Negin's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:47:55 -0700 60 Negin's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Sirens 210411871 A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine

2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever.

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.]]> 352 Emilia Hart 1250280826 Negin 0 to-read 3.84 2025 The Sirens
author: Emilia Hart
name: Negin
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/02
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]]> Tom Lake 63241104 In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.]]> 309 Ann Patchett 006332752X Negin 0 currently-reading 3.92 2023 Tom Lake
author: Ann Patchett
name: Negin
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/02
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]]> Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Negin 0 currently-reading 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Negin
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> The Bell Jar 60178712 I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.

Sylvia Plath's groundbreaking semi-autobiographical novel offers an intimate, honest and often wrenching glimpse into mental illness. The Bell Jar broke the boundaries between fiction and reality and helped cement Sylvia Plath's place as an enduring feminist icon. Celebrated for its darkly humorous, razor sharp portrait of 1950s society, it continues to resonate with readers today as testament to the universal human struggle to claim one's rightful place in the world.

]]> 272 Sylvia Plath 0571373070 Negin 0 currently-reading 4.10 1963 The Bell Jar
author: Sylvia Plath
name: Negin
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1963
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> Murder at Mesopotamia 60378488
Fortunately for Amy, Hercule Poirot is visiting the excavation site, but will the great detective be in time to prevent a multiple murderer from striking again?]]> 291 Agatha Christie Negin 3 3.71 1936 Murder at Mesopotamia
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1936
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/03/28
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]]> Asleep 989671 177 Banana Yoshimoto 0802116698 Negin 2 bookclub-picks 3.61 1989 Asleep
author: Banana Yoshimoto
name: Negin
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1989
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: bookclub-picks
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]]> <![CDATA[The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life]]> 199017130
At the very heart of all the success and failure I've been exposed to - both my own entrepreneurial journey and through the thousands of interviews I’ve conducted on my chart-topping podcast - are a set of principles that ensure excellence.

These fundamental laws underpinned my meteoric rise, and they will fuel yours too, whether you want to build something great or become someone great. The laws are rooted in psychology and behavioral science, in my own experiences, and those of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, entertainers, artists, writers, and athletes, who I’ve interviewed on my podcast.

These laws will stand the test of time and will help anyone master their life and unleash their potential, no matter the field.

They are the secret sauce to success.]]> 368 Steven Bartlett 0593715837 Negin 5 4.15 The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life
author: Steven Bartlett
name: Negin
average rating: 4.15
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
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]]> Everything Is OK 60320130
Everything Is OK is the story of Debbie Tung’s struggle with anxiety and her experience with depression. She shares what it’s like navigating life, overthinking every possible worst-case scenario, and constantly feeling like all hope is lost.

The book explores her journey to understanding the importance of mental health in her day-to-day life and how she learns to embrace the highs and lows when things feel out of control. Debbie opens up about deeply personal issues and the winding road to recovery, discovers the value of self-love, and rebuilds a more mindful relationship with her mental health.

In this graphic memoir, Debbie aims to provide positive and comforting messages to anyone who is facing similar difficulties or is just trying to get through a tough time in life. She hopes to encourage readers to be kinder to themselves, to know that they are not alone, and that it’s okay to be vulnerable because they are not defined by their mental health struggles. The dark clouds won’t be there forever. Everything will turn out all right.]]> 189 Debbie Tung 1524863270 Negin 4 4.29 2022 Everything Is OK
author: Debbie Tung
name: Negin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/13
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]]> <![CDATA[The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)]]> 9618464 Voted by the British Crime Writers� Association as the "Best Crime Novel of all Time"

Hercule Poirot comes out of retirement in one of Agatha Christie’s ten favorite novels, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Then, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with an apparent drug overdose.

However the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information, but before he could finish reading the letter, he was stabbed to death. Luckily one of Roger’s friends and the newest resident to retire to this normally quiet village takes over—none other than Monsieur Hercule Poirot.]]> 286 Agatha Christie 0062073567 Negin 5 4.24 1926 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1926
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
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]]> <![CDATA[The Big Four (Hercule Poirot, #5)]]> 6559086 Famed private eye Hercule Poirot tackles international intrigue and espionage in this classic Agatha Christie mystery.

Framed in the doorway of Hercule Poirot's bedroom stands an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man stares for a moment, then he sways and falls. Who is he? Is he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what is the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper?

Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life—and that of his "twin brother"—to uncover the truth.]]> 208 Agatha Christie Negin 0 to-read 3.79 1927 The Big Four (Hercule Poirot, #5)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1927
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Hercule Poirot, #20)]]> 16349 335 Agatha Christie 0007120699 Negin 0 to-read 3.96 1938 Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Hercule Poirot, #20)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1938
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> Absent in the Spring 2039641 192 Mary Westmacott 0440100119 Negin 0 to-read 3.77 1944 Absent in the Spring
author: Mary Westmacott
name: Negin
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1944
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> Deep End 212808709 A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...]]> 464 Ali Hazelwood Negin 3 3.96 2025 Deep End
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Negin
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
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]]> Ordeal by Innocence 909932
According to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker. The sentence was life imprisonment. But when Dr. Arthur Calgary arrives with the proof that confirms Jacko’s innocence, it is too late—Jacko died behind bars following a bout of pneumonia. Worse still, the doctor’s revelations reopen old wounds in the family, increasing the likelihood that the real murderer will strike again.]]> 288 Agatha Christie 0312981627 Negin 0 to-read 3.83 1958 Ordeal by Innocence
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1958
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 44451887
In a world where demons feed on unsuspecting humans, fragments of the legendary and feared demon Ryoma Sukuna were lost and scattered about. Should any demon consume Sukuna’s body parts, the power they gain could destroy the world as we know it. Fortunately, there exists a mysterious school of Jujutsu Sorcerers who exist to protect the precarious existence of the living from the undead!

Yuji Itadori is high schooler who spends his days visiting his bedridden grandfather. Although he looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object, but little do they know the terror they’ll unleash when they break the seal...]]> 192 Gege Akutami 1974710025 Negin 5 4.31 2018 Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1
author: Gege Akutami
name: Negin
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/24
date added: 2025/02/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery]]> 56179372 Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

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

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

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

Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.]]> 305 Brom 125062200X Negin 3 4.23 2021 Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
author: Brom
name: Negin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
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]]> <![CDATA[When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall, #1)]]> 210459283
"A wild ride that thrills as much as it enchants . . . This remarkable book is an instant classic.� � Thea Guanzon, New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars

The bestselling phenomenon, When the Moon Hatched, is a fast-paced fantasy romance featuring an immersive, vibrant world with mysterious creatures, a unique magic system, and a love that blazes through the ages.

The Creators did not expect their beloved dragons to sail skyward upon their end. To curl into balls just beyond gravity’s grip, littering the sky with tombstones. With moons. They certainly did not expect them to FALL.

