suzanna's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 26 Apr 2025 21:24:29 -0700 60 suzanna's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Tears Waiting to Be Diamonds (In Other Lands, #1.5)]]> 90578557 In Other Lands, Tears Waiting to Be Diamonds is about the magical diplomatic crisis waiting to happen when an exiled dwarven prince runs into criminals, his part-human cousin, and a certain young man referred to by the western fortresses as the Redheaded Trouble...

Parts One and Two available to read for free online at The Sunday Morning Transport.

9,032 words.]]> 31 Sarah Rees Brennan suzanna 4 4.17 2023 Tears Waiting to Be Diamonds (In Other Lands, #1.5)
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves:
review:

]]> In Other Lands 31944679 “What’s your name?�

â€Âٱđ°ů±đ˛Ô±đ.â€�

“Serena?� Elliot asked.

“Serene,� said Serene. “My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle.�

Elliot’s mouth fell open. “That is badass.�

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border—unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and—best of all as far as Elliot is concerned—mermaids.

Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands.

It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world.]]> 441 Sarah Rees Brennan 1618731203 suzanna 5 favs
Notable comments include
- tiny elliot discovers magic school on page 2. a little fast, but he likes to move fast wink wink
- I like that there are five chapters! because then when I say “gimme a second I just need to finish this chapter� I can read for 30 more minutes
- drawings at the beginning of each of said five chapters were super cute
- I cried quite a bit. thinking about major life themes. don’t worry about it
- elven gender roles are hilarious!!!!! boys� hearts are truly gentle like flowers
- I want an animated series based on this book. please and thank you
- also I like the midnight sun-esque end chapter. very cute. luke is sooo beloved he is my everything ]]> 4.35 2017 In Other Lands
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: favs
review:
I finished this 500 page book in less than two days, if that tells you anything about the quality of it.

Notable comments include
- tiny elliot discovers magic school on page 2. a little fast, but he likes to move fast wink wink
- I like that there are five chapters! because then when I say “gimme a second I just need to finish this chapter� I can read for 30 more minutes
- drawings at the beginning of each of said five chapters were super cute
- I cried quite a bit. thinking about major life themes. don’t worry about it
- elven gender roles are hilarious!!!!! boys� hearts are truly gentle like flowers
- I want an animated series based on this book. please and thank you
- also I like the midnight sun-esque end chapter. very cute. luke is sooo beloved he is my everything
]]> <![CDATA[Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1)]]> 201626991
She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.]]> 435 Sarah Rees Brennan 0316568716 suzanna 0 to-read 3.87 2024 Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1)
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3)]]> 17378508
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.]]> 391 Maggie Stiefvater 0545424968 suzanna 0 currently-reading 4.26 2014 Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Lettres d' amour de 0 a 10 66239647 0 Susie Morgenstern 2211045596 suzanna 0 currently-reading 3.88 1996 Lettres d' amour de 0 a 10
author: Susie Morgenstern
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Percy Jackson, tome 3 | Le sort du Titan]]> 41079504 384 Rick Riordan suzanna 0 french 4.37 2007 Percy Jackson, tome 3 | Le sort du Titan
author: Rick Riordan
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/15
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: french
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng]]> 218185743
These days nobody can reach Cora: not her aunt, who wants her to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival; not her weird colleagues; and especially not the slack-jawed shadow lurking around her door frame. After all, it can't be real—can it? After a series of unexplained killings in Chinatown, Cora believes someone might be targeting East Asian women, and something might be targeting Cora herself.]]> 304 Kylie Lee Baker 0778368459 suzanna 0 to-read 4.27 2025 Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
author: Kylie Lee Baker
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)]]> 17347389 439 Maggie Stiefvater 0545424941 suzanna 3
- i think i probably said/texted 100 times to various ppl about how i HATE gansey calling blue jane. probably said it in my review of the first book. ill say it again. i dont think they have chemistry and it feels forced that shes falling in love w a guy who cant even be bothered to use her real name because he "doesn't like it." fucks with his intentions to be the down to earth billionaire kid
- this was supposed to be ronan's book! wasn't a lot of ronan storytelling. i don't care about the grey man and i wish he was in this book less. follows the issue of having too many main characters but it's ok
- i really struggled to get through the first 1/3 of the book bc ronan's dreaming felt a lottttt like ocd/intrusive thoughts (particularly harm themes if im rlly being specific). im not a psychologist but. i think someone could write a pretty little essay about his psyche from that angle
- the dragon scene!!!! so fun and exciting!!! WHY was it only given 3 pages with a very limited description???? missed opportunity and felt like a hasty revision
- real adam quote: "'Nice Blue. Gansey was right. You really can be a raging feminist.'" this boiled my blood i thought they were supposed to be written as (real) nice guys not fucking incels what happened???? and don't say the woods. those are trees this is a teenaged boy being an absolute twat
- it felt like grey man's brother was supposed to be a call back. i wouldve written it as a reveal. it was not. also i do not care about his romance to maura stop giving it page time!
- blue x noah kiss was cute <3 love them both

thoughts done! book read. hope to exchange this for the final one in gab's collection asap <3]]> 4.22 2013 The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
review:
spoilers or whatever but i feel like im the last person on earth to read this series so. also my thoughts are trending more negatively but,, im tired and thought dumping

- i think i probably said/texted 100 times to various ppl about how i HATE gansey calling blue jane. probably said it in my review of the first book. ill say it again. i dont think they have chemistry and it feels forced that shes falling in love w a guy who cant even be bothered to use her real name because he "doesn't like it." fucks with his intentions to be the down to earth billionaire kid
- this was supposed to be ronan's book! wasn't a lot of ronan storytelling. i don't care about the grey man and i wish he was in this book less. follows the issue of having too many main characters but it's ok
- i really struggled to get through the first 1/3 of the book bc ronan's dreaming felt a lottttt like ocd/intrusive thoughts (particularly harm themes if im rlly being specific). im not a psychologist but. i think someone could write a pretty little essay about his psyche from that angle
- the dragon scene!!!! so fun and exciting!!! WHY was it only given 3 pages with a very limited description???? missed opportunity and felt like a hasty revision
- real adam quote: "'Nice Blue. Gansey was right. You really can be a raging feminist.'" this boiled my blood i thought they were supposed to be written as (real) nice guys not fucking incels what happened???? and don't say the woods. those are trees this is a teenaged boy being an absolute twat
- it felt like grey man's brother was supposed to be a call back. i wouldve written it as a reveal. it was not. also i do not care about his romance to maura stop giving it page time!
- blue x noah kiss was cute <3 love them both

thoughts done! book read. hope to exchange this for the final one in gab's collection asap <3
]]> <![CDATA[Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)]]> 214331246 When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 387 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 suzanna 5
i think it was tough to open up to characters whose downfalls are written in the previous novels, but with the angle of propaganda laced into that previous "viewing" (if you can call it that) it still works for this book. and maysilee,, marked for death but i kept hoping for an ending like hunger games 1

the epilogue was good and necessary i think. a victor is never a winner, and even if you wont see the fall of evil in your lifetime you can still push the needle in that direction. im glad haymitch gets his goose,, im glad he finally gets to have birthdays where the sun doesn't rise on a reaping <3]]> 4.62 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:
felt more akin to the original trilogy than songbirds & snakes tbh,, defiant tragicomedy filled with cameos and a lottt of songs/poems/italicized verse; suzanne collins sure does love herself a callback jingle

i think it was tough to open up to characters whose downfalls are written in the previous novels, but with the angle of propaganda laced into that previous "viewing" (if you can call it that) it still works for this book. and maysilee,, marked for death but i kept hoping for an ending like hunger games 1

the epilogue was good and necessary i think. a victor is never a winner, and even if you wont see the fall of evil in your lifetime you can still push the needle in that direction. im glad haymitch gets his goose,, im glad he finally gets to have birthdays where the sun doesn't rise on a reaping <3
]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Raven (All for the Game, #5)]]> 213726350 I do not care what they think of me. I can’t. It only matters that I play.

Jeremy Knox is no stranger to damage control, but his last season on an Exy court is off to a disastrous start. The relentless crusade against his newest teammate threatens the haven he and his friends have worked so hard to build. He promised Jean a fun senior year, but tragedy and ugly truths make every step forward an uphill fight.

Jean Moreau promised the USC Trojans a championship trophy, and he intends to deliver. Granted, it would be significantly easier if they’d slide off their high horses and throw a few elbows on the court. Their steadfast refusal to do things his way is nearly as aggravating as their unwanted affection, but maybe they’re not the ones that need to change.

With so many ready to drag him down, how can he learn to fly?]]> 484 Nora Sakavic suzanna 0 to-read 4.59 2025 The Golden Raven (All for the Game, #5)
author: Nora Sakavic
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 6:40 to Montreal 221490977 No WiFi, no distractions. No way out�

ĚýAgatha's husband has bought her a first-class ticket on the scenic six-hour train from Toronto to Montreal as a gift—a one-day writing retreat so she can get some serious work done on her new book, a highly-anticipated follow-up to Agatha's runaway bestseller debut novel. The first-class car is the perfect place to be productive, with only a handful of other passengers, plenty of snacks and drinks, and beautiful views flying by outside the window.

ĚýBut Agatha has other plans for her day outâ€� plans that are unexpectedly derailed when the train breaks down in the middle of the frigid Canadian woods and one of Agatha's fellow passengers dies quietly in his seat. Soon, a pleasant morning in transit turns into a fight for survival against an unknown and unseen enemy. Will Agatha—or any of the passengers—make it out alive?

