is capable of love, let alone respect, but as their heated debates turn into something more, Torie begins to imagine a life as a wife, not a nanny.

But when the arrogant viscount finds that his viscountess has stolen his heart, he'll have to give all he has to win her love.]]> 384 Eloisa James 0063347415 Amber 4
The MMC, Dom, could have used some more character work, but it was a fun, and at times heart wrenching, read.]]> 3.92 2024 Viscount in Love (Accidental Brides, #1)
author: Eloisa James
name: Amber
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/02/04
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

The MMC, Dom, could have used some more character work, but it was a fun, and at times heart wrenching, read.
]]> <![CDATA[The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount (The Liars' Club, #2)]]> 204901359 USA Today bestselling author Vivienne Lorret returns with the second book in her Liars¡¯ Club series with a sparkling romance about the spirited middle sister, a dashing rogue, and a very real engagement¡­except he¡¯s not the viscount he¡¯s pretending to be.

Honoria Hartley enjoys flirting far too much to consider marrying. And besides, she¡¯s been betrothed since birth to the long-lost Viscount Vandemere. But no one has actually ever met the viscount and, without an heir, the title will soon become extinct. So she¡¯s willing to do anything to keep her viscount alive, even if she has to invent him herself.

Oscar Flint is a first-rate gambler. Estranged from his father¡¯s side of the family his entire life, he grew up beneath the tutelage of a legendary con artist. There isn¡¯t anyone who could pull the wool over his eyes. Not until he crosses paths with Honoria. Losing to her puts him in a bind¡­ Until he remembers her story about a lost heir to a viscountcy. An heir that no one has ever met. Not yet, anyway.

When Oscar arrives on Honoria¡¯s doorstep, claiming to be Vandemere, she is thrown for a loop. This rogue is not her viscount. The only problem is, he¡¯s quite convincing, and when he kisses her, the line between the lie and the truth becomes hazy in all the steam they create. Honoria refuses to gamble with her heart. But Oscar has never played by the rules and he¡¯s determined to win, no matter the cost.]]> 392 Vivienne Lorret 0063352478 Amber 0 to-read 4.02 2024 The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount (The Liars' Club, #2)
author: Vivienne Lorret
name: Amber
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> First Lie Wins 164444179 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780593492918.

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn¡¯t exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she¡¯s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn¡¯t privy to Mr. Smith¡¯s real identity, but she knows this job isn¡¯t like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she¡¯s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can¡¯t make any mistakes¡ªespecially after what happened last time.

Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there¡¯s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn¡¯t be higher¡ªbut then, Evie has always liked a challenge. . . .]]> 340 Ashley Elston Amber 4 3.97 2024 First Lie Wins
author: Ashley Elston
name: Amber
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/02/01
shelves:
review:

]]> I Wish You Would 179031684 In this drama-filled romance novel, the senior class's private confessions are scattered on the beach during a school overnight and explosive secrets threaten to tear everyone apart, including best friends ( . . . or maybe more?) Natalia and Ethan.

It¡¯s Senior Sunrise, the epic overnight at the beach that kicks off senior year. But for Natalia and Ethan, it¡¯s the first time seeing each other after what happened at junior prom¡ªwhen they almost crossed the line from best friends to something more and ruined everything. After ghosting each other all summer, Natalia is desperate to pretend she doesn¡¯t care and Ethan is desperate to fix his mistake.

When the senior class carries out their tradition of writing private letters to themselves¡ªwhat they wish they would do this year if they were braver¡ªNatalia pours her heart out. So does Ethan. So does everyone in their entire class. But in Natalia¡¯s panicked attempt to retrieve her heartfelt confession, the wind scatters seven of the notes across the beach. Now, Ethan and Natalia are forced to work together to find the lost letters before any secrets are revealed¡ªespecially their own.