As an assassin for the rebellion group Fíur du Ath, Raeve’s job is to complete orders and never get caught. When a rival bounty hunter turns her world upside down, blood spills, hearts break, and Raeve finds herself imprisoned by the Guild of Nobles—a group of powerful fae who turn her into a political statement.

Crushed by the loss of his great love, Kaan Vaegor took the head of a king and donned his melted crown. Now on a tireless quest to quell the never-ebbing ache in his chest, a clue lures him into the capitol’s high-security prison where he stumbles upon the imprisoned Raeve �

Echoes of the past race between them.

There’s more to their story than meets the eye, but some truths are too poisonous to swallow.

“When The Moon Hatched breathes new, beautiful life into the genre, as Sarah A. Parker weaves lyrical prose with undeniable chemistry. I laughed, I cried, I got everything out of this. It’s an absolutely stunning fantasy world that everyone should sink their teeth into.� � Raven Kennedy, internationally bestselling author of The Plated Prisoner series]]> 698 Sarah A. Parker 0063415801 Negin 0 to-read 4.06 2024 When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall, #1)
author: Sarah A. Parker
name: Negin
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/22
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]]> <![CDATA[It Ends with Us (It Ends with Us, #1)]]> 27362503
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up � she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating� rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan � her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.]]> 386 Colleen Hoover 1668021048 Negin 3 4.11 2016 It Ends with Us (It Ends with Us, #1)
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Negin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2022/09/25
date added: 2025/02/21
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]]> The Old Man and the Sea 2165 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

This short novel, already a modern classic, is the superbly told, tragic story of a Cuban fisherman in the Gulf Stream and the giant Marlin he kills and loses—specifically referred to in the citation accompanying the author's Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.]]> 96 Ernest Hemingway 0684830493 Negin 2 3.81 1952 The Old Man and the Sea
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Negin
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1952
rating: 2
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date added: 2025/02/21
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]]> The Downstairs Girl 33224061 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781524740955.

From the founding member of We Need Diverse Books comes a powerful novel about identity, betrayal, and the meaning of family.

By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South.]]> 374 Stacey Lee Negin 4 bookclub-picks 3.92 2019 The Downstairs Girl
author: Stacey Lee
name: Negin
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/13
date added: 2025/02/21
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]]> Breasts and Eggs 50736031
Breasts and Eggs paints a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan and recounts the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties on the road to finding peace and futures they can truly call their own.

It tells the story of three women: the thirty-year-old Natsu, her older sister, Makiko, and Makiko’s daughter, Midoriko. Makiko has traveled to Tokyo in search of an affordable breast enhancement procedure. She is accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently grown silent, finding herself unable to voice the vague yet overwhelming pressures associated with growing up. Her silence proves a catalyst for each woman to confront her fears and frustrations.

On another hot summer’s day ten years later, Natsu, on a journey back to her native city, struggles with her own indeterminate identity as she confronts anxieties about growing old alone and childless.]]> 430 Mieko Kawakami 1609455878 Negin 4 3.87 2019 Breasts and Eggs
author: Mieko Kawakami
name: Negin
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/03
date added: 2025/02/21
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]]> The Stationery Shop 42201995 A poignant, heartfelt new novel by the award-nominated author of Together Tea—extolled by the Wall Street Journal as a “moving tale of lost love� and by Shelf Awareness as “a powerful, heartbreaking story”—explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.

Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink.

Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—and she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.

A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on—to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England—until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?]]> 312 Marjan Kamali 1982107480 Negin 4 bookclub-picks 4.22 2019 The Stationery Shop
author: Marjan Kamali
name: Negin
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: bookclub-picks
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]]> <![CDATA[Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #40)]]> 9812599 275 Agatha Christie 0062073761 Negin 3 3.52 1966 Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #40)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1966
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
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]]> Book Love 39296114
Book Love is a gift book of comics tailor-made for tea-sipping, spine-sniffing, book-hoarding bibliophiles. Debbie Tung’s comics are humorous and instantly recognizable—making readers laugh while precisely conveying the thoughts and habits of book nerds. Book Love is the ideal gift to let a book lover know they’re understood and appreciated. ]]> 140 Debbie Tung 1449494285 Negin 3 4.28 2019 Book Love
author: Debbie Tung
name: Negin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/07
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]]> <![CDATA[After the Funeral (Hercule Poirot, #33)]]> 10033363
In desperation, the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery.…]]> 286 Agatha Christie 0062073826 Negin 4 3.84 1953 After the Funeral (Hercule Poirot, #33)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1953
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
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]]> <![CDATA[The Clocks (Hercule Poirot, #39)]]> 10182063 297 Agatha Christie 0062073818 Negin 3 3.64 1963 The Clocks (Hercule Poirot, #39)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1963
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cat Among the Pigeons (Hercule Poirot, #36)]]> 19051707
Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion, while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of the unpopular games mistress � shot through the heart from point blank range.

The school is thrown into chaos when the ‘cat� strikes again. Unfortunately, schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much. In particular, she knows that without Hercule Poirot’s help, she will be the next victim…]]> 321 Agatha Christie 0007422210 Negin 4 4.08 1959 Cat Among the Pigeons (Hercule Poirot, #36)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1959
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/18
date added: 2025/01/18
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]]> <![CDATA[Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)]]> 210327714
Arthur Parnassus lives a good life, built on the ashes of a bad one. He's the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six magical and so-called dangerous children who live there.

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

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

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

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur's story.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 1035009374 Negin 4 bookclub-picks 4.20 2024 Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)
author: T.J. Klune
name: Negin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
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]]> Lovely War 44107480
Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who's played Carnegie Hall, he's a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that's before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who's already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans.

Thirty years after these four lovers' fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.

A sweeping, multi-layered romance with a divine twist, by the Printz Honor-winning author of The Passion of Dolssa, set in the perilous days of World Wars I and II.]]> 471 Julie Berry Negin 3 4.23 2019 Lovely War
author: Julie Berry
name: Negin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/29
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]]> Endless Night 16366
The title Endless Night was taken from William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence and describes Christie’s favourite theme in the novel: a “twisted� character, who always chooses evil over good.

Christie finished Endless Night in six weeks, as opposed to the three-four months that most of her other novels took. Despite being in her seventies while writing it, she told an interviewer that being Michael, the twenty-something narrator, “wasn’t difficult. After all, you hear people like him talking all the time.�

The book is dedicated to Christie's relative "Nora Prichard from whom I first heard the legend of Gipsy's Acre." Gipsy's Acre was a field on the Welsh moors.]]> 303 Agatha Christie 0007151675 Negin 4 3.82 1967 Endless Night
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Five Little Pigs (Hercule Poirot, #25)]]> 121648 Now, sixteen years later, in a posthumous letter, Mrs. Crale has assured her grown daughter that she was innocent. But instead of setting the young woman's mind at ease, the letter only raises disquieting questions. Did Caroline indeed write the truth? And if she didn't kill her husband, who did?

