Krystal's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 13 Apr 2025 09:34:00 -0700 60 Krystal's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc]]> 89303 To Arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours. Judged by the standards of one century, the noblest characters of an earlier one lose much of their luster; judged by the standards of to-day, there is probably no illustrious man of four or five centuries ago whose character could meet the test at all points. But the character of Joan of Arc is unique. It can be measured by the standards of all times without misgiving or apprehension as to the result. Judged by any of them, judged by all of them, it is still flawless, it is still ideally perfect; it still occupies the loftiest place possible to human attainment, a loftier one than has been reached by any other mere mortal.
When we reflect that her century was the brutalest, the wickedest, the rottenest in history since the darkest ages, we are lost in wonder at the miracle of such a product from such a soil. The contrast between her and her century is the contrast between day and night.

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.]]>
0 Mark Twain 1131595211 Krystal 2 classics-read, 2017-read 4.19 2013 Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
author: Mark Twain
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: classics-read, 2017-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Woman Who Ran Away from Everything]]> 196857095
And that’s it. The final straw. Breaking point.

Scrambling out the bathroom window, Kate leaves. She has no plan, but a chance encounter at Euston station sees her following her own heart for once � to beautiful Scotland where a crumbling mansion and a handsome bookseller could be just what she’s needs . . .

As Kate discovers, sometimes you have to feel utterly lost to find out who you truly are.]]>
385 Fiona Gibson 0008494452 Krystal 0 currently-reading 3.98 The Woman Who Ran Away from Everything
author: Fiona Gibson
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.98
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[A Month in the School of Mary: Reflections of an Exorcist (The Mission of Fr. Gabriele Amorth: Rome's Exorcist Book 3)]]> 218541763
This concise book is designed to be used as a month-long spiritual exercise devoted to Mary. Divided into four weeks, it consists of thirty short reflections and/or texts, one for each day. At the end of each week, there are prayers and a reflection of the spiritual theme of the week, followed by space to write your own personal reflections. The result is a personal, meditated diary.

The texts are extracted from other works of the author, and they reflect Fr. Amorth’s profound wisdom and knowledge of Marian themes, as well as his experience in spiritual warfare. Under the protection of Mary and with Fr. Gabriele Amorth as your guide, you can be confident that this work will be aid you in your Christian journey.]]>
90 Gabriele Amorth Krystal 0 4.73 A Month in the School of Mary: Reflections of an Exorcist (The Mission of Fr. Gabriele Amorth: Rome's Exorcist Book 3)
author: Gabriele Amorth
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.73
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions]]> 203579242 272 Hasard Lee 1250845858 Krystal 0 to-read 4.12 The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions
author: Hasard Lee
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Padre Pio's Path to Prayer: A Guide to Emulating the Prayer Practices and Techniques of a Beloved Saint for Transforming Your Spiritual Life and Deepening Your Connection with God]]> 216864530
"Padre Pio's Path to Prayer" will teach you the prayer methods and spiritual habits that made Padre Pio, a beloved Catholic saint, so close to God. Padre Pio was known for his profound connection with the divine. Through his life of intense prayer and contemplation, he experienced miraculous spiritual gifts, including the stigmata.

In this book, you'll discover Padre Pio's techniques for achieving a state of deep contemplation and communion with God. You'll learn practical steps to develop a consistent, disciplined prayer routine, as well as guidance on overcoming common obstacles and distractions in prayer. Most importantly, you'll find inspiration to deepen your love for God and grow closer to the heart of the divine.

As you follow in Padre Pio's footsteps, you'll be amazed at how your spiritual life can grow and blossom. Padre Pio's life showed the incredible power of prayer, and by learning from him, you can experience the joy, peace, and closeness to God that comes from a vibrant prayer life.

Whether you're a lifelong Catholic or just curious about deepening your faith, "Padre Pio's Path to Prayer" will inspire you to pray in a richer, more meaningful way. Unlock the secrets of profound prayer and let your heart be set on fire with God's love.

Order your copy today and begin your journey to a more powerful prayer life, just like Padre Pio.]]>
72 Dale Norman Krystal 0 currently-reading 0.0 Padre Pio's Path to Prayer: A Guide to Emulating the Prayer Practices and Techniques of a Beloved Saint for Transforming Your Spiritual Life and Deepening Your Connection with God
author: Dale Norman
name: Krystal
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[First Friday and First Saturday Devotion Booklet]]> 44584368 29 Benedict Prayer Books Krystal 5 Devotion

Consecrate yourself to Mary, Joseph and Jesus. This is a very good prayer booklet that gets straight to the point with absolutely zero fluff. So easy to do alone or in a group. I highly recommend.]]>
4.72 First Friday and First Saturday Devotion Booklet
author: Benedict Prayer Books
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.72
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves:
review:
Devotion

Consecrate yourself to Mary, Joseph and Jesus. This is a very good prayer booklet that gets straight to the point with absolutely zero fluff. So easy to do alone or in a group. I highly recommend.
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The Troop 28187199 355 Nick Cutter 1501144820 Krystal 5 3.90 2014 The Troop
author: Nick Cutter
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2017/07/02
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: canadian-literature, ebook, horror, tbr-books-i-own, 2017-tbr-book-challenge
review:

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The Pale-Faced Lie 44323024 A violent ex-con forces his sonĚýto commit crimes in this riveting new memoir

Growing up on the Navajo Indian Reservation, David Crow and his three siblings idolized their dad. Tall, strong, smart, and brave, the self-taught Cherokee regaled his family with stories of his World War II feats. But as time passed, David discovered the other side of Thurston Crow, the ex-con with a code of ethics that justified cruelty, violence, lies—even murder.

A shrewd con artist with a genius IQ, Thurston intimidated David with beatings to coerce him into doing his criminal bidding. David’s mom, too mentally ill to care for her children, couldn’t protect him. One day, Thurston packed up the house and took the kids, leaving her with nothing. Soon he remarried, and David learned that his stepmother was just as vicious and abusive as his father.

Through sheer determination, and with the help of a few angels along the way, David managed to get into college and achieve professional success. When he finally found the courage to stop helping his father with his criminal activities, he unwittingly triggered a plot of revenge that would force him into a showdown with Thurston Crow. With lives at stake, including his own, David would have only twenty-four hours to outsmart his father—the brilliant, psychotic man who bragged that the three years he spent in the notorious San Quentin State Prison had been the easiest time of his life.

The Pale-Faced Lie is a searing, raw, palpable memoir that reminds us what an important role our parents play in our lives. Most of all, it’s an inspirational story about the power of forgiveness and the ability of the human spirit to rise above adversity, no matter the cost.

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358 David Crow 0997487194 Krystal 0 currently-reading 4.43 2019 The Pale-Faced Lie
author: David Crow
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood and the Cyanide Poisonings That Shook the World]]> 60069636 From the #1 bestselling author comes the shocking true-crime story of a mother and wife, her disturbing family secrets and how she became a cold-hearted killer.

At 5.02 pm on June 5th, 1986, a call came into the local sheriff office in the small town of Auburn, Washington State from Stella Nickell. Her husband Bruce was having a seizure. As the officers arrived on the scene, Bruce was already dead.

Forensics identified that Bruce had consumed headache pills laced with cyanide and in an attempt to cover her tracks, Stella saw to it that a stranger would also become her next victim of the cyanide-tainted painkillers.

What would drive a seemingly normal outgoing and popular mum and wife to kill?
As the investigation began to unfold, Stella’s daughter Cynthia notified federal agents of her mother’s crimes. But she didn’t reveal everything…]]>
497 Gregg Olsen 1803146184 Krystal 0 currently-reading 3.53 1993 American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood and the Cyanide Poisonings That Shook the World
author: Gregg Olsen
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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The Intern 203579152 A Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge.

Madison Rivera lands the internship of a lifetime working for Judge Kathryn Conroy—but Madison has a secret that could destroy her career: Her troubled younger brother Danny has been arrested, and Conroy is the judge on his case. When Danny goes missing after accusing the judge of corruption, Madison’s quest for answers brings her deep into the judge’s glamorous world. Is Kathryn Conroy a mentor, a victim, or a criminal? Is she trying to help Madison or use her as a pawn? And why is somebody trying to kill her?]]>
384 Michele Campbell 1250795257 Krystal 0 to-read 4.03 2023 The Intern
author: Michele Campbell
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Head Cases (PAR Unit, #1) 211004897 Head Cases follows an enigmatic group of FBI agents as they hunt down a murderer seeking his own justice in this electrifying—and commercial—series debut.

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He also has a blind spot on the human side of investigations, a blindness that sometimes even includes people in his own life, like his beloved seven-year-old daughter Camila. Gardner and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.

When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action. A second victim establishes a pattern, and the murderer begins leaving a trail of clues and riddles especially for Gardner. And while the PAR team is usually relegated to working cold cases from behind a desk, the investigation puts them on the road and into the public eye, following in the footsteps of a killer.

Along with Gardner, PAR consists of a mathematician, a weapons expert, a computer analyst, and their leader, a career agent. Each of them must use every skill they have to solve the riddle of the killer’s identity. But with the perpetrator somehow learning more and more about the team at PAR, can they protect themselves and their families…before it’s too late?

With an enigmatic case that will keep readers on the edge of their seats and a thoroughly engaging ensemble cast, John McMahon’s Head Cases is a triumph.]]>
341 John McMahon 1250348293 Krystal 5
I'm really interested in the psychology of crimes and getting into the mind of criminals and the why for their crimes, this book delivered and was satisfying. If you are a true crime fan and interested in the work the FBI does profiling, you will really enjoy this book. I mean a serial killer killing serial killers! This is a must read!

#netgalleyreview #netgalley]]>
3.99 2025 Head Cases (PAR Unit, #1)
author: John McMahon
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, netgalley
review:
The story started off a bit slow but that was only because we are being introduced to the characters and the plot, it then picks up speed and goes full force ahead with no stopping.

I'm really interested in the psychology of crimes and getting into the mind of criminals and the why for their crimes, this book delivered and was satisfying. If you are a true crime fan and interested in the work the FBI does profiling, you will really enjoy this book. I mean a serial killer killing serial killers! This is a must read!

#netgalleyreview #netgalley
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<![CDATA[A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage]]> 211399774 Two former serial killers trying to keep their past buried realize that old habits die hard in this “wildly original, razor-sharp thriller� (Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestsellingauthor of All the Colors of the Dark).

I wasn't smashing the patriarchy; I was killing it. Literally.

Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they're murderers. Well, they used to be. They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to rid from the world. Then Hazel got pregnant.

Now, they’re just another mom-and-dad-and-baby. They gave up vigilante justice for life in the suburbs: arranged play dates instead of body disposals, diapers over daggers, mommy conversations instead of the sweet seduction right before a kill. Hazel finds her new life terribly dull. And the more she forces herself to play her monotonous, predictable role, the more she begins to feel that murderous itch again.

Meanwhile, Fox has really taken to being a father. Always the planner, he loves being five steps ahead of everyone and knowing exactly what’s coming around the bend. Plus, if anyone can understand Hazel needing one more kill, it’s Fox. But then Hazel kills someone without telling Fox. And when police show up at their door, Hazel realizes it will take everything she has to keep her family together.]]>
352 Asia Mackay 0593875583 Krystal 0 netgalley, currently-reading 3.60 2025 A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage
author: Asia Mackay
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves: netgalley, currently-reading
review:

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Commonwealth 28214365
Spanning five decades, Commonwealth explores how this chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them.

When, in her twenties, Franny begins an affair with the legendary author Leon Posen and tells him about her family, the story of her siblings is no longer hers to control. Their childhood becomes the basis for his wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another.

Told with equal measures of humor and heartbreak, Commonwealth is a meditation on inspiration, interpretation, and the ownership of stories. It is a brilliant and tender tale of the far-reaching ties of love and responsibility that bind us together.]]>
322 Ann Patchett 0062491792 Krystal 5 3.81 2016 Commonwealth
author: Ann Patchett
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves:
review:
This is an emotional story focusing on relationships, mainly between family members. This is a heavy one especially if you relate to any of the characters.
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The Pram 195945795
Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.

Joe Hill’s The Pram is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting.]]>
58 Joe Hill 1662516894 Krystal 3 Lacking something

Good writing and interesting plot, but unfortunately this story is lacking something more. The story ended when it could have kept going and got better. I was definitely underwhelmed and probably won't remember this short story, which is too bad. ]]>
3.75 2023 The Pram
author: Joe Hill
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves:
review:
Lacking something

Good writing and interesting plot, but unfortunately this story is lacking something more. The story ended when it could have kept going and got better. I was definitely underwhelmed and probably won't remember this short story, which is too bad.
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One in a Millennial 211004135
One In a Millennial is an exploration of pop culture, nostalgia, the millennial zeitgeist, and the life lessons learned (for better and for worse) from coming of age as a member of a much-maligned generation.

