Desiree's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 30 Mar 2025 08:38:37 -0700 60 Desiree's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Am I A Murderer?: Testament Of A Jewish Ghetto Policeman]]> 594164 288 Calel Perechodnik 0813327024 Desiree 0 to-read 4.07 Am I A Murderer?: Testament Of A Jewish Ghetto Policeman
author: Calel Perechodnik
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The History of Love 12174849
Leo Gursky taps his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he’s still alive. But it wasn’t always like this: in the Polish village of his youth, he fell in love and wrote a book…Sixty years later and half a world away, fourteen-year-old Alma, who was named after a character in that book, undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With virtuosic skill and soaring imaginative power, Nicole Krauss gradually draws these stories together toward a climax of "extraordinary depth and beauty".]]> 280 Nicole Krauss Desiree 4 3.98 2005 The History of Love
author: Nicole Krauss
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 2020-goals, 2022-goals, 2023-to-read
review:

]]> The Buffalo Hunter Hunter 214565614 A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.

A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.]]> 448 Stephen Graham Jones 1668075083 Desiree 0 to-read 4.27 2025 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love]]> 9547888 Is there a science to love?

In this groundbreaking book, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Amir Levine and psychologist Rachel S. F. Heller reveal how an understanding of attachment theory-the most advanced relationship science in existence today-can help us find and sustain love. Attachment theory forms the basis for many bestselling books on the parent/child relationship, but there has yet to be an accessible guide to what this fascinating science has to tell us about adult romantic relationships-until now.

Attachment theory owes its inception to British psychologist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby, who in the 1950s examined the tremendous impact that our early relationships with our parents or caregivers has on the people we become. Also central to attachment theory is the discovery that our need to be in a close relationship with one or more individuals is embedded in our genes.

In Attached, Levine and Heller trace how these evolutionary influences continue to shape who we are in our relationships today. According to attachment theory, every person behaves in relationships in one of three distinct ways:

*ANXIOUS people are often preoccupied with their relationships and tend to worry about their partner's ability to love them back.
*AVOIDANT people equate intimacy with a loss of independence and constantly try to minimize closeness.
*SECURE people feel comfortable with intimacy and are usually warm and loving.

Attached guides readers in determining what attachment style they and their mate (or potential mates) follow. It also offers readers a wealth of advice on how to navigate their relationships more wisely given their attachment style and that of their partner. An insightful look at the science behind love, Attached offers readers a road map for building stronger, more fulfilling connections.]]> 304 Amir Levine 1585428485 Desiree 1 4.11 2010 Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love
author: Amir Levine
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2010
rating: 1
read at: 2025/02/12
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves:
review:
Holy bias, Batman. This really glorifies and sympathizes with some unhinged anxious behaviors bordering on stalkerish. Meanwhile if you’re avoidant due to trauma, they have no real advice besides just never having a relationship? What a worthless read.
]]> <![CDATA[Hogfather (Discworld, #20; Death, #4)]]> 219427214 "Exceptionally amusing and enjoyable." —Michael Moorcock

'Twas the night before Hogswatch and all through the house . . . something was missing. Don't miss this hilarious and irreverent installment in the beloved Discworld series fromĚýNew York TimesĚýbestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, Hogswatchnight, when the Hogfather himself dons his red suit and climbs in his sleigh pulled by—of course—eight hogs, to shower gifts across Discworld. But when the fat man goes missing, someone has to sit in. It’s up to Death to take up the reigns—otherwise the sun won’t shine tomorrow . . . or ever again.

Who would want to harm Discworld's most beloved icon? Very few things are held sacred in this twisted, corrupt, heartless—and oddly familiar—universe, but the Hogfather is one of them. Yet here it is, Hogswatchnight, that most joyous and acquisitive of times, and the jolly, old, red-suited gift-giver has vanished without a trace. And there's something shady going on involving an uncommonly psychotic member of the Assassins' Guild and certain representatives of Ankh-Morpork's rather extensive criminal element. Suddenly Discworld's entire myth system is unraveling at an alarming rate. Drastic measures must be taken, which is why Death himself is taking up the reins of the fat man's vacated sleigh . . . which, in turn, has Death's level-headed granddaughter, Susan, racing to unravel the nasty, humbuggian mess before the holiday season goes straight to hell and takes everyone along with it.

The Discworld novels can be read in any order, butĚýHogfatherĚýis the fourth book in the Death series.ĚýThe collection

MortThe Reaper ManSoul MusicHogfatherThief of Time]]> 384 Terry Pratchett Desiree 0 currently-reading 4.30 1996 Hogfather (Discworld, #20; Death, #4)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter 37380 359 Carson McCullers 0618084746 Desiree 5 3.99 1940 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
author: Carson McCullers
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1940
rating: 5
read at: 2011/09/01
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: 2020-goals, feel-good, absolute-favorites
review:
This book was wonderful. When I started reading it, I wasn't sure what in the world was going on, but I couldn't put it down. It is such a peaceful, yet stirring book. I would highly recommend reading this.
]]> How High We Go in the Dark 57850265
Among those adjusting to this new normal are an aspiring comedian, employed by a theme park designed for terminally ill children, who falls in love with a mother trying desperately to keep her son alive; a scientist who, having failed to save his own son from the plague, gets a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects-a pig-develops human speech; a man who, after recovering from his own coma, plans a block party for his neighbours who have also woken up to find that they alone have survived their families; and a widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter who must set off on cosmic quest to locate a new home planet.

From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead, How High We Go in the Dark follows a cast of intricately linked characters spanning hundreds of years as humanity endeavours to restore the delicate balance of the world. This is a story of unshakable hope that crosses literary lines to give us a world rebuilding itself through an endless capacity for love, resilience and reinvention. Wonderful and disquieting, dreamlike and all too possible.]]> 293 Sequoia Nagamatsu 0063072645 Desiree 0 3.81 2022 How High We Go in the Dark
author: Sequoia Nagamatsu
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves: to-read, dystopian-post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)]]> 16054217 The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.]]> 561 Deborah Harkness 0670025593 Desiree 0 to-read 4.15 2014 The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Desiree 4 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/08/31
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fifth Kind: Arrival (Dark Nova #1)]]> 178338739 A secret too terrible to keep. And too dangerous to reveal.

In the depths of an ancient Egyptian tomb, archaeologists make a baffling the mummified body of a man clad in a space suit.

Halfway around the globe, exobiologist Dr. Katherine Shepard and intelligence officer Colonel Devon Peters are summoned to the site of a downed UFO. To their amazement, they find one of the occupants alive. Even more shocking, he appears to be human.

As Shepard and Peters delve deeper into the enigma, they expose a chilling aliens have inhabited Earth far longer than anyone could have imagined, and they are not alone. An ancient, hidden war is being waged, with humanity’s survival hanging in the balance.

Thrust into a perilous world of shifting allegiances and veiled motives, Shepard and Peters must race against time to decipher the aliens� true intentions and shield humanity from a revelation too shocking to comprehend.

The Fifth Kind is a gripping, high-octane hard science-fiction thriller that will leave you reading late into the night.]]> 397 James D. Prescott Desiree 0 to-read 4.11 The Fifth Kind: Arrival (Dark Nova #1)
author: James D. Prescott
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Extinction Code (Extinction, #1)]]> 36355792 We were wrong about the origins of our species.Ěý

For eons, the truth has remained hidden.Ěý

Until now...Ěý

Geophysicist Jack Greer believes he may finally have found the resting place of the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. A few miles off the Yucatán coast, Jack and a team of scientists tow an aging drilling platform over the impact crater with the aim of securing a sample. But buried deep beneath the earth lies a shocking discovery that threatens to shatter everything we think we know about the origins of our species.

A world away, geneticist Dr. Mia Ward receives a mysterious delivery from her former boss and mentor, Alan Salzburg. In it are clues of a dire warning hidden inside the human genome, one which foretells man's very extinction.

His instructions to Mia are simple: keep the information safe and, above all, trust no one--words all the more chilling after Alan turns up dead. But who wrote the message and what does it mean? Jack's recent discovery just may hold the answers, but can she reach him in time to save the human race?]]> 337 James D. Prescott Desiree 5 4.03 2017 Extinction Code (Extinction, #1)
author: James D. Prescott
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/28
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: apocalypse-non-paranormal, dystopian-post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> The September House 61311377 A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel.

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee.

Margaret is not most people.

Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.]]> 352 Carissa Orlando 0593548639 Desiree 0 currently-reading 3.99 2023 The September House
author: Carissa Orlando
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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

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

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

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.]]> 1231 Brandon Sanderson Desiree 5 4.66 2020 Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Desiree 0 2016-reading-goals 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: 2016-reading-goals
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper]]> 51573144 Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London—the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper

Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffeehouses, lived on country estates; they breathed ink dust from printing presses and escaped human traffickers.

What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. The person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women.