To find out, the Crale’s daughter asks Hercule Poirot to reopen the case. His investigation takes him deep into the conflicting memories and motivations of the five other people who were with the Crales on the fatal day. With his keen understanding of human psychology, he manages to discover the surprising truth behind the artist's death.]]> 216 Agatha Christie Negin 4 4.02 1942 Five Little Pigs (Hercule Poirot, #25)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1942
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot, #6)]]> 16335
When the Blue Train stops, the jewel is missing, and the woman is found dead in her compartment. It's the perfect mystery, filled with passion, greed, deceit, and confusion.

Is Hercule Poirot the perfect detective to solve it?]]> 317 Agatha Christie 1579126952 Negin 4 3.84 1928 The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot, #6)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1928
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/12
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1)]]> 52843028
A refugee of the Great War, Poirot has settled in England near Styles Court, the country estate of his wealthy benefactor, the elderly Emily Inglethorp. When Emily is poisoned and the authorities are baffled, Poirot puts his prodigious sleuthing skills to work. Suspects are plentiful, including the victim’s much younger husband, her resentful stepsons, her longtime hired companion, a young family friend working as a nurse, and a London specialist on poisons who just happens to be visiting the nearby village.

All of them have secrets they are desperate to keep, but none can outwit Poirot as he navigates the ingenious red herrings and plot twists that contribute to Agatha Christie's well-deserved reputation as the queen of mystery.]]> 174 Agatha Christie 1734452595 Negin 4 4.06 1920 The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1920
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
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]]> My December Darling 218137764 A small-town Christmas novella by the New York Times bestselling author of LAKEFRONT BILLIONAIRES series that will make you want to pack your bags and spend the holiday in Lake Wisteria.

Catalina
Playing the part of my sister’s maid of honor is easy even if she’s marrying my ex.
But playing nice with the best man? An impossible task given our history.
Sure, Luke Darling may be suspiciously kind, incredibly handsome, and stubborn to a fault, but regardless of how hard he tries to make me see otherwise, I’m not interested.
It’s on me to remind him that he’s my ex-boyfriend’s best friend.
And the one I’m secretly starting to wish I met first.

Luke
My job as the best man is a simple one, except for one minor issue.
I’ve spent so much time avoiding my best friend’s ex that I didn’t consider what could happen if I started craving Catalina Martinez’s company instead.
She is only in Lake Wisteria for the winter wedding, but her January departure date won’t stop me from pursuing her.
Getting her to date me would be nothing short of a Christmas miracle, but I’m determined to make her mine.
‘Tis the season to fall in love…even if I’m the only one taking the risk.

My December Darling is a 50,000 word, Christmas-themed romance between a grumpy maid of honor and an outgoing best man who chases after what he wants. ]]> 252 Lauren Asher 1964990025 Negin 0 3.72 2024 My December Darling
author: Lauren Asher
name: Negin
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/05
date added: 2024/12/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot, #8)]]> 16424
Poirot quickly takes a particular interest in the young woman. Recently, she has narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. Something like a bullet! It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.]]> 287 Agatha Christie 0007119305 Negin 3 4.00 1932 Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot, #8)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1932
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/05
date added: 2024/12/05
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]]> And Then There Were None 16299
"Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."

When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.]]> 264 Agatha Christie 0312330871 Negin 0 to-read 4.28 1939 And Then There Were None
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1939
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot, #18)]]> 1009709 373 Agatha Christie 0007815530 Negin 5 4.05 1937 Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot, #18)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves:
review:

]]> Kitchen 50144 Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, is an enchantingly original and deeply affecting book about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine of Kitchen, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, she is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who was once his father), Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale that recalls early Marguerite Duras. Kitchen and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.]]> 160 Banana Yoshimoto 0802142443 Negin 0 to-read 3.91 1988 Kitchen
author: Banana Yoshimoto
name: Negin
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The 48 Laws of Power 1303 Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control � from the author of The Laws of Human Nature.

In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling� and “fascinating,� Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum.

Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master�), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness�), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally�). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.]]> 452 Robert Greene 0140280197 Negin 0 to-read 4.11 1998 The 48 Laws of Power
author: Robert Greene
name: Negin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> This Fatal Kiss 215101820 Spirit away with a whimsical fantasy filled with dark magic and flirty, polyamorous romance.

Cursed to haunt the river running through the magical spa town where she drowned, Gisela is a water nymph who dreams of returning to the living world and the family she left behind. All it takes to regain her humanity is a kiss from a mortal...but everyone sees her as a monster.

And then there’s Kazik, the brooding, interfering, spirit-hunting grandson of a local witch. He's determined to rid the world of unholy creatures like Gisela. After Kazik botches Gisela’s exorcism, she strikes up a deal. She won’t tell the other spirits that he’s losing his magic, if he agrees to play matchmaker and helps her get a kiss. But Gisela’s plan goes awry when Kazik also falls for the devilishly handsome young man that she sets her heart on—someone who could be linked to Gisela’s troubled past.

This delectable quest through the spirit world is cozily crafted with a hauntingly opulent atmosphere and aslow burn, enemies-to-lovers story told in multiple perspectives.Young adult readers are sure to kick their feet and squeal with glee at hilarious banter, scrumptious culinary delights, and endearing sisterhood and found family. An enchanting read for fairy tale enthusiasts and fans of queer romance!

BONUS CASE Slip off the dust jacket on this gorgeous US hardcover edition to reveal strikingly illustrated creatures from folklore!]]> 416 Alicia Jasinska 1682637379 Negin 0 to-read 3.88 2024 This Fatal Kiss
author: Alicia Jasinska
name: Negin
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)]]> 62047992 The moving international sensation about new beginnings, human connection, and the joy of reading.

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover's paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.

Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.

When Takako's boyfriend reveals he's marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle's offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.

As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.]]> 150 Satoshi Yagisawa 0063278677 Negin 4 3.67 2010 Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)
author: Satoshi Yagisawa
name: Negin
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/25
date added: 2024/11/25
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]]> Graveyard Shift 203578770 Author of sales sensation If We Were Villains returns with a story about a ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave.

Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.

One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn’t there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?

Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks—and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.

Atmospheric and eerie, with the ensemble cast her fans love and a delightfully familiar academic backdrop, Graveyard Shift is a modern Gothic tale in If We Were Villains author M. L. Rio’s inimitable style.]]> 144 M.L. Rio 1250356792 Negin 2 3.19 2024 Graveyard Shift
author: M.L. Rio
name: Negin
average rating: 3.19
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/23
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]]> The Odyssey 34068470 The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.