From international bestselling author Eva Jurczyk, 6:40 to Montreal is a claustrophobic, deceivingly bloody thriller that twists and turns until the very last page.Ěý±Ő±Ő> 352 Eva Jurczyk 1464244464 suzanna 0 currently-reading 3.28 6:40 to Montreal
author: Eva Jurczyk
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.28
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)]]> 17675462 “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,� Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.�

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.]]> 409 Maggie Stiefvater 0545424925 suzanna 4
it was fun!! love a new kind of magic/psychic/natural magic (new in a sense that i haven't read that in a book in awhile) i like the boys,, i like blue,, i felt that the story moved well and didn't lallygag too much in the domestic sphere of boarding school boy land.

slight issues/confusing points (maybe just confusing bc im nursing a headache rn)
- really didn't vibe w gansey only referring to blue as 'jane'
- [spoilers removed]
- i don't understand the last line? "I took Chainsaw out of my dreams" I have no clue what this means
- what's gonna happen in the next two books? idk! but i'll read them
]]> 4.05 2012 The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:
i feel like this is hard to rate bc so many of my friends love this book deeply.

it was fun!! love a new kind of magic/psychic/natural magic (new in a sense that i haven't read that in a book in awhile) i like the boys,, i like blue,, i felt that the story moved well and didn't lallygag too much in the domestic sphere of boarding school boy land.

slight issues/confusing points (maybe just confusing bc im nursing a headache rn)
- really didn't vibe w gansey only referring to blue as 'jane'
- [spoilers removed]
- i don't understand the last line? "I took Chainsaw out of my dreams" I have no clue what this means
- what's gonna happen in the next two books? idk! but i'll read them

]]> What the Woods Took 203578707 Yellowjackets meets Girl, Interrupted when a group of troubled teens in a wilderness therapy program find themselves stranded in a forest full of monsters eager to take their place.

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction—one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they've all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.

Devin is immediately determined to escape. She’s also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there’s something strange about these woods—inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn't be there flashing in the leaves—and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other—and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.

Atmospheric and sharp, What the Woods Took is a poignant story of transformation that explores the price of becoming someone—or something—new.]]> 336 Courtney Gould 1250340675 suzanna 5 4.5 3.88 2024 What the Woods Took
author: Courtney Gould
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:
4.5
]]> The Outsiders 192566704 214 S.E. Hinton 014240733X suzanna 0 to-read 4.22 1967 The Outsiders
author: S.E. Hinton
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1967
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My Darling Dreadful Thing 193544852
Spirits are drawn to salt, be it blood or tears.

Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see. Ruth—strange, corpse-like, and dead for centuries—is the light of Roos' life. That is, until the wealthy young widow Agnes Knoop visits one of Roos' backroom seances, and the two strike up a connection.

Soon, Roos is whisked away to the crumbling estate Agnes inherited upon the death of her husband, where an ill woman haunts the halls, strange smells drift through the air, and mysterious stone statues reside in the family chapel. Something dreadful festers in the manor, but still, the attraction between Roos and Agnes is undeniable.

Then, someone is murdered.

Poor, alone, and with a history of 'hysterics', Roos is the obvious culprit. With her sanity and innocence in question, she'll have to prove who—or what—is at fault or lose everything she holds dear.

"A Sapphic seance of preternatural proportions, My Darling Dreadful Thing summons a stunning new literary voice to be reckoned with. Johanna van Veen reaches beyond the veil to conjure up a gothic shocker like no other."—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters

©2024 Johanna van Veen (P)2024 Tantor]]> 375 Johanna van Veen 1728281547 suzanna 4
I liked Roos a lot, mostly for her strange habits and yearning for love, but I struggled to see depth in her character. I think the reflexive nature of an intertwining police interview makes it seem as if the whole story comes fr a narrator set in an epilogue kind of stance, instead of a pov main character developing alongside us as we read the story. but I can’t be too picky!!

I think the 33 days part was a touch rushed. would’ve liked to see death in a substantial way, especially because you know who was really annoying me and I would’ve liked to feel closure.

but it was good!! would read another book fr this author 100%
]]> 3.85 2024 My Darling Dreadful Thing
author: Johanna van Veen
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves:
review:
so so haunting! gothic and delicious and full of dark whimsy and toxic love and good intentions and naivety.

I liked Roos a lot, mostly for her strange habits and yearning for love, but I struggled to see depth in her character. I think the reflexive nature of an intertwining police interview makes it seem as if the whole story comes fr a narrator set in an epilogue kind of stance, instead of a pov main character developing alongside us as we read the story. but I can’t be too picky!!

I think the 33 days part was a touch rushed. would’ve liked to see death in a substantial way, especially because you know who was really annoying me and I would’ve liked to feel closure.

but it was good!! would read another book fr this author 100%

]]> The Amalfi Curse 218674082 “Sarah Penner transported me to the sea-swept cliffs of Positano and introduced me to characters I’ll never forget. A magical read!�
â€�Emilia Hart,ĚýNew York TimesĚýbestselling author of The Sirens

Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse�

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?

As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art ofĚýstregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed foreverâ€�

Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.
Ěý±Ő±Ő> 336 Sarah Penner 0778308006 suzanna 0 to-read 4.21 2025 The Amalfi Curse
author: Sarah Penner
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Your Blood and Bones 195744902 Kill the monsters when they’re found.

No matter who they used to be.

The girl with secret feathers in her skin and strange bones jutting out beneath her clothes is resigned to her fate. Her deformities mark her a monster and the stories say monsters must die.

When her family finds out and turns on her, a village boy saves her and leads her on a frantic escape. The girl believes her death has merely been delayed—until he mentions a cure.

With the world against them and the monstrous change progressing, they must cross water, forest, and field to chase the rumor that fuels their desperate hope. But is hope enough to keep them going?]]> 168 J. Patricia Anderson 1778288162 suzanna 0 to-read 3.50 Your Blood and Bones
author: J. Patricia Anderson
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Whispering City (Ricochet Series)]]> 178812065
Quebec City crime reporter Mary Roberts is about to leave her desk for the day when she receives word that a woman has been struck down in the centre of town. The victim is Renée Brancourt. A former pin-up, she'd once been a big star, treading the boards at the Comédie-Française, until her lover, Robert Marchand, plunged over Montmorency Falls. Renée's inability to accept his death led her to be institutionalized.

Now on her deathbed at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, the faded vedette tells Mary that Robert's death was no accident. She points an accusing finger at Albert Frédéric, the most respected lawyer in the city, thus setting the young reporter on a trail that will ultimately imperil her own life.

Whispering City began as a 1947 Canadian feature shot in both English and French (La Forteresse). Predating Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess by six years, it is the earliest film noir set in Canada.

In his novelization, Horace Brown improves upon the film, altering the dialogue, shedding its weaknesses, providing backstory, and giving flesh to its characters. The result brings tension and is a much darker noir.]]> 220 Horace Brown 1550656384 suzanna 0 dnf 3.33 Whispering City (Ricochet Series)
author: Horace Brown
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws, and Kitties of Yore]]> 216301282 A hilarious celebration of cats in artwork from medieval times

From the year 500 to 1500 numerous medieval manuscripts and works of art portrayed cats as lazy, selfish, and vicious. Centuries later, these masterpieces live on, shining a bright light on the dark age of cats and telling a brand-new story of their glory. Medieval Cats celebrates more than two hundred cats who are up to no good.

Also included are cat facts from the Middle Ages as well as poems and excerpts from literature where cats were mentioned. Both a humorous book and a peek into medieval art and literature, Medieval Cats will appeal to cat and art lovers everywhere.]]> 208 Catherine Nappington 0593837509 suzanna 2 arcs
i'm no (real) medievalist but come on. the amount of introductions to arthurian tales and historical accounts and then the author finishes a paragraph with ellipses or "it goes on a bit" really bothered me. assume we want to know more!! if I've learned anything from studying medieval texts, it's that they're quite inaccessible to find and read (especially in plain modern translations). please at least give options to read more! I think genuinely I'd just be the type of reader to enjoy this author's dissertation or go to one of her classes. ]]> 3.59 Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws, and Kitties of Yore
author: Catherine Nappington
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.59
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/01
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: arcs
review:
listen. this isn't a bad book. I think a lot of coffee table book lovers or cat ppl would love a cute book of cat facts and pictures from illuminated manuscripts! I enjoyed that we bounced around between some quotes/facts from egypt and other european countries, but overall it left me wanting a lot more.

i'm no (real) medievalist but come on. the amount of introductions to arthurian tales and historical accounts and then the author finishes a paragraph with ellipses or "it goes on a bit" really bothered me. assume we want to know more!! if I've learned anything from studying medieval texts, it's that they're quite inaccessible to find and read (especially in plain modern translations). please at least give options to read more! I think genuinely I'd just be the type of reader to enjoy this author's dissertation or go to one of her classes.
]]> The Man Who Spoke Snakish 25246592 The Man Who Spoke Snakish is the imaginative and moving story of a boy who is tasked with preserving ancient traditions in the face of modernity.

Set in a fantastical version of medieval Estonia, The Man Who Spoke Snakish follows a young boy, Leemet, who lives with his hunter-gatherer family in the forest and is the last speaker of the ancient tongue of snakish, a language that allows its speakers to command all animals. But the forest is gradually emptying as more and more people leave to settle in villages, where they break their backs tilling the land to grow wheat for their “bread� (which Leemet has been told tastes horrible) and where they pray to a god very different from the spirits worshipped in the forest’s sacred grove. With lothario bears who wordlessly seduce women, a giant louse with a penchant for swimming, a legendary flying frog, and a young charismatic viper named Ints, The Man Who Spoke Snakish is a totally inventive novel for readers of David Mitchell, Sjón, and Terry Pratchett.]]> 442 Andrus Kivirähk 0802124127 suzanna 0 to-read 4.00 2007 The Man Who Spoke Snakish
author: Andrus Kivirähk
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Deadly Animals 203579073 Finding a dead body is not normal. But Ava is not a normal teenager. In this chillingly beautiful mystery, only the obsessive spirit of youth can save a desperate town from the savagery within.

Ava Bonney is a compassionate and studious fourteen-year-old girl with a dark secret: she has an obsessive interest in the macabre. She is fascinated by the rate at which dead animals decompose. The highway she lives by regularly offers up gifts of roadkill, and in the dead of night Ava loves nothing more than to pull her latest discovery into her roadside den and record her findings.

One night, she stumbles across the body of her classmate and, fearing that her secret ritual could be revealed, she makes an anonymous call to the police. But when Detective Seth Delahaye is given the case, Ava won’t step back—not while teenagers continue to go missing.