For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that “the Ripper� preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, but it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world not just of Dickens and Queen Victoria, but of poverty, homelessness, and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time—but their greatest misfortune was to be born women.]]> 359 Hallie Rubenhold Desiree 0 currently-reading 3.98 2019 The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
author: Hallie Rubenhold
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Reliquary (Pendergast, #2) 39030 464 Douglas Preston 0765354950 Desiree 5 adventure-and-exploration 4.03 1997 Reliquary (Pendergast, #2)
author: Douglas Preston
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/01
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: adventure-and-exploration
review:

]]> The Burning Girls 54269852 An unconventional vicar must exorcise the dark past of a remote village haunted by death and disappearances in this explosive and unsettling thriller from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man.

A dark history lingers in Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, Protestant martyrs were betrayed � then burned. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And a few weeks ago, the vicar of the local parish hanged himself in the nave of the church.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a 14-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping for a fresh start. Instead, Jack finds a town rife with conspiracies and secrets, and is greeted with a strange welcome package: an exorcism kit and a note that warns, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.�

The more Jack and daughter, Flo, explore the town and get to know its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into the age-old rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo begins to see specters of girls ablaze, it becomes apparent there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.

Uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village with a bloody past, where everyone has something to hide and no one trusts an outsider.]]> 335 C.J. Tudor 1984825038 Desiree 4 4.04 2021 The Burning Girls
author: C.J. Tudor
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/24
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Angel of Vengeance (Pendergast, #22)]]> 201763310 Preston & Child continue their #1 bestselling series featuring FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene, as they take a final stand against New York’s deadliest serial killer: Pendergast’s own ancestor…and Constance’s greatest enemy. Ěý

A desperate bargain is broken�

Constance Greene confronts Manhattan’s most dangerous serial killer, Enoch Leng, bartering for her sister's life � but she is betrayed and turned away empty-handed, incandescent with rage.

A clever trap is set�

Unknown to Leng, Pendergast’s brother, Diogenes, appears unexpectedly, offering to help � for mysterious reasons of his own. Disguised as a cleric, Diogenes establishes himself in New York's notorious Five Points slum, manipulating events like a chess master, watching Leng’s every move…and awaiting his own chance to strike.

A vengeful angel will not be deterred�

Meanwhile, as Pendergast focuses on saving the unstable Constance in her fanatical quest for vengeance, she strikes out on her own: to rescue her beloved siblings from a tragic fate and take savage retribution on Leng. But Leng is one step ahead and has a surprise for them all…]]> 416 Douglas Preston Desiree 0 currently-reading 4.52 2024 Angel of Vengeance (Pendergast, #22)
author: Douglas Preston
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Tales from the Perilous Realm 3772535
The book is the perfect opportunity for fans of Middle-earth to enjoy some of Tolkien’s often overlooked yet most creative storytelling. With dragons and sand sorcerers, sea monsters and hobbits, knights and dwarves, this collection contains all the classic elements for Tolkien buffs of all ages.

Roverandom is the story of a toy dog who becomes enchanted by a sand sorcerer. He gets to explore the world and encounter strange and fabulous creatures.

Farmer Giles of Ham is the tale of a fat, unheroic farmer who, having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant, is called upon to do battle when the dragon Chrysophylax comes to town.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil tells, in verse, of Tom's many adventures with hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls.

Smith of Wootton Major takes us on a journey to the Land of Faery, thanks to the magical ingredients of the Great Cake of the Feast of Good Children.

Leaf by Niggle recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle, who sets out to paint the perfect tree.
Ěý
Also includes, as an appendix, Tolkien's essay On Fairy Stories.]]> 403 J.R.R. Tolkien 0547154119 Desiree 0 to-read 4.21 1997 Tales from the Perilous Realm
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Ritual 18994477 434 Adam L.G. Nevill Desiree 0 3.72 2011 The Ritual
author: Adam L.G. Nevill
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/22
shelves: horror, folk-horror, currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mockingbird (Miriam Black, #2)]]> 25326415 Miriam Black is trying to live an ordinary life, keeping her ability to see how someone dies hidden...until a serial killer crosses her path. This is the second book in the Miriam Black series.“Visceral and often brutal, this tale vibrates with emotional rawness that helps to paint a bleak, unrelenting picture of life on the edge.� —Publishers WeeklyMiriam is trying. Really, she is. But this whole “settling down thing� just isn’t working out.She lives on Long Beach Island all year in a run-down, double-wide trailer. She works at a grocery store as a checkout girl. And her relationship with Louis—who’s on the road half the time in his truck—is subject to the mood swings Miriam brings to everything she does. It just isn’t going well.Still, she’s keeping her psychic ability—to see when and how someone is going to die just by touching them—in check. But even that feels wrong somehow. Like she’s keeping a tornado stopped up in a tiny bottle. Then comes the one bad day that turns it all on her ear.]]> 337 Chuck Wendig Desiree 0 currently-reading 4.11 2012 Mockingbird (Miriam Black, #2)
author: Chuck Wendig
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Murder at the End of the World]]> 136276877
Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking.

From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution.]]> 368 Stuart Turton Desiree 0 to-read 3.63 2024 The Last Murder at the End of the World
author: Stuart Turton
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wayward (Wayward Pines, #2) 17920175 None of the residents know how they got here. They are told where to work, how to live, and who to marry. Some believe they are dead. Others think they’re trapped in an unfathomable experiment. Everyone secretly dreams of leaving, but those who dare face a terrifying surprise.

Ethan Burke has seen the world beyond. He’s sheriff, and one of the few who knows the truth—Wayward Pines isn’t just a town. And what lies on the other side of the fence is a nightmare beyond anyone’s imagining.]]> 298 Blake Crouch 1477808701 Desiree 0 to-read 4.12 2013 Wayward (Wayward Pines, #2)
author: Blake Crouch
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)]]> 25499718
WHO WILL INHERIT THIS NEW EARTH?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age—a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?]]> 608 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1447273281 Desiree 0 to-read 4.29 2015 Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers]]> 12950 'The apparition had reached the landing half-way up and was therefore on the spot nearest the window, where, at the sight of me, it stopped short'

Oscar Wilde called James's chilling The Turn of the Screw 'a most wonderful, lurid poisonous little tale.' It tells of a young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a sense of intense evil within the house, she soon becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care. Obsession of a more worldly variety lies at the heart of The Aspern Papers, the tale of a literary historian determined to get his hands on some letters written by a great poet-and prepared to use trickery and deception to achieve his aims. Both works show James's mastery of the short story and his genius for creating haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension.

Anthony Curtis's wide-ranging introduction traces the development of the two stories from initial inspiration to finished work and examines their critical reception.]]> 272 Henry James 0141439904 Desiree 0 to-read 3.79 1898 The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers
author: Henry James
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1898
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Good House 41539
Two years later, Angela is moving past her grief and is finally ready to revisit the rural house she loved so much as a child. But back in Sacajawea, she discovers she hasn't been the only one to suffer a shocking loss. Since she left, there have been more senseless tragedies, and Angela wonders whether they are related somehow. Could the events be linked to a terrifying entity her grandmother battled in 1929? Did her teenage son, Corey, reawaken something that should have been left sleeping?

With the help of Myles Fisher, her high school boyfriend, and clues from beyond the grave, Angela races to solve a deadly puzzle that has followed her family for generations. She must summon her own hidden gifts to face the timeless adversary stalking her in her grandmother's house--and in the Washington woods.]]> 597 Tananarive Due 0743296168 Desiree 0 to-read 3.98 2003 The Good House
author: Tananarive Due
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Spooktacular Seductions 23251190
Eight tales of spooky romance brought to you just in time for Halloween.

Bewitching Gypsy - Linda Carroll-Bradd
Garden of Souls - Michelle Ziegler
If This Be Madness - Echo Shea
The Ghost of a Chance - Lily Carlyle
Do You Believe in Ghosts - Anne Higa
Encantado - Havva Murat
Where Angels Tread - Christy Thomas
The Spooky Hollow Café - Lisa A. Adams]]> 250 Linda Carroll-Bradd 1502987449 Desiree 0 to-read 4.32 2014 Spooktacular Seductions
author: Linda Carroll-Bradd
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Harvest (The Bell Witch #1)]]> 46221892 Amid the sweet sounds of a music box, their darkest fears will haunt them�
In Black River, Tennessee, everyone knows the legend of the Bell Witch� and the alleged curse that hangs like a dark shroud over the town. To some, it is just a local tall tale. But to others, it is terrifyingly real.

For centuries, four families have been forced into the ritualistic tradition of sacrifice and terror. Every year, a member of each family stumbles upon an antique music box they need to lock before the time is up. And a horrible fate awaits them once the boxes open.

Trapped in the witch’s sadistic game, the families� young offspring are forced to journey into the dark and twisted woods of Black River in search for the keys to their salvation. But as they search for a way to end the curse, a haunting melody echoes through the trees. And each lost soul must wonder�

Will they survive the night? Or will the Bell Witch’s bloody harvest claim more victims?]]> 207 Sara Clancy Desiree 0 to-read 3.93 2019 The Harvest (The Bell Witch #1)
author: Sara Clancy
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery]]> 56179372 Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger � only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.

Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.

Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.]]> 305 Brom 125062200X Desiree 0 to-read 4.23 2021 Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
author: Brom
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Harvest Home 816085
For Ned and his family, Cornwall Coombe was to become a place of ultimate horror.]]> 401 Thomas Tryon 0394485289 Desiree 0 3.82 1973 Harvest Home
author: Thomas Tryon
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read, horror, spooky-books-for-adults, folk-horror, halloween
review:

]]> Horror Movie 200101541 A chilling twist on the “cursed filmâ€� genre from the bestselling author ofĚýThe Pallbearers Club andĚýThe 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?ĚýOnly 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 � demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost?Ěý

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 Desiree 0 to-read 3.31 2024 Horror Movie
author: Paul Tremblay
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Incidents Around the House 199757490 A chilling horror novel about a haunting told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy,� from the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box
Ěý
To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’sĚýMommy,ĚýDaddo,Ěýand Grandma Ruth.ĚýBut there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”ĚýĚ�
Ěý
When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the same question, over and over . . . Bela understands that unless she says yes, soon her family must pay.Ěý
Ěý
Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe but other incidents show cracks in her parents' marriage. The safety Bela relies on is on the brink of unraveling.ĚýĚý
Ěý
But Other Mommy needs an answer.Ěý
Ěý
Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror told by the child Bela. A story about a family as haunted as their home.]]> 367 Josh Malerman 0593723120 Desiree 0 to-read 3.61 2024 Incidents Around the House
author: Josh Malerman
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> They Lurk 22022628
Five terrifying collected horror novellas newly reissued from the "modern-day Algernon Blackwood."

Skullbelly: After three teenagers disappear in a forest, a private detective is hired and uncovers a terrible local secret.

The Separation: Marcus arrives in Germany to find his friend up-and-coming prizefighter Charlie in a deep depression. But soon Charlie's behavior grows increasingly bizarre. Is he suffering from a nervous breakdown, or are otherworldly forces at work?

The Stranger: Set a rural Florida parking lot, David returns to his car to find a stranger sat behind the wheel. The doors are locked and there's a gun on the dashboard. And that was when then the insanity started . . .

After the Fade: A girl walked into a small Annapolis tavern, collapsed and died. Something had latched itself to the base of her skull. And it didn't arrive alone. Now, the patrons of The Fulcrum are trapped, held prisoner within the tavern's walls by monstrous things, trying to find their way in.

And one more novella to be revealed!]]> 201 Ronald Malfi Desiree 0 to-read 3.71 2014 They Lurk
author: Ronald Malfi
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (Hart and Mercy, #1)]]> 59969300
Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.Ěý

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friendâ€�. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born. Ěý

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most—Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares—each other?

Set in a world full of magic and demigods, donuts and small-town drama, this enchantingly quirky, utterly unique fantasy is perfect for readers of The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Invisible Library.]]> 449 Megan Bannen 0316394319 Desiree 4 2022-goals 4.19 2022 The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (Hart and Mercy, #1)
author: Megan Bannen
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/18
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: 2022-goals
review:

]]> The Bird and the Blade 32702487
Jinghua’s already dicey prospects take a downward turn when Khalaf seeks to restore his kingdom by forging a marriage alliance with Turandokht, the daughter of the Great Khan. As beautiful as she is cunning, Turandokht requires all potential suitors to solve three impossible riddles to win her hand—and if they fail, they die.

Jinghua has kept her own counsel well, but with Khalaf’s kingdom—and his very life—on the line, she must reconcile the hard truth of her past with her love for a boy who has no idea what she’s capable of ... even if it means losing him to the girl who’d sooner take his life than his heart.

The Bird and the Blade is a lush, powerful story of life and death, battles and riddles, lies and secrets from debut author Megan Bannen.]]> 416 Megan Bannen 0062674153 Desiree 0 to-read 4.03 2018 The Bird and the Blade
author: Megan Bannen
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #3)]]> 59056313 Everything I ran from, all of the villains of my past, they’re all here to take another bite out of me. But this time, I’m not alone.
With my Bonds desperately trying to reach me and new friendships I never expected, I start to believe that maybe I won't become the weapon they want me to be. Maybe I’ll be a monster of my own creation.
When loyalties are questioned and Bonds are tested, everything I thought I knew gets turned upside down. Who are my friends, and who are my enemies?
Are Bond ties stronger than blood?

*Blood Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It's recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.]]> 541 J. Bree Desiree 3 4.20 2021 Blood Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #3)
author: J. Bree
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/14
date added: 2024/09/14
shelves:
review:

]]> The Love Hypothesis 56732449
That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.]]> 356 Ali Hazelwood 0593336828 Desiree 0 to-read 4.11 2021 The Love Hypothesis
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sarum: The Novel of England 1853145 Sarum: The Novel of England - a novel that traces the entire turbulent course of English history.

This rich tapestry weaves a compelling saga of five families—the Wilsons, the Masons, the family of Porteus, the Shockleys, and the Godfreys—who reflect the changing character of Britain.

As their fates and fortunes intertwine over the course of the centuries, their greater destinies offer a fascinating glimpse into the future.

An absorbing historical chronicle, Sarum is a keen tale of struggle and adventure, a profound human drama, and a magnificent work of sheer storytelling.]]> 912 Edward Rutherfurd 0449000729 Desiree 0 to-read 4.14 1987 Sarum: The Novel of England
author: Edward Rutherfurd
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Ghosts of Rose Hill 57918190
Inspired by the author's experiences restoring Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe.

"A must-read for lost souls everywhere." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Magic will burn you up.

Sent to stay with her aunt in Prague and witness the humble life of an artist, Ilana Lopez—a biracial Jewish girl—finds herself torn between her dream of becoming a violinist and her immigrant parents� desire for her to pursue a more stable career.

When she discovers a forgotten Jewish cemetery behind her aunt’s cottage, she meets the ghost of a kindhearted boy named Benjamin, who died over a century ago. As Ilana restores Benjamin’s grave, he introduces her to the enchanted side of Prague, where ghosts walk the streets and their kisses have warmth.

But Benjamin isn't the only one interested in Ilana. Rudolph Wassermann, a man with no shadow, has become fascinated with her and the music she plays. He offers to share his magic, so Ilana can be with Benjamin and pursue her passion for violin. But after Ilana discovers the truth about Wassermann and how Benjamin became bound to the city, she resolves to save the boy she loves, even if it means losing him—forever.

A love letter to Latin American and Jewish diasporas, based on the author's experiences working to maintain Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe. The Ghosts of Rose Hill is a tender and empowering read that you will devour in one sitting. Steeped in history and the experiences of immigrant families, especially Jewish families, each carefully-chosen word of this magical verse novel casts a spell.

A Sydney Taylor Notable Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best YA Book of the Year
A BuzzFeed Best YA Book of the Year
An Indie Next Pick!]]> 380 R.M. Romero 1682633381 Desiree 0 to-read 3.96 2022 The Ghosts of Rose Hill
author: R.M. Romero
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Rouge 157184735 From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate—and find a connection that is more than skin deep?

For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass.

Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut in this surreal descent into the dark side of beauty, envy, grief, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. With black humor and seductive horror, Rouge explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry—as well as the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze. Brimming with California sunshine and blood-red rose petals, Rouge holds up a warped mirror to our relationship with mortality, our collective fixation with the surface, and the wondrous, deep longing that might lie beneath.]]> 383 Mona Awad Desiree 0 to-read 3.54 2023 Rouge
author: Mona Awad
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Around the World in Eighty Days]]> 54479 252 Jules Verne 014044906X Desiree 0 to-read 3.95 1872 Around the World in Eighty Days
author: Jules Verne
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1872
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 17849112 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?

]]> 320 Susan Ee 1477867287 Desiree 5 dystopian-post-apocalyptic 4.09 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2015/07/15
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic
review:
A great sequel to Angelfall! The pace was a little uneven for me compared to the first book, but it worked out well. A must read if you've read the first in the series!
]]> <![CDATA[Rivers of London: Body Work, #1]]> 23387877

Peter Grant is one of only two members of a very special branch of London's Metropolitan Police. He is, in fact, pretty much a wizard and it's his job to investigate those shadowy crimes that involve urban vampires, weird folk in the underground and, in this case, why cars are suddenly taking on lives of their own and killing innocent folk!

Written by Doctor Who writer Ben Aaronovitch (Remembrance of the Daleks) and set in the world of his own bestselling novels, with Doctor Who showrunner Andrew Cartmel!

Rivers of London novels have sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide to date!

In continuity with the novels � not an adaptation, this is an all-new story set between books 4 and 5!