In this fresh, authoritative version--the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman--this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic comes alive in an entirely new way. Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, this engrossing translation matches the number of lines in the Greek original, thus striding at Homer's sprightly pace and singing with a voice that echoes Homer's music.

Wilson's Odyssey captures the beauty and enchantment of this ancient poem as well as the suspense and drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, from the cunning goddess Athena, whose interventions guide and protect the hero, to the awkward teenage son, Telemachus, who struggles to achieve adulthood and find his father; from the cautious, clever, and miserable Penelope, who somehow keeps clamoring suitors at bay during her husband's long absence, to the "complicated" hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this translation as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.

A fascinating introduction provides an informative overview of the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the major themes of the poem, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of scholars, students, and general readers alike.]]> 582 Homer 0393089053 Negin 4 4.30 -700 The Odyssey
author: Homer
name: Negin
average rating: 4.30
book published: -700
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/29
date added: 2024/11/22
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]]> <![CDATA[The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles, #5)]]> 17334064
The immortal Magnus Bane is making the most of his time in the Roaring Twenties: He's settled into New York society and is thriving among the fashionable jazz set. And there is nowhere better to see and be seen than the glamorous Hotel Dumort, a glittering new addition to the Manhattan landscape. But a different type of glamour may be at play...]]> 61 Cassandra Clare 144249560X Negin 4 3.79 The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles, #5)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Negin
average rating: 3.79
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/23
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves:
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]]> Daydream (Maple Hills, #3) 199798652
When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.

Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.

They just need to stick to their rule book.

Oh, and not fall in love.]]> 433 Hannah Grace 1668026252 Negin 0 3.92 2024 Daydream (Maple Hills, #3)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Negin
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/05
date added: 2024/11/05
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]]> <![CDATA[The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery]]> 53642699 250 Brianna Wiest Negin 4 4.08 2020 The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery
author: Brianna Wiest
name: Negin
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot, #41)]]> 16307
That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the 'evil presence.' But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer!]]> 336 Agatha Christie 0007120680 Negin 3 3.56 1969 Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot, #41)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1969
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)]]> 35887181
But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power � an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive � and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away.

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity ... and that it may already be too late.

]]> 527 R.F. Kuang 0062662562 Negin 0 to-read 4.11 2018 The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Negin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/17
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Highly Sensitive Warrior: Self-empowerment Reminders for Highly Sensitive People]]> 199473447 168 Ash Alves Negin 0 to-read 4.60 Highly Sensitive Warrior: Self-empowerment Reminders for Highly Sensitive People
author: Ash Alves
name: Negin
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/07
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Alchemist 18144590 The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, following our dreams.]]> 182 Paulo Coelho 0062315005 Negin 4 4.01 1988 The Alchemist
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Negin
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/05
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves:
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]]> The Strange Library 23128304
The story of a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plotting their escape from a nightmarish library, the book is like nothing else Murakami has written. Designed by Chip Kidd and fully illustrated in full color throughout, this small format, 96-page volume is a treat for book lovers of all ages.]]> 96 Haruki Murakami 0385354304 Negin 4 3.58 2005 The Strange Library
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Negin
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/27
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor, #1)]]> 139391940 A spicy small-town romance and TikTok phenomenon, perfect for fans of Hannah Grace and Stephanie Archer.

When Jeanie's aunt gifts her the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the small town of Dream Harbor, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start away from her very dull desk job.

Logan is a local farmer who avoids Dream Harbor's gossip at all costs. But Jeanie's arrival disrupts Logan's routine and he wants nothing to do with the irritatingly upbeat new girl, except that he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her.

Will Jeanie's happy-go-lucky attitude win over the grumpy-but-gorgeous Logan, or has this city girl found the one person in town who won't fall for her charm, or her pumpkin spice lattes�

The Pumpkin Spice Café is a cozy romantic mystery for fans of Gilmore Girls, with a grumpy x sunshine dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed!

Tropes:

� grumpy x sunshine
� small town
� found family
� spicy]]> 373 Laurie Gilmore 0008610665 Negin 0 3.36 2023 The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor, #1)
author: Laurie Gilmore
name: Negin
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/09/25
date added: 2024/09/25
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]]> The Book of Goose 59808607 A gripping, heartbreaking new novel about female friendship, art, and memory by the award-winning author of Where Reasons End.

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

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

A magnificent, beguiling tale winding from the postwar rural provinces to Paris, from an English boarding school to to the quiet Pennsylvania home where Agnès can live without her past, The Book of Goose is a haunting story of friendship, art, exploitation, and memory by the celebrated author Yiyun Li.]]> 348 Yiyun Li 037460634X Negin 0 to-read 3.67 2022 The Book of Goose
author: Yiyun Li
name: Negin
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Iliad 77265004 848 Homer 1324001801 Negin 4 4.09 -800 The Iliad
author: Homer
name: Negin
average rating: 4.09
book published: -800
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/21
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Shadows Between Us (The Shadows Between Us, #1)]]> 35702241
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?]]> 326 Tricia Levenseller 1250189969 Negin 3 3.82 2020 The Shadows Between Us (The Shadows Between Us, #1)
author: Tricia Levenseller
name: Negin
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/11/20
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves:
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]]> Lady Tan’s Circle of Women 62919732
According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,� but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus , they tell from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? A captivating story of women helping each other, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a triumphant reimagining of the life of one person who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.]]> 352 Lisa See 1982117087 Negin 5 bookclub-picks 4.31 2023 Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
author: Lisa See
name: Negin
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/16
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: bookclub-picks
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]]> <![CDATA[The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness]]> 36622739 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up for the mind, The Courage to Be Disliked is the Japanese phenomenon that shows you how to free yourself from the shackles of past experiences and others� expectations to achieve real happiness.

The Courage to Be Disliked, already an enormous bestseller in Asia with more than 3.5 million copies sold, demonstrates how to unlock the power within yourself to be the person you truly want to be.

Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of twentieth century psychology, this book follows an illuminating conversation between a philosopher and a young man. The philosopher explains to his pupil how each of us is able to determine our own life, free from the shackles of past experiences, doubts, and the expectations of others. It’s a way of thinking that is deeply liberating, allowing us to develop the courage to change, and to ignore the limitations that we and those around us have placed on ourselves. The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance. Millions have already read and benefitted from its wisdom.

