en-US Mon, 28 Apr 2025 08:31:27 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 58724622
But lately, things have been changing inside Mary. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things.

Fired from her job in New York, she moves back to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her past and inner self. Instead, visions of terrifying, mutilated specters overwhelm her with increasing regularity and she begins auto-writing strange thoughts and phrases. Mary discovers that these experiences are echoes of an infamous serial killer.

Then the killings begin again.

Mary’s definitely going to find herself.]]> 405 Nat Cassidy 1250265231 Tess 5
It was a weird book about a melancholy woman trying to understand herself as she approaches menopause. It's like a memoir in which the MC's life is a mystery and it's wrapped around a true crime story.
Mary is immediately sympathetic and likable as an MC. But the quiet, polite woman is just a facade to be Good and stay unnoticed and get along. a facade she didn't even recognize until it starts to crack.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a unique horror book that takes an unexpected perspective and blends different sub-genres. If you're the type (like me) to post-it note favorite lines and pasages, you should have a lot to work with here. it's poignant and philosophical.]]> 3.78 2022
author: Nat Cassidy
name: Tess
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/28
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves:
review:
I was struggling between giving it 4.5 stars or 5 but I haven't given anything 5 stars in a long time so ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ !

It was a weird book about a melancholy woman trying to understand herself as she approaches menopause. It's like a memoir in which the MC's life is a mystery and it's wrapped around a true crime story.
Mary is immediately sympathetic and likable as an MC. But the quiet, polite woman is just a facade to be Good and stay unnoticed and get along. a facade she didn't even recognize until it starts to crack.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a unique horror book that takes an unexpected perspective and blends different sub-genres. If you're the type (like me) to post-it note favorite lines and pasages, you should have a lot to work with here. it's poignant and philosophical.
]]> 59746719
When their daughter, Margot, inherits the family business, she wants nothing to do with it. The winery is valued for its unparalleled produce, but it's built on a field where hundreds of convicts were once hanged, and the locals whisper morbid rumors. They say the ground is cursed.

It's been more than a decade since Margot last saw her childhood home. But now that she's alone in the sprawling, dilapidated building, she begins to believe the curse is more than real―and that she may be the next victim of the house that never rests...]]> 377 Darcy Coates Tess 0 to-read 3.84 2022
author: Darcy Coates
name: Tess
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55155522
It was just another day at the beach. And then the world ended.

Mike and Beth didn’t know each other existed before the night of the meteor shower. A melancholy film producer and a house sitter barely scraping by, chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more.

After a drunken and desperate one-night-stand, the two strangers awake to discover a surprise astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only a part of something much bigger, and far more terrifying. When a set of lost car keys leaves them stranded on an empty stretch of Oregon coast, when their emergency calls go unanswered and inhuman screams echo from the dunes, when the rising tide reaches for the car and unspeakable horrors close in around them, these two self-destructive souls must find in each other the strength to overcome past pain and the fight to survive a nightmare of apocalyptic scale.]]> 245 K.C. Jones 125079269X Tess 0 to-read 3.57 2022
author: K.C. Jones
name: Tess
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 50892288 A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.]]> 341 T. Kingfisher 1534451129 Tess 0 to-read 3.76 2020
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Tess
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42527596 When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods.

When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?

Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale.

From Hugo Award–winning author Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher.]]> 385 T. Kingfisher 1534429573 Tess 3 3.60 2019
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Tess
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 15811635 532 Lisa Jackson 1420118536 Tess 2 3.78 2012
author: Lisa Jackson
name: Tess
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2020/02/04
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves:
review:

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

“Don’t talk to day about what we do at night.��

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

Eerie and empathetic, Haunt Sweet Home is a multifaceted, supernatural exploration of finding your own way into adulthood, and into yourself.]]> 165 Sarah Pinsker 1250330262 Tess 4 3.34 2024
author: Sarah Pinsker
name: Tess
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves:
review:
I read the ebook and was sad when I realized I was almost done. Super fun concept and Mara was really well fleshed out in so few pages.
]]> 49046268
Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.]]> 346 Adam Cesare 0062854593 Tess 2 3.73 2020
author: Adam Cesare
name: Tess
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves:
review:
2.5 stars. Not a bad book by any means just not really my thing. I was expecting it to be funny, and it just didn't make me laugh.
]]> 209891170 A cat a day keeps the doctor away��.

Discover this utterly charming, vibrant celebration of the healing power of cats in the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation.

Tucked away on the fifth floor of an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can be found only by people who are struggling in their lives and who genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take�� their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, and occasionally challenging yet endearing cats.

Throughout these pages, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed as a disheartened businessman finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a middle-aged man struggles to stay relevant at work and home, a young girl navigates the complexities of elementary school cliques, a hardened handbag designer seeks emotional balance, and a geisha learns to move on from the memory of her lost cat. As the clinic’s patients grapple with their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope.]]> 297 Syou Ishida 0593818741 Tess 4 3.78 2023
author: Syou Ishida
name: Tess
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 6376283
"Button, Button," Richard Matheson's chilling tale of greed and temptation, is now the basis of The Box, the new film from the director of Donnie Darko. In addition, this outstanding collection also contains many other unforgettable stories by Matheson, the award-winning author of I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come.

"The inventive plots and spare but convincing portraits of ordinary men and women caught up in forces beyond their control demonstrate why Stephen King has called Matheson his most significant influence."
--Publishers Weekly]]> 272 Richard Matheson 0765361434 Tess 4 deliciously-dark 3.40 1970
author: Richard Matheson
name: Tess
average rating: 3.40
book published: 1970
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/30
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: deliciously-dark
review:

]]> 202468425 Translated from the Japanese bestseller, this charming and magical novel, inspired by the myth of cats returning favors to those who care for them, reminds us that it’s never too late to follow our stars.

In Japan cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives.

It’s also run by talking cats.

While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes, coffees, and teas, the cats also consult them on their star charts, offer cryptic wisdom, and let them know where their lives have veered off course—because every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. And for a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. After all, there is a reason the shop appeared to each of them…]]> 240 Mai Mochizuki 0593726820 Tess 3 3.60 2020
author: Mai Mochizuki
name: Tess
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 203578812 A standalone darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin.

Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:

He cannot look inside the box.
He cannot ask questions.
He cannot tell anyone.
They must leave immediately.
He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.

The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world.]]> 400 Jason Pargin 125028595X Tess 4 3.97 2024
author: Jason Pargin
name: Tess
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 25348 224 Steven C. Hayes 1572244259 Tess 0 currently-reading 4.06
author: Steven C. Hayes
name: Tess
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 43352954 Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.]]> 209 Amal El-Mohtar Tess 0 currently-reading 3.86 2019
author: Amal El-Mohtar
name: Tess
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 18007564
Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error�� are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark ������’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills �� and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit �� he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

]]> 384 Andy Weir 0804139024 Tess 3 4.41 2011
author: Andy Weir
name: Tess
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves:
review:

]]> 60784409 A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.

"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home ������’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.]]> 247 T. Kingfisher 1250829798 Tess 3 3.65 2023
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Tess
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/15
date added: 2024/11/15
shelves:
review:

]]> 41150394 From New York Times bestselling true crime author John Glatt comes the devastating story of the Turpins: a seemingly normal family whose dark secrets would shock and captivate the world.

On January 14, 2018, a seventeen-year-old girl climbed out of the window of her Perris, California home and dialed 911 with shaking fingers. Struggling to stay calm, she told the operator that she and her 12 siblings--ranging in age from 2 to 29--were being abused by their parents. When the dispatcher asked for her address, the girl hesitated. "I've never been out," she stammered.