Kate is a pop culture commentator and host of the popular millennial-focused podcast Be There in Five . Part-funny, part-serious, Kate navigates the complicated nature of celebrating and criticizing the culture that shaped her as a woman, while arguing that great depths can come from surface-level interests.

With her trademark style and vulnerability, One In a Millennial is sharp, hilarious, and heartwarming all at once. She tackles AOL Instant Messenger, purity culture, American Girl Dolls, going out tops, Spice Girl feminism, her feelings about millennial motherhood, and more. Kate’s laugh-out-loud asides and keen observations will have you nodding your head and maybe even tearing up.]]>
336 Kate Kennedy 1250874165 Krystal 0 to-read 3.45 2024 One in a Millennial
author: Kate Kennedy
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Meet Every Learner's Needs: Redesigning Instruction So All Students Can Succeed]]> 214945002
Meet Every Learner's Needs delivers research-backed techniques to transform classrooms into dynamic learning environments in which all students are appropriately challenged―and appropriately supported―every day.

Based on teacher and Modern Classrooms Project cofounder Robert Barnett's experience training thousands of teachers worldwide, this book provides a methodology for K-12 educators to design lessons and courses that respond to individual learners' unique needs and help every learner develop authentic understanding. This approach has empowered educators and students in all grade levels and content areas, everywhere from underperforming inner-city public schools to elite international schools, across all fifty states and over 150 countries.

The book includes highly practical tips and templates, which busy teachers can use to provide better instruction immediately. Throughout the book, readers will learn how to:

Make direct instruction accessible and engaging to all learners
Develop strong personal relationships with and between learners
Create efficient learning experiences that give learners ownership and autonomy
Share this approach with their colleagues and communities
Meet Every Learner's Needs will leave readers both inspired and empowered to redesign instruction in their classrooms and communities. It will help educators, administrators, and parents take immediate action to create learning experiences that help all students truly succeed.]]>
256 Robert Barnett 1394274890 Krystal 0 to-read 4.71 Meet Every Learner's Needs: Redesigning Instruction So All Students Can Succeed
author: Robert Barnett
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.71
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Strangers in Time 217182446 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Calamity of Souls comes David Baldacci’s newest novel, set in London in 1944, about a bereaved book shop owner and two teenagers scarred by the second world war, and the healing and hope they find in one another.

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life.

Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via “Operation Pied Piper,� Molly has been away from her parents—from her home—for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: both her parents are gone.

Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where A book a day keeps the bombs away. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other—over the course of the greatest armed conflict the world had ever seen—they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost.

But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone’s been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is still reeling from a secret Imogen long kept from him while she was alive—something so shocking it resulted in her death, and his life being turned upside down.

As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.]]>
448 David Baldacci 1538742055 Krystal 0 to-read 4.08 2025 Strangers in Time
author: David Baldacci
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting]]> 214458226 From the most visible woman writing about weightlifting today, a memoir and manifesto about how lifting helped dissolve her allegiance to diet culture; taught her to be at home in her body; and led her to grow every kind of strength.

±ő˛ÔĚýA Physical Education,ĚýCasey Johnston recounts how she ventured into the brave new world of weightlifting, leaving behind years ofĚýrestrictive eating and endless cardio.ĚýWoven through the trajectory of how she rebuilt her strength and confidence is a staggering exposĂ© of the damaging doctrine spread by diet and fitness culture.Ěý

Johnston's story dives deep into her own past relationships with calorie restriction, cardio, and codependency. As she progresses on her weightlifting journey, carrying groceries and closing heavy doors become easier. She eats to fuel her growing strength, and her cravings vanish. Her physical progress fuels a growing how mainstream messaging she received about women’s bodies was always less about transformation and more about preserving the status quo. Having previously been convinced that physical improvement was a matter of suffering, now she learns it requires self-regard, and patience. Ultimately, she is dazzled by what a little pushing at a time adds up the reawakening of parts of herself she didn’t even know were there.

A Physical Education asks why so many of us spend our lives trying to “get healthyâ€� by actively making our bodies weaker. Casey Johnston is a voice for those of us who feel underdeveloped and unfulfilled in our bodies, for all of us looking to come home to ourselves.Ěý]]>
272 Casey Johnston 1538773252 Krystal 0 to-read 4.40 2025 A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting
author: Casey Johnston
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Moonlight Healers 212378263 A powerful debut with a magical twist about one woman’s discovery of her family’s secret healing abilities—they can bring people back to life—and the mysterious consequences she must contend with when sheĚýuses them on someone she loves.

For generations, the Winston women have possessed an unspoken magical they can heal with the touch of a hand. It’s a tradition they’ve always had to practice in secret, in the moonlight hours, when the fireflies dance and the whippoorwill birds sing.

But not every healer has rightfully passed on this knowledge to her descendants, and for young Louise Winston, the discovery of her abilities comes in less-than-ideal circumstances—she brings her best friend back from death following an accident, the day after he professed his long-held feelings for her, five days before she’s supposed to move abroad.

Desperate for answers, and to avoid this new reality between them, Louise escapes to her grandmother’s lush Appalachian orchard. There, she uncovers her family’s hidden history in a tattered journal, stemming back to her brave great-grandmother who illicitly healed Allied soldiers in war-torn France. But just as Louise begins to embrace her unique legacy, she learns that it can also come with a mysterious cost. And with a life hanging in the balance, she’ll be forced to make the most impossible of choices�

Spanning eighty years, The Moonlight HealersĚýis a deeply empathetic, heartfelt novel about mothers and daughters, life and death, and the beautiful resilience of love.]]>
336 Elizabeth Becker 1525830422 Krystal 0 to-read 3.97 2025 The Moonlight Healers
author: Elizabeth Becker
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Iron Widow (Iron Widow, #1) 60353900 An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected--she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.�

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia�. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way--and stop more girls from being sacrificed.]]>
432 Xiran Jay Zhao 0735269955 Krystal 0 to-read 4.09 2021 Iron Widow (Iron Widow, #1)
author: Xiran Jay Zhao
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Shipwrecked Souls (Inspector Green Mystery, #12)]]> 210406325 In the much anticipated next Inspector Green Mystery, the impetuous Ottawa detective sails headlong into the case of an elderly woman from Ukraine � a perfect whodunit for fans of Louise Penny and Tana French.When Anya Kurchenko, an elderly woman recently arrived in Ottawa from Ukraine, is found murdered in an obscure alleyway, the only clue is a scrap of paper in her pocket with the name Symkha Grunstein written in three different alphabets. No such person seems to exist. While the police try to track her movements, an elderly man named Simon Stone who lives nearby is also murdered, and Inspector Michael Green is called in to interpret the mass of documents about the Second World War and the Holocaust stored in Stone’s basement. What is the link between the two victims? Who is Symkha Grunstein? And could the murders be connected to something that happened during the war? As the police unravel the threads of betrayal and cover-up, Green finds himself on an emotional journey into his own past, where he uncovers long-hidden secrets and makes a startling discovery.]]> 352 Barbara Fradkin 145975381X Krystal 0 to-read 4.50 Shipwrecked Souls (Inspector Green Mystery, #12)
author: Barbara Fradkin
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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First Wife's Shadow 204169194 The Family Remains, on Two Dead Wives

An exhilarating psychological crime thriller that will have you racing to the finish!

HIS FIRST WIFE DIED. NOW THERE'S A VACANCY�

When Emma meets Matthew, a kind, handsome widower, he seems to be just what she needs.

Yet as their relationship moves fast, Emma’s friends worry she might be exploited. She’s a rich woman after all.

Emma doesn’t care Matthew has no money. But as the memory of his perfect first wife hangs over them, Emma does have one tiny doubt.

If Matthew’s wife hadn’t died, he wouldn’t be with her. And Emma wonders if she’s second best. Can she ever fill the dead woman’s shoes?

As jealousy and suspicion blossom between Emma and Matthew, events take a darker, dangerous turn.

Suddenly Emma doesn’t know who she can trust. Her friends? Her husband? Or even herself�?]]>
368 Adele Parks 0778368130 Krystal 0 to-read 3.88 2024 First Wife's Shadow
author: Adele Parks
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Midnight in Soap Lake 210827823
When Abigail agreed to move to Soap Lake, Washington, for her husband’s research, she expected old-growth forests and craft beer, folksy neighbors and the world’s largest lava lamp. Instead, after her husband jets off to Poland for a research trip, she finds herself alone, in a town surrounded by sand and haunted by its own urban legends.

But when a young boy runs through the desert into Abigail’s arms, her life becomes entwined with his and the questions surrounding the death of his mother, Esme. In Abigail’s search for answers, she enlists the help of a recovering addict turned librarian, a grieving brother, a broken motel owner and a mentally shattered conspiracy theorist to unearth Esme’s tragic past, the town’s violent history and the secret magic locked in the lake her husband was sent there to study.

As she gets closer to the answers, past and present crimes begin to collide, and Abigail finds herself gaining the unwelcome attention of the town’s unofficial mascot, the rubber-suited orchard stalker known as TreeTop, a specter who seems to be lurking in every dark shadow and around every shady corner.

A sweeping, decade-spanning mystery brimming with quirky characters and puzzle-hunt scenarios, Midnight in Soap Lake is a modern-day Twin Peaks—a rich, expansive universe that readers will enter and never forget.]]>
416 Matthew J. Sullivan 1335041796 Krystal 0 to-read 3.87 2025 Midnight in Soap Lake
author: Matthew J. Sullivan
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Keeper of Lonely Spirits 212228449 In this mesmerizing, wonderfully moving queer cozy fantasy, an immortal ghost hunter must confront his tragic past in order to embrace his found family.

Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.

After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o� them folk in his native Ireland, he can’t. Instead, he’s cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.

Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he’s ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead—until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter’s drawn into the townsfolk’s lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.

But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won’t

As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter’s well-being against that of his new friends and the man he’s falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.]]>
400 E.M. Anderson 0778368521 Krystal 0 to-read 4.23 2025 The Keeper of Lonely Spirits
author: E.M. Anderson
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Bone Pendant Girls 215358976
“Heart-pounding and heart-wrenching.� —Library Journal, audio starred review

Andi Wyndham has communicated with spirits since she was a kid. When a bone pendant carved into the likeness of a girl’s face calls to her at a gem show in Pennsylvania, she can’t resist buying it and a sister piece. When she discovers the girls are missing runaways and the pendants are made of human bone, Andi is drawn into a mystery that will force her to confront her gifts, her guilt, and the ghosts haunting her.

Pendant Girls Mariah and Bennie urge Andi to find a man they call "Fisherman,� a master of disguise. Teaming up with a handsome private eye and a South Carolina sheriff, Andi must find the girls� bodies and put their souls to rest, before the Fisherman casts his deadly net to trap Andi.]]>
368 Terry S. Friedman 0744307937 Krystal 0 to-read 4.50 Bone Pendant Girls
author: Terry S. Friedman
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Kill Call 215358899 320 Jeff Wooten 0744307651 Krystal 0 to-read 3.80 2024 Kill Call
author: Jeff Wooten
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Free: My Search for Meaning 219867662
Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in prison and eight years on trial for a murder she didn’t commit—and became a notorious tabloid story in the process. Though she was exonerated, it’s taken more than a decade for her to reclaim her identity and truly feel free.

Free recounts how Knox survived incarceration, the mistakes she made and misadventures she had reintegrating into society, and culminates in the as-yet-untold story of her return to Italy and the extraordinary relationship she went on to build with the man who sent her to prison. It is the moving saga of how she wrests back her own life from the grip of her story’s notoriety and returns to the quiet matters of a normal life—seeking a life partner, finding a job, or even just going out in public.

In harrowing (and sometimes hilarious) detail, Amanda reveals her personal growth and hard-fought wisdom, recasting her public reckoning as a private reflection on the search for meaning and purpose that will speak to everyone who has persevered through hardship.]]>
304 Amanda Knox 1538770717 Krystal 0 to-read 3.97 2025 Free: My Search for Meaning
author: Amanda Knox
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Perfectly Sunny: A Big-Hearted Hedgehog Finds Her Forever Home]]> 223534296 Perfectly Sunny is a heartwarming children’s book that redefines what perfect really means.