This is a truly special book in the vein of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up but for the mind. Those ready to embrace the insights and liberation promised by The Courage to Be Disliked will come to a deeper understanding of themselves and others, and find the inspiration to take the reins of their own life.]]> 288 Ichiro Kishimi 1501197274 Negin 0 to-read 4.02 2013 The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness
author: Ichiro Kishimi
name: Negin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: to-read
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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 Negin 0 to-read 4.14 2021 Small Things Like These
author: Claire Keegan
name: Negin
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> So Late in the Day 73936042
From one of the finest writers working today, Keegan's new story asks if a lack of generosity might ruin what could be between men and women.]]> 47 Claire Keegan 0571382010 Negin 0 to-read 3.97 2023 So Late in the Day
author: Claire Keegan
name: Negin
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We'll Prescribe You a Cat (We'll Prescribe You a Cat, #1)]]> 209818742 For fans of The Travelling Cat Chronicles, The Cat Who Saved Books and She and Her Cat, discover the Japanese bestseller that celebrates the healing power of cats.

A cat a day keeps the doctor away ...

On the top floor of an old building at the end of a cobbled alley in Kyoto lies the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only a select few - those who feel genuine emotional turmoil - can find it.

The mysterious centre offers a unique treatment for its troubled patients: it prescribes cats as medication.

Get ready to fall in love:
- Bee, an eight-year-old female, mixed breed helps a young man deal with the anxiety of a corporate sales job he despises;
- Margot, muscly like a lightweight boxer, helps Koga a family man and callcentre worker with severe insomnia;
- Koyuki, an exquisite white cat brings closure to Megumi a young mother whose own parents forced her to abandon an adored rescue kitten;
- Tank and Tangerine bring peace to a high-flying handbag designer Tomoko, as she learns to let go of her perfectionism and be kinder to herself;
- Mimita, the Scottish Fold kitten helps a broken-hearted young Geisha to stop blaming herself for the cat she lost years ago;

Follow how each cat brings joy, hope and self-discovery to the human who is lucky enough to have them in this utterly charming, vibrant celebration of the healing power of cats.

Containing five exquisite cat line-drawings, discover the inspirational story that has become an international sensation.]]> 256 Syou Ishida 1529936713 Negin 0 to-read 3.86 2023 We'll Prescribe You a Cat (We'll Prescribe You a Cat, #1)
author: Syou Ishida
name: Negin
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/09
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]]> <![CDATA[In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories]]> 34912960 In a dark, dark room, in a soft, soft voice, tell a scary story!

Newly reillustrated, this classic I Can Read full of spooky stories is perfect for beginning readers who love a bit of a scare.

Victor Rivas’s silly and spooky art will introduce a new generation to stories inspired by traditional folktales like “The Teeth,� “In the Graveyard,� “The Green Ribbon,� “In A Dark, Dark Room,� “The Night It Rained,� “The Pirate,� and “The Ghost of John.�

The original edition has won many state awards and is an ALA Notable Children’s Book.

In a Dark, Dark Room is a Level Two I Can Read book, geared for kids who read on their own but still need a little help.

]]> 64 Alvin Schwartz 0062665820 Negin 0 4.27 1984 In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories
author: Alvin Schwartz
name: Negin
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at: 2024/09/08
date added: 2024/09/08
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]]> Ulysses 338798
According to Declan Kiberd, "Before Joyce, no writer of fiction had so foregrounded the process of thinking". Ulysses chronicles the peripatetic appointments and encounters of Leopold Bloom in Dublin in the course of an ordinary day, 16 June 1904. Ulysses is the Latinised name of Odysseus, the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey, and the novel establishes a series of parallels between the poem and the novel, with structural correspondences between the characters and experiences of Bloom and Odysseus, Molly Bloom and Penelope, and Stephen Dedalus and Telemachus, in addition to events and themes of the early 20th-century context of modernism, Dublin, and Ireland's relationship to Britain.

The novel is highly allusive and also imitates the styles of different periods of English literature. Since its publication, the book has attracted controversy and scrutiny, ranging from an obscenity trial in the United States in 1921 to protracted textual "Joyce Wars." The novel's stream-of-consciousness technique, careful structuring, and experimental prose—replete with puns, parodies, and allusions—as well as its rich characterisation and broad humour have led it to be regarded as one of the greatest literary works in history; Joyce fans worldwide now celebrate 16 June as Bloomsday.']]> 783 James Joyce Negin 0 to-read 3.72 1922 Ulysses
author: James Joyce
name: Negin
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1922
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/08
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]]> The Psychology of Money 41881472 242 Morgan Housel 0857197681 Negin 4 4.28 2020 The Psychology of Money
author: Morgan Housel
name: Negin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/09/06
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]]> Le Tour du monde en 80 jours 1452956 Le Tour du monde en 80 jours notamment, sont conçus comme des machines théâtrales. Tout y est calibré, ajusté pour tenir le lecteur en haleine, l'étonner, le distraire ou le prendre à contre-pied. On est en pleine esthétique romantique, celle de Dumas en particulier, avec qui Verne collabora un temps. Mais le Tour du monde c'est aussi l'avènement du monde industriel, le culte de la machine, de l'efficacité, le pointage horaire étendu à une échelle universelle. Culte porté jusqu'à l'outrance, avec un humour féroce, une ironie mordante: Verne n'est pas dupe. Et s'il agite ses personnages comme des marionnettes prises de frénésie, c'est pour, en sourdine, articuler un discours de révolte: Philéas Fogg n'est pas si loin de Némo l'anarchiste, nouveau Faust moderne, et ce texte éblouissant cache bien des profondeurs. --Scarbo]]> 331 Jules Verne 2253012696 Negin 0 3.81 1872 Le Tour du monde en 80 jours
author: Jules Verne
name: Negin
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1872
rating: 0
read at: 2024/03/05
date added: 2024/08/31
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]]> Night Watch 62951865
The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’s father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.]]> 276 Jayne Anne Phillips 0451493338 Negin 0 to-read 3.56 2023 Night Watch
author: Jayne Anne Phillips
name: Negin
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/29
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]]> The Glassmaker 202167720
It is 1486 and Venice is a wealthy, opulent center for trade. Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers in Murano, the island revered for the craft. As a woman, she is not meant to work with glass—but she has the hands for it, the heart, and a vision. When her father dies, she teaches herself to make beads in secret, and her work supports the Rosso family fortunes.

Skipping like a stone through the centuries, in a Venice where time moves as slowly as molten glass, we follow Orsola and her family as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, from a plague devastating Venice to Continental soldiers stripping its palazzos bare, from the domination of Murano and its maestros to the transformation of the city of trade into a city of tourists. In every era, the Rosso women ensure that their work, and their bonds, endure.

Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is as inventive as it is a mesmerizing portrait of a woman, a family, and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.]]> 416 Tracy Chevalier 0525558276 Negin 0 to-read 3.86 2024 The Glassmaker
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Negin
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/29
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]]> The Wolf and the Woodsman 48915408
But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut� inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.]]> 448 Ava Reid 1529100739 Negin 0 to-read 3.51 2021 The Wolf and the Woodsman
author: Ava Reid
name: Negin
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/29
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]]> Sweet Bean Paste 33376821
Until, that is, Tokue comes into his life. An elderly woman with disfigured hands and a troubled past, she makes the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. The unlikeliest of friendships blossoms, but it will take all of their resolve � and plenty of pancakes � to protect themselves when Tokue's dark secret comes to light.]]> 216 Durian Sukegawa 1786071959 Negin 4 bookclub-picks 4.07 2013 Sweet Bean Paste
author: Durian Sukegawa
name: Negin
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: bookclub-picks
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]]> The Strength In Our Scars 41057388
Through poetry, prose, and compassionate encouragement you would expect from someone who knows exactly what you’re working through, Sparacino is here with the words you need.