Seven private confessions. Seven time bombs loose for anyone to find. And one last chance before the sun rises for these two to fall in love.]]> 280 Eva Des Lauriers 1250910544 Amber 0 3.71 2024 I Wish You Would
author: Eva Des Lauriers
name: Amber
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mastermind (Hell's Belles, #4)]]> 199792276 384 Sarah MacLean 0063057301 Amber 0 to-read 4.25 2025 Mastermind (Hell's Belles, #4)
author: Sarah MacLean
name: Amber
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)]]> 60784546 After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again¡­

All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris¡¯s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

But when Iris¡¯s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands ¨C that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper ¨C an unlikely magical connection forms.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.]]> 357 Rebecca Ross 1250857430 Amber 4 3.5 stars 4.14 2023 Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Amber
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/01/18
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green, #6)]]> 11388053 The Scandal Sheets call him Lord Ice.

Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest¡ªin clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he¡¯s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family¡¯s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond.

She¡¯s about to play with fire...

But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth¡¯s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone. This quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy facade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous, for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted.]]> 373 Julie Anne Long 006188569X Amber 4 3.5 stars 4.06 2011 How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green, #6)
author: Julie Anne Long
name: Amber
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/01/13
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars
]]> Listen for the Lie 127279000 What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all and, if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. But after Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy¡¯s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer.

It¡¯s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can¡¯t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast Listen for the Lie and its too-good looking host, Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy¡¯s murder for the show¡¯s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend¡¯s murder, even if she is the one who did it.

The truth is out there, if we just listen.]]> 352 Amy Tintera 1250880319 Amber 4 4.07 2024 Listen for the Lie
author: Amy Tintera
name: Amber
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/10
date added: 2024/01/11
shelves:
review:
Real fun, especially on audio. Ending wasn't what I expected but it still took me by surprise, which is all you can really ask from a mystery.
]]> <![CDATA[My Season of Scandal (The Palace of Rogues, #7)]]> 194896980 A notorious rake meets his match in a doe-eyed girl from the country, changing the course of both of their futures¡­

A London season is the chance of a lifetime for Catherine Keating. But the ton¡¯s glitter and decadence and casual cruelty threaten to crush her hopes of finding a husband before her season even begins... until she accidentally acquires one of the most scandalous men in England as a secret chaperone.

Famously fiery Lord Dominic Kirke can hold the House of Commons¡ªand any woman he chooses¡ª in thrall. But when his house goes up in flames in the dead of night, he finds himself at the Grand Palace on the Thames. And there he discovers his cynical armor is no match for another an innocent country girl with a crackling wit and eyes like a summer sky.

He's maddening, elusive, hopelessly charismatic, wrong in every way¡ªperfectly designed to break her heart. But she doesn't know she holds his battered heart in her hands. And though it will destroy him, Dominic knows loving her means setting Catherine free for the life¡ªand man¡ªshe deserves.]]> 380 Julie Anne Long 0063281163 Amber 4
So much sweet sweet angst. Catherine and Dominic will rip your heart out.]]> 4.26 2024 My Season of Scandal (The Palace of Rogues, #7)
author: Julie Anne Long
name: Amber
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/03
date added: 2024/01/03
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars

So much sweet sweet angst. Catherine and Dominic will rip your heart out.
]]> Where Sleeping Girls Lie 43232967
It¡¯s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again...

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school, after being home-schooled all her life. Misfortune has clung to her seemingly since birth, but even she doesn¡¯t expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade¡¯s first night. Or for people to think Sade had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls collectively known as the ¡®Unholy Trinity¡¯ and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them¡ªespecially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to¡ªand playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But when it seems people don't care enough about what happened to Elizabeth, it's up to she and Elizabeth's best friend, Baz, to investigate.

And then a student is found dead.

The more Sade and Baz dig into Elizabeth's disappearance, the more she realizes there¡¯s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface¡­secrets that rival even her own.]]> 416 Faridah ?b¨ªk¨¦-?y¨ªm¨ªd¨¦ Amber 0 3.99 2024 Where Sleeping Girls Lie
author: Faridah ?b¨ªk¨¦-?y¨ªm¨ªd¨¦
name: Amber
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2023/12/27
date added: 2023/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Dead Cat Tail Assassins 127305606 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.

Nor do they have tails.

But they are most assuredly dead.

Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Dj¨¨l¨ª Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins.