]]> Ben Aaronovitch Desiree 0 to-read 3.90 2016 Rivers of London: Body Work, #1
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains]]> 13454439 ŮŠŮŹŮ…Ůنني أن أسامح نŮسي على أشياءَ Ůثيرة؛ على المŮان الذي ترŮتُه Ůيه، على ما Ůعلتُ، Ů„Ůنني لن أسامح نŮسي أبدًا على العام الذي Ůرهتُ Ůيه ابنتي، حين اعتقدتُ أنها هربَت... إلى المدينة ربما. خلال ذل٠العام حرَّجتُ Ř°ŮŮر اسمها، Ůإذا شملَته صلŮاتي حينما أصلŮŮ‘ŮŠŘŚ ŮŮ„ŮŮŠ أدع٠أن تُدرŮŮ ŮŠŮمًا معنى ما Ůعلَته، معنى العار الذي جلبَته على أسرتي، Ůالاحمرار الذي أحاطَ بعينَي ŘŁŮ…Ůّها. لأجل هذا ŘŁŮرهُ نŮسي، Ůلا شيء من شأنه أن يُهŮŮّن الأمر، خاصَّةً بعد ما Ř­ŘŻŘ«ŮŽ ŮŮŠ تل٠اللَّيلة على جانب الجبل.]]> 23 Neil Gaiman Desiree 0 to-read 4.06 2010 The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart: And Other Stories]]> 150249978
The stories in Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart are about the abomination that resides within us all. That churning, clawing, ravenous the hunger to be held, and seen, and known. And the terror, to be loved too well, or not enough, or for long enough. To be laid bare before your sweetheart, to their horror. To be recognized as the monstrous thing you are.

Two teenage girls working at a sinister roadside attraction called the Eternal Staircase explore its secrets—and their own doomed summer love. A zombie rooster plays detective in a missing persons case. A woman moves into a new house with her acclaimed artist boyfriend—and finds her body slowly shifting into something specially constructed to accommodate his needs and whims. A pack of middle schoolers turn to the occult to rid themselves of a hated new classmate. And a pair of outcasts, a vampire and a goat woman, find solace in each other, even as the world's lack of understanding might bring about its own end.

In these lush, strange, beautifully written stories, GennaRose Nethercott explores human longing in all its diamond-dark facets to create a collection that will redefine what you see as a beast, and make you beg to have your heart broken.]]> 261 GennaRose Nethercott 0593314190 Desiree 0 3.85 2024 Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart: And Other Stories
author: GennaRose Nethercott
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/12
date added: 2024/07/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)]]> 26042767 Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

]]> 423 Becky Chambers Desiree 0 4.26 2014 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic, currently-reading
review:

]]> The Book of Goose 59808607 A gripping, heartbreaking new novel about female friendship, art, and memory by the award-winning author of Where Reasons End.

Fabienne is dead. Her childhood best friend, Agnès, receives the news in America, far from the French countryside where the two girls were raised--the place that Fabienne helped Agnès escape ten years ago. Now, Agnès is free to tell her story.

As children in a war-ravaged, backwater town, they'd built a private world, invisible to everyone but themselves--until Fabienne hatched the plan that would change everything, launching Agnès on an epic trajectory through fame, fortune, and terrible loss.

A magnificent, beguiling tale winding from the postwar rural provinces to Paris, from an English boarding school to to the quiet Pennsylvania home where Agnès can live without her past, The Book of Goose is a haunting story of friendship, art, exploitation, and memory by the celebrated author Yiyun Li.]]> 348 Yiyun Li 037460634X Desiree 0 to-read 3.67 2022 The Book of Goose
author: Yiyun Li
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism]]> 200186810 War Against the How to End Hamas Barbarism,ĚýAlan Dershowitzâ€�#1 New York TimesĚýbestselling author and one of America’s most respected legal scholars—explains why the horrific attack of Oct 7 and Israel’s just response changes everything.Ěý
It has changed the relationship between Israel and the United States, especially with regard to the possibility of direct American intervention.Ěý
It has required Israel to consider its nuclear option as a last resort to assure its survival.Ěý
It has revealed dangerous attitudes among America’s future leaders on today’s college campuses toward Israel’s possible destruction.
It has exposed media biases that have been exacerbated with Israel’s vulnerabilities.Ěý
It has united Israelis and Jews around the world as never before, despite the deep divisions among them politically, religiously, and ideologically.Ěý Nothing will ever be the same.Ěý
It has clouded the future of peace between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors and has diminished the proposals for a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
It has made predictions about the future of the region nearly impossible, except that imposing instability is inevitable.

In this short book, Dershowitz analyzes these transforming events and suggests how to move forward.
Ěý]]> 265 Alan M. Dershowitz 1510780556 Desiree 0 currently-reading 4.25 War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism
author: Alan M. Dershowitz
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/27
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Winter World (The Long Winter, #1)]]> 43720168 A new ice age... and a shocking discovery...
will change humanity forever.

In the near future, a new ice age has begun.

Humanity stands on the brink of extinction.

Desperate for answers, scientists send probes into the solar system to take readings. Near Mars, a probe spots a mysterious object drifting toward the Sun. Is it the cause of the ice age? Or could it be our only hope of survival?

With time running out, NASA launches an international mission to make contact with the object. But it isn’t what anyone thought. In the dark of space, alone, the team makes a shocking discovery that will change the course of human history—and possibly end it.]]> 472 A.G. Riddle 1940026202 Desiree 3 4.18 2019 Winter World (The Long Winter, #1)
author: A.G. Riddle
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/24
date added: 2024/06/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder]]> 61714633 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on the Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.

But then . . . six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death--for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann's recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O'Brian, his portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.]]> 331 David Grann 0385534264 Desiree 0 to-read 4.14 2023 The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
author: David Grann
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition]]> 537375
Drawing upon previously unavailable sources, Caroline Alexander gives us a riveting account of Shackleton's expedition--one of history's greatest epics of survival. And she presents the astonishing work of Frank Hurley, the Australian photographer whose visual record of the adventure has never before been published comprehensively. Together, text and image re-create the terrible beauty of Antarctica, the awful destruction of the ship, and the crew's heroic daily struggle to stay alive, a miracle achieved largely through Shackleton's inspiring leadership.

The survival of Hurley's remarkable images is scarcely less miraculous: The original glass plate negatives, from which most of the book's illustrations are superbly reproduced, were stored in hermetically sealed cannisters that survived months on the ice floes, a week in an open boat on the polar seas, and several more months buried in the snows of a rocky outcrop called Elephant Island. Finally Hurley was forced to abandon his professional equipment; he captured some of the most unforgettable images of the struggle with a pocket camera and three rolls of Kodak film.

Published in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History's landmark exhibition on Shackleton's journey, The Endurance thrillingly recounts one of the last great adventures in the Heroic Age of exploration--perhaps the greatest of them all.]]> 211 Caroline Alexander 0375404031 Desiree 0 to-read 4.34 1998 The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
author: Caroline Alexander
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Naughty List (Naughtier and Naughtier, #1)]]> 203112353 Ella, a desperate, newly single goth girl with a mountain of debt, would do anything to see her parents this Christmas� the problem is, her parents live on the other side of the world.

So, when she’s granted access to The Naughty List � a marketplace for dirty proposals from rich strangers � she opts to take everything and anything she can get.

She thinks she’s a good player, getting five-star reviews like a good girl and climbing the ranks � until she stumbles onto The Naughty List’s most daring group of all�

The Hardcorers.

Players who will fulfil any proposal clients ask them to, just so long as the price is right.

Can Ella be one? Can she really climb The Naughty List right the way to the top of the tree?

The idea gets even more thrilling when she meets Weston� the hottest Hardcorer of them all.

As it turns out, maybe it’s not just money that Ella’s truly desperate for this Christmas�

´ˇłÜłŮłó´Ç°ů’s This spicy, Christmas, full-length standalone novel is jam packed full to the brim of dirty Christmas presents for you. Please proceed with caution. Believe me, this isn’t just about kisses under the mistletoe!]]> 274 Jade West Desiree 0 currently-reading 3.87 2023 The Naughty List (Naughtier and Naughtier, #1)
author: Jade West
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Homer Price 766917 The comic genius of Robert McCloskey and his wry look at small-town America has kept readers in stitches for generations!

]]> 149 Robert McCloskey 0140309276 Desiree 0 grade-k-4 4.09 1943 Homer Price
author: Robert McCloskey
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1943
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: grade-k-4
review:

]]> Parade 195790675
Midway through his life, an artist begins to paint upside down. Eventually, he paints his wife upside down. He also makes her ugly. The paintings are a great success.

In Paris, a woman is attacked by a stranger in the street. Her attacker flees, but not before turning around to contemplate her victim, like an artist stepping back from a canvas.

When a mother dies, her children confront her the stories she told; the roles she assigned to them; the ways she withheld her love. Her death is a kind of freedom.

An artist takes on a series of pseudonyms to conceal his work from his mother and father. His brother does the opposite. They share the same parents, but they’ve inherited different things.

Parade is a story that confronts and demolishes the conventions of storytelling. It surges past the limits of identity, character, and plot to tell a true story—about art, family, morality, gender, and how we compose ourselves. Rachel Cusk is a writer and visionary like no other, who turns language upside down to show us our world as it really is.]]> 198 Rachel Cusk 0374610045 Desiree 0 to-read 3.55 2024 Parade
author: Rachel Cusk
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Specter Haunting Europe: The Myth of Judeo-Bolshevism]]> 38240519 The first comprehensive account of the evolution and exploitation of the Judeo-Bolshevik myth, from its origins to the present day.