“The Strength In Our Scars� tackles the gut-wrenching but relatable experiences of moving on, self-love, and ultimately learning to heal. In this book you will find peace, you will find a rock, you will find understanding, and you will find hope.

Remember: Whatever is dark within you has also carved light into your soul. Whatever is lost within you has also brought you back home to yourself. Whatever is hurt within you is also healing you in ways you may not understand at that moment in time. This book hopes to show you that.]]> 160 Bianca Sparacino Negin 5 4.05 2018 The Strength In Our Scars
author: Bianca Sparacino
name: Negin
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Ithaca (The Songs of Penelope, #1)]]> 59416521
Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door.

No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning, wit, and her trusted circle of maids, can she maintain the tenuous peace needed for the kingdom to survive.

This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca’s shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses� that will change the course of the world.]]> 391 Claire North Negin 3 3.69 2022 Ithaca (The Songs of Penelope, #1)
author: Claire North
name: Negin
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/05
date added: 2024/08/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of Desire]]> 50358527



Aphrodite was said to have been born from the sea, rising out of a froth of white foam. But long before the Ancient Greeks conceived of this voluptuous blonde, she existed as an early spirit of fertility on the shores of Cyprus -- and thousands of years before that, as a ferocious warrior-goddess in the Middle East. Proving that this fabled figure is so much more than an avatar of commercialized romance, historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable lifestory of one of antiquity's most potent myths.






Venus and Aphrodite brings together ancient art, mythology, and archaeological revelations to tell the story of human desire. From Mesopotamia to modern-day London, from Botticelli to Beyoncé, Hughes explains why this immortal goddess continues to entrance us today -- and how we trivialize her power at our peril.]]> 208 Bettany Hughes 1541674235 Negin 0 to-read 3.81 2019 Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of Desire
author: Bettany Hughes
name: Negin
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/02
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]]> <![CDATA[نامه به کودکی که هرگز زاده نشد]]> 13589193 150 Oriana Fallaci 9643516318 Negin 0 3.72 1975 نامه به کودکی که هرگز زاده نشد
author: Oriana Fallaci
name: Negin
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1975
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/31
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]]> Soul Lanterns 57450350 The haunting and poignant story of a how a young Japanese girl's understanding of the historic and tragic bombing of Hiroshima is transformed by a memorial lantern-floating ceremony.

Twelve-year-old Nozomi lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She wasn't even born when the bombing of Hiroshima took place. Every year Nozomi joins her family at the lantern-floating ceremony to honor those lost in the bombing. People write the names of their deceased loved ones along with messages of peace, on paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river. This year Nozomi realizes that her mother always releases one lantern with no name. She begins to ask questions, and when complicated stories of loss and loneliness unfold, Nozomi and her friends come up with a creative way to share their loved ones' experiences. By opening people's eyes to the struggles they all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion.

Soul Lanterns is an honest exploration of what happened on August 6, 1945, and offers readers a glimpse not only into the rich cultural history of Japan but also into the intimate lives of those who recognize--better than most--the urgent need for peace.]]> 165 Shaw Kuzki 0593174364 Negin 4 4.23 2021 Soul Lanterns
author: Shaw Kuzki
name: Negin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/25
date added: 2024/07/25
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]]> Not in Love (Not in Love, #1) 198716261 A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.

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

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

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business - one that plays for keeps.]]> 384 Ali Hazelwood 1408728915 Negin 2 3.59 2024 Not in Love (Not in Love, #1)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Negin
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/07/24
date added: 2024/07/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)]]> 853510
One of the passengers is none other than detective Hercule Poirot. On vacation.

Isolated and with a killer on board, Poirot must identify the murderer—in case he or she decides to strike again.]]> 274 Agatha Christie 0007119313 Negin 5 4.22 1934 Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1934
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/18
date added: 2024/07/18
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]]> The Power Is Within You 726383 The Power Is Within You, Louise L. Hay expands her philosophies of loving the self through:
- learning to listen and trust the inner voice;
- loving the child within;
- letting our true feelings out;
- the responsibility of parenting;
- releasing our fear about growing older;
- allowing ourselves to receive prosperity;
- expressing our creativity;
- accepting change as a natural part of life;
- creating a world that is ecologically sound where it's safe to love each other;
- and much more.

She closes the book with a chapter devoted to meditations for personal and planetary healing.]]> 256 Louise L. Hay 1561700231 Negin 0 to-read 4.27 1991 The Power Is Within You
author: Louise L. Hay
name: Negin
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1991
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/15
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]]> <![CDATA[The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot, #2)]]> 74829 here.

On a French golf course, a millionaire is found stabbed in the back�

An urgent cry for help brings Poirot to France. But he arrives too late to save his client, whose brutally stabbed body now lies face downwards in a shallow grave on a golf course.

But why is the dead man wearing his son’s overcoat? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically murdered corpse…]]> 320 Agatha Christie 0007119283 Negin 3 3.71 1923 The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot, #2)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Negin
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1923
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/11
date added: 2024/07/11
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]]> تهران در بعدازظهر 8173659 72 Mostafa Mastoor 9643626326 Negin 0 3.11 2010 تهران در بعدازظهر
author: Mostafa Mastoor
name: Negin
average rating: 3.11
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/09
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]]> روی ماه خداوند را ببوس 172348 132 Mostafa Mastoor Negin 0 2.99 2000 روی ماه خداوند را ببوس
author: Mostafa Mastoor
name: Negin
average rating: 2.99
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/09
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]]> عشق روی پیاده� رو 79455 105 Mostafa Mastoor 9648049475 Negin 0 3.19 1998 عشق روی پیاده‌ رو
author: Mostafa Mastoor
name: Negin
average rating: 3.19
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/09
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]]> The Goldfinch 17333223
Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.]]> 771 Donna Tartt 0316055433 Negin 3 3.94 2013 The Goldfinch
author: Donna Tartt
name: Negin
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/08
date added: 2024/07/08
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]]> Brother's Keeper 52130749 Can two children escape North Korea on their own?

North Korea. December, 1950.

Twelve-year-old Sora and her family live under an iron set of rules: No travel without a permit. No criticism of the government. No absences from Communist meetings. Wear red. Hang pictures of the Great Leader. Don't trust your neighbors. Don't speak your mind. You are being watched.