Racing alongside the police or against them, Ava is determined to figure out who is hunting her classmates before she becomes the next prey. How hard can it be to track a killer?]]> 354 Marie Tierney 1250357594 suzanna 5
really impressive mystery/crime novel w a huge cast of relatively round characters and a fun creepy serial killer at the center. tbh predicted some aspects but not others, and I wish more of the later part of the book was still centered on Ava but it’s ok

those chapters of the victims� pov right before they were abducted destroyed me. anyways! five stars ]]> 3.79 2024 Deadly Animals
author: Marie Tierney
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves:
review:
“we are our bones�

really impressive mystery/crime novel w a huge cast of relatively round characters and a fun creepy serial killer at the center. tbh predicted some aspects but not others, and I wish more of the later part of the book was still centered on Ava but it’s ok

those chapters of the victims� pov right before they were abducted destroyed me. anyways! five stars
]]> The Hunter and Her Witch 215061158
For witch Oriana, leaving her abusive ex was her first step toward a new life. Moving to Obsidian Falls and becoming a yoga instructor quickly followed. Her dismal romantic track record is proof she needs to focus on anything but love. But the moment she sets eyes on a member of the supernatural construction crew building her studio, she knows her heart didn’t get the memo.

When Oriana’s ex shows up, and Sarah’s inner Hunter responds, their painful pasts collide in a waterfall of revealed secrets and fears come to life. They must decide if their love is worth building, or better left behind.]]> 216 Rachel Sullivan 1636798306 suzanna 2 arcs
I wanted to like this, it's about witches in the woods in eastern Washington—what's not to love?

I think the two main shortcomings I had with this book were the length and the tell-not-show nature. I think shorter books can work. This one is about 190 pages on the Netgalley copy I received, and there wasn't quite enough space for the author to do what they wanted to do. I also believe that because of the short page count, the author cut corners in character development. It felt rushed and the romance felt undeserved because there was no growth between them. You can't just say two people are "mates" (barf) and thus they can start saying "I love you."

There was a lot of therapy talk in this,, and honestly it felt like someone going to therapy, walking themselves through thought process in a complete monologue, stating they worked through their issues, thanking the therapist, and then leaving. You can talk about working through the internalized misogyny all you want, but sarah isn't cured two chapters later. Doesn't work like that.

I think this would be best for a younger audience,, like 14-16 years. But it didn't do much for me. ]]> 3.43 The Hunter and Her Witch
author: Rachel Sullivan
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.43
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: arcs
review:
Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the arc!

I wanted to like this, it's about witches in the woods in eastern Washington—what's not to love?

I think the two main shortcomings I had with this book were the length and the tell-not-show nature. I think shorter books can work. This one is about 190 pages on the Netgalley copy I received, and there wasn't quite enough space for the author to do what they wanted to do. I also believe that because of the short page count, the author cut corners in character development. It felt rushed and the romance felt undeserved because there was no growth between them. You can't just say two people are "mates" (barf) and thus they can start saying "I love you."

There was a lot of therapy talk in this,, and honestly it felt like someone going to therapy, walking themselves through thought process in a complete monologue, stating they worked through their issues, thanking the therapist, and then leaving. You can talk about working through the internalized misogyny all you want, but sarah isn't cured two chapters later. Doesn't work like that.

I think this would be best for a younger audience,, like 14-16 years. But it didn't do much for me.
]]> Of Monsters and Mainframes 216540053 Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception.

Demeter just wants to do her shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.

To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.

The queer love child of pulp horror and ​classic ​sci-fi, Of Monsters and ​Mainframes ​is a dazzling, heartfelt odyssey that probes what it means to be one of society’s monsters—and explores the many types of friendship that make us human.]]> 407 Barbara Truelove 1964721156 suzanna 4 arcs
mmmm ok so. i picked this book up for the absolutely feral description and genuinely. yeah. it delivered a silly book that kept me interested and somehow invested in robot spaceships and every monster type in the solar system and etc etc.

i had some issues with some of the character development being,, unearned. agnus' 'realizations' and some of the "im an AI so i can do xyz in 4.632 seconds and save the day" was annoying at times, but maybe that's because i'm more impressed w tangible events than numbers.

i feel like robot enthusiasts and those who love 10000 random fight scenes will have a wonderful time,, and also anyone who had a deep love of wall-e! i think i learned to love robot spaceships a little more,, and genuinely enjoyed the interconnectivity between all the events in demeter's treacherous past. ]]> 4.45 Of Monsters and Mainframes
author: Barbara Truelove
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: arcs
review:
thank you to netgalley and bindery books for the arc <3

mmmm ok so. i picked this book up for the absolutely feral description and genuinely. yeah. it delivered a silly book that kept me interested and somehow invested in robot spaceships and every monster type in the solar system and etc etc.

i had some issues with some of the character development being,, unearned. agnus' 'realizations' and some of the "im an AI so i can do xyz in 4.632 seconds and save the day" was annoying at times, but maybe that's because i'm more impressed w tangible events than numbers.

i feel like robot enthusiasts and those who love 10000 random fight scenes will have a wonderful time,, and also anyone who had a deep love of wall-e! i think i learned to love robot spaceships a little more,, and genuinely enjoyed the interconnectivity between all the events in demeter's treacherous past.
]]> <![CDATA[How to Host a Viking Funeral: The Case for Burning Your Regrets, Chasing Your Crazy Ideas, and Becoming the Person You're Meant to Be]]> 58079460
This is the story of what he learned about letting go of the pain of the past and embracing the future with hope.

Turning 30, artist and speaker Kyle Scheele wanted to do something unusual to mark this milestone. Instead of a birthday bash, he decided to hold a funeral to memorialize the decade of his life that was ending. Building a 16-foot Viking ship out of cardboard, he invited friends to help him set it on fire—a symbolic farewell to his 20s and all the grief, regret, and mistakes that accompanied those years.

When video of his Viking funeral went viral, it encouraged many others to let go of past hurts as well. Moved by the response he received, Kyle planned a second funeral (this time with a 30-foot cardboard Viking ship) and asked people to share the things they carried—the bad choices, disappointments, heartaches, and negative thinking that they wanted to lay to rest. He received more than 20,000 responses from around the world—stories both heartbreaking and hilarious, painful and inspiring.

In this entertaining and wise book, Kyle reflects on what he discovered about freeing ourselves from the pain of the past, interweaving anecdotes from those who participated with the story of his own journey of renewal. “This story involves multiple Viking funerals, thousands of square feet of cardboard, and enough hot glue to supply your mother-in-law's craft night for the rest of time,� he writes. “But it also involves regret, self-doubt, insecurity, and ultimately, redemption. So buckle up. It's about to get bumpy.�

How to Host a Viking Funeral is the story of letting go of the people we used to be, but no longer want to be. It’s about renewal; where there was once regret there is now blank space—an opportunity for a fresh start.]]> 320 Kyle Scheele 0063087278 suzanna 0 to-read 3.95 How to Host a Viking Funeral: The Case for Burning Your Regrets, Chasing Your Crazy Ideas, and Becoming the Person You're Meant to Be
author: Kyle Scheele
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Sirens 210411871 A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine

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

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

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.]]> 337 Emilia Hart 1250280826 suzanna 0 to-read 3.81 2025 The Sirens
author: Emilia Hart
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Le Voleur de foudre (Percy Jackson, #1)]]> 33167224 480 Rick Riordan 2019109956 suzanna 0 french 4.22 2005 Le Voleur de foudre (Percy Jackson, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/21
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: french
review:

]]> I Shall Never Fall in Love 199531795
Eleanor has always wanted to do everything "right," including falling in love—but she’s never met a boy she was interested in. She’d much rather spend time with her best friend, George, and beloved cousin Charlotte. However, when a new suitor comes to town, she finds her closest friendships threatened, forcing her to rethink what "right" means and confront feelings she never knew she had.

Inspired by Jane Austen and queer history, I Shall Never Fall in Love shines a light on what it means to be true to yourself and rewrites the rules for what makes a happily ever after.]]> 288 Hari Conner 035868238X suzanna 0 to-read 4.29 2024 I Shall Never Fall in Love
author: Hari Conner
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Saint Catherine 208840727 A relatable adult graphic novel about a woman who skips Sunday mass for the first time in her life only to discover she's possibly being possessed by a demon.

As a recovering Irish American Catholic, she has mostly traded the world of communion and confessionals for the “city-girl� struggle of work-life balance, family, and her relationships. The only thing she has not been able to shake is her fear that something bad will happen if she misses Sunday mass.

But her fears become a reality when she skips mass for the first time and discovers she is now being possessed by a demon claiming to be the prince of hell. As she takes matters into her own hands and attempts to exorcise these demons (both the paranormal and emotional kind), Catherine must face her buried guilt and what it truly means to be good.

A cathartic and engaging view into the messy life of an urban women in her early twenties, Anna Meyer's Saint Catherine is truly a story of letting go of guilt and taking responsibilities for your desires, hopes, and mistakes.]]> 368 Anna Meyer 125036437X suzanna 0 to-read 4.26 2025 Saint Catherine
author: Anna Meyer
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)]]> 28187 Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.]]> 377 Rick Riordan 0786838655 suzanna 4 french stellar comfort read 4.31 2005 The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/06
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: french
review:
stellar comfort read
]]> <![CDATA[Something Wicked This Way Comes]]> 248596 Something Wicked This Way Comes, now featuring a new introduction and material about its longstanding influence on culture and genre.

For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes…and the stuff of nightmares.

Few novels have endured in the heart and memory as has Ray Bradbury’s unparalleled literary masterpiece Something Wicked This Way Comes. Scary and suspenseful, it is a timeless classic in the American canon.]]> 293 Ray Bradbury 0380729407 suzanna 0 currently-reading 3.91 1962 Something Wicked This Way Comes
author: Ray Bradbury
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families]]> 11472 356 Philip Gourevitch 0312243359 suzanna 4
I did really appreciate how much of the book focused on the “after� (can you call it that?) of the 90 days, how humanitarian aid aided more of the génocidaires than the Tutsi survivors, how many never got justice and had to live amongst their families� murderers, and how the genocide spilled over into other nations.