To their family, neighbors, and online friends, Louise and David Turpin presented a picture of domestic bliss: dressing their thirteen children in matching outfits and buying them expensive gifts. But what police discovered when they entered the Turpin family home would eclipse the most shocking child abuse cases in history. For years, David and Louise had kept their children in increasing isolation, trapping them in a sinister world of torture, abuse, and near starvation.

In the first major account of the case, investigative journalist and author John Glatt delves into the disturbing details and recounts the bravery of the thirteen siblings in the face of unimaginable horror.]]> 320 John Glatt 1250202132 Tess 3 3.54 2019
author: John Glatt
name: Tess
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves:
review:

]]> 25189315
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes tells an unusual coming-of-age story full of bizarre encounters and unforgettable scenes. Caring for dead bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, Caitlin soon becomes an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. She describes how she swept ashes from the machines (and sometimes onto her clothes) and reveals the strange history of cremation and undertaking, marveling at bizarre and wonderful funeral practices from different cultures.

Her eye-opening, candid, and often hilarious story is like going on a journey with your bravest friend to the cemetery at midnight. She demystifies death, leading us behind the black curtain of her unique profession. And she answers questions you didn’t know you had: Can you catch a disease from a corpse? How many dead bodies can you fit in a Dodge van? What exactly does a flaming skull look like?

Honest and heartfelt, self-deprecating and ironic, Caitlin's engaging style makes this otherwise taboo topic both approachable and engrossing. Now a licensed mortician with an alternative funeral practice, Caitlin argues that our fear of dying warps our culture and society, and she calls for better ways of dealing with death (and our dead).]]> 254 Caitlin Doughty 0393351904 Tess 4 4.24 2014
author: Caitlin Doughty
name: Tess
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/22
date added: 2024/10/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 7723542
Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8 year old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders, will he ever find his purpose?

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh out loud funny, this book is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.]]> 319 W. Bruce Cameron 0765326264 Tess 2 4.34 2010
author: W. Bruce Cameron
name: Tess
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/07
date added: 2024/09/08
shelves:
review:
It was a nice story. A little mundane for my tastes. It felt like the author was trying really hard to get me to cry with some cheap tactics.
]]> 54427135 Two worlds, four stories, infinite possibilities 

In this mind-expanding work of speculative fiction, available in English for the first time, one of South Korea’s most treasured writers explores the driving forces of humanity—love, hope, creation, destruction, and the very meaning of existence—in two pairs of thematically interconnected stories.

In “I’m Waiting for You�� and “On My Way,�� an engaged couple coordinate their separate missions to distant corners of the galaxy to ensure—through relativity—they can arrive back on Earth simultaneously to make it down the aisle. But small incidents wreak havoc on space and time, driving their wedding date further away. As centuries on Earth pass and the land and climate change, one thing is constant: the desire of the lovers to be together. In two separate yet linked stories, Kim Bo-Young cleverly demonstrate the idea love that is timeless and hope springs eternal, despite seemingly insurmountable challenges and the deepest despair.

In “The Prophet of Corruption�� and “That One Life,�� humanity is viewed through the eyes of its creators: godlike beings for which everything on Earth—from the richest woman to a speck of dirt—is an extension of their will. When one of the creations questions the righteousness of this arrangement, it is deemed a perversion—a disease—that must be excised and cured. Yet the Prophet Naban, whose “child�� is rebelling, ������’t sure the rebellion is bad. What if that which is considered criminal is instead the natural order—and those who condemn it corrupt? Exploring the dichotomy between the philosophical and the corporeal, Kim ponders the fate of free-will, as she considers the most basic of questions: who am I?]]> 321 Kim Bo-young 0062951467 Tess 0 currently-reading 3.73 2021
author: Kim Bo-young
name: Tess
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 61884932 There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This ������’t her story.

Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?

But nothing with fairies is ever simple.

Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…]]> 116 T. Kingfisher 1250244099 Tess 0 3.95 2023
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Tess
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 174039481
The village of Pinehaven has a secret of monstrous proportions. Evelyn McKinnon, a radio host falling on hard times, finds herself utterly unprepared when she learns that the radio station isn't just for entertainment. It's a watchtower.

She's stalked by a bird with human eyes. Her new co-host won't stop singing show tunes. And when the fog rolls in, the beasts of Pinehaven Forest begin their brutal hunt. Evelyn and her friends are suddenly face-to-face with something much scarier than ravenous flesh-giants and vengeful responsibility.




'A Lonely Broadcast' is a darkly comedic tale that mixes elements of cosmic horror, gruesome gore, and a touching story about friendship, grief, and finding hope when all seems lost. It's also the story of an unhinged woman's personal war with a goddamn bird.]]> 318 Kel Byron Tess 0 4.01
author: Kel Byron
name: Tess
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/11
date added: 2024/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 2021815
Here, in one authoritative volume: everything you need to know about Death Note, the best-selling manga series. Featuring complete character biographies, detailed storyline summaries, production notes and behind-the-scenes commentaries, Death Note 13: How to Read also includes exclusive interviews with creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata and a bonus manga chapter of never-before-translated material. Unless you own your very own death note, it doesn't get any better than this!]]> 290 Tsugumi Ohba 1421518880 Tess 0 4.29 2006
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/11
date added: 2024/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 6940494 444 David Gaider 0765324091 Tess 0 currently-reading 3.85 2009
author: David Gaider
name: Tess
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 186872450 A detective investigating a grisly crime in rural Alaska finds herself caught up in the dark secrets and superstitions of a small town in this riveting novel from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man

Deadhart, Alaska. 873. Living.

In a small Alaska town, a boy is found with his throat ripped out and all the blood drained from his body. The inhabitants of Deadhart haven’t seen a killing like this in twenty-five years. But they know who’s responsible: a member of the Colony, an ostracized community of vampyrs living in an old mine settlement deep in the woods.

Detective Barbara Atkins, a specialist in vampyr killings, is called in to officially determine if this is a Colony killing—and authorize a cull. Old suspicions die hard in a town like Deadhart, but Barbara ������’t so sure. Determined to find the truth, she enlists the help of a former Deadhart sheriff, Jenson Tucker, whose investigation into the previous murder almost cost him his life. Since then, Tucker has become a recluse. But he knows the Colony better than almost anyone.

As the pair delve into the town’s history, they uncover secrets darker than they could have imagined. And then another body is found. While the snow thickens and the nights grow longer, a killer stalks Deadhart, and two disparate communities circle each other for blood. Time is running out for Atkins and Tucker to find the truth: Are they hunting a bloodthirsty monster . . . or a twisted psychopath? And which is more dangerous?]]> 336 C.J. Tudor 0593356594 Tess 3 3.85 2024
author: C.J. Tudor
name: Tess
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/09
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 6227080 Dragon Age: Origins, the hit role-playing video game from award-winning developer BioWare!

Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne

After his mother, the beloved Rebel Queen, is betrayed and murdered by her own faithless lords, young Maric becomes the leader of a rebel army attempting to free his nation from the control of a foreign tyrant.

His countrymen live in fear; his commanders consider him untested; and his only allies are Loghain, a brash young outlaw who saved his life, and Rowan, the beautiful warrior maiden promised to him since birth. Surrounded by spies and traitors, Maric must find a way to not only survive but achieve his ultimate destiny: Ferelden’s freedom and the return of his line to the stolen throne.]]> 400 David Gaider 0765324083 Tess 3
I was more invested in this than I expected. The plot was fine and only had me interested for lore reasons, but I found all the main characters likable in their own way (even Logain, unfortunately).]]> 3.74 2009
author: David Gaider
name: Tess
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/09
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves:
review:
3.5 star

I was more invested in this than I expected. The plot was fine and only had me interested for lore reasons, but I found all the main characters likable in their own way (even Logain, unfortunately).
]]> 2021816
Onto the scene comes L, the mysterious super-sleuth. Despite his peculiar working habits, he's never shown his face in public—but this time, he needs help.