But war is coming, war between North and South Korea, between the Soviets and the Americans. War causes chaos--and war is the perfect time to escape. The plan is simple: Sora and her family will walk hundreds of miles to the South Korean city of Busan from their tiny mountain village. They just need to avoid napalm, frostbite, border guards, and enemy soldiers.

But they can't. And when an incendiary bombing changes everything, Sora and her little brother Young will have to get to Busan on their own. Can a twelve-year-old girl and her eight-year-old brother survive three hundred miles of war zone in winter?]]> 314 Julie Lee 0823444945 Negin 0 to-read 4.33 2020 Brother's Keeper
author: Julie Lee
name: Negin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Moon Garden: A Guide to Creating an Evening Oasis]]> 115575344
Moon gardens are green spaces that come alive at night, with plants that reflect moonlight, attract nocturnal creatures, and release scent after sundown. Though beautiful during the day, they’re best experienced in the evenings—perfect for anyone who works nine-to-five and wants to unwind in their garden after a long day.

In a luxe package with silver foil on the cover, this enchanting handbook shows green thumbs of all levels how to create their very own moon garden. Alongside lush botanical illustrations, readers will find horticultural tips and design how-tos for creating a rejuvenating space, as well as soothing rituals and calming meditations to practice in their garden, such as journaling and meditation. The planting and growing advice applies to all kinds of gardens—backyard, indoor, container—so urban dwellers can use the book as readily as those with more outdoor space.

Paired with a trowel and watering can or crystals and herbs, Moon Garden makes a thoughtful gift for gardeners, houseplant lovers, and mind/body/spirit enthusiasts. At once practical and inspiring, and filled with stunning visuals, Moon Garden encourages readers to approach gardening as a grounding, spiritual practice that nourishes the self and the earth.

FRESH APPROACH TO Featuring anyone-can-do-it gardening advice as well as lovely evening rituals, thistrendy and affordably priced gift book makes gardening accessible to new and experienced gardeners alike.

​FOR ALL SIZES AND TYPES OF Moon Garden makes it easy to create a gorgeous garden no matter where you live. With helpful advice for creating a moon garden outside (in the ground, on a balcony or rooftop), indoors, or in a window box, this book is a must-have for houseplant lovers and green thumbs in urban areas, as well as gardeners with more space.

AUTHORITATIVE A Brooklyn-based millennial, Jarema Osofsky has been working in landscape and biophilic design for more than ten years. Her deep knowledge of the subject coupled with her trend-forward perspective ensures this book is a valuable resource filled with inspired, fresh ideas for your garden.

EXPLORE THE WONDERS OF NATURE AND Meditators, journalers, modern mystics, and nature appreciators will enjoy the soothing practices this book offers. Dusk provides time for reflection and relaxation, and where better to do that than in a beautiful, mystical green space? This book will help you make the most of your garden and those magical after-dark hours.

BEAUTIFUL TO GIFT AND In a luxe, contemporary package, Moon Garden makes a lovely gift alongside gardening products and self-care items, from watering cans, seed packets, and trowels to crystals, candles, and essential oils. As a self-purchase, it displays beautifully on a bedside or coffee table with a petite potted plant.

Perfect ]]> 160 Jarema Osofsky 1797219936 Negin 0 to-read 4.00 Moon Garden: A Guide to Creating an Evening Oasis
author: Jarema Osofsky
name: Negin
average rating: 4.00
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rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/02
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]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)]]> 31076583 229 Sarah J. Maas 168119631X Negin 5 3.77 2019 A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Negin
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/30
date added: 2024/07/02
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]]> <![CDATA[The Power of Your Subconscious Mind]]> 44292370 245 Joseph Murphy 9897788409 Negin 0 currently-reading 4.33 1963 The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
author: Joseph Murphy
name: Negin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1963
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/02
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When Things Don't Go Your Way: Zen Wisdom for Difficult Times]]> 139400617 From renowned Zen Buddhist teacher Haemin Sunim, a guide toturning life's challenges into opportunities for self-discovery.

Have you ever felt like life has thrown you a curveball? Are you struggling to overcome unexpected challenges and setbacks?

While loss, heartbreak, and loneliness are all part of the human experience, in this warm guide, internationally bestselling author Haemin Sunim shows us that these moments can actually be rare opportunities for self-discovery, serving as stepping stones to greater things in life.

Drawing on Zen Buddhist philosophy and Sunim’s own experiences, When Things Don't Go Your Way helps you navigate life's challenges with resilience and grace. Whether you're dealing with rejection, uncertainty, loneliness, conflicts in relationships, or burnout--or simply seeking to improve your mental and emotional well-being--Sunim offers a new spiritual perspective, one that helps us face life's challenges with greater ease and understanding, and offers solace and courage when we need it the most.]]> 240 Haemin Sunim 0143135899 Negin 0 to-read 4.14 2018 When Things Don't Go Your Way: Zen Wisdom for Difficult Times
author: Haemin Sunim
name: Negin
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/02
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]]> <![CDATA[The Bookseller at the End of the World]]> 60296308
Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life.

She's sailed through the Pacific for years, been held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's Kings Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl with her husband, Lance.

Underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain. Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with Lance, and her delightful sense of humour.

This will make you weep and make you laugh and make you want to read more books - and make you want to visit Ruth and her two wee bookshops.]]> 320 Ruth Shaw 198854775X Negin 5 bookclub-picks 4.26 2022 The Bookseller at the End of the World
author: Ruth Shaw
name: Negin
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/16
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: bookclub-picks
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]]> Save Me an Orange 209568625
“even when you think there's nothing left
life gives us oranges
so go share one with your best friend
maybe they thought the world would end
when they were 16 too.�

-- from save me an orange]]> 114 Hayley Grace Negin 0 to-read 3.89 Save Me an Orange
author: Hayley Grace
name: Negin
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/17
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]]> Everless (Everless, #1) 35883046 Time is a prison. She is the key. Packed with danger, temptation and desire - a perfect read for fans of The Red Queen.

In the land of Sempera, the rich control everything - even time. Ever since the age of alchemy and sorcery, hours, days and years have been extracted from blood and bound to iron coins. The rich live for centuries; the poor bleed themselves dry.

Jules and her father are behind on their rent and low on hours. To stop him from draining himself to clear their debts, Jules takes a job at Everless, the grand estate of the cruel Gerling family.

There, Jules encounters danger and temptation in the guise of the Gerling heir, Roan, who is soon to be married. But the web of secrets at Everless stretches beyond her desire, and the truths Jules must uncover will change her life for ever ... and possibly the future of time itself.]]> 361 Sara Holland 1408353393 Negin 5 3.88 2018 Everless (Everless, #1)
author: Sara Holland
name: Negin
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/07
date added: 2024/06/05
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]]> Bride (Bride, #1) 181344829 A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was�.