For much of the twentieth century, Europe was haunted by a threat of its own imagining: Judeo-Bolshevism. This myth—that Communism was a Jewish plot to destroy the nations of Europe—was a paranoid fantasy, and yet fears of a Jewish Bolshevik conspiracy took hold during the Russian Revolution and spread across Europe. During World War II, these fears sparked genocide.

Paul Hanebrink's history begins with the counterrevolutionary movements that roiled Europe at the end of World War I. Fascists, Nazis, conservative Christians, and other Europeans, terrified by Communism, imagined Jewish Bolsheviks as enemies who crossed borders to subvert order from within and bring destructive ideas from abroad. In the years that followed, Judeo-Bolshevism was an accessible and potent political weapon.

After the Holocaust, the specter of Judeo-Bolshevism did not die. Instead, it adapted to, and became a part of, the Cold War world. Transformed yet again, it persists today on both sides of the Atlantic in the toxic politics of revitalized right-wing nationalism. Drawing a worrisome parallel across one hundred years, Hanebrink argues that Europeans and Americans continue to imagine a transnational ethno-religious threat to national ways of life, this time from Muslims rather than Jews.]]> 368 Paul A. Hanebrink 0674047680 Desiree 0 to-read 3.37 2018 A Specter Haunting Europe: The Myth of Judeo-Bolshevism
author: Paul A. Hanebrink
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Dowry of Blood (A Dowry of Blood, #1)]]> 56666839 A Dowry of Blood is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation.

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets.

With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.]]> 248 S.T. Gibson 1916366937 Desiree 0 to-read, blood-suckers 4.12 2021 A Dowry of Blood (A Dowry of Blood, #1)
author: S.T. Gibson
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/27
shelves: to-read, blood-suckers
review:

]]> All the Fiends of Hell 201048401 Ordinary, unexceptional, directionless Karl, is one of the few who made it through the first night. In the company of two orphans, he flees south. But only into horrifying revelations and greater peril, where a transformed world and expanding race of ravening creatures await. Driven to the end of the country and himself, he must overcome alien and human malevolence and act in ways that were unthinkable mere days before.All The Fiends of Hell is a novel of alien horror from the four times winner of the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel.]]> 393 Adam L.G. Nevill 1739378423 Desiree 0 currently-reading 3.93 2024 All the Fiends of Hell
author: Adam L.G. Nevill
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Last Day 55984394
The world has stopped turning. The hunt has just begun.

It is 2059, and the world has crashed. Forty years ago, a solar catastrophe began to slow the planet's rotation to a stop. Now one half of the globe is permanently sunlit, the other half trapped in an endless night. The United States has colonized the southern half of Great Britain--lucky enough to find itself in the narrow habitable region left between frozen darkness and scorching sunlight--where both nations have managed to survive the ensuing chaos by isolating themselves from the rest of the world.

Ellen Hopper is a scientist living on a frostbitten rig in the cold Atlantic. She wants nothing more to do with her country after its slide into casual violence and brutal authoritarianism. Yet when two government officials arrive, demanding she return to London to see her dying college mentor, she accepts--and begins to unravel a secret that threatens not only the nation's fragile balance, but the future of the whole human race.]]> 379 Andrew Hunter Murray 1524745820 Desiree 0 3.92 2020 The Last Day
author: Andrew Hunter Murray
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/16
shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic, currently-reading
review:

]]> Exhumed (Golden Blood #1) 208579691
Confusion turns to incredulity when those gathered are finally informed of the reason they have been summoned. An archaeological dig in Romania has unearthed something that had been buried for centuries; something that should be no more than skeletal remains; something that is still alive to this day � thirsting, lusting, scheming �

The ancient vampire has been freed from his tomb and is slowly regaining his strength. A â€prisonerâ€� at the ECDC, he plots his emancipation from captivity with one goal in mind: retribution against those who entombed him all those centuries ago. Dr Reynolds is dragged into a world of revenge and pure hatred spanning the millennia. A world where only he holds the key to putting a lid on things before the consequences become dire for all of humankind.]]> 448 S.J. Patrick Desiree 0 3.72 2024 Exhumed (Golden Blood #1)
author: S.J. Patrick
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves: to-read, spooky-books-for-adults, vampirism
review:

]]> All This & More 199515825 The Cartographers and The Book of M comes an inventive new novel about a woman who wins the chance to rewrite every mistake she’s ever made� and how far she’ll go to find her elusive “happily ever after.�

But there’s a twist: the reader gets to decide what she does next to change her fate.

One woman. Endless options. Every choice has consequences.

Meek, play-it-safe Marsh has just turned forty-five, and her life is in shambles. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has imploded, and her teenage daughter grows more distant by the day. Marsh is convinced she’s missed her chance at everything—romance, professional fulfillment, and adventure—and is desperate for a do-over.

She can’t believe her luck when she’s selected to be the star of the global sensation All This and More, a show that uses quantum technology to allow contestants the chance to revise their pasts and change their present lives. It’s Marsh’s only shot to seize her dreams, and she’s determined to get it right this time.

But even as she rises to become a famous lawyer, gets back together with her high school sweetheart, and travels the world, she begins to worry that All This and More’s promises might be too good to be true. Because while the technology is amazing, something seems a bit off.�

Can Marsh really make her life everything she wants it to be? And is it worth it?

Perfect for fans of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, bestselling author Peng Shepherd’s All This and More is an utterly original, startlingly poignant novel that puts the reader in the driver’s seat.]]> 469 Peng Shepherd 0063278979 Desiree 0 to-read 3.33 2024 All This & More
author: Peng Shepherd
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War]]> 27222 You can find an alternative cover for this ISBN here.

Thucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta "possession for all time, " and indeed it is the first and still most famous work in the Western historical tradition. Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years, The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom.

However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the uninitiated reader. Written centuries before the rise of modern historiography, Thucydides' narrative is not continuous or linear. His authoritative chronicle of what he considered the greatest war of all time is rigorous and meticulous, yet omits the many aids to comprehension modern readers take for granted—such as brief biographies of the story's main characters, maps and other visual enhancements, and background on the military, cultural, and political traditions of ancient Greece.

Robert Strassler's new edition amends these omissions, and not only provides a new coherence to the narrative overall but effectively reconstructs the lost cultural context that Thucydides shared with his original audience. Based on the venerable Richard Crawley translation, updated and revised for modern readers, The Landmark Thucydides includes a vast array of superbly designed and presented maps, brief informative appendices by outstanding classical scholars on subjects of special relevance to the text, explanatory marginal notes on each page, an index of unprecedented subtlety and depth, and numerous other useful features. Readers will find that with this edition they can dip into the text at any point and be immediately oriented with regard to the geography, season, date, and stage of the conflict.

In any list of the Great Books of Western Civilization, The Peloponnesian War stands near the top. This handsome, elegant, and authoritative new edition will ensure that its greatness is appreciated by future generations.]]> 713 Thucydides 0684827905 Desiree 0 to-read 4.25 -411 The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War
author: Thucydides
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.25
book published: -411
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/05/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hell's Half-Acre 58753672 A suspense filled tale of murder on the American frontier—shedding new light on a family of serial killers in Kansas, whose horrifying crimes gripped the attention of a nation still reeling from war.

In 1873 the people of Labette County, Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried by a trailside cabin beneath an orchard of young apple trees were the remains of countless bodies. Below the cabin itself was a cellar stained with blood. The Benders, the family of four who once resided on the property were nowhere to be found. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for decades, sparking an epic manhunt for the Benders.
Ěý
The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders—one among the thousands relocating farther west in search of land and opportunity after the Civil War—were capable of operating "a human slaughter pen" appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree and whether justice ever caught up to them is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Set against the backdrop of postbellum America,ĚýHell’s Half-AcreĚýexplores the environment capable of allowing such horrors to take place. Drawing on extensive original archival material, Susan Jonusas introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, many of whom have been previously missing from the story. Among them are the families of the victims, the hapless detectives who lost the trail, and the fugitives that helped the murderers escape.
Ěý
Hell’s Half-AcreĚýis a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact and an entire family of criminals can slip through a community’s fingers, only to reappear in the most unexpected of places.]]> 368 Susan Jonusas 1984879847 Desiree 4 typos abound but a good read

I’m not sure how much was kindle formatting but typos and repeated sentences were very frequent. The organization was a bit confusing and chaotic but the material was excellent.]]> 3.66 2022 Hell's Half-Acre
author: Susan Jonusas
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/28
date added: 2024/04/28
shelves:
review:
typos abound but a good read

I’m not sure how much was kindle formatting but typos and repeated sentences were very frequent. The organization was a bit confusing and chaotic but the material was excellent.
]]> <![CDATA[Savage Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #2)]]> 58410164
I’m no longer the Giftless reject, no longer the girl who’s fair game to the other students for daring to run away from my Bonds.

But there are bigger problems heading my way.