Good reminder that the western powers are often more focused on monetary gain than humanitarian aid. fuck France for selling weapons and protecting known killers during the genocide, and fuck the US for selling transport and aid vehicles to the UN for such high prices that it delayed lifesaving rescue. Also, that the US has always believed that if they don’t want to get involved in non-western “political struggles,� then they should actively petition against any UN-proposed solution.

tbh much more in depth than what we learned in school (we only learned abt the one American savior, so it was nice to hear real stories that actually centered Rwandans) ]]> 4.21 1998 We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
author: Philip Gourevitch
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:
3.5 def shortcomings fr an outsider’s pov writing and his search for heroes in such a decimating genocide.

I did really appreciate how much of the book focused on the “after� (can you call it that?) of the 90 days, how humanitarian aid aided more of the génocidaires than the Tutsi survivors, how many never got justice and had to live amongst their families� murderers, and how the genocide spilled over into other nations.

Good reminder that the western powers are often more focused on monetary gain than humanitarian aid. fuck France for selling weapons and protecting known killers during the genocide, and fuck the US for selling transport and aid vehicles to the UN for such high prices that it delayed lifesaving rescue. Also, that the US has always believed that if they don’t want to get involved in non-western “political struggles,� then they should actively petition against any UN-proposed solution.

tbh much more in depth than what we learned in school (we only learned abt the one American savior, so it was nice to hear real stories that actually centered Rwandans)
]]> The Fox Wife 127278666 Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908.
In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach—until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them—their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change—or does it?

Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she’s a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.

New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.]]> 390 Yangsze Choo 1250266017 suzanna 0 to-read 3.97 2024 The Fox Wife
author: Yangsze Choo
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When the Moon Hits Your Eye 211004190
It's a whole new moooooon.

One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle, from new moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse, we follow multiple characters -- schoolkids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians -- as they confront the strange new world they live in, and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives.]]> 326 John Scalzi 0765389096 suzanna 0 to-read 3.85 2025 When the Moon Hits Your Eye
author: John Scalzi
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Katabasis 210223811 Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.]]> 400 R.F. Kuang suzanna 0 to-read 4.03 2025 Katabasis
author: R.F. Kuang
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Look Ma, No Hands: A Chronic Pain Memoir]]> 223061867 A humorous, profound debut memoir about chronic pain, accessibility, and young adulthood, by an acclaimed essayist and cartoonist.

In 2021, Gabrielle Drolet developed a condition that made her unable to use her hands. It only worsened over time, and as a writer and artist, she had to learn new ways of creating and expressing herself. The experience completely changed her life and her outlook.
ĚýĚýĚýLook Ma, No Hands explores both the difficulty and the humour of developing chronic and life-altering pain in her twenties. Each chapter looks at a different aspect of her life touched by her how she learned to write when she couldn’t type; how she learned to manage the most mundane daily tasks. She moves cities and as her work as a writer and cartoonist builds has to navigate different byzantine health systems without the privilege or security of having a family doctor, even as she moves into her new apartment and embarks on first dates. And she does all of this with the most wonderful sense of the absurd.
ĚýĚýĚýLook Ma, No Hands is utterly charming and shares profound reflections on life’s curveballs, and explores how, in Drolet’s words, “you can live a full—even funny—life in a disabled body.”]]> Gabrielle Drolet 0771019165 suzanna 0 to-read 5.00 Look Ma, No Hands: A Chronic Pain Memoir
author: Gabrielle Drolet
name: suzanna
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Much Too Vulgar 219197346 —Ronald Malfi, bestselling author of Small Town HorrorDisturbed pre-med student Keely Rexroth is unable to take â€noâ€� for an answer when she is denied entry into a prestigious research program. As her ambition curdles into dark mania, she embarks on her own curriculum of twisted experimentation, fighting to keep her secrets from a campus priest who is too perceptive for his own good.

If she can’t get what she deserves on her own merit, she’ll eliminate her competition.

This horror-thriller is a chilling mix of dark academia, psychological terror, gallows humor, and revenge fantasy that is perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Maeve Fly, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and You.

"Viggy Parr Hampton’s Much Too Vulgar crackles with deftly crafted motives, intensely high stakes, and characters as sharply written as the scalpels they wield. Add to this a dose of black humor on par with Brett Easton Ellis and you’ve got yourself a horror novel you will not want to miss.� �Christa Carmen, Bram Stoker Award-winning and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of The Daughters of Block Island

�Much Too Vulgar is a delightfully fun roller-coaster ride through a depraved mind. Never before have I rooted so hard for the villain to come out on top! Viggy Parr Hampton has such an incredible way of painting a vivid world filled with characters you love to hate and hate to love. This was a fast-paced page turner that I couldn't put down! It crawled itself into my mind with each new word I read and it sits there still, well after I've finished. I can't recommend this book enough! It's so good!”�Angel Van Atta, author of In The Tall Trees

“Move over Dexter. Meet Keely. Part thriller, part savage satirical takedown of pre-med academia, Much Too Vulgar is rich with comedic terror. Viggy writes with a razor-sharp wit that would leave Carl Hiaasen’s jaw on the floor. I haven’t had this much fun following a character since Jeff Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter. This is going to be the year’s can’t miss hit.� �Gage Greenwood, author of Bunker Dogs]]> 300 Viggy Parr Hampton suzanna 0 to-read 3.86 Much Too Vulgar
author: Viggy Parr Hampton
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us]]> 55361614
A young revolutionary plants a bomb in a factory on the outskirts of Algiers during the Algerian War. The bomb is timed to explode after work hours, so no one will be hurt. But the authorities have been watching. He is caught, the bomb is defused, and he is tortured, tried in a day, condemned to death, and thrown into a cell to await the guillotine. A routine event, perhaps, in a brutal conflict that ended the lives of more than a million Muslim Algerians.

But what if the militant is a “pied-noir�? What if his lover was a member of the French Resistance? What happens to a “European� who chooses the side of anti-colonialism?

By turns lyrical, meditative, and heart-stoppingly suspenseful, this novel by Joseph Andras, based on a true story, was a literary and political sensation in France, winning the Prix Goncourt for First Novel and being acclaimed by Le Monde as “vibrantly lyrical and somber� and by the journal La Croix as a “masterpiece�.]]> 144 Joseph Andras 1788738713 suzanna 3 4.36 2016 Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us
author: Joseph Andras
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves:
review:

]]> The Deal of a Lifetime 36229962
As he talks about this plucky little girl, the father also reveals more about himself: his triumphs in business, his failures as a parent, his past regrets, his hopes for the future.

Now, on a cold winter’s night, the father has been given an unexpected chance to do something remarkable that could change the destiny of a little girl he hardly knows. But before he can make the deal of a lifetime, he must find out what his own life has actually been worth, and only his son can reveal that answer.

With humor and compassion, Fredrik Backman’s The Deal of a Lifetime reminds us that life is a fleeting gift, and our legacy rests in how we share that gift with others.]]> 65 Fredrik Backman 150119349X suzanna 4 3.78 2017 The Deal of a Lifetime
author: Fredrik Backman
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:
a lil idealistic but I love tearing up at fredrik backman stories
]]> <![CDATA[Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy, #1)]]> 58725025
What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theaters of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts--like Komako, a witch-child and twister of dust, and Ribs, a girl who cloaks herself in invisibility--are forced to combat the forces that threaten their safety. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. With this new found family, Komako, Marlowe, Charlie, Ribs, and the rest of the Talents discover the truth about their abilities. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, a new question arises: What truly defines a monster?

Riveting in its scope, exquisitely written, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world--and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.]]> 672 J.M. Miro 1250833663 suzanna 4

[spoilers removed]]]> 3.75 2022 Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy, #1)
author: J.M. Miro
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:
uhhhhhh yeah. yeah I liked this


[spoilers removed]
]]> <![CDATA[Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 2]]> 51323358 Erica Slaughter may have slain the monster terrorizing the small Wisconsin town of Archer’s Peak, but now she sets off deeper into the woods -- because the monster she killed was a mother� and now she needs to kill its children.

EVIL NEVER DIES...UNLESS ERICA SLAUGHTER KILLS IT.

Erica Slaughter may have slain the monster terrorizing the small Wisconsin town of Archer’s Peak, but the horror is far from over. As her mysterious handler arrives in town to clean up her mess and quarantine the townsfolk, Erica sets off deeper into the woods -- because the monster she killed was a mother� and now she needs to kill its children.

GLAAD Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Batman, The Woods) and artist Werther Dell’Edera (Briggs Land) present the next chapter of the critically acclaimed series that showed the world a new kind of horror.

Collects Something is Killing the Children #6-10.]]> 144 James Tynion IV 1684156491 suzanna 4 graphic-novels 4.26 2020 Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 2
author: James Tynion IV
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> The Rage Letters 123201555
Throughout this deadpan collection, determined, damned, and triumphant characters appear and reappear, and their links become clear over the course of the fragmented narrative. The author playfully traces the portrait of the intertwined lives of a group of Black queer and trans friends as they navigate the social violence, traumas, and contradictions of their circumstances.

Originally published in French in 2021 by les Éditions du remue-ménage, as part of the Martiales collection, the stories in Bah's The Rage Letters -- set in Montreal and beyond -- are sometimes brief, often conversational, and always generative of possibilities through the characters' desire, rage, and acts of rebellion.]]> 200 Valérie Bah 1777485274 suzanna 0 to-read 3.89 The Rage Letters
author: Valérie Bah
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Paul dans le Nord 26234607 184 Michel Rabagliati 2923841786 suzanna 3 french, graphic-novels ]]> 4.14 2015 Paul dans le Nord
author: Michel Rabagliati
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: french, graphic-novels
review:
guys can someone recommend me some queb media w likable characters ive been striking out lately

]]> Adieu triste amour 61048450 208 Mirion Malle 2925114105 suzanna 3 graphic-novels, french 4.05 2022 Adieu triste amour
author: Mirion Malle
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/15
date added: 2024/12/12
shelves: graphic-novels, french
review:
ermmm had some issues w pacing BUT the end was real as hell good for her
]]> Brainwyrms 65212043 From Alison Rumfitt, the author of Tell Me I’m Worthless � “a triumph of transgressive queer horror� (Publishers Weekly) � comes Brainwyrms, a searing body horror novel of obsession, violence and pleasure.

When a transphobic woman bombs Frankie’s workplace, she blows up Frankie’s life with it. As the media descends like vultures, Frankie tries to cope with the carnage: binge-drinking, fucking strangers, pushing away her friends. Then she meets Vanya. Mysterious, beautiful, terrifying Vanya.