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins¨Dresurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories¨Dhave only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That¡¯s above Eveen¡¯s pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen¡¯s a professional. She¡¯s never missed her mark.

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A ?nal death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen¡¯s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn¡¯t supposed to remember and a vow she can¡¯t forget.]]> 213 P. Dj¨¨l¨ª Clark 1250767040 Amber 3 3.86 2024 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins
author: P. Dj¨¨l¨ª Clark
name: Amber
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/19
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves:
review:
I don't know if it was the pacing or what, but this was a struggle to finish.
]]> <![CDATA[How to Tame a Wild Rogue (The Palace of Rogues, #6)]]> 63138601 In Julie Anne Long¡¯s thrilling new romance in the Palace of Rogues series, an infamous privateer¡¯s limits are put to the test when he¡¯s trapped during a raging tempest with a prickly female at?the Grand Palace on the Thames.

He clawed his way up from the gutters of St. Giles to the top of a shadowy empire. Feared and fearsome, battered and brilliant, nothing shocks Lorcan St. Leger¡ªnot even the discovery of an aristocratic woman escaping out a window near the London docks on the eve of the storm of the decade. They find shelter at a boarding house called the Grand Palace on the Thames¡ªonly to find greater dangers await inside.

Desperate, destitute, and jilted, Lady Daphne Worth knows the clock is ticking on her last chance to save herself and her an offer of a loveless marriage. But while the storm rages and roads flood, she and the rogue who rescued her must pose as husband and wife in order to share the only available suite.

Crackling enmity gives way to incendiary desire¡ªand certain Lorcan is everything she never dreamed she¡¯d wanted, but he can never be what she needs. But risk is child¡¯s play to St. Leger. And if the stakes are a lifetime of loving and being loved by Daphne,?he¡¯ll move any mountain, confront any old nemesis, to turn ¡°never¡±?into forever.]]> 384 Julie Anne Long 0063280914 Amber 4
The SWOONS. The smoldering looks, the quiet understanding of each other, the grand gestures!!! This is what I've been missing in romance.]]> 4.07 2023 How to Tame a Wild Rogue (The Palace of Rogues, #6)
author: Julie Anne Long
name: Amber
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/18
date added: 2023/12/18
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars

The SWOONS. The smoldering looks, the quiet understanding of each other, the grand gestures!!! This is what I've been missing in romance.
]]> <![CDATA[Angel in a Devil's Arms (The Palace of Rogues, #2)]]> 42448313 From USA Today bestselling author Julie Anne Long comes the second book in an exciting new historical romance series, the first since her beloved Pennyroyal Green series.

He has devil's blood in his veins. At least, that's always been the legend. How else could the Duke of Brexford's notorious bastard son return from the dead? The brutal decade since Lucien Durand, Lord Bolt, allegedly drowned in the Thames forged him into a man who always gets what¡ªand who¡ªhe wants. And what he wants is vengeance for his stolen birthright...and one wild night in Angelique Breedlove's bed.

Angelique recognizes heartbreak when the enigmatic Lord Bolt walks into The Grand Palace on the Thames, and not even his devastating charm can tempt her to risk her own ever again. One scorching kiss drives home the danger.

But in the space between them springs a trust that feels anything but safe. And the passion¡ªexplosive, consuming¡ªdrives Lucien to his knees. Now his whole life depends on proving his love to a woman who doesn't believe in it...because his true birthright, he now knows, is guardian of Angelique Breedlove's heart.]]> 368 Julie Anne Long 0062867504 Amber 3 3.76 2019 Angel in a Devil's Arms (The Palace of Rogues, #2)
author: Julie Anne Long
name: Amber
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/17
date added: 2023/12/17
shelves:
review:
Same as the first book, interesting characters but dull romance.
]]> <![CDATA[Lady Derring Takes a Lover (The Palace of Rogues, #1)]]> 40374603 A mistress. A mountain of debt. A mysterious wreck of a building.

Delilah Swanpoole, Countess of Derring, learns the hard way that her husband, ¡°Dear Dull Derring,¡± is a lot more interesting¡ªand perfidious¡ªdead than alive. It¡¯s a devil of an inheritance, but in the grand ruins of the one building Derring left her, are the seeds of her liberation. And she vows never again to place herself at the mercy of a man.