With destiny pushing me closer and closer to each of my Bonds, I’m fighting tooth and nail against nature to keep my distance.

But they’re fighting harder to keep me in their grasp.

When it becomes clear that the Resistance is closer than we ever thought, I don’t know who I can trust.

Can I finally take control of my gift, or will it take control of me?


*Savage Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It's recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.]]> 500 J. Bree Desiree 0 4.25 2021 Savage Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #2)
author: J. Bree
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2024/04/28
date added: 2024/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons: Stories]]> 56581584 Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons, award-winning author Keith Rosson once again delves into notions of family, identity, indebtedness, loss, and hope, with the surefooted merging of literary fiction and magical realism he’s explored in previous novels. In “Dunsmuir,â€� a newly sober husband buys a hearse to help his wife spread her sister’s ashes, while “The Lesser Horsemenâ€� illustrates what happens when God instructs the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to go on a team-building cruise as a way of boosting their frayed morale. In “Brad Benske and the Hand of Light,â€� an estranged husband seeks his wife’s whereabouts through a fortuneteller after she absconds with a cult, and the returning soldier in “Homecomingâ€� navigates the strange and ghostly confines of his hometown, as well as the boundaries of his own grief. With grace, imagination, and a brazen gallows humor,ĚýFolk Songs for Trauma SurgeonsĚýmerges the fantastic and the everyday, and includes new work as well as award-winning favorites.]]> 206 Keith Rosson 1946154547 Desiree 0 4.15 2021 Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons: Stories
author: Keith Rosson
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/21
shelves: horror, spooky-books-for-adults, currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)]]> 40864002 ASIN B08H831J18 moved to the more recent edition

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?]]> 151 Becky Chambers Desiree 0 4.25 2021 A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/19
shelves: to-read, dystopian-post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> Fever House (Fever House, #1) 60653378 A small-time criminal. A has-been rock star. A shadowy government agency. And a severed hand whose dark powers threaten to destroy them all.

When leg-breaker Hutch Holtz rolls up to a rundown apartment complex in Portland, Oregon, to collect overdue drug money, a severed hand is the last thing he expects to find stashed in the client’s refrigerator. Hutch quickly realizes that the hand induces uncontrollable madness: Anyone in its proximity is overcome with a boundless compulsion for violence. Within hours, catastrophic forces are set into motion: Dark-op government agents who have been desperately hunting for the hand are on Hutch’s tail, more of the city’s residents fall under its brutal influence, and suddenly all of Portland stands at the precipice of disaster. . . .

But it’s all the same for Katherine Moriarty, a singer whose sudden fame and precipitous downfall were followed by the mysterious death of her estranged husband—suicide, allegedly. Her trauma has made her agoraphobic, shackled within the confines of her apartment. Her son, Nick, has moved home to care for her, quietly making his living working for Hutch’s boss.

When Hutch calls Nick in distress, looking for someone else to take the hand, Katherine and Nick are plunged into a global struggle that will decimate the walls of the carefully arranged life they’ve built. Mother and son must evade both crazed, bloodthirsty masses and deceitful government agents while exorcising family secrets that have risen from the dead—secrets, they soon discover, that might hold the very key to humanity’s survival.

Can you resist the hand? Find an excerpt from the next Fever House novel at the end of the book.]]> 432 Keith Rosson 0593595769 Desiree 0 currently-reading 4.15 2023 Fever House (Fever House, #1)
author: Keith Rosson
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie, #1)]]> 58081613 I was sure everything would be okay if I had them.
It wasn’t.
The fate of our people is in my hands and I know we’re better off if I’m alone.
After five years on the run, I’m caught and dragged back to face the men I ran away from.
I thought I was doing the right thing.
Now, I’m not so sure.
North, Nox, Gryphon, Atlas, and Gabe may never forgive me but one thing is for sure.
I won’t ever forgive myself.

*Broken Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It's recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.]]> 289 J. Bree Desiree 4 4.13 2021 Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie, #1)
author: J. Bree
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/27
date added: 2024/03/27
shelves:
review:

]]> The Haunting of Hill House 50534595 The greatest haunted house story ever written, the inspiration for a 10-part Netflix series directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, and Timothy Hutton
Ěý
First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting�; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.
Ěý
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.The greatest haunted house story ever written, the inspiration for a 10-part Netflix series directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, and Timothy Hutton
Ěý
First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting�; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.
Ěý
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]> 158 Shirley Jackson Desiree 3 3.70 1959 The Haunting of Hill House
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1959
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/30
date added: 2024/01/30
shelves: 2020-goals, spooky-books-for-adults
review:

]]> Edda 887139
Over a period of twenty years Snorri Sturluson, scholar, courtier and poet, compiled the prose Edda as a textbook for young poets who wished to praise kings. His work surveys the content, style and metres of traditional Viking poetry and includes a lengthy poem of Snorrie's own, honoring the king of Norway. Ironically, Snorri was killed in his cellar in Iceland in 1241 on the instigation of the king of Norway, as a result of political intrigue.

The Edda contains the most extensive account of Norse myths and legends that have survived from the Middle Ages as well as the famous stories of Odin winning back the mead of poetic inspiration and Thor fishing for the Midgard serpent.]]> 260 Snorri Sturluson 0460876163 Desiree 0 to-read 4.07 1220 Edda
author: Snorri Sturluson
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1220
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Tender Is the Flesh 53583568 Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans—though no one calls them that anymore.

His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.� Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he’s given a a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.]]> 224 Agustina Bazterrica 1982151307 Desiree 0 3.82 2017 Tender Is the Flesh
author: Agustina Bazterrica
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/23
shelves: 2023-to-read, currently-reading
review:

]]> The Salt Grows Heavy 63035852 �The New York Times

From Cassandra Khaw, USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth, comes The Salt Grows Heavy, a razor-sharp and bewitching fairy tale of discovering the darkness in the world, and the darkness within oneself.

A Best Horror Book of 2023 (The New York Times, Library Journal) � A Best Book of 2023 (NPR) � A Bram Stoker Award Nominee! � An Indie Next Pick

You may think you know how the fairy tale a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now, her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes.

On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and the three “saints� who control them.

The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruelest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive.

“This brilliant novella is not to be missed.� �Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

“With this brilliantly constructed tale...Khaw cements their status as a must-read author.� —Library Journal, STARRED review

Also by Cassandra Khaw:
Nothing But Blackened Teeth
A Song for Quiet
Hammers on Bone
The Dead Take the A Train (co-written with Richard Kadrey)

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 105 Cassandra Khaw 1250830923 Desiree 0 currently-reading 3.69 2023 The Salt Grows Heavy
author: Cassandra Khaw
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)]]> 60657589
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.]]> 336 Heather Fawcett 059350013X Desiree 0 to-read 3.99 2023 Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)
author: Heather Fawcett
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dark Matter 123265324
It began with a bang. The Earth shook as it was bombarded by high-energy particles without warning, and after that moment nothing would ever be the same again. Violent chemical reactions in the atmosphere rained down acid, dark clouds blotted out the sun and gave the impression of a desolate wasteland � but this was only the beginning�

Something else had caught a ride on the interstellar storm. Something only postulated by meagre human science without any comprehension of its true nature. Dark matter was transported to the Earth � and it was not simply inorganic as expected. It was alive, and it was wreaking havoc with reality itself.

Astrophysicist Emily Young is left to deal with a world gone crazy. Gravity has increased, leading to all sorts of cataclysms; acid pours from the sky at regular intervals; and something� anything� must be done about the dark matter � lest this marks the end of life on Earth.]]> 348 S.J. Patrick Desiree 0 to-read, horror 3.51 Dark Matter
author: S.J. Patrick
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.51
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/31
shelves: to-read, horror
review:

]]> FantasticLand 28695606
Presented as a fact-finding investigation and a series of first-person interviews, FantasticLand pieces together the grisly series of events. Park policy was that the mostly college-aged employees surrender their electronic devices to preserve the authenticity of the FantasticLand experience. Cut off from the world and left on their own, the teenagers soon form rival tribes who viciously compete for food, medicine, social dominance, and even human flesh. This new social network divides the ravaged dreamland into territories ruled by the Pirates, the ShopGirls, the Freaks, and the Mole People. If meticulously curated online personas can replace private identities, what takes over when those constructs are lost?