The two hit it off immediately, but as their relationship intensifies, so too does Frankie’s feeling that Vanya is hiding something from her. When Vanya’s secrets threaten to tear them apart, Frankie starts digging, and unearths a sinister, depraved conspiracy, the roots of which go deeper than she ever imagined. Shocking, grotesque, and downright filthy, Brainwyrms confronts the creeping reality of political terrorism while exploring the depths of love, pain and identity.]]> 304 Alison Rumfitt 1250866251 suzanna 3 3.66 2023 Brainwyrms
author: Alison Rumfitt
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/12
shelves:
review:
super weird!!!!!! but intriguing also??? idk man was it all a metaphor or just plain horror or what
]]> Please Ignore Vera Dietz 6665671 Ěý
So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?
Ěý
Edgy and gripping, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an unforgettable smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising.]]> 327 A.S. King 0375865861 suzanna 2 3.88 2010 Please Ignore Vera Dietz
author: A.S. King
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves:
review:
Felt cyclical in a way I didn’t vibe with
]]> The Broken Girls 35533431 A suspense novel from the award-winning author of The Haunting of Maddy Clare...

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears.Ěý.Ěý. .

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced.Ěý.Ěý. .]]> 336 Simone St. James suzanna 4 4.06 2018 The Broken Girls
author: Simone St. James
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/28
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves:
review:
quite curious how the two murder cases wove together but I liked how it panned out!
]]> <![CDATA[City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)]]> 256683
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...]]> 485 Cassandra Clare 1416914285 suzanna 0 dnf 4.08 2007 City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> In the Dream House 43317482 251 Carmen Maria Machado 1644450038 suzanna 0 to-read 4.41 2019 In the Dream House
author: Carmen Maria Machado
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> What Feeds The Lake 208821591
Each year, the infamous art psychologist, Dr. Ladon Cane, opens his mountain estate to four aspiring artists for a winter term unlike any other. Alumni of the program have gone on to illustrious careers in the art world and beyond. Yet very little is known about Dr. Cane or his unique teaching methods.

Desperate to escape an artless future and a troubled past, Callan Lark is reluctantly drawn into this year’s program, and to the mercurial Professor Cane. But shortly after arriving at Pitch Lake, strange disturbances begin to occur; hauntings that seem conjured from the students� worst nightmares, and visits from peculiar neighbors despite the isolation of the mountain.

Just as the snow traps the artists at the estate, they discover the truth of the Professor's methods and the reason why he chose each of them for this year’s retreat. Cane’s arcane curriculum comes with one small asterisk. There are monsters lurking in the lake that call to their fears like sirens. And Callan and the other artists will have to do everything in their power to not end up in its cold depths too.]]> 268 J.C. Hemstreet suzanna 0 to-read 3.65 What Feeds The Lake
author: J.C. Hemstreet
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.65
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Prison Book Club 24876660
After Ann Walmsley was mugged near her house in Hampstead, she found she was unable to walk alone down the street and it shook her belief in the fundamental goodness of people. In Canada a few years later, when her friend Carol asked her to participate in a bold new venture in a men's medium security prison, Ann had to weigh her curiosity and desire to be of service with her anxiety and fear.

But she signed up and for eighteen months went to a remote building a few hours outside of Toronto, meeting a group of heavily tattooed book club members without the presence of guards or security cameras. There was no wine and cheese, plush furnishings, or superficial chat about jobs or recent vacations. But a book club on the inside proved to be a place to share ideas, learn about each other, and regain humanity.

For the men, the books were rare prized possessions, and the meetings were an oasis of safety and a respite from isolation in an otherwise hostile environment. Having been judged themselves, they were quick to make judgments about the books they read. As they discussed the obstacles the characters faced, they revealed glimpses of their own struggles that were devastating and comic. From The Grapes of Wrath to The Cellist of Sarajevo, and Outliers to Infidel, the book discussions became a springboard for frank conversations about loss, anger, redemption, heroism and loneliness.]]> 304 Ann Walmsley 0670069485 suzanna 0 to-read 3.43 2015 The Prison Book Club
author: Ann Walmsley
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Girl Flesh 123181469 Does anyone remember Angie Kirby and Caroline Ellis?

Two women, wholly enraptured in their professional lives, find themselves thrust into the Texas mesa with nowhere to go and no one to trust. Angie is a chronically timid, guilt-ridden internet writer lost in a life she didn’t choose. Caroline is an ironic, nihilistic musician, pleased to find herself away from her responsibilities. They face unknown dangers and vast darkness, lost in a place without comforts. Will they succumb to the elements or find strength in their bond enough to escape?]]> 257 May Leitz suzanna 0 to-read 3.80 2023 Girl Flesh
author: May Leitz
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tonight, I Burn (The Witches of Halstett, #1)]]> 123204374 Ěý
Thorns, Tides, Embers, Storms, and Ores. All five covens are bound in servitude to the tyrant High Warden of Halstett.Ěý

Penny Albright is a daughter of the thorn coven, forced to patrol the veil between the realms of Life and Death. Each night, one thorn witch—and only one—must cross the veil by burning at the stake. Each morning, that witch draws on their magic to return. Failure to follow the rules risks the veil and risks them all.

But one morning, Penny's favorite sister Ella doesn't return. And that night, determined to find her, Penny breaks the rules. She burns in secret.ĚýAnd she discovers that all isn’t as it seems in Life or Death.Ěý
Ěý
Her journey leads her to Malin, a devastating lord with too many secrets; to Alice, a mysterious captive prophet; and to a rebellion brewing in the shadows beneath the city. And as Penny's world splits, she’ll face a devastating choice.ĚýBecause it’s not just her sister’s life that hangs in the balance. It’s the fate of all magic.Ěý

All it takes is one witch—and one spark—to set the world ablaze.]]> 448 Katharine J. Adams 0316551813 suzanna 3 that wasn’t an ending 3.64 2023 Tonight, I Burn (The Witches of Halstett, #1)
author: Katharine J. Adams
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/03
date added: 2024/11/03
shelves:
review:
that wasn’t an ending
]]> <![CDATA[Sapphistries: A Global History of Love between Women (Intersections, 15)]]> 6905436
From the ancient poet Sappho to tombois in contemporary Indonesia, women throughout history and around the globe have desired, loved, and had sex with other women. In beautiful prose, Sapphistries tells their stories, capturing the multitude of ways that diverse societies have shaped female same-sex sexuality across time and place.

Leila J. Rupp reveals how, from the time of the very earliest societies, the possibility of love between women has been known, even when it is feared, ignored, or denied. We hear women in the sex-segregated spaces of convents and harems whispering words of love. We see women beginning to find each other on the streets of London and Amsterdam, in the aristocratic circles of Paris, in the factories of Shanghai. We find women’s desire and love for women meeting the light of day as Japanese schoolgirls fall in love, and lesbian bars and clubs spread from 1920s Berlin to 1950s Buffalo. And we encounter a world of difference in the twenty-first century, as transnational concepts and lesbian identities meet local understandings of how two women might love each other.

Giving voice to words from the mouths and pens of women, and from men’s prohibitions, reports, literature, art, imaginings, pornography, and court cases, Rupp also creatively employs fiction to imagine possibilities when there is no historical evidence. Sapphistries combines lyrical narrative with meticulous historical research, providing an eminently readable and uniquely sweeping story of desire, love, and sex between women around the globe from the beginning of time to the present.]]> 306 Leila J. Rupp 0814775926 suzanna 0 to-read 3.62 2009 Sapphistries: A Global History of Love between Women (Intersections, 15)
author: Leila J. Rupp
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When I Arrived at the Castle 42198117
Like many before her that have never come back, she's made it to the Countess' castle determined to snuff out the horror, but she could never be prepared for what hides within its turrets; what unfurls under its fluttering flags. Emily Carroll has fashioned a rich gothic horror charged with eroticism that doesn't just make your skin crawl, it crawls into it.]]> 72 Emily Carroll suzanna 0 to-read 3.68 2019 When I Arrived at the Castle
author: Emily Carroll
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When Women Were Dragons 58783802 A rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.

The first adult novel by the Newbery award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.]]> 367 Kelly Barnhill 0385548222 suzanna 0 to-read 3.79 2022 When Women Were Dragons
author: Kelly Barnhill
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair]]> 19301797 643 Joël Dicker 0143126687 suzanna 0 to-read 3.98 2012 The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair
author: Joël Dicker
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wrath of the Triple Goddess (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #2)]]> 199190261
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover settle into Hecate’s seemingly endless mansion and start getting acquainted with the fussy, terrifying animals. The trio has been warned not to touch anything, but while Percy and Annabeth are out at school, Grover can’t resist drinking a strawberry-flavored potion in the laboratory. It turns him into a giant frenzied goat, and after he rampages through the house, damaging everything in sight, and passes out, Hecuba and Gale escape. Now the friends have to find Hecate’s pets and somehow restore the house, all before Hecate gets back on Saturday. It’s going to take luck, demigod wiles, and some old and new friends to hunt down the animals and set things right again.]]> 322 Rick Riordan 1368112382 suzanna 4 4.14 2024 Wrath of the Triple Goddess (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/13
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves:
review:
3.5 cute but wtf was that ending line come on (irritated and derogatory)
]]> The Narrow 63242162
Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It’s said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived.

Eden White knows that isn’t true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow—and live.

Delphine now lives in careful isolation, sealed off from the world. Even a single drop of unpurified water could be deadly to her, and no one but Eden has any idea why. Eden has never told anyone what she saw or spoken to Delphine since, but now, unable to cover her tuition, she has to make a her expenses will be paid in return for serving as a live-in companion to Delphine.

Eden finds herself drawn to the strange and mysterious girl, and the two of them begin to unravel each other’s secrets. Then Eden discovers what happened to the last girl who lived with she was found half-drowned on dry land. Suddenly Eden is waking up to wet footprints tracking to the end of her bed, the sound of rain on the windows when the skies are clear, and a ghostly silhouette in her doorway. Something is haunting Delphine—and now it’s coming for Eden, too.]]> 384 Kate Alice Marshall 0593405145 suzanna 5 3.71 2023 The Narrow
author: Kate Alice Marshall
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Starving Saints 217896248 From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing, intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror.