Enlisting the services of an FBI agent named Naomi Misora, L starts snooping around the City of Angels. It soon becomes apparent that the killing spree is a psychotic riddle designed to specifically engage L in a battle of wits. Stuck in the middle between killer and investigator, it's up to Misora to navigate both the dead bodies and the egos to solve the Los Angeles Murder Cases.]]> 176 NisiOisiN 142151883X Tess 3 4.28 2006
author: NisiOisiN
name: Tess
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/16
date added: 2024/06/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 28143411 13 David Gaider Tess 4 4.16
author: David Gaider
name: Tess
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/12
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves:
review:

]]> 28005308 15 David Gaider Tess 3 3.86
author: David Gaider
name: Tess
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/06/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 445044 216 Tsugumi Ohba 1421511789 Tess 0 4.21 2006
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 13623 188 Tsugumi Ohba 142151155X Tess 0 4.21 2006
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 445046 The battle ends here! 216 Tsugumi Ohba 1421513277 Tess 0 4.39 2006
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 13622 208 Tsugumi Ohba 1421506300 Tess 0 4.20 2005
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 13614 208 Tsugumi Ohba 1421506297 Tess 0 4.23 2005
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 13621 211 Tsugumi Ohba 1421506289 Tess 0 4.44 2005
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 13620 215 Tsugumi Ohba 1421506270 Tess 4 4.39 2005
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/20
date added: 2024/05/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 13617 201 Tsugumi Ohba 1421506262 Tess 4 4.33 2005
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/19
date added: 2024/05/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 13616 204 Tsugumi Ohba 142150331X Tess 5 Misa 4.42 2004
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/19
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves:
review:
Misa
]]> 13618 193 Tsugumi Ohba 1421501708 Tess 5 4.46 2004
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/17
date added: 2024/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 13619 197 Tsugumi Ohba 1421501694 Tess 5 4.48 2004
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/16
date added: 2024/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 13615
Boredom
Light tests the boundaries of the Death Note's powers as L and the police begin to close in. Luckily, Light's father is the head of the Japanese National Police Agency and leaves vital information about the case lying around the house. With access to his father's files, Light can keep one step ahead of the authorities. But who is the strange man following him, and how can Light guard against enemies whose names he doesn't know?]]> 195 Tsugumi Ohba 1421501686 Tess 4 4.47 2004
author: Tsugumi Ohba
name: Tess
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/17
date added: 2024/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 133206521
This nail-biting, bone-chilling survival horror novel is inspired by the infamous Dyatlov Pass incident, and is perfect for fans of Alma Katsu and Showtime's Yellowjackets.

This is going to be Dylan's big break. Her friend Clay, a geology student, has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan's boyfriend Luke, she is going to document her achievement on Instagram and finally cement her place as the next rising star in rock climbing. 

Seven months later, three bodies are discovered in the trees just off the highway. All are in various states of decay: one body a stark, white skeleton; the second emptied of its organs; and the third a mutilated corpse with the tongue, eyes, ears, and fingers removed.

But Dylan is still missing. Followers of her Instagram account report seeing disturbing livestreams, and some even claim to have caught glimpses of her vanishing into the thick woods, but no trace of her—dead or alive—has been discovered. 

Were the climbers murdered? Did they succumb to cannibalism? Or are their impossible bodies the work of an even more sinister force? Is Dylan still alive, and does she hold the answers? 

This page-turning debut will have you racing towards the inevitable conclusion.]]> 304 Jenny Kiefer 168369368X Tess 2 I simply did not care about anything thing or one in this book. I've DNF'd the last 3 books I read, so at least I finished this one.
The synopsis leaned heavily in the mystery surrounding the condition of the corpses, but I'm sad to say the answer was unsatisfying and lazy.

Im not saying it's a terrible book, and maybe I would have liked this better if I was in a different headspace. It just didn't do anything for me.]]> 3.25 2024
author: Jenny Kiefer
name: Tess
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/05/14
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves:
review:
The publisher really made this one irresistible with that beautiful cover and intriguing synopsis. Unfortunately, the author really didn't carry their weight.
I simply did not care about anything thing or one in this book. I've DNF'd the last 3 books I read, so at least I finished this one.
The synopsis leaned heavily in the mystery surrounding the condition of the corpses, but I'm sad to say the answer was unsatisfying and lazy.

Im not saying it's a terrible book, and maybe I would have liked this better if I was in a different headspace. It just didn't do anything for me.
]]> 63077620 On a creepy island where everyone has a strange obsession with the year 1994, a newcomer arrives, hoping to learn the truth about her son's death--but finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into the bizarrely insular community and their complicated rules...

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

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

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

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

If he can get out alive...]]> 439 Jimmy Juliano 059347192X Tess 0 3.68 2023
author: Jimmy Juliano
name: Tess
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/01/10
date added: 2024/03/02
shelves:
review:

]]> 39082248
The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.

Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.]]> 213 Waubgeshig Rice 1770414002 Tess 3 3.83 2018
author: Waubgeshig Rice
name: Tess
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/24
date added: 2024/01/24
shelves:
review:

]]> 60965424 Three ordinary people risk everything for a chance at redemption in this audacious, utterly gripping novel of catastrophe and survival at the end of the world, from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man

Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. During a hasty escape from a secluded boarding school, her coach careened over a hillside road during one of the year's heaviest snowstorms, trapping her inside with a handful of survivors, a brewing virus, and no way to call for help. If she and the remaining few want to make it out alive, with their sanity--and secrets--intact, they'll need to work together or they'll be buried alive with the rest of the dead.

A former detective, Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She is in a cable car suspended far above a snowstorm and surrounded by strangers in the same uniform as her, with no memory of how they got there. They are heading to a mysterious place known to them only as "The Retreat," but when they discover a dead man among their ranks and Meg spies a familiar face, she realizes that there is something far more insidious going on.

Carter is gazing out the window of the abandoned ski chalet that he and his ragtag compatriots call home. Together, they manage a precarious survival, manufacturing vaccines against a deadly virus in exchange for life's essentials. But as their generator begins to waver, the threat of something lurking in the chalet's depths looms larger, and their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails--for good.

The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater threat--one that threatens to consume all of humanity.]]> 340 C.J. Tudor 059335656X Tess 4
The Drift is dark and, at times, gory, but I found the strength of the characters' determination and effort to do good enough to keep it from treading too far onto grim-dark territory. For the most part. Morality gets very muddy in this one, and it's certainly not a happy or optimistic read.

Having read this during a nearly -40 cold snap added a fun element of immersion.]]> 3.68 2023
author: C.J. Tudor
name: Tess
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/13
date added: 2024/01/13
shelves:
review:
The tight plot and fast pacing of The Drift made it read like I was watching a movie. Right from the beginning, the tension is high, and I was hooked. The circumstances of the apocalypse and the characters' own plights are not immediately given, fueling me to keep reading in order to piece everything together.

The Drift is dark and, at times, gory, but I found the strength of the characters' determination and effort to do good enough to keep it from treading too far onto grim-dark territory. For the most part. Morality gets very muddy in this one, and it's certainly not a happy or optimistic read.

Having read this during a nearly -40 cold snap added a fun element of immersion.
]]> 23168833
Carey doesn’t much like that idea. As a punk living in New York City, 1977, Carey is sick and tired of watching the strange kids with the unnoticeable faces abduct his friends. He doesn’t care about the rumors of tarmonsters in the sewers, or unkillable psychopaths invading the punk scene—all he wants is drink cheap beer and dispense asskickings.