FantasticLand is a modern take on Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale that probes the consequences of a social civilization built online.]]> 272 Mike Bockoven 1510709444 Desiree 0 to-read, horror 3.84 2016 FantasticLand
author: Mike Bockoven
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/31
shelves: to-read, horror
review:

]]> Paris 18730321 The Song of Roland; a humble family that embodies the ideals of the French Revolution; a pair of brothers from the slums behind Montmartre, one of whom works on the Eiffel Tower as the other joins the underworld near the Moulin Rouge; and merchants who lose everything during the reign of Louis XV, rise again in the age of Napoleon, and help establish Paris as the great center of art and culture that it is today. With Rutherfurd’s unrivaled blend of impeccable research and narrative verve, this bold novel brings the sights, scents, and tastes of the City of Light to brilliant life.]]> 809 Edward Rutherfurd 0345530764 Desiree 0 to-read 4.07 2013 Paris
author: Edward Rutherfurd
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lady Chatterley's Lover 49583709
With her soft brown hair, lithe figure and big, wondering eyes, Constance Chatterley is possessed of a certain vitality. Yet she is deeply unhappy; married to an invalid, she is almost as inwardly paralyzed as her husband Clifford is paralyzed below the waist. It is not until she finds refuge in the arms of Mellors the game-keeper, a solitary man of a class apart, that she feels regenerated. Together they move from an outer world of chaos towards an inner world of fulfillment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700Ěýtitles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theĚýseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-dateĚýtranslations by award-winning translators.]]> 400 D.H. Lawrence 014303961X Desiree 0 to-read 3.48 1928 Lady Chatterley's Lover
author: D.H. Lawrence
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1928
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Year of Wonders 4965
Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition.

As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. ]]> 304 Geraldine Brooks 0142001430 Desiree 0 4.00 2001 Year of Wonders
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/11
shelves: to-read, dystopian-post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery]]> 34036077 An Edgar Award finalist for Best Fact Crime, this “impressive…open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America� (The Wall Street Journal) shows legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applying his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.Between 1898 and 1912, families across the country were bludgeoned in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Jewelry and valuables were left in plain sight, bodies were piled together, faces covered with cloth. Some of these cases, like the infamous Villasca, Iowa, murders, received national attention. But few people believed the crimes were related. And fewer still would realize that all of these families lived within walking distance to a train station. When celebrated baseball statistician and true crime expert Bill James first learned about these horrors, he began to investigate others that might fit the same pattern. Applying the same know-how he brings to his legendary baseball analysis, he empirically determined which crimes were committed by the same person. Then after sifting through thousands of local newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, he and his daughter Rachel made an astonishing they learned the true identity of this monstrous criminal. In turn, they uncovered one of the deadliest serial killers in America. Riveting and immersive, with writing as sharp as the cold side of an axe, The Man from the Train paints a vivid, psychologically perceptive portrait of America at the dawn of the twentieth century, when crime was regarded as a local problem, and opportunistic private detectives exploited a dysfunctional judicial system. James shows how these cultural factors enabled such an unspeakable series of crimes to occur, and his groundbreaking approach to true crime will convince skeptics, amaze aficionados, and change the way we view criminal history.]]> 481 Bill James Desiree 0 currently-reading 3.54 2017 The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
author: Bill James
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Children on the Hill 58466828 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Drowning Kind comes a genre-defying novel, inspired by Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, that brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us.

1978: At her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she’s home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they dream up ways to defeat all manner of monsters. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.

“A must for psychological thriller fans� (Publishers Weekly, starred review), The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all.]]> 349 Jennifer McMahon 1982153970 Desiree 4 3.97 2022 The Children on the Hill
author: Jennifer McMahon
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/07
date added: 2023/11/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Our Share of Night 61169673
For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes. This is the masterwork of one of Latin America’s most original novelists, “a mesmerizing writer,� says Dave Eggers, “who demands to be read.”]]> 608 Mariana Enríquez Desiree 0 currently-reading 4.00 2019 Our Share of Night
author: Mariana EnrĂ­quez
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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

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

Readers new to Percy Jackson universe and fans who have been awaiting this reunion for more than a decade will delight equally in this latest hilarious take on Greek mythology by the "storyteller of the gods."]]> 288 Rick Riordan 1368098177 Desiree 0 to-read 4.27 2023 The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Haunting on the Hill 62066190 From three-time Shirley Jackson, World Fantasy, and Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Hand comes the first-ever authorized novel set in the world of Shirley Jackson'sĚýThe Haunting of Hill House.
Ěý
Holly Sherwin has been a struggling playwright for years, but now, after receiving a grant to develop her play Witching Night, she may finally be close to her big break. All she needs is time and space to bring her vision to life. When she stumbles across Hill House on a weekend getaway upstate, she is immediately taken in by the mansion, which is nearly hidden outside a remote village. It’s enormous, old, and ever-so eerie—the perfect place to develop and rehearse her play.

Despite her own hesitations, Holly’s girlfriend, Nisa, agrees to join her in renting the house for a month, and soon a troupe of actors, each with ghosts of their own, arrive. Yet as they settle in, the house’s peculiarities are made known: strange creatures stalk the grounds, disturbing sounds echo throughout the halls, and time itself seems to shift. All too soon Holly and her friends are at odds not just with one another but with the house itself. It seems something has been waiting in Hill House all these years, and it no longer intends to walk alone.]]> 336 Elizabeth Hand 1408729571 Desiree 0 to-read 3.40 2023 A Haunting on the Hill
author: Elizabeth Hand
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Such Sharp Teeth 60097467 A young woman in need of a transformation finds herself in touch with the animal inside in this gripping, incisive novel from the author of Cackle and The Return.

Rory Morris isn't thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby's father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she'd put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she's attacked.

Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She's unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver--and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She's changing into someone else--something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she's putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?

This darkly comedic love story is a brilliantly layered portrait of trauma, rage, and vulnerability.]]> 336 Rachel Harrison 0593545826 Desiree 0 to-read 3.82 2022 Such Sharp Teeth
author: Rachel Harrison
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Black River Orchard 75352300 A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples� and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. And a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow’s secrets. Because it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.]]> 640 Chuck Wendig 0593158741 Desiree 0 to-read 4.08 2023 Black River Orchard
author: Chuck Wendig
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dead Eleven 63077620 On a creepy island where everyone has a strange obsession with the year 1994, a newcomer arrives, hoping to learn the truth about her son's death--but finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into the bizarrely insular community and their complicated rules...

Clifford Island. When Willow Stone finds these words written on the floor of her deceased son's bedroom, she's perplexed. She's never heard of it before, but soon learns it's a tiny island off of Wisconsin's Door County peninsula, 200 miles from Willow's home. Why would her son write this on his floor? Determined to find answers, Willow sets out for the island.

After a few days on Clifford, Willow realizes: this place is not normal. Everyone seems to be stuck in a particular day in 1994: they wear outdated clothing, avoid modern technology, and, perhaps most mystifyingly, watch the OJ Simpson car chase every evening. When she asks questions, people are evasive, but she learns one thing: close your curtains at night.

High schooler Lily Becker has lived on Clifford her entire life, and she is sick of the island's twisted mythology and adhering to the rules. She's been to the mainland, and everyone is normal there, so why is Clifford so weird? Lily is determined to prove that the islanders' beliefs are a sham. But are they?

Five weeks after Willow arrives on the island, she disappears. Willow's brother Harper comes to Clifford searching for his sister, and when he learns the truth--that this island is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined--he is determined to blow the whole thing open.

If he can get out alive...]]> 439 Jimmy Juliano 059347192X Desiree 0 to-read, horror 3.69 2023 Dead Eleven
author: Jimmy Juliano
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/18
shelves: to-read, horror
review:

]]> All These Bodies 56382351 Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. One impossible explanation.

Summer 1958—a string of murders plagues the Midwest. The victims are found in their cars and in their homes—even in their beds—their bodies drained, but with no blood anywhere.

September 19- the Carlson family is slaughtered in their Minnesota farmhouse, and the case gets its first lead: 15-year-old Marie Catherine Hale is found at the scene. She is covered in blood from head to toe, and at first she’s mistaken for a survivor. But not a drop of the blood is hers.

Michael Jensen, son of the local sheriff, yearns to become a journalist and escape his small-town. He never imagined that the biggest story in the country would fall into his lap, or that he would be pulled into the investigation, when Marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to.

As Marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to Michael to find the truth: What really happened the night that the Carlsons were killed? And how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies?]]> 288 Kendare Blake 0062977164 Desiree 0 3.27 2021 All These Bodies
author: Kendare Blake
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/07
shelves: to-read, spooky-books-for-adults, spooky-books-for-older-kids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)]]> 25489134
After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.]]> 319 Katherine Arden 1101885939 Desiree 0 4.07 2017 The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)
author: Katherine Arden
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/07
shelves: to-read, eastern-european-folklore, 2023-to-read
review:

]]> Starter Villain 61885029
Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

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

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

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

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.]]> 264 John Scalzi 0765389223 Desiree 0 to-read 4.09 2023 Starter Villain
author: John Scalzi
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[No One Prayed Over Their Graves]]> 58772711
On a December morning in 1907, two close friends, Hanna and Zakariya, return to their village near Aleppo after a night of drunken carousing in the city, only to discover that there has been a massive flood. Their neighbors, families, children―nearly all of them are dead. Their homes, shops, and places of worship are leveled. Their lives will never be the same.

Hanna was once a wealthy libertine, a landowner who built a famed citadel devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and excess. But with the loss of his home, wife, and community, he transforms, becoming an ascetic mystic obsessed with death and the meaning of life. In No One Prayed Over Their Graves , we follow Hanna's life before and after the flood, tracing friendships, loves and lusts, family and business, until he is just one thread in the rich tapestry of Aleppo.