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.]]> 410 Ali Hazelwood Negin 0 3.98 2024 Bride (Bride, #1)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Negin
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/06/02
date added: 2024/06/02
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]]> Wide Sargasso Sea 25622780 Wide Sargasso Sea, a masterpiece of modern fiction, was Jean Rhys’s return to the literary center stage. She had a startling early career and was known for her extraordinary prose and haunting women characters. With Wide Sargasso Sea, her last and best-selling novel, she ingeniously brings into light one of fiction’s most fascinating characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. This mesmerizing work introduces us to Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Mr. Rochester. Rhys portrays Cosway amidst a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.

A new introduction by the award-winning Edwidge Danticat, author most recently of Claire of the Sea Light, expresses the enduring importance of this work. Drawing on her own Caribbean background, she illuminates the setting’s impact on Rhys and her astonishing work.]]> 176 Jean Rhys 0393352560 Negin 3 3.63 1966 Wide Sargasso Sea
author: Jean Rhys
name: Negin
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1966
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/27
date added: 2024/05/27
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]]> سه کتاب 144832 319 Zoya Pirzad 9643058557 Negin 0 3.40 2001 سه کتاب
author: Zoya Pirzad
name: Negin
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> Stone Blind 61102615 A fresh take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman.

They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster.

The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene's temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge--on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon's actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude.

Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon...

In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman--injured by a powerful man--is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa's story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.]]> 373 Natalie Haynes 0063258390 Negin 3 3.79 2022 Stone Blind
author: Natalie Haynes
name: Negin
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/25
date added: 2024/05/25
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]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yokai of Japanese Myth: The Stories of the Mischievous Kappa, Trickster Kitsune, Horrendous Oni, and More]]> 176443274
Welcome to The Book of Japanese Folklore : a fascinating journey through Japan’s folklore through profiles of the legendary creatures and beings who continue to live on in pop culture today.

From the sly kitsune to the orgrish oni and mischievous shape-shifting tanuki, learn all about the origins of these fantastical and mythical creatures. With information on their cultural significance, a retelling of a popular tale tied to that particular yokai, and how it’s been spun into today’s popular culture, this beautifully illustrated tome teaches you about the stories and histories of the beings that inspired characters in your favorite movies, animes, manga, and games.

Adventure, mystery, and amazing tales await in The Book of Japanese Folklore .]]> 240 Thersa Matsuura 1507221916 Negin 0 to-read 4.21 2024 The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yokai of Japanese Myth: The Stories of the Mischievous Kappa, Trickster Kitsune, Horrendous Oni, and More
author: Thersa Matsuura
name: Negin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires, #2)]]> 86767939 Declan
I’m destined to become the next CEO of my family’s media empire.
The only problem? My grandfather’s inheritance clause.
Fulfilling his dying wish of getting married and having an heir seemed impossible until my assistant volunteers for the job.
Our marriage was supposed to be the perfect solution to my biggest problem.
But the more we act in love for the public, the more unsure I feel about our contract.
Caring about Iris was never part of the deal.
Especially not when breaking her heart is inevitable.

Iris
My plan to marry Declan was simple in theory.
Move in together. Throw a wedding. Have a baby.
We set rules to prevent any kind of issues.
Ones that were never meant to be broken, no matter how much Declan tempts me.
But what happens when our fake relationship bleeds into our real one?
Falling in love was never an option.
At least not for me.]]> 494 Lauren Asher 1737507722 Negin 1 4.04 2022 Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires, #2)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Negin
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2024/05/17
date added: 2024/05/17
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]]> No Matter the Wreckage: Poems 18288210 No Matter the Wreckage presents readers with new and beloved work that showcases Kay's knack for celebrating family, love, travel, history, and unlikely love affairs between inanimate objects ("Toothbrush to the Bicycle Tire"), among other curious topics.

Both fresh and wise, Kay's poetry allows readers to join in on her journey of discovering herself and the world around her. It's an honest and powerful collection.]]> 143 Sarah Kay 1938912489 Negin 3 4.20 2014 No Matter the Wreckage: Poems
author: Sarah Kay
name: Negin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/17
date added: 2024/05/17
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]]> The Blue Castle 95693
Valancy Stirling is 29, unmarried, and has never been in love. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt, she finds her only consolation in the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle--a place where all her dreams come true and she can be who she truly wants to be. After getting shocking news from the doctor, she rebels against her family and discovers a surprising new world, full of love and adventures far beyond her most secret dreams.]]> 218 L.M. Montgomery 0553280511 Negin 5 bookclub-picks 4.29 1926 The Blue Castle
author: L.M. Montgomery
name: Negin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1926
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/15
date added: 2024/05/15
shelves: bookclub-picks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires, #1)]]> 74045390 Rowan
I'm in the business of creating fairy tales.
Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels.
Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland.
My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her.
Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias.
By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late.
People like me don't get happy endings.
Not when we're destined to ruin them.

Zahra
After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland's most expensive ride, I should have been fired.
Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job.
The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I'd ever met.
Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn't care.
At least not until I discovered his secret.
It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn't fix everything.
Especially not us.

The Fine Print is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones following three billionaire brothers.]]> 448 Lauren Asher 1737507714 Negin 2 3.75 2021 The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires, #1)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Negin
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2024/05/13
date added: 2024/05/13
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]]> Twisted Lies (Twisted, #4) 62058385
Charming, deadly, and smart enough to hide it, Christian Harper is a monster dressed in the perfectly tailored suits of a gentleman.

He has little use for morals and even less use for love, but he can't deny the strange pull he feels toward the woman living just one floor below him.

She's the object of his darkest desires, the only puzzle he can't solve. And when the opportunity to get closer to her arises, he breaks his own rules to offer her a deal she can't refuse.

Every monster has their weakness. She's his.

His obsession.

His addiction.

His only exception.

***

Sweet, shy, and introverted despite her social media fame, Stella Alonso is a romantic who keeps her heart in a cage.

Between her two jobs, she has little time or desire for a relationship.

But when a threat from her past drives her into the arms―and house―of the most dangerous man she's ever met, she's tempted to let herself feel something for the first time in a long time.

Because despite Christian's cold nature, he makes her feel everything when she's with him.

Passionate.

Protected.

Truly wanted.

Theirs is a love twisted with secrets and tainted by lies…and when the truths are finally revealed, they could shatter everything.]]> 560 Ana Huang 1728274893 Negin 3 4.12 2022 Twisted Lies (Twisted, #4)
author: Ana Huang
name: Negin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/07
date added: 2024/05/08
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]]> جای خالی سلوچ 118120 405 Mahmoud Dowlatabadi 9646194265 Negin 5 4.02 1979 جای خالی سلوچ
author: Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
name: Negin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1979
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/05/03
shelves:
review:

]]>