Kaitlyn ������’t sure what she’s doing with her life. She came to Hollywood in 2013 to be a stunt woman, but last night a former teen heartthrob tried to eat her, her best friend has just gone missing, and there’s an angel outside her apartment.

Whatever she plans on doing with her life, it should probably happen in the few remaining minutes she has left of it.

There are angels. There are demons. They are the same thing. It’s up to Carey and Kaitlyn to stop them. The survival of the human race is in their hands.

We are, all of us, well and truly screwed.]]> 288 Robert Brockway 076537966X Tess 0 to-read 3.65 2015
author: Robert Brockway
name: Tess
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40651862
Jacob Marlowe has lost the will to live. For two hundred years he has wandered the world, enslaved by his lunatic appetites and tormented by the memory of his first and most monstrous crime. Now, the last of his kind, he knows he cannot go on.

But as Jake counts down to suicide, a violent murder and an extraordinary meeting plunge him straight back into the desperate pursuit of life �� and love.

Sexy, smart, bloody and heartbreaking, The Last Werewolf takes literature by the throat.]]> 353 Glen Duncan Tess 0 to-read 3.40 2011
author: Glen Duncan
name: Tess
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 65213633
That will be a problem this year, with history's most ridiculous mayoral election playing out in the background. The city has divided into roughly two camps, supporting each of the major candidates: One is a stern, calculating activist out to restore traditional morality to the city at all costs, the other is Megaboss Alonzo, whose platform is that he will pay you ten dollars if you vote for him.

When a horrific crime is broadcast live on the all-seeing social network Blink, the former seems poised to reap the benefits in the polls. The Suits suspect the nature and timing of the crime are a little too convenient and may be a carefully-staged hoax. But in a city in which lies are always served in layers, even that explanation will prove to be far too simple.

As tensions ratchet tighter, Zoey comes to realize that this is really a battle of narratives: Every culture needs a collective story to believe in, so it's just a matter of coming up with one and then carefully sculpting reality to make it fit. How hard can that be? They have the whole weekend.]]> 416 Jason Pargin 1250285933 Tess 4 4.23 2023
author: Jason Pargin
name: Tess
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/11
date added: 2023/12/11
shelves:
review:
Reading this was an absolute joy from start to finish. There are a couple of scenes burned into my brain forever now. Hilarious, horrible, gross scenes. You truly never know what will happen next.
]]> 123206298 Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle. Join Dragon Rider—and fan favorite—Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air—and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.

In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.]]> 688 Christopher Paolini 1774882965 Tess 4 4.10 2023
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Tess
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/21
date added: 2023/11/21
shelves:
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]]> 21413662 xkcd comic ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by his signature xkcd comics. (They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.)

In celebration of 10 years of unusual insight, Randall Munroe has revised his classic blockbuster to ask what if? x 10. The result is 10x the adventure of scientific inquiry. Featuring brand-new 2-color annotations and illustrations, this special anniversary edition is far more than a book for geeks, What If? explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much smarter for having read.]]> 303 Randall Munroe 0544272994 Tess 3 4.13 2014
author: Randall Munroe
name: Tess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/11/03
shelves:
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]]> 113436 An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780375826696 can be found here.

One boy...
One dragon...
A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.]]> 503 Christopher Paolini 0375826696 Tess 3 dragons 3.96 2002
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Tess
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2023/11/03
date added: 2023/11/03
shelves: dragons
review:

]]> 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 Tess 3
Merged review:

3.5 stars]]> 4.23 2021
author: Brom
name: Tess
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/09
date added: 2023/10/25
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

Merged review:

3.5 stars
]]> 22547942
Anyone can be positive . . .

The tattooed plus sign on Finnegan's hand marks him as a Positive. At any time, the zombie virus could explode in his body, turning him from a rational human into a ravenous monster. His only chance of a normal life is to survive the last two years of the potential incubation period. If he reaches his twenty-first birthday without an incident, he'll be cleared.

Until then, Finn must go to a special facility for positives, segregated from society to keep the healthy population safe. But when the military caravan transporting him is attacked, Finn becomes separated. To make it to safety, he must embark on a perilous cross-country journey across an America transformed—a dark and dangerous land populated with heroes, villains, madmen, and hordes of zombies. And though the zombies are everywhere, Finn discovers that the real danger may be his fellow humans.]]> 448 David Wellington Tess 3 I can't say I loved the narrative voice, but it did flow. well enough for me to keep turning pages.
The characters were kind of bland at times, and Finn himself reads like a white-knight, good-guy fantasy. That didn't bother me too much as I'm a sucker for someone who stubbornly sticks to their beliefs, especially those of hope in hopeless circumstances.

The worker's revolt gets 10/10, and while the ending isn't anything spectacular, it is satisfying enough.]]> 3.66 2015
author: David Wellington
name: Tess
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/27
date added: 2023/08/27
shelves:
review:
I expected not to like this book at all, especially during the first 100-200 pages of typical grim-dark gore and abuse. There are a few points of creativity that make Positive different from the horde of zombie fiction, but really, it's a lot of the same zombie apocalypse stuff.
I can't say I loved the narrative voice, but it did flow. well enough for me to keep turning pages.
The characters were kind of bland at times, and Finn himself reads like a white-knight, good-guy fantasy. That didn't bother me too much as I'm a sucker for someone who stubbornly sticks to their beliefs, especially those of hope in hopeless circumstances.

The worker's revolt gets 10/10, and while the ending isn't anything spectacular, it is satisfying enough.
]]> 16793 Alternate cover edition can be found here

Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.]]> 248 Neil Gaiman 0061142026 Tess 3 3.5 stars 4.11 1999
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Tess
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/23
date added: 2023/08/23
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars
]]> 22353438
The Pan of Hamgee has a chance to go straight, but it's been so long that he's almost forgotten how. Bewilderingly, despite a death warrant over his head he is released, given a state-sponsored business, and a year's amnesty from all offences while he adjusts.

He doesn't have a year, though. In only five days Lord Vernon will gain total power and destroy K’Barth. Much to his frustration, the only person who can stop him is The Pan: a man without a plan.]]> 344 M.T. McGuire 1907809201 Tess 4 4.30 2014
author: M.T. McGuire
name: Tess
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/05
date added: 2023/08/05
shelves:
review:

]]> 23529039 240 Hannah Priest 0719089344 Tess 0 to-read 4.36 2015
author: Hannah Priest
name: Tess
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61937038
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.

Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.

For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.

Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.]]> 511 Moniquill Blackgoose 0593498283 Tess 3 dragons 4.11 2023
author: Moniquill Blackgoose
name: Tess
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/28
date added: 2023/07/29
shelves: dragons
review:

]]> 32711043
When Newman Riplan’s flight into the unknown turns into a nightmarish slide between worlds, he must explore an unnamed city where unpredictable terrors are the norm. By the end of his first day adrift, his life has spun completely out of his control, but the most mind-twisting and soul-crushing revelations are only beginning. As he desperately searches for a way out, he starts to realise that the city ������’t in the habit of releasing its captives.

And it seems to have a plan for him...]]> 227 Darren Dash Tess 0 to-read 3.86 2016
author: Darren Dash
name: Tess
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61198898
The Hatchling is a fantasy about a trans woman's journey of accepting her identity and her new found family.]]> 92 Vyria Durav Tess 3 4.42 2021
author: Vyria Durav
name: Tess
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/10
date added: 2023/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 43819834 A determined young woman sets out to rescue her kidnapped girlfriend by stealing a dragon from the corrupt emperor in this stunning fantasy debut.

Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.

If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground��

With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?]]> 305 Rebecca Kim Wells Tess 0 to-read 3.72 2019
author: Rebecca Kim Wells
name: Tess
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58388343 While we live, the enemy shall fear us.