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration.

Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar’s walls.

As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle’s new masters� or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.]]> 352 Caitlin Starling 0063418819 suzanna 0 to-read 4.05 2025 The Starving Saints
author: Caitlin Starling
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0)]]> 65213543 When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.]]> 336 Travis Baldree 1250886104 suzanna 3 4.13 2023 Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0)
author: Travis Baldree
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves:
review:
3.5 cute but simple and the pacing at the end left a lot to be desired !!
]]> Le Petit Prince 191292 - S'il vous plaît... dessine-moi un mouton !
- Hein !
- Dessine-moi un mouton...
J'ai sauté sur mes pieds comme si j'avais été frappé par la foudre. J'ai bien frotté mes yeux. J'ai bien regardé. Et j'ai vu un petit bonhomme tout à fait extraordinaire qui me considérait gravement.]]> 104 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 2070408507 suzanna 4 french 4.35 1943 Le Petit Prince
author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1943
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/27
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: french
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher]]> 87121271 You're never too old for adventure.

When you’re a geriatric armed with nothing but gumption and knitting needles, stopping a sorcerer from wiping out an entire dragon-fighting organization is a tall order. No one understands why 83-year-old Edna Fisher is the Chosen One, destined to save the Knights from a dragon-riding sorcerer bent on their destruction. After all, Edna has never handled a magical weapon, faced down a dragon, or cast a spell. And everyone knows the Council of Wizards always chooses a teenager—like the vengeful girl ready to snatch Edna’s destiny from under her nose.

Still, Edna leaps at the chance to leave the nursing home. With her son long dead in the Knights� service, she’s determined to save dragon-fighters like him and to ensure other mothers don’t suffer the same loss she did. But as Edna learns about the abuse in the ranks and the sorcerer’s history as a Knight, she questions if it’s really the sorcerer that needs stopping—or the Knights she’s trying to save.]]> 410 E.M. Anderson 1956037187 suzanna 0 to-read 3.76 2023 The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher
author: E.M. Anderson
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Winners (Beartown, #3) 60318890
As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink.

So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home?]]> 671 Fredrik Backman suzanna 5
Because I see land in you, darling. I get air from you.


I’m SORRY I know it’s cheesy you could say the whole thing is cheesy but fredrik does something w romanticizing normalcy that I don’t get fr reading all my silly scifi/horror/fantasy books and then he ruins the lives of my book ppl and I can’t be ruining my own life reading these books every week]]> 4.45 2022 The Winners (Beartown, #3)
author: Fredrik Backman
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/27
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:
Because I see land in you, darling. I get air from you.


I’m SORRY I know it’s cheesy you could say the whole thing is cheesy but fredrik does something w romanticizing normalcy that I don’t get fr reading all my silly scifi/horror/fantasy books and then he ruins the lives of my book ppl and I can’t be ruining my own life reading these books every week
]]> Vicious (Villains, #1) 40874032 A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.]]> 402 Victoria E. Schwab suzanna 0 dnf 4.17 2013 Vicious (Villains, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> Us Against You (Beartown, #2) 36373463
Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.

As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.
]]> 448 Fredrik Backman 1501160796 suzanna 5 4.34 2017 Us Against You (Beartown, #2)
author: Fredrik Backman
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/16
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves:
review:
made me cry. anyways ! time to get book 3 fr the library and cry again
]]> Through the Woods 18659623 'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.

These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...]]> 208 Emily Carroll 1442465956 suzanna 4 graphic-novels 3.94 2014 Through the Woods
author: Emily Carroll
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/11
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> Masters of Death 38311338 From Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes Masters of Death, a story about vampires, ghosts, and death itself!

Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. But her biggest problem currently is that the house she needs to sell is haunted. The ghost haunting the house has been murdered, and until he can solve the mystery of how he died, he refuses to move on.

Fox D’Mora is a medium, and though is also most-definitely a shameless fraud, he isn’t entirely without his uses—seeing as he’s actually the godson of Death.

When Viola seeks out Fox to help her with her ghost-infested mansion, he becomes inextricably involved in a quest that neither he nor Vi expects (or wants). But with the help of an unruly poltergeist, a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel, a love-stricken reaper, and a few high-functioning creatures, Vi and Fox soon discover the difference between a mysterious lost love and an annoying dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as they thought.]]> 349 Olivie Blake suzanna 0 dnf Dnf 39% 3.64 2018 Masters of Death
author: Olivie Blake
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves: dnf
review:
Dnf 39%
]]> Chain-Gang All-Stars 61190770
Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences.

Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means.]]> 367 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 0593317335 suzanna 0 to-read 4.13 2023 Chain-Gang All-Stars
author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mansfield Park (The ^AWorld's Classics)]]> 1873338 'there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world, as there are pretty women to deserve them'

Mansfield Park is a study of three families--the Bertrams, the Crawfords, and the Prices--with the isolated figure of the heroine, Fanny Price, at its centre. Fanny's quiet passivity, her steadfast loyalty and love for the son of the family who regard her as the poor relation, and who have taken her under their roof, are among the qualities whose true worth is not appreciated until they are tried against the brilliant and witty Mary and Henry Crawford, the unfortunate consequences of whose influence are felt by everyone. Jane Austen uses Fanny's emotional involvement with the people around her to explore the social and moral values by which she and they try to order their lives.

First published in 1814, the text of this edition is taken from R.W. Chapman's Oxford edition, edited by James Kinsley, with a new bibliography and introductory essay by Marilyn Butler.

]]> 432 Jane Austen 019282757X suzanna 0 dnf 3.80 1814 Mansfield Park (The ^AWorld's Classics)
author: Jane Austen
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1814
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> Camp Damascus 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 suzanna 5
not so much horror but horrific]]> 3.90 2023 Camp Damascus
author: Chuck Tingle
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/08/15
shelves:
review:
#1 gay conversion camp book in america

not so much horror but horrific
]]> Your Blood and Bones 178803105 Kill the monsters when they’re found.

No matter who they used to be.

The girl with secret feathers in her skin and strange bones jutting out beneath her clothes is resigned to her fate. Her deformities mark her a monster and the stories say monsters must die.

When her family finds out and turns on her, a village boy saves her and leads her on a frantic escape. The girl believes her death has merely been delayed—until he mentions a cure.

With the world against them and the monstrous change progressing, they must cross water, forest, and field to chase the rumor that fuels their desperate hope. But is hope enough to keep them going?]]> 113 J. Patricia Anderson 1778288146 suzanna 0 to-read 4.18 Your Blood and Bones
author: J. Patricia Anderson
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Rage 66370 131 Richard Bachman 0451076451 suzanna 3 3.73 1977 Rage
author: Richard Bachman
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1977
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/06
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Silent Sister 201750996 The must-read suspense novel of the summer about a mysterious sister's disappearance, her biggest betrayal and a deadly truth screaming to come out.

Two sisters went missing on their class trip�Grace, the outgoing athlete who is friends with just about everyone, and Maddy, the wallflower wilting in her sister’s shadow who'd rather absorb herself in her journal than talk to her classmates.

But when Grace is found—injured, with no memory of what happened—everybody thinks she’s lying. It’s hard not to look guilty with Maddy’s blood on her clothes.

Desperate to save her sister—and prove her own innocence—Grace must piece together what happened on that school trip with the help of her sister’s notebook and classmates who may not be telling the police everything that about that tragic night.

She will discover her sister’s secrets can’t stay quiet…but what if her own are the most terrifying of all?]]> 352 Megan Davidhizar 0593705645 suzanna 0 to-read 3.78 2024 Silent Sister
author: Megan Davidhizar
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Keeper of Lost Things 34217557 A charming, clever, and quietly moving debut novel of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that explores the promises we make and break, losing and finding ourselves, the objects that hold magic and meaning for our lives, and the surprising connections that bind us.

Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles�Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September.

Bone china cup and saucer�Found, on a bench in Riveria Public Gardens, 31st October.

Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost.

Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners.

Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious—a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made.

As the Keeper of Lost Objects, Laura holds the key to Anthony and Eunice’s redemption. But can she unlock the past and make the connections that will lay their spirits to rest?

Full of character, wit, and wisdom, The Keeper of Lost Things is heartwarming tale that will enchant fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Garden Spells, Mrs Queen Takes the Train, and The Silver Linings Playbook.]]> 288 Ruth Hogan 0062473557 suzanna 0 to-read 3.76 2017 The Keeper of Lost Things
author: Ruth Hogan
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Threads That Bind (Threads That Bind, #1)]]> 62695377 In a world where the children of the gods inherit their powers, a descendant of the Greek Fates must solve a series of impossible murders to save her sisters, her soulmate, and her city.

Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. The Ora sisters are no exception. Io, the youngest, uses her Fate-born abilities as a private investigator in the half-sunken city of Alante.

But her latest job leads her to a horrific discovery: somebody is abducting women, maiming their life-threads, and setting the resulting wraiths loose in the city to kill. To find the culprit, she must work alongside Edei Rhuna, the right hand of the infamous Mob Queen—and the boy with whom she shares a rare fate-thread linking them as soul mates before they’ve even met.

But the investigation turns personal when Io's estranged oldest sister turns up on the arm of her best suspect. Amid unveiled secrets from her past and her growing feelings for Edei, Io must follow clues through the city’s darkest corners and unearth a conspiracy that involves some of the city’s most powerful players—before destruction comes to her own doorstep.]]> 352 Kika Hatzopoulou 0593528719 suzanna 2
Authors! Let’s remind ourselves of a fun game formerly called “the kiss test� that I’m now calling “the fate test.� If a reader wouldn’t pair two characters together unless they are said to have “a fate string between them,� then there’s NO chemistry! And they shouldn’t be together!