Sunny is an adorable three-legged hedgehog with the biggest heart, who dreams of her forever home. Ms. Prim, the owner of Purrfect Pet Shop where Sunny lives, doesn’t think Sunny’s perfect. She only shows her four-legged hedgehogs to her customers and never shows Sunny. Sunny is compassionate to herself and others but struggles with a moment of self-doubt when one of her friends is adopted.

To Sunny’s delight, a young girl visits Purrfect Pet Shop looking for a perfect hedgehog to adopt and it happens to be Sunny. It’s a match made in heaven! Sunny rediscovers her worth and remembers what perfect really means.
Perfectly Sunny is inspired by the sweetest real life three-legged hedgehog named Sunny, who loved herself and was also deeply loved by her forever family. Sunny always seemed to know that she was perfect and deserved love. Perfectly Sunny is a lesson for little ones on self-love and it’s what’s in their hearts that makes them perfect.

Perfectly Sunny is a fictional hedgehog book for kids that incorporates positive messages about self-love and self-worth.]]>
39 Tricia Easter Krystal 0 to-read 4.75 Perfectly Sunny: A Big-Hearted Hedgehog Finds Her Forever Home
author: Tricia Easter
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Primal Christianity: Uncovering the Original Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth]]> 219738168 For many people, the mystical message brought by Jesus of Nazareth has become obscured by religious instead transmitted by it. So even though they have felt an affinity with Jesus, they have been frustrated in their attempt to connect to who he was and what he was saying. Some do their best to have faith. Others give up and find a life path that goes in a different direction. But who connects deeply to the profound truth he brought?

Primal Uncovering the Original Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth is David Karchere’s new book for people who want to deepen that profound connection. It is for readers who want to separate Jesus and his message of compassion from all the beliefs about him that have accumulated over the centuries. He invites the reader to see how Jesus brought a teaching of divine love fulfilled that was radical in his day and life-changing today.

David Karchere is the author of A Conscious Guide to the Sacred Power of the Endocrine Glands and Becoming a Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence for a Happy, Fulfilling Life. Through the pages of his latest book, Primal Christianity, he invites us to experience the mystical encounter that Jesus knew for himself, and which he brought to the world.]]>
326 David Karchere Krystal 0 to-read 4.43 Primal Christianity: Uncovering the Original Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
author: David Karchere
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes]]> 217387700 A sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago, featuring the quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café.

When Savvy Summers first opened Essie's soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie's reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.

Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident, Savvy quickly finds herself—and her beloved café—in the middle of an entire city’s worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.

But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy’s murder before it all falls apart?

After all, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for, she never meant literally.]]>
336 Sandra Jackson-Opoku 1250351901 Krystal 0 to-read 3.71 Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes
author: Sandra Jackson-Opoku
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Julie Chan Is Dead: A Novel 220160916 In this razor-sharp, diabolical debut thriller, a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life, only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied.

Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but.

Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.]]>
320 Liann Zhang 1668079860 Krystal 0 to-read 3.89 2025 Julie Chan Is Dead: A Novel
author: Liann Zhang
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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On Isabella Street 214151747 From #1 bestselling author Genevieve Graham comes a gripping novel set in Toronto and Vietnam during the turbulent sixties about two women caught up in powerful social movements and the tragedy that will bring them together—perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Women .

Toronto, 1967. Two young women with different backgrounds, attitudes, and aptitudes are living in an exciting but confusing time, the most extreme counter-culture movement the modern world has ever seen. They have little in common except for the place they both call an apartment building on Isabella Street.

Marion Hart, a psychiatrist working in Toronto’s foremost mental institution, is fighting deinstitutionalization—the closing of major institutions in favour of community-based centres—because she believes it could one day cause major homelessness. When Alex Neumann, a vet with a debilitating wound, is admitted to the mental institution, Marion will learn through him that there is so much more to life than what she is living.

Sassy Rankin, a budding folk singer and carefree hippy from a privileged family, joins protests over the Vietnam War and is devastated that her brother chose to join the US Marines. At the same time, she must deal with the truth that her comfortable life is financed by her father, a real estate magnate bent on gentrifying the city, making it unaffordable for many of her friends.

The strength of their unlikely friendship means that when one grapples with a catastrophic event, the other must do all she can to make it right.

Inspired by the unfettered optimism and crushing disillusionment of the sixties, On Isabella Street is an extraordinary novel about the enduring bonds of friendship and family and the devastating cost of war.]]>
432 Genevieve Graham 1982197013 Krystal 0 to-read 4.46 On Isabella Street
author: Genevieve Graham
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.46
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Three Men in a Boat (Three Men, #1)]]> 4921
"We agree that we are overworked, and need a rest - A week on the rolling deep? - George suggests the river -"

And with the co-operation of several hampers of food and a covered boat, the three men (not forgetting the dog) set out on a hilarious voyage of mishaps up the Thames. When not falling in the river and getting lost in Hampton Court Maze, Jerome K. Jerome finds time to express his ideas on the world around - many of which have acquired a deeper fascination since the day at the end of the 19th century when this excursion was so lightly undertaken.]]>
185 Jerome K. Jerome Krystal 1 3.86 1889 Three Men in a Boat (Three Men, #1)
author: Jerome K. Jerome
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1889
rating: 1
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:
I'm not sure why everyone claims this book is funny, I did not find this book (plot, characters, story) to be funny, I found it pointless and incredibly boring. I really wanted to finish this book but decided I have too many books I'd really like to get to in my TBR, so I decided to DNF this book.
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Here One Moment 215992982 If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.]]>
512 Liane Moriarty 0385699794 Krystal 4 4.12 2024 Here One Moment
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves:
review:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.]]>
512 Liane Moriarty 0593798600 Krystal 0 read-2025 3.98 2024 Here One Moment
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: read-2025
review:

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Normal People 41057294
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.]]>
273 Sally Rooney 1984822179 Krystal 4 read-2025
This book bored me and I couldn't wait to finish it because I couldn't put it down. Ok I did put it down many times because I was seriously bored, but I had to keep picking it up. I kept hoping and expecting something shocking to happen, but it didn't.

I have mixed feelings about this book. As boring as I was with it, I was also invested in it and couldn't DNF it, even though I wanted to.

The writing isn't bad, the characters and the plot are realistic, it was just too steady for me as I enjoy thrillers. I think what kept me reading until the end was how real the characters and the events were. I felt like I was reading or watching my peers in highschool like on a secret camera or reading their journal or memoir.

Trigger warning:
This book has some sexual scenes that may be disturbing and difficult for some people. It does not go into great detail but if you are a survivor it may trigger you.]]>
3.81 2018 Normal People
author: Sally Rooney
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: read-2025
review:
This book was slow and steady in the plot, nothing major or exciting happened. I didn't like any of the characters and the more I read the less I liked them. Although, I did feel sorry for Marianne alot and I was definitely on her side most of the time, but everyone else I hated. Ok, I kind of liked Connell because he truly cared for Marianne.

This book bored me and I couldn't wait to finish it because I couldn't put it down. Ok I did put it down many times because I was seriously bored, but I had to keep picking it up. I kept hoping and expecting something shocking to happen, but it didn't.

I have mixed feelings about this book. As boring as I was with it, I was also invested in it and couldn't DNF it, even though I wanted to.

The writing isn't bad, the characters and the plot are realistic, it was just too steady for me as I enjoy thrillers. I think what kept me reading until the end was how real the characters and the events were. I felt like I was reading or watching my peers in highschool like on a secret camera or reading their journal or memoir.

Trigger warning:
This book has some sexual scenes that may be disturbing and difficult for some people. It does not go into great detail but if you are a survivor it may trigger you.
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Girl with a Pearl Earring 2865
Girl with a Pearl Earring centers on Vermeer's prosperous Delft household during the 1660s. When Griet, the novel's quietly perceptive heroine, is hired as a servant, turmoil follows. First, the 16-year-old narrator becomes increasingly intimate with her master. Then Vermeer employs her as his assistant—and ultimately has Griet sit for him as a model.]]>
233 Tracy Chevalier 0452287022 Krystal 5 read-2025 3.93 1999 Girl with a Pearl Earring
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/12
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: read-2025
review:

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<![CDATA[White Nights: Fyodor Dostoyevsky]]> 70666173 70 Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1549879359 Krystal 5 read-2025 4.15 1848 White Nights: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1848
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: read-2025
review:
Sad, just sad. This story hurt my heart. Poor Dreamer....
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I Was Anastasia 33998348 333 Ariel Lawhon 0385541694 Krystal 0 to-read, historical-fiction 3.72 2018 I Was Anastasia
author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: to-read, historical-fiction
review:

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Tilda Is Visible 213870080 A woman starts to disappear—literally—in midlife, and only then begins to discover herself in this winning novel that will speak to anyone who has ever felt invisible.

When Tilda Finch is diagnosed with invisibility—a condition that strikes mostly women of a certain age wherein they simply start to disappear—she's not overly surprised. Tilda has felt invisible for years. She's fifty-two years old, her husband left her for a younger woman, and while she has two terrific adult daughters and a successful business, she often wishes she had pursued her true passion, photography. Instead, she puts inspirational messages on merchandise, and while she doesn't believe in most of the quotes, she's thankful her customers do.

Tilda has never really recovered from her divorce. Or, if she's honest, her childhood. Tilda's past has taken a toll and she's lost sight of the woman she had always wanted to be. And even though she's bumped into perhaps the most handsome man she's ever met, if he wasn't blind (yes, truly blind) he would see the truth, which is that she's a middle-aged woman, not in her prime, and that he's way out of her league.

Soon Tilda discovers there are support groups for women just like her. But after attending one and seeing how resigned the women are to simply fading away, she decides there must be a better way. She is introduced to a controversial therapist who is a leader in this burgeoning field and decides she has nothing to lose by trying her methods out.

The therapist makes Tilda realize that in order to reappear, she must face the trauma of her past and rewire her brain in the way she perceives the world—and herself.

In a world where women are conditioned to not like what they see in the mirror, where the voices in their heads endlessly critique their faults, Tilda Is Visible shows us that we can't expect the world to see us properly if we can't first see ourselves.]]>
336 Jane Tara 0593799445 Krystal 4 netgalley This book dives deep into that.

The story starts off with Tilda noticing her finger missing, then her ear is unseen. She still has all her body parts she can feel them, she just can't see them.
At the doctor Tilda is told that yes, she is suffering from a condition called, invisibility.

Overall this book was very well written and amusing, I enjoyed it quite a book and didn't feel like I was getting into a reading slump.
I really liked how this book is somewhat relatable, we've all felt invisible at some point in our lives I'm sure.

The story was serious but with humor. I recommend it!]]>
3.89 2025 Tilda Is Visible
author: Jane Tara
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: netgalley
review:
Often times women tend to feel invisible, unseen I he things we do to help our families and the people we love and care about. This can really take its toll on women.
This book dives deep into that.

The story starts off with Tilda noticing her finger missing, then her ear is unseen. She still has all her body parts she can feel them, she just can't see them.
At the doctor Tilda is told that yes, she is suffering from a condition called, invisibility.

Overall this book was very well written and amusing, I enjoyed it quite a book and didn't feel like I was getting into a reading slump.
I really liked how this book is somewhat relatable, we've all felt invisible at some point in our lives I'm sure.

The story was serious but with humor. I recommend it!
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<![CDATA[Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)]]> 61242426
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success � not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

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

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.]]>
296 Travis Baldree Krystal 0 to-read 4.04 2022 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

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

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

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

Now she must ask herself:

How far will she go to protect her son?]]>
373 Freida McFadden Krystal 0 to-read 4.03 2019 The Perfect Son
author: Freida McFadden
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)]]> 199347538 Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. Featuring gorgeous orange sprayed edges!

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He’s the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

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

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

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

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.]]>
416 T.J. Klune 125088120X Krystal 0 to-read 4.17 2024 Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)
author: T.J. Klune
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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Swan Song (Nantucket, #4) 200484931 In the grand finale of "queen of the beach read" Elin Hilderbrand's beloved Nantucket novels, there's a new couple in town... and they instantly shake things up. Amid the extravagant parties on land and sea, there's trouble on the island, forcing Chief of Police Ed Kapanesh to postpone his retirement and changing the fabric of life on the picturesque island forever...