All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the all-powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the Majoda their victory over humanity.

They are what’s left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. But when Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to the nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows she must take humanity’s revenge into her own hands.

Alongside her brother’s brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, she escapes from everything she’s ever known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined.

A thrillingly told queer space opera about the wreckage of war, the family you find, and who you must become when every choice is stripped from you, Some Desperate Glory is award-winning author Emily Tesh’s highly anticipated debut novel.]]> 438 Emily Tesh 1250834988 Tess 4 4.01 2023
author: Emily Tesh
name: Tess
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/03
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 13129925
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, ��ǰ����ǰ�����ö�� is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, ��ǰ����ǰ�����ö�� delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.

Designed by Andie Reid, cover photography by Christine Ferrara.]]> 248 Grady Hendrix 1594745269 Tess 3 3.64 2014
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Tess
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/03
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 59108706
Branna Kelly, only child of an Irish immigrant sailor, is hopelessly in love with Julia and imagines their life together as captains of their own fate. Left brokenhearted after Julia’s rejection, she embarks on a journey to chart a new shipping route to the Caribbean. Before Julia can explain her decision, Branna’s ship is overrun by merciless pirates. All hands are presumed lost.

Fifteen years later, Julia is running the Farrow Company and sailing with the crew on her newest ship when an encounter with pirates leaves her the lone survivor to be rescued by the infamous Raven, hard-hearted captain of the mercenary ship, Banshee. Julia is shocked to discover her rescuer wears a familiar face.

The Raven and the Banshee is a passionate tale of vengeance, forgiveness and second chance love in a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas.

Content note: the book contains one brief scene of sexual assault and one mention of rape.]]> 234 Carolyn Elizabeth 1642472409 Tess 0 to-read 3.86 2022
author: Carolyn Elizabeth
name: Tess
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61884782 A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down.

They’ll scare you straight to hell.

Welcome to Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold.

Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed “most effective�� gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy.]]> 246 Chuck Tingle 1250874629 Tess 0 to-read 3.90 2023
author: Chuck Tingle
name: Tess
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42185079 Don’t miss this spectacular debut novel�� Can a girl who risks her life for books and an alien who loves forbidden pop music work together to save humanity? This road trip is truly out of this world! A beautiful and thrilling read for fans of Marie Lu and Veronica Roth.

Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world’s population.

Seventeen-year-old Janelle “Ellie�� Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. With humans deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, emotional expression can be grounds for execution. Music, art and books are illegal, but Ellie breaks the rules by keeping a secret library. When a book goes missing, Ellie is terrified that the Ilori will track it back to her and kill her.

Born in a lab, M0Rr1S was raised to be emotionless. When he finds Ellie’s illegal library, he’s duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more. They’re both breaking the rules for the love of art—and Ellie inspires the same feelings in him that music does.

Ellie’s—and humanity’s—fate rests in the hands of an alien she should fear. M0Rr1S has a lot of secrets, but also a potential solution—thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while creating a story and a song of their own that just might save them both.]]> 400 Alechia Dow Tess 2 I dont want this to sound harsh because I love what the author was trying to do in this book, but... this read like an early draft, and you can really tell it was the author's first book.

The concept was interesting enough, and Ellie was a solid protagonist. Morris' character fell flat to me, and I did not buy their relationship. Maybe if this were a series and they had more time to build something, but it seemed sudden.

Honestly, this could have been a good book if it had been written by someone else (or at least written after the author had more experience) because some of the ideas and twists were really fun.]]> 3.73 2020
author: Alechia Dow
name: Tess
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2023/06/20
date added: 2023/06/20
shelves:
review:
2.5
I dont want this to sound harsh because I love what the author was trying to do in this book, but... this read like an early draft, and you can really tell it was the author's first book.

The concept was interesting enough, and Ellie was a solid protagonist. Morris' character fell flat to me, and I did not buy their relationship. Maybe if this were a series and they had more time to build something, but it seemed sudden.

Honestly, this could have been a good book if it had been written by someone else (or at least written after the author had more experience) because some of the ideas and twists were really fun.
]]> 6437061 427 N.K. Jemisin 0316043915 Tess 0 to-read 3.88 2010
author: N.K. Jemisin
name: Tess
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55452756
When a member of Elien’s support group dies under strange circumstances, though, Elien finds himself in a web of bizarre coincidences. The responding officer turns out to be another member of Elien’s support group—a man named Mason, who has made no effort to hide his dislike of Elien. Then, just a few days later, Mason tries to kill Elien in front of dozens of witnesses.

As violence ripples through Elien’s world, he begins to suspect that the coincidences are not coincidences at all. Something is at work behind the cascade of tragedies, something vicious and intelligent. Something that has wanted Elien for a long time.

To defeat it, Elien will have to do what he fears most and face the darkness in his own past. Worse, he’ll have to take the risk of trying to live again.]]> 284 Gregory Ashe Tess 4 queer-stuff Elien has some serious issues and a mean streak but also a sense of humor and compassionate side that make him easy to like.
Dag, oh I wanted to dislike him because he's a cop, but how do you dislike a man that listens to whale sounds instead of music? Dag turned out to be such a treat. Both of them felt genuine, and their banter was almost the best part of the book for me.

The actual best part was every scene with Dag's parents. Seriously, they are absolute gems and had me laughing out loud. "Fancy karate class graduation" is going to live in my head rent free from now on.
All of the dialogue was natural sounding and witty.

The horror aspect could have been dialed up a bit. The concept for the monster was scary enough, and the description gave me a spooky enough figure to imagine, but the writing didn't do much to instill any fear or anxiety.

I am going to need authors to chill with how they are naming characters. Elien? Like alien with an e? I looked up the pronunciation, and I'm still not convinced I know how to say that. And Dag...Ahg Dagobert??? I have no words.]]> 4.19 2020
author: Gregory Ashe
name: Tess
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/05
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: queer-stuff
review:
Not quite what I was expecting, but an enjoyable read.
Elien has some serious issues and a mean streak but also a sense of humor and compassionate side that make him easy to like.
Dag, oh I wanted to dislike him because he's a cop, but how do you dislike a man that listens to whale sounds instead of music? Dag turned out to be such a treat. Both of them felt genuine, and their banter was almost the best part of the book for me.

The actual best part was every scene with Dag's parents. Seriously, they are absolute gems and had me laughing out loud. "Fancy karate class graduation" is going to live in my head rent free from now on.
All of the dialogue was natural sounding and witty.

The horror aspect could have been dialed up a bit. The concept for the monster was scary enough, and the description gave me a spooky enough figure to imagine, but the writing didn't do much to instill any fear or anxiety.

I am going to need authors to chill with how they are naming characters. Elien? Like alien with an e? I looked up the pronunciation, and I'm still not convinced I know how to say that. And Dag...Ahg Dagobert??? I have no words.
]]> 58921420
Two monsters, in fact.

A year later, though, they’re still trying to settle into a ‘regular�� life. Dag is working hard in school. It’s not going great. Eli is working hard at…being a better Eli. He’s eating right. Most of the time. He’s thinking about exercise in healthy ways. He’s ok with how he looks, as long as he doesn’t walk past any mirrors.

He goes out some nights, though. He goes across the lake, back to Bragg, where the monsters were. And he’s not sure why. He’s not sure what keeps calling him back.

When a woman is brutally murdered and an eyewitness claims to have seen the killer transform into a mysterious light, Eli and Dag are forced to set aside their own problems and face a difficult truth: there is another monster out there. Worse, there doesn’t seem to be anybody else who can stop it from killing again.