But battle-hardened Captain Tristan Hardy is nothing if not merciless. When the charismatic naval hero tracks a notorious smuggler to a London boarding house known as the Rogue¡¯s Palace, seducing the beautiful, blue-blooded proprietress to get his man seems like a small sacrifice.

They both believe love is a myth. But a desire beyond reason threatens to destroy the armor around their hearts. Now a shattering decision looms: Will Tristan betray his own code of honor¡­or choose a love that might be the truest thing he¡¯s ever known?]]> 387 Julie Anne Long 0062867474 Amber 3 3.97 2019 Lady Derring Takes a Lover (The Palace of Rogues, #1)
author: Julie Anne Long
name: Amber
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/15
date added: 2023/12/15
shelves:
review:
I found the characters to be interesting and endearing, but the romance was forgettable.
]]> The Boyfriend Wish 156010158 A charming romantic comedy about a South Indian American teen girl who makes a wish upon a flower for her perfect boyfriend¡­and then a new boy moves in right next door. With love triangles, prank wars, and a sizzling sweet romance¡ªthis is perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon and Jenny Han.

Deepa¡¯s a hopeless romantic. And even though Deepa¡¯s checklist for the perfect boyfriend is a mile long, her mom and dad¡¯s fairy-tale love story makes her feel like romantic success ought to be a family trait. It¡¯s why when her grandmother gives her a jasmine flower with the promise that it will fulfill her heart¡¯s greatest desire, and then a new boy moves in across the street, Deepa knows¡ªhe must be her wish come true.

Rohit checks off every box on Deepa¡¯s timelessly handsome, a thoughtful listener, and a romantic who knows his flowers. Deepa¡¯s next-door neighbor (and constant tormentor) Vik also surprisingly approves, though she knows it shouldn¡¯t be a mark against Rohit.

Is it luck or is it magic? Deepa doesn¡¯t want to take chances, so when her grandmother warns her that the wish is only permanent if she seals it with a kiss, she knows she needs to move quickly. Rohit is the right boy in every way, so then why does Deepa not feel like he might not be the right choice?]]> 336 Swati Teerdhala 0063279150 Amber 0 3.74 2024 The Boyfriend Wish
author: Swati Teerdhala
name: Amber
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2023/12/15
date added: 2023/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Midnight on Beacon Street 145654483 A suspenseful and entertaining debut thriller¡ªand love letter to vintage horror movies¡ªin which a teenager must overcome her own anxiety to protect the two children she¡¯s babysitting when strangers come knocking at the door.

October 1993. One night. One house. One dead body.

When single mom Eleanor Mazinski goes out a for a much-needed date night, she leaves her two young children ¡ªsweet, innocent six-year-old Ben and precocious, defiant twelve-year-old Mira¡ª in the capable hands of their sitter, Amy. The quiet seventeen-year-old is good at looking after children, despite her anxiety disorder. She also loves movies, especially horror flicks. Amy likes their predictability; it calms the panic that threatens to overwhelm her.

The evening starts out normally enough, with games, pizza, and dancing. But as darkness falls, events in this quaint suburban New Jersey house take a terrifying turn ¡ªunexpected visitors at the door, mysterious phone calls, and by midnight, little Ben is in the kitchen standing in a pool of blood, with a dead body at his feet.

In this dazzling debut novel, Emily Ruth Verona moves back and forth in time, ratcheting up suspense and tension on every page. Chock-full of nods to classic horror films of the seventies and eighties, Midnight on Beacon Street is a gripping thriller full of electrifying twists and a heartwarming tale of fear and devotion that explores our terrors and the lengths we¡¯ll go to keep our loved ones safe.]]> 208 Emily Ruth Verona 0063330512 Amber 3 2.82 2024 Midnight on Beacon Street
author: Emily Ruth Verona
name: Amber
average rating: 2.82
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/11
date added: 2023/12/11
shelves:
review:
This one flows well, but the ending left me thinking, "that's it?"
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