After thirty-five years serving as the Chief of Police on the island of Nantucket, Ed Kapenash's heart can no longer take the stress. But his plans to retire are thwarted when, with only three days left to serve, he receives a phone call. A 22-million-dollar summer home, recently purchased by the flashy new couple in town, the Richardsons, has burned to the ground. The Richardsons are far from hurt—in fact, they're out on the water, throwing a lavish party on their yacht—but when news of the fire reaches them, they discover that their personal assistant has vanished. The Chief is well-acquainted with the Richardsons, and his daughter is best friends with the now-missing girl, leaving him no choice but to postpone his retirement and take on the double case.

On a small island like Nantucket, the Richardsons shook things up from the second they stepped on to the scene, throwing luxurious parties and doing whatever they could to gain admittance to the coveted lunches at the Field & Oar Club (with increasing desperation). They instantly captured the attention of local real estate agent Fast Eddie, and the town gossip Blond Sharon, both dealing with their own personal dramas. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce, and in order to avoid becoming a cliché, she's enrolled in a creative writing class, putting her natural affinity for scandal towards a more noble purpose. To solve the case of the fire and track down his daughter's best friend, the Chief will have to string together the pieces of the lives of all of these characters and more, rallying his strength for his final act of service to the tight-knit community he knows and loves.

The last of Elin Hilderbrand's bestselling Nantucket novels, Swan Song is a propulsive medley of glittering gatherings, sun-soaked drama, wisdom and heart, featuring the return of some of her most beloved characters, including, most importantly, the beautiful and timeless island of Nantucket itself.]]>
384 Elin Hilderbrand 0316258873 Krystal 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Swan Song (Nantucket, #4)
author: Elin Hilderbrand
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Rose West: The Making of a Monster]]> 12185168 Hard to believe it looking at her now, but Rose West was an exceptionally beautiful little girl, with a Maltese mother and English father. Strangers would stop and stare at her in the street and she could entrance people from a very early age. But looking back at photos of Rose as a child, you struggle to accept that she grew up to one of the country's most notorious female criminals.
In ROSE, Jane Carter Woodrow goes right back to the start in her life to try and piece together what happened to turn Rose West into the violent monster she became. Jane has gained unprecedented access to the family and has revealed a fascinating story of how there was always something 'not quite right' about Rose...
And perhaps that's not too surprising... Rose's childhood reads like one of the most grim misery memoirs. Her father was a violent schizophrenic and her mother received electric shock therapy for severe clinical depression, the whole way through her pregnancy with Rose. Jane has uncovered a horrific hidden story of a twisted family and how her upbringing made her a perfect partner for Fred West when they met when Rose had just turned 16. She was to kill for the first time a few months later.
This is a gripping, unputdownable read that sheds light for the first time on the story behind what turned Rose West into one of the country's most vicious and deadly serial killers.

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288 Jane Carter Woodrow Krystal 4 true-crime, horror
This is not a book for the faint of heart.

The book is very well researched and written with accuracy. Unfortunately it is very much a true crime book that digs into the life of two horrible monsters.
And it is all true.
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4.10 2010 Rose West: The Making of a Monster
author: Jane Carter Woodrow
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: true-crime, horror
review:
Rose and husband Fred West are undoubtedly two of the most disposable, disturbed and evil beings (can't call them humans) on earth.

This is not a book for the faint of heart.

The book is very well researched and written with accuracy. Unfortunately it is very much a true crime book that digs into the life of two horrible monsters.
And it is all true.

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The Liberators 96178191
From the Gwangju Massacre to the 1988 Olympics, flashbacks to Korean repatriation after Japanese surrender, and the Sewol ferry accident, E. J. Koh’s exquisitely drawn portraits and symphonic testimony from guards, prisoners, perpetrators, and liberators spans continents and four generations of two Korean families forever changed by fateful past decisions made in love and war. Extraordinarily beautiful and deeply moving, The Liberators is an elegantly wrought family saga of memory, trauma, and empathy, and a stunning testament to the consequences and fortunes of inheritance.]]>
240 E.J. Koh 1959030159 Krystal 0 to-read 3.43 2023 The Liberators
author: E.J. Koh
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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Small Things Like These 58662236
Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.]]>
128 Claire Keegan 0802158749 Krystal 0 to-read 4.13 2021 Small Things Like These
author: Claire Keegan
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[When Among Crows (Curse Bearer, #1)]]> 195790597 When Among Crows is swift and striking, drawing from the deep well of Slavic folklore and asking if redemption and atonement can be found in embracing what we most fear.

We bear the sword, and we bear the pain of the sword.

On Kupala Night, Dymitr arrives in Chicago’s monstrous, magical underworld with a perilous mission: pick the mythical fern flower and offer it to a cursed creature in exchange for help finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga.

Ala is a fear-eating zmora afflicted with a bloodline curse that’s slowly killing her. She's just desperate enough to say yes to Dymitr, even if she doesn’t know his motives.

Over the course of one night, Ala and Dymitr risk life and limb in search of Baba Jaga, and begin to build a tentative friendship. . . but when Ala finds out what Dymitr is hiding, it could destroy them both.]]>
166 Veronica Roth 1250855489 Krystal 0 to-read 3.71 2024 When Among Crows (Curse Bearer, #1)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Dark Hours 218022032 For fans of Tana French and Jane Harper, this debut crime thriller follows a retired police detective who must face down a vicious killer and the memories that haunt her—thirty years after bringing down one of Ireland’s most prolific serial killers.

Julia Harte has found the perfect place to disappear: Cuan Beag, a secluded coastal village on the east coast of Ireland. Home to less than one thousand residents, a popular daytrip for tourists, it has proven to be a scenic corner in which to erase a life. This corner of the world is so peaceful, at times it feels uninhabited; that’s why she chose to disappear here. But Julia knows anything is possible in the dark hours.

Thirty years ago, Julia helped to bring down the most prolific serial killer Ireland had ever seen, and while that case spurred a successful career and a bestselling book, it's also the reason she's in hiding now, all alone and haunted by the things tha happened all those years ago, without the husband she had depended upon. When a copycat killer strikes, Julia is called back to active duty, but this time, she's not the young, naive officer she was then. She knows killers like this one, who hunt for sport, and she's determined to put a stop to his plans--or die trying.]]>
320 Amy Jordan 077838781X Krystal 0 to-read 3.73 2025 The Dark Hours
author: Amy Jordan
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)]]> 218515948 Now available for pre-order! This beautiful new paperback edition features full color character art, bonus scene (for the first time in print!), and gold foil cover decoration with embossed lettering.

The overnight viral sensation everyone is talking about, Blood of Hercules, is a sarcastically funny, dark fantasy romance reimagining of Hercules from bestselling author Jasmine Mas.

I’m just a girl. And it turns out, I’m Hercules.

I’m struggling to survive in a Titan infested world where Spartans, immortals from twelve royal families who have god-like powers and obscene wealth, rule over all. A shy-stammering foster child with nothing, I keep my head down, cover my scars, and focus on excelling in school. At least, I try to. Then it happens.

My blood test reveals I’m part of the powerful elite. I’m one of them. A Spartan.

Forced to attend the Spartan War Academy, I undergo the most harrowing test of all time to see if I have what it takes to be an immortal. There’s just a few problems. Achilles and Patro are my scary mentors. Kharon, the ferryman of death, and Augustus, the son of war, are my terrifying professors. Also, I’m pretty sure either someone’s stalking me everywhere I go, or my sanity’s slipping––I have a bad feeling both are true.

I’m surrounded by Villains and they’re smothering me with their hate, obsession, and dark possessiveness. Too bad for them, they have no clue just who they’re messing with.

Perfect for readers who love:
� "Who did this to you?"
� Extreme Enemies to Lovers
� Morally Gray Alpha Heros
� Stories where the Villains get the girl
� Greek Myths and War Academies
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512 Jasmine Mas 1335474722 Krystal 0 to-read 4.01 2024 Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)
author: Jasmine Mas
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Feel-Good Meal Plan: A Fresh Take on Meal Prep with Over 100 Nourishing Recipes to Feed Your Family with Ease]]> 210594042
You lead a busy life and it can be tough to find the time and energy to make nourishing, flavorful meals every morning, afternoon, and night. Maybe you tried meal prepping and it zapped all the joy out of eating. Was it the rigidity? The repetitive meals day after day? The hours of work? Don’t give up: The Feel-Good Meal Plan has a fresh, flexible, and unfussy solution to get you ready for the week—with less than two hours of prep and meals on the table every night in 30 minutes or less.

With Registered Dietitian and mom of two Lindsay Pleskot as your guide, take the next steps on your meal-planning journey with:

A Four-Week Meal Plan: Dive into a month of lunches and dinners designed to save time, minimize food waste, and maximize taste and nutrition. Follow ready-made grocery lists and step-by-step meal prep instructions to simplify the process.

Affordable, Accessible Cooking: No fancy ingredients required� just everyday staples you likely already have on hand. These recipes and shopping tips will keep your grocery bill and food waste to a minimum.

100+ Family-Friendly Recipes: Try breakfasts like One-Pan Green Goddess Hash and Tiramisu Overnight Oats, snacks like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Energy
Bites and Mexican Street Corn–Inspired Guacamole, and heaps of mains, like Korean- Inspired Beef and Rice Bowls with Pickled Cukes, Sheet Pan Margarita Shrimp Fajitas, Best-Ever Veggie Bolognese, and Juicy Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers.

Healthful, Intuitive Eating: Drawing on her certification as an Intuitive Eating Counselor, Lindsay has crafted meal plans and recipes that foster a balanced and joyful relationship with food, nurturing body, mind, and soul.

Ideal for busy families looking to alleviate the daily cooking grind, The Feel-Good Meal Plan gives you the freedom to enjoy mealtimes with ease!]]>
296 Lindsay Pleskot 0525612327 Krystal 0 to-read 4.23 The Feel-Good Meal Plan: A Fresh Take on Meal Prep with Over 100 Nourishing Recipes to Feed Your Family with Ease
author: Lindsay Pleskot
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: Why Our Species Is on the Edge of Extinction]]> 211003737 By the award-winning author of A (Very) Short History of Life: a history of humanity on the brink of decline.
We are living through a period that is unique in human history. For the first time in more than ten thousand years, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. In the middle of this century population growth will stop, and the number of people on Earth will start to decline - fast. In this provocative book, award-winning science writer Henry Gee offers a concise, brilliantly-told history of our species--and argues that we are on a rapid, one-way trip to extinction. The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire narrates the dramatic rise of humanity, how a scattered range of small groups across several continents eventually inbred, interacted, fought, established stable communities and food supplies, and began the process of dominating the planet. The human story is relatively brief—the oldest fossils of H. Sapiens date to approximately 300,000 years ago—yet the spread of our species has been unstoppable…until recently. As Gee demonstrates, our population has peaked, and is declining; our environment is becoming inimical to human life in many locations; our core resources of water, arable land, and air are diminishing; and new diseases, simmering conflicts, and ambiguous technologies threaten our collective health. Can we still change our course? Or is our own extinction inevitable? With assured narration, dramatic stories, and his signature sprightly humor, Henry Gee envisions new opportunities for the future of humanity—a future that will reward facing challenges with ingenuity, foresight, and cooperation.]]>
288 Henry Gee 1250325587 Krystal 0 to-read 3.69 2025 The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: Why Our Species Is on the Edge of Extinction
author: Henry Gee
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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

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

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

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

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

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.]]>
320 Katherine Center 1250283825 Krystal 0 to-read 4.02 2025 The Love Haters
author: Katherine Center
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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Where the Creek Bends 221453787 From acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller comes a beautifully rendered timeslip novel about the family we create for ourselves�

Madison Bettencourt has tried to assemble all the pieces of a perfect life, but nothing fits quite the way it should. She’s moved back home to Montana to care for her grandmother, who is slipping further and further away. And she’s called off her wedding, and worries her dreams of a family are fading with it.

As Madison rattles around her family home, childhood memories come flooding back. Bliss Morgan transformed eight-year-old Madison with her loyalty, and for a while, the two girls were as close as can be. But Madison never understood why Bliss suddenly vanished, leaving only a friendship bracelet and a message etched into a matchbook.

Before she can begin again, Madison must uncover what happened to Bliss, and Liam McKettrick—a widowed dad trying to repair his relationship with his two children—becomes her unlikely ally. He, too, understands the pang of regret. Yet there are mysteries that Madison hesitates to explore with anyone, and strange energies in Bettencourt Hall that blur the lines between past and present.

Poignant and utterly captivating, Where the Creek Bends shows that finding yourself begins with following your heart, no matter where it leads.]]>
368 Linda Lael Miller 1335006397 Krystal 0 to-read 3.57 Where the Creek Bends
author: Linda Lael Miller
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Guilt Pill 212228448
What if women could get rid of their guilt?