But not all monsters are the same, as Eli and Dag discover. And the most dangerous monster might be the one who can give you what you’ve always wanted.]]> 263 Gregory Ashe Tess 3 queer-stuff 4.25 2021
author: Gregory Ashe
name: Tess
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/10
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: queer-stuff
review:

]]> 36117102 The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation�� of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

But how come she can't shake the feeling she’s being followed?]]> 432 Caitlin Starling Tess 4 deliciously-dark, queer-stuff
Gyre is determined and hot-headed. Personally, I think there has to be something wrong with someone who thinks cave exploring is a good idea. Em has all sorts of stuff wrong with her too, and i can't say I like her as a person. However, I like my fictional women fucked up and the relationships toxic so no complaints.

The resolution to what exactly is going on was kind of a let-down, but I liked how everything else was wrapped up.]]> 3.64 2019
author: Caitlin Starling
name: Tess
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/12
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: deliciously-dark, queer-stuff
review:
I can honestly say that I can't remember a book ever scaring me so much. I have a fear of caves and anxiety AND only read this right before bed, so take that with a grain of salt. I got whiplash from the back and forth of Gyre's paranoia and rational brain. By the 3/4 mark, I had no idea what to think.

Gyre is determined and hot-headed. Personally, I think there has to be something wrong with someone who thinks cave exploring is a good idea. Em has all sorts of stuff wrong with her too, and i can't say I like her as a person. However, I like my fictional women fucked up and the relationships toxic so no complaints.

The resolution to what exactly is going on was kind of a let-down, but I liked how everything else was wrapped up.
]]> 62988106 Werewolves. Witchcraft. Wildlife. It’s all different in the bayou.

A year after Eli and Dag survived their second encounter with a monster, things are finally going well. Really well—as far as Eli is concerned, anyway. He’s lost weight. His energy is up. His hair is on point. There are the little things, like the occasional flare-ups of temper and the urge to murder the kids down the street, but that’s just part of living by teenagers. Right?

But when Posey, a man they met the year before, shows up on their doorstep a few nights before Halloween, everything starts to go wrong. Posey needs their help: his boyfriend has disappeared. Worse, his boyfriend might have committed murder. Oh, and even worse? His boyfriend is a werewolf—a special kind native to Louisiana, known as a rougarou.

Eli and Dag begin their search for the missing rougarou, but it turns out, they’re not the only ones on the hunt: the mob, a gator-man, an implacable monster hunter, a witch, and a few bonus werewolves are all looking for him too. The rougarou, they learn, is the key to a ritual—a ceremony to summon a lwa, a powerful spirit. As time runs out, Eli and Dag must hurry to find the rougarou before the others. If they’re too late, the end of the world might be only the beginning.]]> 274 Gregory Ashe 1636210465 Tess 4 queer-stuff 4.35 2022
author: Gregory Ashe
name: Tess
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/15
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: queer-stuff
review:

]]> 37004370
When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language.]]> 274 Yōko Ogawa 1101870605 Tess 3 book-club-reads
It's hard to review a book that has been translated since I know the wording isn't what was originally written.

This is a thoughtful and mysterious story with many details kept out or left open to interpretation. I think this is meant to reinforce the idea that the story exists to make us wonder and explore our own feelings about it.]]> 3.72 1994
author: Yōko Ogawa
name: Tess
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/10
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: book-club-reads
review:
3.5 stars

It's hard to review a book that has been translated since I know the wording isn't what was originally written.

This is a thoughtful and mysterious story with many details kept out or left open to interpretation. I think this is meant to reinforce the idea that the story exists to make us wonder and explore our own feelings about it.
]]> 60766189 A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms �� but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose.

To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow �� exactly where she wants to be.

The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate.

When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.]]> 868 Samantha Shannon 1635577926 Tess 5
I enjoyed the first 400 pages without having to slog forward, but I wasn't completely sold until everything was pieced together for the stunning climax.
I really wasn't expecting to cry today, but the emotional journey got to me, it really did.]]> 4.34 2023
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Tess
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/31
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: dragons, favorites, queer-stuff
review:
The broad cast of characters and complex world (not to mention over 800 pages) make A Day of Fallen Night a challenging read. It is not a book I would recommend to just anyone and everyone. Books like this are kind of like really big jigsaw puzzles, but you don't know what it's going to look like until it's done. If that sounds awful, maybe don't read.

I enjoyed the first 400 pages without having to slog forward, but I wasn't completely sold until everything was pieced together for the stunning climax.
I really wasn't expecting to cry today, but the emotional journey got to me, it really did.
]]> 13494862

However, Ruth thinks otherwise. Being pursued by Lord Vernon is bad enough. Now, thanks to The Pan, she’s on the run. They are both alive, of course, but with Lord Vernon on their tail neither of them can be sure how long for.


To save her life The Pan must introduce Ruth, the woman of his dreams, to the person prophesied to be the man of hers. And he knows he must do it fast. Before Lord Vernon finds her. But the gentleman in question is in hiding and no-one knows where. Can The Pan find him? And if he does, can he bring himself to unite them?


This book is written in British English.
Suggested cinema rating: PG
=> This book is the second book in a series which is best enjoyed when read in sequence.]]> 0 M.T. McGuire Tess 3 The longer that The Pan doesn't realize The Thing that has been obvious since a quarter through book one, the more hilarious it gets. They practically told you outright, dummy!]]> 4.49 2012
author: M.T. McGuire
name: Tess
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/15
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves:
review:
The characters are really growing on me.
The longer that The Pan doesn't realize The Thing that has been obvious since a quarter through book one, the more hilarious it gets. They practically told you outright, dummy!
]]> 60784841 Mexican Gothic.

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.

But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat.

Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.]]> 352 Trang Thanh Tran 1547610816 Tess 2 3.36 2023
author: Trang Thanh Tran
name: Tess
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2023/06/09
date added: 2023/06/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 63028719 Demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace must endure the terrors of Tartarus to rescue an old friend in this thrilling adventure co-written by New York Times #1 best-selling author Rick Riordan and award-winning author Mark Oshiro.

As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo has been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life–literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that’s been the case so far...

Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades’s realm. Nico’s dreams and Rachel Dare’s latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico’s mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to “leave something of equal value behind?��

Nico will have to face demons both internal and external as his relationship with Will is tested to the core in this standalone adventure featuring two of the most popular characters in the Percy Jackson saga.]]> 480 Rick Riordan 1368081347 Tess 3
I wanted to give this one 4 stars, but that would only be because I love the characters so much.
Maybe I just wanted too many things from the book, but it felt lacking. There were so many loose ends and characters from the world to build from, and this contained the bare minimum.

I was happy with the characterizations for Nico and Will and how their relationship was depicted. I honestly love all the silly nicknames and corny lines (I'm stealing the grilled cheese line to use with my wife).
It's really wonderful for Nico to finally start to be that dorky, excitable weirdo he was for his first book appearance.
Will was honestly exactly what I was expecting. I wish we could have gotten more depth from him. Would have been good to learn more about his life and really see his dark side (come on, hayfever?).

Where the book suffered the most for me is plot. A lot of time was spent discussing how dangerous and traumatizing would be, and then it just wasn't. Sure, it was mentioned when the characters were scared or suffering, but as a reader, I didn't feel it. I didn't feel a lot reading the book, which I think was ultimately the problem.]]> 4.21 2023
author: Rick Riordan
name: Tess
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/06
date added: 2023/06/06
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars

I wanted to give this one 4 stars, but that would only be because I love the characters so much.
Maybe I just wanted too many things from the book, but it felt lacking. There were so many loose ends and characters from the world to build from, and this contained the bare minimum.