Khaled Khalifa weaves a sweeping tale of life and death in the hubbub of Aleppine society at the turn of the twentieth century. No One Prayed Over Their Graves is a portrait of a people on the verge of great change―from provincial villages to the burgeoning modernity of the city, where Christians, Muslims, and Jews live and work together, united in their love for Aleppo and their dreams for the future.]]> 416 Khaled Khalifa 0374601925 Desiree 0 to-read 3.32 2019 No One Prayed Over Their Graves
author: Khaled Khalifa
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home]]> 61605476 Lorrie Moore's first novel since A Gate at the Stairs--a daring, meditative exploration of love and death, passion and grief, and what it means to be haunted by the past, both by history and the human heart

From "one of the most acute and lasting writers of her generation" (Caryn James; The New York Times)--a ghost story set in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, an elegiac consideration of grief, devotion (filial and romantic), and the vanishing and persistence of all things--seen and unseen.

A teacher visiting his dying brother in the Bronx. A mysterious journal from the nineteenth century stolen from a boarding house. A therapy clown and an assassin, both presumed dead, but perhaps not dead at all . . .

With her distinctive, irresistible wordplay and singular wry humor and wisdom, Lorrie Moore has given us a magic box of longing and surprise as she writes about love and rebirth and the pull towards life. Bold, meditative, theatrical, this new novel is an inventive, poetic portrait of lovers and siblings as it questions the stories we have been told which may or may not be true. I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home takes us through a trap door, into a windswept, imagined journey to the tragic-comic landscape that is, unmistakably, the world of Lorrie Moore.]]> 193 Lorrie Moore 0307594149 Desiree 0 to-read 3.26 2023 I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home
author: Lorrie Moore
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Black Sheep 69704909
Nobody has a “normal� family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly...something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep.

Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and forever ice queen.

When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that explores the way family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.]]> 289 Rachel Harrison 0593545850 Desiree 0 to-read, horror 3.57 2023 Black Sheep
author: Rachel Harrison
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/07
shelves: to-read, horror
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Her Soul to Take (Souls Trilogy, #1)]]> 57091457 Leon I earned my reputation among magicians for a reason: one wrong move and you're dead. Killer, they called me, and killing is what I'm best at. Except her. The one I was supposed to take, the one I should have killed - I didn't. The cult that once controlled me wants her, and I'm not about to lose my new toy to them.

Rae I've always believed in the supernatural. Hunting for ghosts is my passion, but summoning a demon was never part of the plan. Monsters are roaming the woods, and something ancient - something evil - is waking up and calling my name. I don't know who I can trust, or how deep this darkness goes. All I know is my one shot at survival is the demon stalking me, and he doesn't just want my body - he wants my soul.

Her Soul to Take is book 1 in the Souls Trilogy. Each book within the Souls Trilogy is interconnected, following a different couple through a similar timeline in the fictional world of Abelaum.]]> 493 Harley Laroux Desiree 0 currently-reading 4.06 2021 Her Soul to Take (Souls Trilogy, #1)
author: Harley Laroux
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/02
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Makeup 22036166 28 Robert McCammon 147787562X Desiree 0 to-read 4.07 2014 Makeup
author: Robert McCammon
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Cipher 341930
It began with Nakota and her crooked grin. She had to see the dark hole in the storage room down the hall. She had to make love to Nicholas beside it, and stare into its secretive, promising depths. Then Nakota began her experiments: First, she put an insect into the hole. Then a mouse...

Now from down the hall, the black hole calls out to Nicholas every day and every night. And he will go to it. Because it has already seared his flesh, infected his soul, and started him on a journey of obsession - through its soothing, blank darkness into the blinding core of terror...]]> 356 Kathe Koja 0440207827 Desiree 0 to-read, 2023-to-read 3.54 1991 The Cipher
author: Kathe Koja
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.54
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: to-read, 2023-to-read
review:

]]> The Woods Are Dark 201646 247 Richard Laymon 0747235503 Desiree 0 to-read 3.58 1981 The Woods Are Dark
author: Richard Laymon
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1981
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Off Season (Dead River, #1) 179734
And before too many hours pass, five civilized, sophisticated people and one tired old country sheriff will learn just how primitive we all are beneath the surface...and that there are no limits at all to the will to survive.]]> 320 Jack Ketchum 0843956968 Desiree 0 to-read 3.75 1980 Off Season (Dead River, #1)
author: Jack Ketchum
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Skin Flicks: A Gruesome Threesome of Splatterpunk Horror]]> 63846402 A Brand-New Extreme Horror Collection From the Twisted Mind That Brought You WOOM.

In Skin , former Golden Era-porn star Larry Walker gets a shot at the role of a lifetime... only to discover it may be his final role ever. The dark side of the porn industry has bred a monster with a penchant for recreating "classic" scenes. And Larry isn't the first actor The Doll has kidnapped to make his twisted "film."

Old friends reconnect over a dead body and a peculiar infection in "Bait," one that makes Alexa crave sex with strangers which usually ends fatally for her partners. The trouble is, Brook's had a secret crush on Alexa since grade school, but will she be willing to do anything to help her friend?

"Peg" isn't a exactly a unicorn, and she isn't exactly a "pegasus," like the daughter of Peg's owner calls her. But she is a carnivorous equine with a horn made out of cartilage on her forehead. Pay your fee to take a ride... but it will probably be your last.

WARNING: Do not buy this book if you have a weak stomach, if you're easily disturbed, or if you're looking for a light horror read. THIS IS NOT THAT BOOK. Seriously. You've been warned.]]> 153 Duncan Ralston Desiree 0 to-read, 2023-to-read 3.50 Skin Flicks: A Gruesome Threesome of Splatterpunk Horror
author: Duncan Ralston
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: to-read, 2023-to-read
review:

]]> HorrorGasm 59646869
Molly is the hottest ghoul on FANdom, where HorrorGasm—her brand of spooky sex—delivers adult content to hundreds of horny horror fans. Although Molly still loves aspects of being a camgirl, the lifestyle is starting to lose its appeal. Not to mention her boyfriend Chad, who holds ownership of the LLC, has crossed the line from annoying sleazebag to truly abusive.

Unsure how to improve her situation, Molly devises a sexy but dangerous plot. After live-streaming a solo act with her new Texas Chainsaw-themed vibrator, Molly will draw a winner for the #DateAFan raffle. However, the raffle will be rigged, and the winner is going to get more than they bargained for.

Subscribe to Molly Massacre for sex, humor, and revenge; because you just can’t fake a HorrorGasm.

This 14K-word novelette was featured in Petite Mort.

This digital edition is to accompany the audiobook narrated by Kat Deoss.]]> 69 Nikki Noir Desiree 0 to-read 3.58 HorrorGasm
author: Nikki Noir
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Corpsepaint and RabbitHole (Black Planet Book 1)]]> 55576748
Brian and Claire have been selling amateur content on the dark web, saving money to leave their tiny town.

An unexpected death gives them the opportunity to take their videos into an extreme direction and earn some serious money.

When their nihilistic pursuits combine with the ancient stone technology buried in the woods, an evil substance is released.

Crime and lustful possessions grip the teens as the metaphysical substance grows stronger.

Let Corpsepaint and Rabbithole expose you to their sadistic plans in this occult thriller from Nikki Noir]]> 57 Nikki Noir Desiree 0 to-read 4.09 Corpsepaint and RabbitHole (Black Planet Book 1)
author: Nikki Noir
name: Desiree
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Petite Mort (New Adult Occult)]]> 63116513 "Nikki Noir and S.C. Mendes are a match made in hell!� - NIKOLAS P. ROBINSON, author of Innocence Ends

Fear Street on Acid!

Petite Mort features eight tales of new adults battling society, the supernatural, and themselves!

Meet Molly Massacre and her horror-themed OnlyFans account. Fall into the pit when Kelly discovers the fast-food restaurant she works at is built on a set of ley lines. Take a disgusting muckbang challenge, learn the twisted truth of positivity gurus, and much more.

These contemporary stories are for those who enjoy their horror erotic, bizarre, and full of dark humor.

After finding digital-only success on Godless, these stories have been remastered, enhanced, and brought together for the first time in print.

Grinder - short
Santa’s Package - novella
Into the Pit - short
HorrorGasm - novella
#DeadSealChallenge � short
Magick Brew � short
The Sack Cutter � short
Cucumbers and Comforters � novella

It's New Adult Horror meets Splatterpunk!“Equal parts Elmore Leonard, Chuck Palaniuk, and Gillian Flynn, Nikki Noir definitely lives up to her name.� - John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-winning author

"Mendes knows how to weave a mystery" - Joseph Sale, author of Dark Hilarity

"Nikki Noir is a sultry new voice in erotic horror, one you should watch as closely as a black widow in your bedsheets" - Kristopher Triana, Splatterpunk-Award winning author of Toxic Love]]> 182 Nikki Noir Desiree 0 to-read, 2023-to-read 3.94 Petite Mort (New Adult Occult)
author: Nikki Noir
name: Desiree
average rating: 3.94
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: to-read, 2023-to-read
review:

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