Maya Patel has it all—her own start-up, a sexy, doting husband, influencer status, and now, a new baby. Or does she? Because behind closed doors, Maya's drowning. Her newborn's taking a toll on her marriage, her best friend won't return her calls, and her company's hanging on by a thread. The worst part? It's all her fault. If she could just be a better boss, mother, wife, daughter, friend� Maybe she wouldn't feel so guilty all the time.

Enter: #Girlboss Liz Anderson, who introduces her to the "guilt pill," an experimental supplement that erases female guilt. At first, it’s the perfect antidote to Maya’s self-blame and imposter syndrome, and she finally becomes the unapologetic woman she’s always wanted to be. But there's a catch: for Maya to truly "have it all," she needs to be ready to risk it all. And as Maya falls deeper and deeper down the pill's guilt-free rabbit hole, her growing ruthlessness could threaten everything she's built for herself—and the family she's worked so hard to protect.

Electric, taut, and sharply observed, The Guilt Pill is a feminist exploration of motherhood, race, ambition, and how the world treats women who dare to go after everything they want.]]>
384 Saumya Dave 0778368343 Krystal 0 to-read 3.79 2025 The Guilt Pill
author: Saumya Dave
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Anatomy of Magic 198189782 A young woman learns to embrace all the messy imperfections of life and love with some help from her magical family in this next novel by New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes.

Lilian Estrada seemingly has it all: an ob-gyn star on the rise, a master at balancing work with whirlwind romances and part of a family of fiercely loyal and exceptional women, all bound together by an extraordinary secret. The Estrada women each possess a unique power, and Lily shines with the rare gift to manipulate memories. Yet not even her mystical abilities can shield her from a harrowing event at the hospital, one that sends her powers—and her confidence—spiraling out of control.

Seeking solace, Lily retreats to her family's ancestral home in Mexico, only to find herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past—Sam, the first love she never forgot. Nearly a decade since she last saw him, Sam is hardly the boy she once knew, and as old flames spark to life, Lily must navigate the mysteries of their shared history and the depths of her own heart if she hopes to control her unpredictable magic.]]>
304 J.C. Cervantes 0778310825 Krystal 0 to-read 3.61 2025 The Anatomy of Magic
author: J.C. Cervantes
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Black Orb 212431595
One evening in downtown Seoul, Jeong-su is smoking a cigarette outside when he sees something impossible: a huge black orb appears out of nowhere and sucks his neighbor inside. The orb soon begins consuming other people and no one knows how to stop it. Impervious to bullets and tanks, the orb splits and multiplies, chasing the hapless residents of Seoul out into the country and sparking a global crisis with widespread violence and looting. Jeong-su must rely upon his wits as he makes the arduous journey in search of his elderly parents. But the strangest phases of this ever-expanding disaster are yet to come and Jeong-su will be forced to question everything he’s taken for granted.]]>
304 Ewhan Kim 0778387348 Krystal 0 to-read 3.19 2024 The Black Orb
author: Ewhan Kim
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.19
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell 217387966 A page-turning, compelling thriller about a woman who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her sister’s disappearance.

Shaw Connolly is no stranger to trauma. As a fingerprints analyst, she’s one of the first on-site for crimes, including murder scenes and a mysterious string of arsons popping up throughout the rural Maine community her department serves. But the tragedy of her little sister’s disappearance sixteen years ago has always weighed on her the most; Thea is never far from her thoughts or dreams, and Shaw knows that her obsession with finding the truth about Thea is driving her husband away and impacting her two boys. Still, she can't let it go and has even started taking disturbing calls from a man named Anders Jansen who all but claims to have committed the crime.

Anders taunts Shaw with hints and innuendo about what supposedly happened all those years ago. His calls go to the next level as he reveals just how much he knows about Shaw’s personal life, like her stalled career and ruined marriage. As his stalking escalates to threats on her and her family's lives, he begins to show just how dangerous he might be. Shaw is too desperate for answers to hang up now, just when she's getting close to finding proof. The only question left is what she must lose to learn the truth.

A taut, atmospheric thriller from Edgar Award-finalist young adult author Gillian French, Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell introduces a compelling new voice in adult suspense fiction.]]>
352 Gillian French 1250358515 Krystal 0 to-read 3.74 2025 Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell
author: Gillian French
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Doll's House 214987955 She lives in my old home, she looks like me, she dresses like me� And now she wants my life.

Naomi is devastated when the sale of the apartment falls through, her dreams of moving to an amazing â€forever homeâ€� nearby with her family are momentarily dashed.

But then a sweet-natured single mother named Summer appears, announcing her intention to buy Naomi’s old apartment. And all of a sudden, it looks like Naomi might get her new house after all.

At first, it feels like Summer’s saved her life. But as soon as the sale goes through, Summer starts turning up at Naomi’s new house. She’s enrolled her child in Naomi’s daughter’s class. She’s dressing like Naomi. She’s suddenly best friends with all her friends� And then Naomi discovers she’s got a pretty little doll’s house. One that looks just like Naomi’s new home.

Naomi wants to believe she’s just imagining things. What could Summer possibly want? And how far will she go to take everything that Naomi has?]]>
352 Natasha Boydell 1835333230 Krystal 0 4.17 2025 The Doll's House
author: Natasha Boydell
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: currently-reading, horror, mystery-suspense-thriller
review:

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<![CDATA[Murder by Cheesecake (Golden Girls, #1)]]> 216524168 The first novel in the all-new Golden Girls Cozy Mystery Series!

When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, it not only ruins a gorgeous cheesecake but threatens the elaborate St. Olaf–themed wedding Rose is hosting.

Things are heating up, and not just because of Blanche’s hot flashes. Rose’s cousin is eloping to Miami, and Rose is playing host. If she can't balance the groom’s family’s snobbery against the traditional St. Olaf wedding week guidelines, her hometown may never accept her cousin again!

Dorothy quickly realizes she needs a date with whom she can exchange wedding-related wisecracks. Turning to a newfangled VHS dating service, she believes she’s found the ideal conversationalist. Unfortunately, what looks good on TV can actually be a total jerk in real life. It seems she’ll just have to enjoy the company of Sophia, Blanche, and whomever Blanche has targeted for a hookup.

As the Girls all pitch in, Rose is thrilled that the tea-and-fish-themed kickoff event is perfect, not a herring out of place. That is until Dorothy’s date is found dead—face-planted in an otherwise scrumptious-looking cheesecake. With every guest a suspect (especially Dorothy) and a marriage on the line, the four besties must ID the real killer, get the should-be-happy couple down the aisle, and make sure nobody from St. Olaf gets lost in the wilds of Miami. It’s up to the Golden Girls to sleuth out a way for friendship and love to win the day!]]>
336 Rachel Ekstrom Courage 1368102980 Krystal 5 cozy-mystery, netgalley I had many laugh out loud moments, so as a warning to you from me, don't read this book in public haha.

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3.70 2025 Murder by Cheesecake (Golden Girls, #1)
author: Rachel Ekstrom Courage
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: cozy-mystery, netgalley
review:
This is such a cute book, I loved it. The author did a wonderful job writing the characters and plot to be as you expect in the television show.
I had many laugh out loud moments, so as a warning to you from me, don't read this book in public haha.


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<![CDATA[Stars Around My Scars: The Annotated Poetry of Taylor Swift]]> 215697557 Grab your highlighters and favorite red pen and prepare to join professor of "Swifterature" Dr. Elly McCausland as she dives deep into the tortured poetry of Taylor Swift. Going line by line and word by word through 46 of Swift's most celebrated and hotly debated songs from across her 11-album career, McCausland is here to help you listen, read, and understand Taylor's music in an all-new way!

Stars Around My Scars is a fan-focused opportunity to revel in the poetic songwriting glow of Taylor Swift, a once-in-a-generation luminary.

Each entry presents a song with literary significance, offering a close reading of the lyrics with accompanied marginalia that points out poetic technique, literary references, and creative throughlines. Accompanied by an in-depth analysis of the deeper meaning, craftsmanship, and literary connections present both above and beneath the surface, Dr. McCausland puts listening to Taylor Swift and appreciating poetry hand-in-hand.
Ěý
Written in an approachable style for Swifties of any era, Stars Around My Scars indulges the act of examining Swift’s lyrics for their literary “easter eggs� and connections and legitimizes Swift as this generation’s great poet and writer.]]>
240 Elly McCausland Krystal 5 4.08 2025 Stars Around My Scars: The Annotated Poetry of Taylor Swift
author: Elly McCausland
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: netgalley, non-fiction, poetry
review:

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<![CDATA[Animal Listeners: The Awakening of Quinby Clark]]> 219429663 Animals are speaking. Who is Listening?

When Quinby Clark has a conversation with a bird, she thinks she’s going crazy. But when a dog invites her to attend a mysterious Australian boarding school for children who can speak with animals, she realises her dreams of escaping her awful family are finally coming true.

Thrust into the secret society of Animal Listeners, Quinby discovers she can speak with more animals than anyone else � a fact the school asks her to keep hidden to protect them all from covert factions. After Quinby is wrongfully accused of causing trouble, she and her new friends must prove her innocence while rescuing precious animals. The world desperately needs her extraordinary Abilities, but will Quinby even survive the school year?

With menacing factions and lurking danger, being the most gifted Animal Listener isn’t always a gift.

A Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy novel for anyone who loves animals. Join Quinby as she explores the magic of the Animal Listener community hidden within our own world, at a boarding school nestled in the Australian bush by a sandy beach. Meet delightful animals from wild kangaroos, koalas and dolphins, to the school family of bossy cats and loveable pigs. An adventure for the whole family.

"Engaging multispecies characters headline a tale that's both insightful and diverting."
- Kirkus Reviews

"... The animal cast is divine, featuring personable dogs, cats, hens, and alpacas as well as such lesser-known species as currawongs and superb fairy-wrens. The humans shine, too, starting with sympathetic Quinby; she's ever-resilient in the face of hateful individuals at the school, including her own roommate. Accompanying Quinby are students and faculty members hailing from other countries and different backgrounds. While this lengthy novel certainly isn't a quick read, it's easy to rally behind the young hero, who also takes on a puppy farm." - Kirkus Reviews]]>
478 R. Aveen Krystal 0 to-read 5.00 Animal Listeners: The Awakening of Quinby Clark
author: R. Aveen
name: Krystal
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Broken Hummingbird 123573776
In San Miguel de Allende, Jane and her young sons delight in new adventures, but Kevin still seethes. Jane befriends a circle of intriguing women and helps two girls who remind her of the brother she abandoned when her own parents divorced. After witnessing violence involving the girls� father, Jane’s vivid dreams, possibly guided by a hummingbird messenger from the hereafter, grow ever darker. When tragedy strikes San Miguel, the community fractures and then rises, and Jane must make a dangerous choice.

The Broken Hummingbird has received the following honors:
2024 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Winner,
2024 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist for Literary Fiction,
2023 International Book Awards Finalist for Women’s Fiction,
2023 American Fiction Awards Finalist, Women's Fiction & Best New Fiction, and
2023 Story Circle Network Sarton Prize for Contemporary Fiction Finalist.]]>
328 Ann Marie Jackson 164742559X Krystal 0 to-read 3.86 2023 The Broken Hummingbird
author: Ann Marie Jackson
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Dark Mirror (The Bone Season, #5)]]> 211003763
As she makes her way back to the revolution, her journey takes her to Venice, where she learns a dangerous secret � one that could change the face of the war between humans and immortals. Before she can return to London, she must help the Domino Programme unravel the sinister Operation Ventriloquist.

And it soon becomes clear that the one person who could recover her memories � Arcturus Mesarthim � might also hold the key to saving Italy.

Lyrical and action-packed, The Dark Mirror drives the Bone Season series forward, showing Samantha Shannon at the height of her powers.]]>
576 Samantha Shannon 1639733965 Krystal 0 to-read 4.66 2025 The Dark Mirror (The Bone Season, #5)
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: to-read
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The Bachelorette Party 217388429 Scream meets The Guest List in this wickedly compelling and compulsively page-turning thriller of friendship and murder from the author of The Lost Village, Camilla Sten.

On a remote, craggy island nestled off the coast of Sweden, four friends—Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina—meet every year. Best friends since childhood, the idea is to drink beer, dance by the water, and shake off the weight of life's expectations. The location of the island is a secret to everyone but them. One night of reckless fun and secret-sharing, and then they return to their normal lives.