I was happy with the characterizations for Nico and Will and how their relationship was depicted. I honestly love all the silly nicknames and corny lines (I'm stealing the grilled cheese line to use with my wife).
It's really wonderful for Nico to finally start to be that dorky, excitable weirdo he was for his first book appearance.
Will was honestly exactly what I was expecting. I wish we could have gotten more depth from him. Would have been good to learn more about his life and really see his dark side (come on, hayfever?).

Where the book suffered the most for me is plot. A lot of time was spent discussing how dangerous and traumatizing would be, and then it just wasn't. Sure, it was mentioned when the characters were scared or suffering, but as a reader, I didn't feel it. I didn't feel a lot reading the book, which I think was ultimately the problem.
]]> 44581558 The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita captain their living ship into the reaches of space in Lina Rather's debut novella, Sisters of the Vast Black.

Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own.

When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.]]> 176 Lina Rather 1250260264 Tess 0 to-read 3.98 2019
author: Lina Rather
name: Tess
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 7431066 606 Jae 193488944X Tess 3 werewolves-and-such 4.11 2009
author: Jae
name: Tess
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/10
date added: 2023/06/01
shelves: werewolves-and-such
review:

]]> 13986 Follows the adventures of Talia as she trains to become a Herald of Valdemar in the first book in the classic epic fantasy Arrows trilogy

Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen's own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.

But as Talia struggles to master her unique abilities, time is running out. For conspiracy is brewing in Valdemar, a deadly treason that could destroy Queen and kingdom. Opposed by unknown enemies capable of both diabolical magic and treacherous assassination, the Queen must turn to Talia and the Heralds for aid in protecting the realm and insuring the future of the Queen's heir, a child already in danger of becoming bespelled by the Queen's own foes.]]> 320 Mercedes Lackey 0886773784 Tess 0 to-read 4.13 1987
author: Mercedes Lackey
name: Tess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 36223860 alternate cover for ISBN 9781250186928

It has a dark past �� one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot." But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.

Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A�� stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks.]]> 158 Martha Wells Tess 0 to-read 4.23 2018
author: Martha Wells
name: Tess
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 8732892
When you're running from a murderous government and work for an equally murderous gangster, accidentally torching his apartment is a bad move.

The Pan of Hamgee just wants a quiet life but destiny has other plans.

The correct genres for this book are: Comedy/fantasy/sci-fi]]> 288 M.T. McGuire Tess 3 quirky-but-no-less-engrossing 4.10 2010
author: M.T. McGuire
name: Tess
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/05/07
shelves: quirky-but-no-less-engrossing
review:

]]> 61985453
Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the gods remember, and they do not forgive.

Thief Arcady scrapes a living on the streets of Vatra. Desperate, Arcady steals a powerful artifact from the bones of the Plaguebringer, the most hated person in Lumet history. Only Arcady knows the artifact's magic holds the key to a new life among the nobles at court and a chance for revenge.

The spell connects to Everen, the last male dragon foretold to save his kind, dragging him through the Veil. Disguised as a human, Everen soon learns that to regain his true power and form and fulfil his destiny, he only needs to convince one little thief to trust him enough to bond completely--body, mind, and soul--and then kill them.

Yet the closer the two become, the greater the risk both their worlds will shatter.]]> 336 L.R. Lam Tess 0 to-read 3.36 2023
author: L.R. Lam
name: Tess
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58724626
What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.]]> 165 T. Kingfisher 1250830753 Tess 3 3.86 2022
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Tess
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/09
date added: 2023/05/03
shelves: deliciously-dark, land-of-the-dead
review:

]]> 22098550 278 Sara Pennypacker 0062377019 Tess 3 3.96 2016
author: Sara Pennypacker
name: Tess
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/21
date added: 2023/04/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 26152839
Now he is struggling with an endless sea of tasks: constructing a vast dragonhold, wrangling with suppliers, guarding dragon eggs and dealing with belligerent Urgals and haughty elves. Then a vision from the Eldunarí, unexpected visitors and an exciting Urgal legend offer a much-needed distraction and a new perspective.

This volume features three original stories set in Alagaësia, interspersed with scenes from Eragon's own unfolding adventure. Included is an excerpt from the memoir of the unforgettable witch and fortune-teller Angela the herbalist, penned by Angela Paolini, the inspiration for the character, herself!

Relish the incomparable imagination of Christopher Paolini in this thrilling new collection of stories based in the world of the Inheritance Cycle.]]> 288 Christopher Paolini 1984894889 Tess 4 3.79 2018
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Tess
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/18
date added: 2023/04/18
shelves:
review:

]]> 62988156 You don’t have to die to get a second line, but it’s easier than getting married.

Second Line is a collection of short stories connected to The DuPage Parish Mysteries. It includes the following:

“H�dzܲ���ɲ��������Բ���

Dag and Eli host a housewarming party at their home in New Orleans—but not without a few bumps along the way. This story is set after Stray Fears.

“H�dzܲ������辱�Բ���

Dag and Eli go about their lives while trying to avoid chores. This story is set after Cascade Hunger.

“Second Line��

A series of vignettes leading up to Dag and Eli’s wedding. This story is set after Lethal Control.

Please note that the first two stories were distributed previously in various formats.

“Second Line�� is exclusively available in this collection.]]> 63 Gregory Ashe 1636210481 Tess 0 4.37 2022
author: Gregory Ashe
name: Tess
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 30145666
After experiencing a series of dangerous--and frankly, humiliating--trials at Camp Half-Blood, Lester must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he's gaining in new friendships--with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride. . . .]]> 432 Rick Riordan 1484746422 Tess 4 4.09 2017
author: Rick Riordan
name: Tess
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/04
date added: 2023/04/15
shelves: quirky-but-no-less-engrossing, favorites
review:

]]> 48929680
Or so she thought . . .

When a spell goes wrong and a gorgeous woman shows up in her living room claiming to be the Moon, everything changes for Alandra and her magical abilities will be put to the test.

Can she reverse the spell and send Luna back to her realm?

Celestials never go to Earth anymore. When witches figured out they could harness their energy for ultimate power, celestials closed the doors to their own realms.

When a beautiful young witch accidentally summons Luna to Earth, the clock begins ticking. Can she make it home before she's sacrificed for her power?

Will she even want to?]]> 196 Poppy Woods Tess 0 to-read-with-amethyst 3.88 2020
author: Poppy Woods
name: Tess
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/12
shelves: to-read-with-amethyst
review:

]]> 58208210 Alone since her father’s murder, Aurora has spent years hunting his killers. Battle-weary she’s ready to start over where no one knows who or what she is �� she just has one last mission. Everything is going to plan until she discovers the beautiful winged girl caged underground. Her decision to rescue Evie and to help her get home safely, despite avians being infamous for selling out shifters like Aurora to trophy hunters and black-market flesh dealers, will put her on a perilous path.
As the women travel together their attraction grows but Aurora is guarding her lonely heart almost as much as her dangerous secrets and Evie is struggling to accept how important Aurora has become to her.
When their enemies conspire to kill them, they may be each other’s only hope. Aurora is powerful but she’s also emotionally scarred and it will be up to Evie to save her from herself and fight for them. If she doesn't innocent people will die along with the guilty ones and Aurora will disappear from Evie’s life forever.

228,000 words]]> 545 Emily Noon 0473488329 Tess 0 to-read-with-amethyst 4.24 2019
author: Emily Noon
name: Tess
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/12
shelves: to-read-with-amethyst
review:

]]> 44011846 She was raised to fear them. But now she's become her own worst enemy��

America, 2055. Cass is equal parts excited and nervous to leave her Sapiens Movement enclave. Stepping away from her technologically-conservative family for the first time, she sets off for college with dreams of saving humanity. But as the Sapiens girl falls for her cybernetically-enhanced roommate, her deeply programmed beliefs begin to glitch��

Confused in a world that no longer makes sense, Cass barely registers the horrific accident that leaves her near death. When she wakes up, she discovers the same technology she's always hated is the only thing keeping her alive. No longer purely human, Cass questions everything she thought she knew about good and evil.