Also let’s discuss this block of text:
“Morpheus,� a redhead said, feet propped on an armchair. “I use the pronouns they and them. Together, we will dream of the past, or the future.�


Like. People don’t talk like that. Be SO for real! So many people called the author out for info dumping which is a little fair but I am way more bothered by character info dumping than fantasy history dumping. Just let characters talk like humans! Not robots! And if you’ve never talked to a nb person before, find a beta reader and get some clarification. Please.]]> 3.91 2023 Threads That Bind (Threads That Bind, #1)
author: Kika Hatzopoulou
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/07/25
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves:
review:
(half star extra for the pretty cover)

Authors! Let’s remind ourselves of a fun game formerly called “the kiss test� that I’m now calling “the fate test.� If a reader wouldn’t pair two characters together unless they are said to have “a fate string between them,� then there’s NO chemistry! And they shouldn’t be together!

Also let’s discuss this block of text:
“Morpheus,� a redhead said, feet propped on an armchair. “I use the pronouns they and them. Together, we will dream of the past, or the future.�


Like. People don’t talk like that. Be SO for real! So many people called the author out for info dumping which is a little fair but I am way more bothered by character info dumping than fantasy history dumping. Just let characters talk like humans! Not robots! And if you’ve never talked to a nb person before, find a beta reader and get some clarification. Please.
]]> <![CDATA[Perfume: The Story of a Murderer]]> 343 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of smell—leads to murder.

In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift—an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.]]> 263 Patrick Süskind suzanna 0 to-read 4.05 1985 Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
author: Patrick SĂĽskind
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Sunny Place for Shady People]]> 203956643 A diabolical collection of stories featuring achingly human characters whose lives intertwine with ghosts, goblins, and the macabre, by “one of Latin America’s most exciting authors� (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)

On the shores of this river, all the birds that fly, drink, perch on branches, and disturb siestas with the demonic squawking of the possessed—all those birds were once women.

Welcome to Argentina and the fascinating, frightening, fantastical imagination of Mariana Enriquez. In twelve spellbinding new stories, Enriquez writes about ordinary people, especially women, whose lives turn inside out when they encounter terror, the surreal, and the supernatural. A neighborhood nuisanced by ghosts, a family whose faces melt away, a faded hotel haunted by a girl who dissolved in the water tank on the roof, a riverbank populated by birds that used to be women—these and other tales illuminate the shadows of contemporary life, where the line between good and evil no longer exists.

Lyrical and hypnotic, heart-stopping and deeply moving, Enriquez’s stories never fail to enthrall, entertain, and leave us shaken. Translated by the award-winning Megan McDowell, A Sunny Place for Shady People showcases Enriquez’s unique blend of the literary and the horrific, and underscores why Kazuo Ishiguro, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, calls her “the most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time.”]]> 257 Mariana Enríquez 0593733258 suzanna 0 to-read 3.79 2024 A Sunny Place for Shady People
author: Mariana EnrĂ­quez
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Vita Nostra (Vita Nostra, #1) 38633526
Our life is brief . . .

While vacationing at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with an air of the sinister directs her to perform a task with potentially scandalous consequences. He rewards her effort with a strange golden coin.

As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to enter the Institute of Special Technologies. Though she does not want to go to this unknown town or school, she also feels it’s the only place she should be. Against her mother’s wishes, Sasha leaves behind all that is familiar and begins her education.

As she quickly discovers, the institute’s "special technologies" are unlike anything she has ever encountered. The books are impossible to read, the lessons obscure to the point of maddening, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, their families pay a terrible price. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of . . . and suddenly all she could ever want.

A complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and philosophy that probes the mysteries of existence, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work of speculative fiction—brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey—is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Max Barry’s Lexicon, and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, but will transport them to a place far beyond those fantastical worlds.]]> 408 Marina Dyachenko 0062694596 suzanna 0 to-read 4.00 2007 Vita Nostra (Vita Nostra, #1)
author: Marina Dyachenko
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Beartown (Beartown, #1) 33413128
People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.]]> 432 Fredrik Backman suzanna 5
this is a book about a small town, about hockey, about people trying to do the right thing. and things happen and they can’t control it and they can’t protect the people they love. and it ripped my heart out

I think it was just so realistic. what happened, how people responded, how teenagers know what to expect because we’ve seen it before. how leo stayed and how people change their minds and the complexities of loving and losing people who do bad things.

I’m distraught at the line that names four characters, gives us a timeline, and gives us three concluding paths. I’m terrified to find out what happens. I can’t wait to find out. ]]> 4.27 2016 Beartown (Beartown, #1)
author: Fredrik Backman
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
this is my second book of backman’s that I’ve read. my second five star. I stayed up all night reading this because I couldn’t find a place to stop where I would be able to fall asleep after.

this is a book about a small town, about hockey, about people trying to do the right thing. and things happen and they can’t control it and they can’t protect the people they love. and it ripped my heart out

I think it was just so realistic. what happened, how people responded, how teenagers know what to expect because we’ve seen it before. how leo stayed and how people change their minds and the complexities of loving and losing people who do bad things.

I’m distraught at the line that names four characters, gives us a timeline, and gives us three concluding paths. I’m terrified to find out what happens. I can’t wait to find out.
]]> <![CDATA[Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)]]> 77197
Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.]]> 435 Robin Hobb 055357339X suzanna 0 to-read 4.21 1995 Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)
author: Robin Hobb
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hearts Still Beating 178628551 Gripping, romantic, and impossible to put down, this dark and immersive post-apocalyptic debut novel is about two teen girls who loved each other before the end of the world � and before one of them became infected with the virus that turned her into a monster.

Perfect for fans of Krystal Sutherland, Adam Silvera, and the darkly human side of the HBOMax horror-drama, The Last of Us.

Seventeen-year-old Mara is dead—mostly. Infected with a virus that brought the dead back to life and the world to its knees, she wakes up in a facility to learn a treatment for the disease has been found. No longer a Tick, Mara is placed in an experimental resettlement program. But her recovery is complicated by her destination: she’s sent to live with the best friend she hasn’t seen since the world ended—and since their first and only kiss.

Seventeen-year-old Rory is alive—barely. With impaired mobility from an injury and a dead sister, Rory’s nightmares are just as monstrous as the Ticks that turned her former best friend. Even after the Island—one of a handful of surviving communities—rebuilds itself, Rory is prepared for the Ticks to return at any time. She never expected them to come in the form of the only girl she’s ever loved.

As the girls struggle with their pasts and the people they’ve become, and with the Island’s fragile peace in the balance, Rory and Mara must lean on each other to survive—or risk losing the girl they love all over again.]]> 336 Brooke Archer 0593698320 suzanna 5
I really liked that there was plot and depth beyond the romance ! found family but in an adopted into another family way, a whole mess of anarchic politics, and disabled rep (chronic pain / mobility issues)

now. some of the lines were cheesy as hell. especially at the end! in my head I just crossed out those lines and kept reading and the book was good and fun and cute ]]> 4.02 2024 Hearts Still Beating
author: Brooke Archer
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/08
date added: 2024/07/08
shelves:
review:
4.5 but I am feeling generous !

I really liked that there was plot and depth beyond the romance ! found family but in an adopted into another family way, a whole mess of anarchic politics, and disabled rep (chronic pain / mobility issues)

now. some of the lines were cheesy as hell. especially at the end! in my head I just crossed out those lines and kept reading and the book was good and fun and cute
]]> <![CDATA[This Ravenous Fate (This Ravenous Fate, #1)]]> 200174131 The first book in a decadent fantasy duology set in Jazz Age Harlem, where at night the dance halls come to life—and death waits in the dark.

It's 1926 and reapers, the once-human vampires with a terrifying affliction, are on the rise in New York. But the Saint family's thriving reaper-hunting enterprise holds reign over the city, giving them more power than even the organized criminals who run the nightclubs. Eighteen year-old Elise Saint, home after five years in Paris, is the reluctant heir to the empire. Only one thing weighs heavier on Elise's mind than her family obligations: the knowledge that the Harlem reapers want her dead.

Layla Quinn is a young reaper haunted by her past. Though reapers have existed in America for three centuries, created by New World atrocities and cruel experiments, Layla became one just five years ago. The night she was turned, she lost her parents, the protection of the Saints, and her humanity, and she'll never forget how Elise Saint betrayed her.

But some reapers are inexplicably turning part human again, leaving a wake of mysterious and brutal killings. When Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers her a deal she can't refuse: to work with Elise to investigate how these murders might be linked to shocking rumors of a reaper cure. Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and Layla explore the city's underworld, confronting their intense feelings for one another and uncovering the sinister truths about a growing threat to reapers and humans alike.]]> 457 Hayley Dennings 1728297869 suzanna 0 to-read 3.43 2024 This Ravenous Fate (This Ravenous Fate, #1)
author: Hayley Dennings
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Oh Honey 35709215 140 Emily R. Austin 1910688266 suzanna 0 to-read 3.92 2017 Oh Honey
author: Emily R. Austin
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)]]> 58662507
The zombies are coming back.

And all Nona wants is a birthday party.

In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona's not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body, and she's afraid she might have to give it back.

The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.

And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face...]]> 480 Tamsyn Muir 1250854113 suzanna 4
Anyways! Still very confused! Calling that another series win can’t wait for Alecto]]> 4.36 2022 Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/23
date added: 2024/06/23
shelves:
review:
Tamsyn has the biggest brain but also doesn’t take naming seriously at all I love her

Anyways! Still very confused! Calling that another series win can’t wait for Alecto
]]> Babel 57945316 From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?]]> 544 R.F. Kuang 0063021420 suzanna 0 currently-reading 4.17 2022 Babel
author: R.F. Kuang
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Baby X 173476065 When any biological matter can be used to create life, stolen celebrity DNA sells to the highest bidder—or the craziest stalker—in this propulsive thriller.

With a vivid imagining of the future, _Gattaca _meets Black Mirror in Kira Peikoff’s Baby X.

In the near-future United States, where advanced technology can create eggs or sperm from any person’s cells, celebrities face the alarming potential of meeting biological children they never conceived. Famous singer Trace Thorne is tired of being targeted by the Vault, a black market site devoted to stealing DNA. Sick of paying ransom money for his own cell matter, he hires bio-security guard Ember Ryan to ensure his biological safety.

Ember will do anything she can to protect her clients. She knows all the Vault’s tricks—discarded tissues, used straws, lipstick tubes—and has prevented countless DNA thefts. Working for Thorne, her focus becomes split when she begins to fall for him, but she knows she hasn’t let anything slip—love or not, his DNA is safe. But then she and Thorne are confronted by a pregnant woman, Quinn, who claims that Thorne is the father of her baby, and all bets are off.