Ten years later. Ever since she was a teenager, Tessa Nilsson has been consumed by the story of four friends who disappeared on their annual trip to a remote island together. As her true crime fervor turned into a wildly popular podcast, Tessa urgently covered Sweden’s most gruesome cases, but could never find the answers behind what happened to these women who disappeared, leaving a few maddening clues but no concrete answers. Now Tessa’s podcast has crashed and burned, any chance she had at uncovering the truth vanishing with it.

Anneliese is Tessa’s best friend, and before she walks down the aisle, she wants to have a bachelorette party. The Baltic Vinyasa, a sleek, sophisticated yoga retreat on a small island off the coast—one with such similar characteristics to the tragedy years ago that it raises the hair on Tessa’s neck. The idea is to drink gallons of cava, do sunrise yoga, and get in their last chance to bond with the bride. Tessa will not pass this up. It’s her last chance to find out what happened to the four women, once and for all.

And it’s someone else’s last chance to get revenge.]]>
304 Camilla Sten 1250868505 Krystal 0 to-read 3.59 2025 The Bachelorette Party
author: Camilla Sten
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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Home of the American Circus 60211582 The acclaimed author of the �lyrical coming-of-age novel� (Good Morning America) The People We Keep returns with a luminous new story of redemption, breaking generational curses, and the power of family in its truest form.

After an emergency leaves her short on rent, thirty-year-old Freya Arnalds bails on her lackluster life as bartender in Maine and returns to her suburban hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents. Despite attempts to lay low, Freya encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames—as well as her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, who is secretly living in the derelict home. As they reconnect, Freya and Aubrey lean on each other, working to restore the house and come to terms with the devastating events that pulled them apart years ago.

Set in the birthplace of the American circus, this deeply moving novel is an exploration of broken families, the weight of the past, and the complicated journey of finding home.]]>
Allison Larkin Krystal 0 to-read 4.48 2025 Home of the American Circus
author: Allison Larkin
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
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The Housekeeper's Secret 211350350 For fans of stranger than truth stories, Sandy Schnakenburg is uncovering rattling and unprecedented revelations in this powerful memoir of love, secrets, and survival.

When Lee Metoyer is hired to be the new housekeeper, she has no idea that she’s about to become the anchor to a family in an abusive patriarch's home, setting a mystery in motion that will take decades to uncover. At the age of seventy-two, Lee falls ill and on her deathbed asks Sandy to write her story. The only problem is, Sandy doesn’t know the story.

Embarking on a quest to honor Lee’s final wishes, Sandy takes an emotional and thrilling journey, unveiling shocking truths not only about her beloved housekeeper but also her own upbringing. As she digs further, she learns that Lee came to her family’s sprawling estate in Barrington, IL, harboring a secret past. For decades, she’s been in hiding. But Lee is not the only one with secrets; Sandy’s quest forces her to grapple with her own family history as well, and to finally confront the effects of the psychological abuse she suffered as a child.

Both a chilling and exciting personal tale of love and survival, The Housekeeper’s Secret is a gripping saga that illuminates the resilience of the human spirit.]]>
304 Sandra Schnakenburg 1647427606 Krystal 0 to-read 4.22 2024 The Housekeeper's Secret
author: Sandra Schnakenburg
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt]]> 208503336
Harriet Hunt is completely alone. Her father disappeared months ago, leaving her to wander the halls of Sunnyside house, dwelling on a past she'd rather keep buried. She doesn't often venture beyond her front gate, instead relishing the feel of dirt under her fingernails and of soft moss beneath her feet. Consequently, she's been deemed a little too peculiar for popular Victorian society. This solitary life suits her fine, though � because, in her garden, magic awaits.

Harriet's garden is special. It's a wild place full of twisting ivy, vibrant plums, and a quiet power that buzzes like bees. Caring for this place, and keeping it from running rampant through the streets of her London suburb, is Harriet's purpose.

When suspicion for her father's disappearance falls on her, she marries a seemingly charming man, the first to see past her peculiarities, in order to protect herself. It's soon clear, however, that her new husband might be worse than her father and that she's integral to a dark plot created by the men around her. To free herself and discover the truth, she must learn to channel the power of her strange, magical garden.

At once enchantingly mesmerizing and fiercely feminist, perfect for fans of The Magician's Daughter and The Once and Future Witches, the vibrant world-building and sinister undertones of The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt make for the perfect modern fairytale about women taking control of their lives—with a little help from the magic within them.]]>
309 Chelsea Iversen 1728275814 Krystal 0 to-read 3.50 2024 The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt
author: Chelsea Iversen
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
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Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Krystal 0 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: to-read, classics-to-read, tbr-books-i-own
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Carmilla 48037
But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day� Pre-dating Dracula by twenty-six years, Carmilla is the original vampire story, steeped in sexual tension and gothic romance.]]>
108 J. Sheridan Le Fanu 0809510839 Krystal 2 3.88 1872 Carmilla
author: J. Sheridan Le Fanu
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1872
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves: horror, mystery-suspense-thriller
review:

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This Is Happiness 50403512
A profound and enchanting new novel from Booker Prize-longlisted author Niall Williams about the loves of our lives and the joys of reminiscing.

You don't see rain stop, but you sense it. You sense something has changed in the frequency you've been living and you hear the quietness you thought was silence get quieter still, and you raise your head so your eyes can make sense of what your ears have already told you, which at first is something has changed.

The rain is stopping. Nobody in the small, forgotten village of Faha remembers when it started; rain on the western seaboard was a condition of living. Now--just as Father Coffey proclaims the coming of electricity--it is stopping. Seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe is standing outside his grandparents' house shortly after the rain has stopped when he encounters Christy for the first time. Though he can't explain it, Noel knows right something has changed .

This is the story of all that was to Christy's long-lost love and why he had come to Faha, Noel's own experiences falling in and out of love, and the endlessly postponed arrival of electricity--a development that, once complete, would leave behind a world that had not changed for centuries.

Niall Williams' latest novel is an intricately observed portrait of a community, its idiosyncrasies and its traditions, its paradoxes and its inanities, its failures and its triumphs. Luminous and otherworldly, and yet anchored with deep-running roots into the earthy and the everyday, This Is Happiness is about stories as the very stuff of the ways they make the texture and matter of our world, and the ways they write and rewrite us.]]>
390 Niall Williams 1635576318 Krystal 0 to-read 4.27 2019 This Is Happiness
author: Niall Williams
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: to-read
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Defy 209284471 Escape a Natural Death with us.
Come to Zalmon’s Quiet End.
In the city of Zalmon, every Life Event is where you’ll work, who you’ll marry, when you’ll die.
On a tour of Central Processing, seventeen-year-old Darius inadvertently unveils shocking information about his beloved little sister, Mahlah. His impulsive reaction may make him a target of the sinister people who run Zalmon, and could doom Mahlah to a worse fate than the one Darius uncovered.
Defying an unjust system, an unwanted Life Match, and an uncontrollable enemy, Darius fights to save Mahlah, leading him to expose a conspiracy at the heart of the city � and a potential life of autonomy, dignity, and love beyond what the Book of Zalmon dictates.]]>
208 Sara de Waard 1770867589 Krystal 0 to-read 4.03 Defy
author: Sara de Waard
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Firebird (The Fire That Binds, #1)]]> 211004924 DELUXE EDITION—featuring beautiful original illustrated stenciled edges with a foil case stamp, and designed endpapers!

An instant New York Times bestseller!

House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash in this epic, scorching dark romantasy.

A conqueror captivated�
A witch prophesied to save them all�
An unforgiving world where dragons rule Rome.

Julian Dakkia, Roman general and nephew to the emperor, has played his role as conqueror well. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him, a captive on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate.

The rules of their world dictate that he is the conqueror and she is the captured. But he and his dragon know one thing: their bond has nothing to do with the laws of mighty Rome. She belongs to them. And they belong to her.

Fierce and powerful, twenty-one-year old Malina has survived the loss of her family and she is determined to fight until her dying breath. Still, she can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality…and now holds her life in his hands. Nor can she deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his. Slowly she learns that Julian is caught in his mad uncle’s machinations for domination, and helps him plot the downfall of the empire itself.

As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.

Firebird is a fantasy with some dark themes, including elements of master/slave relationship, attempted sexual assault (not between MCs), and dubious consent (not between MCs). Readers who may be sensitive to these elements, please take note.]]>
400 Juliette Cross 1250339944 Krystal 0 to-read 3.54 2025 Firebird (The Fire That Binds, #1)
author: Juliette Cross
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/22
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<![CDATA[John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs]]> 211004838 John Lennon and Paul McCartney knew each other for twenty-three years, from 1957 to 1980. This book is the myth-shattering biography of a relationship that changed the cultural history of the world.

The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, remain an active ingredient in our cultural bloodstream, as new generations fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John and Paul. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.

John and Paul’s relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John and Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. Yoko Ono remarked on the resemblance of their friendship to a romantic relationship and suggested that at some point that’s what John wanted it to be. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatles songs.

In John and Paul, acclaimed writer on human psychology and creativity Ian Leslie traces the shared journey of these men before, during and after The Beatles, offering us both a new look at two of the greatest icons in music history, and rich insights into the nature of creativity, collaboration, and human intimacy.]]>
424 Ian Leslie 1250869544 Krystal 0 to-read 4.54 2025 John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs
author: Ian Leslie
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/22
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Moon Dust in My Hairnet 204231783 Moon Dust in My Hairnet is a fresh, hopeful, and diverse sci-fi romp following an autistic lunar lunch lady as she juggles relationships and threatening corporate overlords, all while adjusting to life on Lunar Trust One.

20-year-old Lane was perfectly happy living in her big sister's shadow. The great Faraday Tanner, who invented the gravdrive and inspired the movement to found the moon's first independent colony, was the unequaled voice of the post-melt generation. That is, until an unimaginable tragedy cut Faraday’s legacy short.

Wracked with survivor's guilt and desperate for her sister's utopian dream to succeed, Lane embraces her job on the moon: lunch lady—which is more than her parents think she can handle. Her boyfriend's supportive at least, when he's not drooling over one of the new recruits. Lane tries to put the past behind her, committed to enjoying her kitchen work and dating her boyfriend and his new crushes. She even participates in planning Faraday's memorial, forcing herself to grapple with monumental loss.

But when colony goods go missing and vital equipment gets tampered with, Lane can't accept the events as mere pranks, banding together with new and old friends to save their home.]]>
340 J.R. Creaden 1738125408 Krystal 0 to-read 3.70 2024 Moon Dust in My Hairnet
author: J.R. Creaden
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/22
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<![CDATA[Daydreaming in the Solar System: Surfing Saturn's Rings, Golfing on the Moon, and Other Adventures in Space Exploration]]> 205762610 A thrilling journey through the solar system that merges imagination with hard science

Imagine traveling to the far reaches of the solar system, pausing for close-up encounters with distant planets, moons, asteroids, and comets, accompanied by a congenial guide to the science behind what you see. What, for instance, would it be like to fly in Titan’s hazy atmosphere? To walk across the surface of Mercury? To feel the rumble of a volcano brewing on one of Jupiter's largest moons?

In Daydreaming in the Solar System, John Moores and Jesse Rogerson bring that dream to virtual life. Through a combination of story and science they let readers know what such an otherworldly experience would actually look, feel, and even taste like. With data gathered over the decades by our robotic spacecraft, and with Michelle Parsons’s evocative illustrations, Moores and Rogerson boldly take you where no living being has gone before, giving an engaging and accurate explanation of the science along the way. Where Carl Sagan’s storied “spaceship of the imagination� provided a window to outer space, Daydreaming in the Solar System opens a door, inviting readers to step through and truly explore the strange new worlds of the solar system.]]>
256 John E. Moores 0262049295 Krystal 0 to-read 4.44 Daydreaming in the Solar System: Surfing Saturn's Rings, Golfing on the Moon, and Other Adventures in Space Exploration
author: John E. Moores
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/22
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<![CDATA[The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea: A Novel]]> 214152494 The next installment in the nationally bestselling The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder series finds antique hunter Freya Lockwood and Aunt Carole one again embarking on a journey to recover priceless antiques—this time on a Red Sea cruise.

Freya and Aunt Carole are back! After their successful solve at Coptham Manor, Freya and Carole return to late mentor Arthur Crockleford’s antique shop in Dedham Vale, but after receiving an invitation (and then suspicious disinvitation) from an antiques specialist cruise and a break-in and murder at a local maritime museum, Freya and Carole are back on the case!