As tensions between man and machine head for a meltdown, Cass must choose a side before the conflict turns deadly��

Cyber's Change is the first book in the heartfelt Sapiens Run cyberpunk trilogy. If you like strong female characters, dystopian futures, and exploring what it means to be human, then you’ll love Jamie Davis’s thought-provoking novel.]]> 220 Jamie Davis Tess 2 It is an interesting concept and cool cover, but it's lacking all over.]]> 3.70 2019
author: Jamie Davis
name: Tess
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2023/04/11
date added: 2023/04/11
shelves:
review:
Worldbuilding was extremely minimal, as was character development. This read like an early draft, like the author was rushing to get all the main points on the page and worry about details later.
It is an interesting concept and cool cover, but it's lacking all over.
]]> 32758901 "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety ������’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.�� Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.]]> 144 Martha Wells Tess 4
Murderbot, my beloved.]]> 4.11 2017
author: Martha Wells
name: Tess
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/02
date added: 2023/04/02
shelves:
review:
4.5 stars

Murderbot, my beloved.
]]> 44074800 Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.]]> 410 Grady Hendrix Tess 3 3.78 2020
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Tess
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/28
date added: 2023/03/28
shelves:
review:

]]> 26869939
Ever since she was granted a wish at birth by her fairy godmother, Constance Verity has become one of the world’s great adventurers. It all began at her seventh birthday party when she defeated a snake. She has become a master of exotic martial arts, a keen detective, and possesses a collection of strange artifacts gathered from her adventures. But Constance has spent the past twenty-eight years saving the world, and she’s tired of it. All she wants is to work in an office and date a nice, normal guy. And she is finally figured out a way to do it: she’s going to kill her fairy godmother and reset her life. The only problem, though, is that saving the world is Constance’s destiny. She’s great at it, and there are forces at work to make sure she stays in the job.

Then again, it’s also her destiny to have a glorious death.]]> 384 A. Lee Martinez 1481443518 Tess 2
Constance Verity is an action hero constantly being roped into adventures. From finding dangerous artifacts to fighting ninjas on the moon, literally any adventure you can imagine she's done it and barely broken a sweat.
But when the main character is basically destined to always save the day, there are no stakes. Of course she happens to have just the right magical item to guarantee their escape. Why wouldn't there be an entrance to a hidden lair right under her feet?
I understand that this is the point, and it was funny at first, I just kept hoping she would encounter something truly challenging.
Constance did have some internal struggles, but the character wasn't really developed enough for me to care.

I might read the next one just because I think this has potential.]]> 3.62 2016
author: A. Lee Martinez
name: Tess
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2023/03/24
date added: 2023/03/24
shelves:
review:
Loved the concept of this book, and for the first few chapters, it seemed like it was going to be a funny, engaging read. Then I got bored. I will say that EVERY book has me bored lately, so it is possibly more to do with me than the book.

Constance Verity is an action hero constantly being roped into adventures. From finding dangerous artifacts to fighting ninjas on the moon, literally any adventure you can imagine she's done it and barely broken a sweat.
But when the main character is basically destined to always save the day, there are no stakes. Of course she happens to have just the right magical item to guarantee their escape. Why wouldn't there be an entrance to a hidden lair right under her feet?
I understand that this is the point, and it was funny at first, I just kept hoping she would encounter something truly challenging.
Constance did have some internal struggles, but the character wasn't really developed enough for me to care.

I might read the next one just because I think this has potential.
]]> 55711440
Did she wander in? Or was she drawn in��?

A woman walks alone at the foot of Mount Sengoku. A man appears, saying he’s been waiting for her, and invites her to a nearby village. Surprisingly, the village is covered in hairlike volcanic glass fibers, all shining a bright gold. That night, as the villagers gaze up at the starry sky, countless unidentified flying objects come raining down on them—the opening act for the terror about to occur.]]> 240 Junji Ito 1974718905 Tess 3 3.60 2019
author: Junji Ito
name: Tess
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/14
date added: 2023/03/14
shelves:
review:

]]> 164719 Grubbs Grady has stiff red hair and is a little big for his age, which means he can get into R-rated movies. He hates history and loves bacon, rats, and playing tricks on his squeamish older sister. When he opts out of a family weekend trip, he never guesses that he is about to take a terrifying journey into darkness. Hungry demons and howling werewolves haunt his waking nightmares... and threaten his life.]]> 224 Darren Shan 0316012335 Tess 4 4.26 2005
author: Darren Shan
name: Tess
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/14
date added: 2023/03/14
shelves: deliciously-dark, werewolves-and-such
review:

]]> 1421990 Flirting With The Grave��

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father �� the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unlikely partnership.

In exchange for help finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner �� are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side �� and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.]]> 374 Jeaniene Frost 0061245089 Tess 3 4.13 2007
author: Jeaniene Frost
name: Tess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/22
date added: 2023/02/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 55566545 Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets The L Word in this fresh, sizzling rom-com by Lana Harper.

Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one—in part because she hasn't been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoore, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams.

But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She's determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago.

On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov—an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts—who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden—unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in?

But most concerning of all: Why can't she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov?]]> 352 Lana Harper 0593336062 Tess 2 3.57 2021
author: Lana Harper
name: Tess
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2023/02/22
date added: 2023/02/22
shelves:
review:
Loved the setting of the town and there were lots of fun elements but I was honestly just bored.
]]> 49362138 A refreshingly timely and relatable debut novel about a young woman whose life plans fall apart when she meets her wife.

With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls�� trip to Vegas to celebrate. She’s a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t know…until she does exactly that.

This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father’s plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn’t feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her father’s expectations, a struggling job market and feelings of burnout, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows.

In New York, she’s able to ignore all the annoying questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she’s been running from all along—the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood.]]> 352 Morgan Rogers 1488077509 Tess 3 3.65 2021
author: Morgan Rogers
name: Tess
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/22
date added: 2023/02/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 26252859
By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.

But Apollo has many enemies—gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.]]> 376 Rick Riordan 148473274X Tess 5 4.13 2016
author: Rick Riordan
name: Tess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/17
date added: 2023/02/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 12127810 Hazel stands at a crossroads. She and the remaining crew of the Argo II could return home with the Athena Parthenos statue and try to stop Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter from going to war. Or they could continue their quest to find the House of Hades, where they might be able to open the Doors of Death, rescue their friends Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus, and prevent monsters from being reincarnated in the mortal world. Whichever road they decide to take, they have to hurry, because time is running out. Gaea, the bloodthirsty Earth Mother, has set the date of August 1 for her rise to power.

Annabeth and Percy are overwhelmed. How will the two of them make it through Tartarus? Starving, thirsty, and in pain, they are barely able to stumble on in the dark and poisonous landscape that holds new horrors at every turn. They have no way of locating the Doors of Death. Even if they did, a legion of Gaea's strongest monsters guards the Doors on the Tartarus side. Annabeth and Percy can't exactly launch a frontal assault.

Despite the terrible odds, Hazel, Annabeth, Percy, and the other demigods of the prophecy know that there is only one choice: to attempt the impossible. Not just for themselves, but for everyone they love. Even though love can be the riskiest choice of all.

Join the demigods as they face their biggest challenges yet in The House of Hades, the hair-raising penultimate book in the best-selling Heroes of Olympus series.]]> 597 Rick Riordan 1423146727 Tess 4 4.56 2013
author: Rick Riordan
name: Tess
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/08
date added: 2023/02/10
shelves:
review:

]]>