The two catch up to their original cruise ship in Cyprus, for a route that will take them through the Suez Canal (with a stop in Egypt) to their eventual destination off the Red Sea in Jordan. The ship has an art gallery filled with stolen antiquities listed in Arthur’s journal. This time, Freya and Carole are on the hunt for a shadowy figure called “The Collector,� who traffics in stolen artifacts, and whom they believe to be on board. But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts—plus some unexpected familiar faces—will Freya and Carole be able to discover the Collector’s identity before people begin disappearing from the ship? Or are they next?]]>
304 C.L. Miller 1668032406 Krystal 0 to-read 3.67 2025 The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea: A Novel
author: C.L. Miller
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends: The Players and Guitars That Shaped the Music]]> 207567547 Sure to strike a chord with guitarists and blues fans, this authoritative and photo-filled volume includes well over 100 of the genre’s greatest players and performers from the prewar era to present. From blues pioneers like Robert Johnson, Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Memphis Minnie to today’s hottest guitar slingers such as Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., and Samantha Fish, TheĚýUltimate Book of Blues Guitars is your guide to the instruments and musicians that made blues a cornerstone of American culture and the very foundation of rock and roll. Author and guitar journalist Pete Prown presents his subjects by blues-defining eras and subgenres, early acoustic and country blues, Chicago blues, the British Invasion, blues rock, and more. Prown’s knowledgeable discussions examine specific noteworthy guitars each player made famous, as well as effects pedals, amplifiers, and career overviews that include the playersâ€� first-person revelations and insights. Illustrated with photos of the guitarists in action, the book also features sidebars on influencers who were pioneers of various styles and subgenres, techniques like slide guitar, blues jargon, and influential women who helped shape the blues.Guitarists profiled Robert Johnson Son House T-Bone Walker Clarence “Gatemouthâ€� Brown Lightninâ€� Hopkins B. B. King Freddie King Albert King Albert Collins Otis Rush Buddy Guy John Lee Hooker Mississippi John Hurt Muddy Waters Howlinâ€� Wolf Brian Jones Keith Richards Michael Bloomfield Eric Clapton Jimi Hendrix Peter Green Jeff Beck Jimmy Page Mick Taylor Alvin Lee Duane Allman Dickey Betts Johnny Winter Roy Buchanan Carlos Santana Billy F Gibbons Rory Gallagher Lowell George Robin Trower Stevie Ray Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan Robert Cray Bonnie Raitt Gary Moore Kenny Wayne Shepherd Jonny Lang Sonny Landreth Warren Haynes Derek Trucks Joe Bonamassa Gary Clark Jr. Christone Ingram]]> 200 Pete Prown 0760387567 Krystal 0 to-read 5.00 The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends: The Players and Guitars That Shaped the Music
author: Pete Prown
name: Krystal
average rating: 5.00
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Parents Weekend 217387739 From the bestselling author of If Something Happens to Me, comes one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers.

In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids—five residents of Campisi Hall—never show up at dinner.

At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours click by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise.

Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. What led them out on that fateful night? Could it be the sins of their mothers and fathers come to cause them peril or a threat to the friend group from within?

Told through multiple points of view in past and present—and marking the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift—Parents Weekend explores the weight of expectation, family dysfunction, and those exhilarating first days we all remember in the dorms when our friends become our family.]]>
320 Alex Finlay 1250360722 Krystal 0 to-read 3.65 2025 Parents Weekend
author: Alex Finlay
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: to-read
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Then, Come Back to Yourself 220411173
This book unravels life's complexities with a touch of simplicity, inviting readers into a journey of self-connection and introspection. It will leave you immersed in a world of vivid imagination and a deeper bond with yourself.]]>
104 Yash Shah 1837942188 Krystal 0 to-read 4.75 2024 Then, Come Back to Yourself
author: Yash Shah
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.75
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/22
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Nothing Ever Happens Here 212378262 🎧Run Time = 9 hours and 34 minutes

“Phenomenally well-crafted suspense� (Samantha M. Bailey) from “a writer to watch� (Publishers Weekly): Shelby survived a horrible attack � and just as life starts returning to normal, she receives an anonymous note that makes it seem like the danger isn’t over.
“A charming cast of characters, a twisty mystery, and a diabolical killer� Impossible to put down� (Robyn Harding, internationally bestselling author of The Haters).
“No one weaves a twisty, dark tale quite like Seraphina Nova Glass.� —Amber Garza, author of When I Was You

Nothing ever happens in small towns�

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

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

But Shelby isn’t the only one with questions. Mackenzie’s husband, Leo, vanished without a trace on that terrible night, and over a year later, no one knows why. Until a deep dive into his finances reveals a history of debts, mismanaged funds, and hidden accounts—one of which is still active. Their suspicion that Leo is still alive only complicates things further, though, and when another person connected to Shelby goes missing, she’s caught in a race against time before her attacker becomes a killer.

Other thrillers from Seraphina to keep you up all night: � The Vacancy in Room 10 � The Vanishing Hour � On a Quiet Street � Such a Good Wife � Someone’s Listening]]>
304 Seraphina Nova Glass 1525836722 Krystal 0 to-read 3.47 2025 Nothing Ever Happens Here
author: Seraphina Nova Glass
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/18
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The Page Turner 198385441 A young romance writer makes a discovery that throws her elitist family into chaos.

Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed “serious� authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social-media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel.

Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff� they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents� business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide: As much as she’s dreamed of the day her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed?]]>
336 Viola Shipman 1525804871 Krystal 0 to-read 3.73 2025 The Page Turner
author: Viola Shipman
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/18
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Nobody Asked for This 221493579 A razor-sharp dramedy following a twenty-something female comic as she navigates family grief, a dysfunctional friendship, and a date gone very wrong, from Georgia Toews, author of Hey, Good Luck Out There.

Virginia is twenty-three and a stand-up comedian. In between working the rounds of Toronto’s small comedy club circuit and auditioning for paper towel commercials, she is tiptoeing around her depressed roommate and childhood friend, Haley, and having biweekly dinners with her bereaved stepdad, Dale, while trying to manage her own grief at the loss of her mother. She is also secretly working to get the green card that will be her ticket to L.A. and, she hopes, a glittering comedy career.

But when Dale tells her that he wants to sell their family home, and when a date with a fellow comic turns into a shattering encounter, she is forced to confront the limits of comedy—and friendship. Not every experience can be neatly packaged into a “bit,� and not every friendship is meant to last.

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Nobody Asked for This reaches into the messy depths of love, friendship, grief and trauma and, like all the best jokes, is utterly unpredictable.]]>
336 Georgia Toews 0385700075 Krystal 0 to-read 3.50 2025 Nobody Asked for This
author: Georgia Toews
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/18
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Beach Vibes 212431577 What would you do if you caught your brother cheating on your best friend?

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

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

Love and loyalty collide with secrets and betrayal in this witty and emotional tale about the lengths we’ll go to for family, from Susan Mallery, bestselling author of The Boardwalk Bookshop.]]>
384 Susan Mallery 1335402535 Krystal 0 to-read 3.75 2025 Beach Vibes
author: Susan Mallery
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/18
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<![CDATA[Cold Burn (National Parks Thriller, #2)]]> 211004169 Agent Michael Walker returns when multiple deaths at Glacier Bay National Park are just the first steps in a potential global disaster. In Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, a frozen woolly mammoth is uncovered by a geological survey team. When all of them are found dead at the site of the thawed-out carcass, National Park Service ISB special agent Michael Walker is called in to investigate. In Florida’s Everglades National Park, FBI special investigator Gina Delgado traces the murder of an environmental science intern back to another U.S. Geological Survey team’s ongoing experiments that are decimating the fragile ecosystem. Beneath the icy waters of Alaska’s Elfin Cove, the crew of a stranded Los Angeles class attack submarine is wiped out by a mysterious contagion, inexplicably causing their lungs to freeze. The link between these apparently disparate events lies in a deadly, prehistoric microbe that killed the mammoth the same way it did the USGS survey team in Glacier Bay and the crew members of the submarine. A microbe that a rogue billionaire is desperate to attain, and a Russian strongman will do anything to weaponize to achieve even greater, wide-ranging power. Fighting a battle on several fronts—militarily, intellectually, and biologically—Walker and Delgado are running out of time to stop a devastating attack that would reshape the entire world]]> 336 A.J. Landau 1250877369 Krystal 0 to-read 3.97 2025 Cold Burn (National Parks Thriller, #2)
author: A.J. Landau
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/18
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<![CDATA[The Library Game (Secret Staircase Mysteries, #4)]]> 211004792
Tempest Raj couldn’t be happier that the family business, Secret Staircase Construction, is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Known for enchanting architectural features like sliding bookshelves and secret passageways, the company is now taking on a dream project: transforming a home into a public library that celebrates history's greatest fictional detectives.

Though the work is far from done, Gray House Library’s new owner is eager to host a murder mystery dinner and literary themed escape room. But when a rehearsal ends with an actor murdered and the body vanishes, Tempest is witness to a seemingly impossible crime. Fueled by her grandfather’s Scottish and Indian meals, Tempest and the rest of the crew must figure out who is making beloved classic mystery plots come to life in a deadly game.

Multiple award winning author Gigi Pandian masterfully weaves wit and warmth in the Secret Staircase Mysteries. Readers will delight in the surprises Secret Staircase Construction uncovers behind the next locked door.]]>
320 Gigi Pandian 1250880238 Krystal 0 to-read 3.83 The Library Game (Secret Staircase Mysteries, #4)
author: Gigi Pandian
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.83
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date added: 2024/11/18
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Marguerite by the Lake 217387994 From Mary Dixie Carter comes an atmospheric, tense novel about the death of a wealthy garden designer, her lonely widower, and the scrappy young gardener who smoothly steps into her life.

Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.

When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful—perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.

But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.]]>
304 Mary Dixie Carter 1250790387 Krystal 0 to-read 3.30 Marguerite by the Lake
author: Mary Dixie Carter
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.30
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date added: 2024/11/17
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<![CDATA[Secrets She Left Behind (Before the Storm #2)]]> 6251052 Keith Weston nearly lost his life in an act of arson. He survived - but with devastating physical and emotional scars. Without his mother, he has no one to help him heal, no money, nothing to live for but the medications that numb his pain. Isolated and angry, his hatred has one tight focus: his half sister, Maggie Lockwood.

Nineteen-year-old Maggie Lockwood spent a year in prison for the acts that led up to the fire. Now she's back home. But her release cannot free her from the burden of guilt she carries. She grew up with Keith Weston, played with him as a child…and recently learned they share the same father.

Now the person Keith despises most is the closest thing he has to family - until Sara returns. If Sara returns�.

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490 Diane Chamberlain 0778326152 Krystal 0 to-read 4.01 2009 Secrets She Left Behind (Before the Storm #2)
author: Diane Chamberlain
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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The Blossom Sisters 15815378 Gus Hollister owes all his success to his feisty grandmother, Rose, and he knows it. It was Rose and her two sisters, Iris and Violet, who raised Gus, sent him to the best schools, and helped him start his own accounting business. Rose even bought the house Gus lives in with his wife, Elaine.
But now, Gus stands to lose everything--his home, his car, and his business. Worse, he's alienated his beloved grandma, who tried to warn him about Elaine's greedy, gold-digging ways. Gus, blinded by infatuation, refused to listen, and now Elaine has locked him out of the house he was foolish enough to put in her name.
Heartsick and remorseful, Gus returns to Rose's Virginia farmhouse seeking shelter. But it won't be easy to make amends. Despite their pretty floral names, there's nothing delicate about the Blossom sisters. Unbeknownst to Gus, they've also been running a very lucrative business from home and don't want interference. Yet family and forgiveness go hand in hand, and Gus isn't giving up.
With the help of close friends, new associates, and some very sprightly ladies, Gus begins to repair the damage he's done and help the residents of Blossom Farm begin the next phase of their business. He might even be finding the courage to love again. Because no matter how daunting starting over can be, the results can surpass your wildest expectations--especially when the Blossom sisters are in your corner. . .]]>
352 Fern Michaels 0758286716 Krystal 0 to-read 3.60 2013 The Blossom Sisters
author: Fern Michaels
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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Courage, My Love 54104063 When the Nazi occupation of Rome begins, two courageous young women are plunged deep into the Italian Resistance to fight for their freedom in this captivating debut novel.

Rome, 1943

Lucia Colombo has had her doubts about fascism for years, but as a single mother in an increasingly unstable country, politics are for other people--she needs to focus on keeping herself and her son alive. Then the Italian government falls and the German occupation begins, and suddenly, Lucia finds that complacency is no longer an option.

Francesca Gallo has always been aware of injustice and suffering. A polio survivor who lost her father when he was arrested for his anti-fascist politics, she came to Rome with her fiancé to start a new life. But when the Germans invade and her fiancé is taken by the Nazis, Francesca decides she has only one option: to fight back.

As Lucia and Francesca are pulled deeper into the struggle against the Nazi occupation, both women learn to resist alongside the partisans to drive the Germans from Rome. But as winter sets in, the occupation tightens its grip on the city, and the resistance is in constant danger.

In the darkest days, Francesca and Lucia face their pasts, find the courage to love, and maintain hope for a future that is finally free.]]>
336 Kristin Beck 0593101561 Krystal 0 to-read 4.16 2021 Courage, My Love
author: Kristin Beck
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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Friend Me 122760453 What happens when an online friend becomes a real-life nightmare?

Roisin hasn't made a single friend since moving from Ireland to Massachusetts. In fact, she is falling apart under constant abuse from a school bully, Zara. Zara torments Roisin in person and on social media. She makes Roisin the laughingstock of the whole school.

Roisin feels utterly alone... until she bonds with Haley online. Finally there's someone who gets her. Haley is smart, strong, and shares anti-mean-girl memes that make Roisin laugh. Together, they are able to imagine what life could look like without Zara. Haley quickly becomes Roisin's lifeline.

Then Zara has a painful accident, police investigate, and Roisin panics. Could her chats with Haley look incriminating?

Roisin wants Haley to delete her copies of their messages, but when she tries to meet Haley in person, she can't find her anywhere. What's going on? Her best friend would never have lied to her, right? Or is Haley not who she says she is...

With twists, turns, and lightning-fast pacing, this is a middle-grade thriller about bullying, revenge, and tech that young readers won't be able to put down.]]>
272 Sheila M. Averbuch 1338618091 Krystal 0 to-read 3.71 2020 Friend Me
author: Sheila M. Averbuch
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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Aftermath: Into the Unknown 217737055
For three years, Robin and her grandfather have been hiding, trusting no one. When a biker gang moves into town, Robin can no longer scrounge or tend her garden. Because her grandfather is dying, he urges her to join her extended family�800 miles away in a bunker city in South Dakota, but she doesn't want to leave.

Desperate, her grandfather disappears to force Robin into action and meets Kory, who’s with the bikers but disillusioned. Seeing a man who likes to read and could protect his granddaughter, he convinces Kory he can start over and accompany Robin on the long journey.

Unaware of her grandfather’s plan, Robin exposes her hiding place searching for him, and Kory saves her. On the run, they battle the elements and survivalists, learning to trust each other. If they can't reach the safety of Vita xTerra, they won't survive long enough to have a future together.

Prepare for another non-stop, post-apocalyptic road trip in Aftermath: Into the Unknown as they fight for love and survival.]]>
337 Lena Gibson 1685135293 Krystal 0 to-read 4.51 2024 Aftermath: Into the Unknown
author: Lena Gibson
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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The Artist's Way Toolkit 211003921
Dive into the genius behind The Artist’s Way with exclusive, never-before-published Q&A’s, instruction manuals, and an Artist’s Way glossary. In this streamlined edition, Julia Cameron lays out the essential foundation of her Artist’s Way philosophy for anyone looking to get to the heart of her practice and begin immediately applying it to their own creative processes.

Distilling the Artist’s Way philosophy into a precise and accessible collection of ready-to-use tools, The Artist's Way Toolkit is the perfect entry point for aspiring artists looking to hone their craft and reinvigorate their creativity. For those new to the Artist’s Way or for those who have been following it for years, The Artist's Way Toolkit offers refreshed and updated insight into Julia’s creative program that has already inspired more than five million readers.]]>
160 Julia Cameron 1250344972 Krystal 0 to-read 3.81 The Artist's Way Toolkit
author: Julia Cameron
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.81
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<![CDATA[Daughter of Chaos (The Dark Pantheon, #1)]]> 198132882 ----
In ancient Greece, mortals suffer under the tyranny of the gods—forced to sacrifice the food they depend on, their worldly possessions and even each other at the whims of the Twelve. But an ancient prophecy speaks of hope, of one who will set humankind free.

On the island of Naxos, Danae, a fisherman's daughter, develops strange powers tied to a mysterious tree bearing golden fruit. Driven from her home, she seeks guidance from the oracle but finds only more questions…and whispers of a secret network of believers who have long been awaiting her arrival.

Determined to learn more, Danae joins forces with the legendary Heracles and his crew. Together they battle monsters and gods alike on a quest to the end of the world as Danae seeks the one who holds the key to her destiny.

But a terrifying truth is yet to be unlocked. A truth that could destroy the world as she knows it. Danae must choose to follow her destiny or her heart, while the fate of humanity rests on her shoulders.]]>
464 A.S. Webb 0778368432 Krystal 0 to-read 3.66 2025 Daughter of Chaos (The Dark Pantheon, #1)
author: A.S. Webb
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends]]> 217387862
It’s only natural nineteen-year-old Brennan’s life would be upended by something as ridiculous and unexpected as turning into a vampire. But if there’s one thing Brennan can do, it’s pretend everything’s fine when he’s close to losing his mind. Brennan is nineteen and just clawed his way back to Sturbridge University after recovering from a suicide attempt, and this is not the new life he was hoping for.

Brennan’s newly bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the super cute librarian and everyone’s campus crush, stumbles on Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag. Luckily, adorable Cole is happy to keep Brennan’s secret, and even seems to maybe like him? Navigating a new relationship is hard enough without the added struggles of vampire puberty, an eclectic clan of self-proclaimed “good� vampires, and growing feelings for the one person who makes Brennan feel normal. With swirling rumors of a missing student and a rise in strange “animal attacks� near campus, Brennan must uncover the secrets of the clan and figure out how to balance vampirism and humanity, or risk losing the first real friends he’s ever had.

Filled with humor and heart, The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends has a gentle bite.]]>
336 Jamie D'Amato 1250321204 Krystal 0 to-read 4.16 2025 The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends
author: Jamie D'Amato
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/16
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<![CDATA[Money on Your Mind: The Unconscious Beliefs That Sabotage Your Financial Well-Being—and How to Break Free]]> 205664828 Discover how your thoughts, emotions, and past experiences shape your money habits—and find your way to financial freedom.

Do you overspend or make impulse purchases you regret later?
Do you never feel like enough money is enough?
Do you hide purchases from your partner?
Do you spend extravagantly on others to win their approval?
Do you resist spending money even on things you know you need?

One of your most important relationships is the one you have with money, yet you may not be aware of the complex web of emotions and past experiences that are really driving your money habits.

Money on Your MindĚýhelps you unpack these psychological hurdles and start making better financial choices. Through a mix of case studies, client stories, and her expertise in psychotherapy, financial psychotherapist Vicky Reynal reveals how an emotionally absent parent can result in comfort shopping, how bullying in school can lead to overspending, how absorbing a parent’s lack of boundaries can interfere with making rational financial decisions, and much more. Then, she helps you shift those ingrained attitudes and beliefs so you can stop falling into the same old spend-ing traps. You’ll learn to

Recognize your spending triggers
Let go of a scarcity mindset
Free yourself of spending anxiety
Take control over your money habits


With a better understanding of the root causes of your money struggles, a more secure financial future is possible.]]>
320 Vicky Reynal Krystal 0 to-read 3.91 Money on Your Mind: The Unconscious Beliefs That Sabotage Your Financial Well-Being—and How to Break Free
author: Vicky Reynal
name: Krystal
average rating: 3.91
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Inside Outside 221094543
With richly developed characters and real-life, relatable drama, this twisty rollercoaster ride is perfect for fans who enjoy Liane Moriarty or Lisa Jewell as INSIDE OUTSIDE explores worlds, experiences and things unseen.

INSIDE OUTSIDE
Obedience. Obligation. Obsession.

Leslie is good at keeping secrets—she’s been doing it her entire life. On the surface, she had it all. Successful career, stunning home, and a marriage others envied, but her husband’s betrayal shatters the fantasy and sends her spiraling into self-destructive behaviors that leave her feeling empty and alone.

As she retreats from life, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a high school student she spots from across the street. The girl, Selena, reminds her so much of her younger self—on the fringes and isolated. Convinced the girl needs protecting, Leslie casually and quietly inserts herself into Selena’s daily life.

Selena’s world is far from perfect—a new school in senior year, a dilapidated house filled with secrets, and two younger sisters to shield from her mother’s sleazy boyfriend. She’s trapped by circumstance and necessity.

Leslie and Selena are brought together as secrets unravel. Lines and boundaries are blurred as the outside world creeps through the cracks to alter the inside. In this gripping domestic thriller, two lives on the edge of desperation are entwined in such a way that neither will ever be the same.

The inside and the outside are about to collide�]]>
330 Faye Arcand 1069029505 Krystal 0 to-read 4.40 Inside Outside
author: Faye Arcand
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.40
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Just Until 206120252 Hannah must choose the impossible—put her nephews into foster care so she can stay true to her dream, or take them on and lose everything she’s worked so hard to achieve.

17-year-old Hannah Lynn has just one goal: to get out of Evans Beach, Maine. It’s where she lost her mother to cancer. Where her estranged sister, Pauline, fell apart before moving out. Where her father, Larry, holds court as a local legend who once played twelve games for the Red Sox. Hannah has never fit in, but that doesn’t matter now that she is finally on the cusp of escape. All she needs is a little help from her chemistry tutor, Richard, a fellow junior who she finds equal parts compelling and infuriating.

Then, one winter night, Hannah’s life is turned upside down. Pauline’s two sons are taken by the state, leaving Hannah and Larry the only people standing between the boys and the child welfare system. Her father promises that it will only be for a little while, just until Pauline gets back on her feet, but Hannah knows nothing is that simple when it comes to her troubled older sister.]]>
304 Joseph Moldover 0823456196 Krystal 0 to-read 4.23 2024 Just Until
author: Joseph Moldover
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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Punished: A Novel 214152493 From the internationally bestselling author of the “extraordinary� (Fredrik Backman) novel Stolen, Punished is the harrowing story of five Sámi children who are forced to attend a government-run boarding school in 1950s Sweden and the emotional scars that haunt them thirty years later.

Can abusers be redeemed? Or can they only be punished?

It is the early 1950s in the Arctic Circle, and once they turn seven years old, Else-Maj, Jon-Ante, Anne-Risten, Marge, and Nilsa are taken from their families. As decreed by the Swedish state, these children of reindeer herders must attend a Sámi “nomad school,� run by vicious headmistress Rita Olsson, where they are not only stripped of their culture and language, but also physically, verbally, and psychologically abused. As the children are only allowed to return home sporadically, their parents know little of how their children are mistreated, and those who dare to speak up are silenced.

Thirty years later, the five children have chosen different paths in order to survive—and forget. Else-Maj is strong in her Sámi identity but finds herself emotionally distant and has turned to religion to cope, while hypochondriac Anne-Risten now calls herself Anne and hides her heritage from her friends and community. Nilsa has become a reindeer herder like his father, but his emotions are volatile and unpredictable, even more so ever since the death of his brother. Jon-Ante is haunted by the memories of headmistress Rita and the lasting injury she left him with, unable to find where he belongs, and Marge, who is about to adopt a daughter from Colombia, is consumed by the moral struggle of removing a child from her home country.

Then, suddenly, Rita Olsson turns up among them. Now a frail, elderly woman with God on her side, she pretends as though nothing ever happened. But the five former students have neither forgotten nor forgiven her.

Told from five richly individual perspectives and inspired by the author’s family history, Punished is a searing, heart-wrenching novel about trauma, memory, love, and loss, written in taut prose and vibrating with righteous rage over one of the Swedish state’s greatest betrayals toward the Sámi.]]>
448 Ann-Helén Laestadius 1668035812 Krystal 0 to-read 4.25 2023 Punished: A Novel
author: Ann-Helén Laestadius
name: Krystal
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Promised Land, 2000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.: The Emergence of the Israelites within the Egyptian Empire (The Truth Will Set You Free, #2)]]> 209576210
Perhaps surprisingly, even texts from the Monarchical period (1000BC to 597BC) generally appear to have been written, or at least heavily redacted, hundreds of years after the events recorded. Indeed, the bulk of the Old Testament scripture uses language and references clearly dating authorship to the time of the Exile (597BC to 538BC) or later.]]>
238 Glyn Thomas 1738443949 Krystal 0 to-read 0.0 The Promised Land, 2000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.: The Emergence of the Israelites within the Egyptian Empire (The Truth Will Set You Free, #2)
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