Brilliantly plotted and terrifyingly prescient, Baby X is an unpredictable and relentless speculative thriller perfect for fans of Blake Crouch and John Marrs.]]> 326 Kira Peikoff 1639106332 suzanna 0 to-read 3.82 2024 Baby X
author: Kira Peikoff
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cuckoo 61884778 Cuckoo is a vicious new novel about a group of teens who must stay true to themselves while in a conversion camp from hell.

Something evil is buried deep in the desert.
It wants your body. It wears your skin.

In the summer of 1995, seven queer kids abandoned by their parents at a remote conversion camp came face-to-face with it. They survived � but at Camp Resolution, everybody leaves a different person.

Sixteen years later, only the scarred and broken survivors of that terrible summer can put an end to the horror before it’s too late.

The fate of the world depends on it.]]> 342 Gretchen Felker-Martin 1250794668 suzanna 4
the first 20 pages (prologue) were probably the best 20 pages of story I’ve read all year

but after that idk I liked it but the story was a bit all over the place and the characters were so vast as in there were prob 15 POVs throughout and they were different but all seemed to have the same motivations/goals……�

Idk idk but I enjoyed overall

]]> 3.51 2024 Cuckoo
author: Gretchen Felker-Martin
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/15
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves:
review:
3.5

the first 20 pages (prologue) were probably the best 20 pages of story I’ve read all year

but after that idk I liked it but the story was a bit all over the place and the characters were so vast as in there were prob 15 POVs throughout and they were different but all seemed to have the same motivations/goals……�

Idk idk but I enjoyed overall


]]> Woman World 38122416 Woman World rises out of society’s ashes. Dhaliwal’s infectiously funny instagram comic follows the rebuilding process, tracking a group of women who have rallied together under the flag of “Beyonce’s Thighs.� Only Grandma remembers the distant past, a civilization of segway-riding mall cops, Blockbuster movie rental shops, and “That’s What She Said� jokes. For the most part, Woman World’s residents are focused on their struggles with unrequited love and anxiety, not to mention that whole “survival of humanity� thing.]]> 259 Aminder Dhaliwal 1770463356 suzanna 2 graphic-novels 4.03 2018 Woman World
author: Aminder Dhaliwal
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2023/12/09
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
a little idealistic, a little shallow, but sweet overall. reminds me of a happier version of that one futurama ep
]]> Blood on Her Tongue 213570812 "I'm in your blood, and you are in mine�"

The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy's twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister's condition, but it's clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.

Then, the worst happens. Sarah's behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angryâ€� and hungry.Ěý

Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever.]]> 368 Johanna van Veen 1728281571 suzanna 0 to-read 4.00 2025 Blood on Her Tongue
author: Johanna van Veen
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Now, Conjurers 201906753
Nesbit Nuñez discovers the partially devoured body of Bastion Attia: star quarterback, secret witch, and Nesbit’s even-more-secret boyfriend.
No one knew why brilliant, gentle Bastion lived his life by a seemingly arcane set of rules, including a strange manner of speech and an inability to say his own name.

Now the remaining members of North Coven—Nesbit, Dove, Drea, and Brandy—vow to get answers. Nothing can prepare them for what they uncover: Bastion had been locked in a terrifying battle of wits and wills with something living deep beneath an ancient mausoleum in the local
cemetery.

North Coven must confront the red-gloved monster that took piece after piece of Bastion, that he fought until his last breath. Not knowing that Bastion left behind the key to its destruction . . .

Now, Conjurers is a wildly original, spine-chilling YA debut about queer found family and a love that outlasts death.]]> 384 Freddie Kölsch 1454951591 suzanna 0 to-read 4.14 2024 Now, Conjurers
author: Freddie Kölsch
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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

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

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

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

Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.]]> 305 Brom 125062200X suzanna 0 to-read 4.23 2021 Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
author: Brom
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Wendy Award 205225940
When Wendy is nominated for the coveted National FoodHut Contemporary Art Prize alongside her friend Winona, all of her millennial dreams seem to be coming true. She lives a post-pandemic, polyamorous fine artist’s lifestyle in the big city and basks in the glory of national attention with the success of her popular comic strip, “Wanda.�

But not even achieving bona fide art star fame can hide the truth: a never-ending struggle with imposter syndrome. After she cracks in an online interview and gets dragged in the comments section, she heads straight to a local watering hole to drown her sorrows. Several lines of coke, too many drinks, and one all night rager with fans later, Wendy is ready to curse Gen Z and confront her addictions. All the while, she and Winona drift apart as a younger Indigenous artist wedges herself between them. Will Wendy’s commitment to change wind up short-lived?

The Wendy Award incisively skewers the art world with its corporate overlords, performative activism, generational wealth, and weaponized therapy speak. A showcase of Walter Scott’s deft wit and social commentary, The Wendy Award asks the hard questions, like Do they still give awards to men? Should we be grateful for the exposure? and What exactly is Big Auntie Energy?]]> 248 Walter Scott 1770467416 suzanna 5 graphic-novels, arcs Wendy !!!!!!!!! 4.21 The Wendy Award
author: Walter Scott
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.21
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/30
date added: 2024/05/30
shelves: graphic-novels, arcs
review:
Wendy !!!!!!!!!
]]> <![CDATA[The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)]]> 4556058
While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy's sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.]]> 381 Rick Riordan 1423101472 suzanna 4
anyways would’ve loved a slower pace imagine more details and time in the battle that would’ve been awesome but I’m grateful we get what we got (romance, finally)]]> 4.59 2009 The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)
author: Rick Riordan
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/27
date added: 2024/05/27
shelves:
review:
this is so nostalgic but as an adult I can’t help thinking they are babies!! who let these tiny idiots have knives

anyways would’ve loved a slower pace imagine more details and time in the battle that would’ve been awesome but I’m grateful we get what we got (romance, finally)
]]> <![CDATA[The Sunshine Court (All For the Game, #4)]]> 201914164 My name is Jean Moreau. My place is at Evermore. I belong to the Moriyamas.

It is a truth Jean has built his life around, a reminder this is the best he can hope for and all he deserves. But when he is stolen from Edgar Allan University and sold to a more dangerous master, Jean is forced to contend with a life outside of the Nest for the first time in five years. The Foxes call his transfer to California a fresh start; Jean knows it is little more than a golden cage.

Captain Jeremy Knox is facing his final year with the USC Trojans and fifth straight year falling short of the championships trophy he desperately craves. Taking in the nation’s best defenseman is a no-brainer, even if that man is a Raven. But Jean is no monster, just a man with no hope or desire for a future, and when Evermore's collapse starts dragging Jean's hideous secrets to light, Jeremy is forced to contend with the cost of victory.]]> Nora Sakavic suzanna 4 4.53 2024 The Sunshine Court (All For the Game, #4)
author: Nora Sakavic
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/26
date added: 2024/05/25
shelves:
review:
OBSESSED with the near-zero plot until the last 30 pages spiraled into confusing mafia talk again. love jean he’s working through his issues but a whipped boy and two lesbian roommates can fix any moody frenchie
]]> <![CDATA[Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time]]> 46190 224 Rob Sheffield 1400083028 suzanna 0 to-read 3.87 2007 Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time
author: Rob Sheffield
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England]]> 60126565 Told for the very first time, this is the shocking and extraordinary story of the most-conniving and manipulative Tudor family you've never heard of - the dashing and daring Dudleys . . .________

Each Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side - or by crushing one beneath their feet . . .

The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII, but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I.

That was until the reign of Elizabeth I, when the family were once again at the centre of power, and would do anything to remain there . . .

With three generations of felled favourites, what was it that caused this family to keep rising so high and falling so low?

Here, for the first time, is the story of England's Borgias, a noble house competing in the murderous game of musical chairs around the English throne. Witness cunning, adultery and sheer audacity from history's most brilliant, bold and skulduggerous family.

Welcome to the House of Dudley.
]]> 506 Joanne Paul 0241349826 suzanna 0 to-read 4.17 2022 The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England
author: Joanne Paul
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Guest in the House 61484875 In this graphic novel by Emily Carroll, a young woman marries a kind dentist only to discover a dark mystery surrounding his former wife’s death.

After many lonely years, Abby’s just gotten married. She met her new husband―a recently widowed dentist―when he arrived in town with his young daughter seeking a new start. Although it’s strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother. But the more she learns about her new husband’s first wife, the more things don’t add up, and Abby starts to wonder...was Sheila’s death really by natural causes?

As Abby sinks deeper into confusion, Sheila’s memory seems to become a force all its own, ensnaring Abby in a mystery that leaves her obsessed, fascinated, and desperately in love for the first time in her life.]]> 256 Emily Carroll 125025552X suzanna 3 graphic-novels 4.06 2023 A Guest in the House
author: Emily Carroll
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/10
date added: 2024/05/09
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
loved the art but imo the only interesting character was Crystal and I didn’t understand the ending at all
]]> Le Morte D'arthur 93297 1008 Thomas Malory 0393974642 suzanna 0 for-class 3.78 1485 Le Morte D'arthur
author: Thomas Malory
name: suzanna
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1485
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/05
date added: 2024/05/05
shelves: for-class
review:
I submitted my thesis today, so I figured I’ve read enough of this book to count. bye bye thomas
]]> Carry On (Simon Snow, #1) 32768522
That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.

Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here � it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

Carry On - The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.]]> 522 Rainbow Rowell 1250135028 suzanna 3 - rushed conclusion but weirdly extended epilogue (esp because there are two more books)
- we did not need 12 povs (not exaggerating)! It feels sooo lazy when you just swap and there’s no mystery to what ANY character who has more than three lines of dialogue is thinking
- wish they had gotten to prance around the magic school more
- the spells have got to be some of the laziest or cheesiest thing ever written and I can’t decide which
- dognapping

Pros
- permanent consequences of magic
- gay people
- numpties
- kidnapping
]]> 4.17 2015 Carry On (Simon Snow, #1)
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/06
date added: 2024/05/05
shelves:
review:
Cons
- rushed conclusion but weirdly extended epilogue (esp because there are two more books)
- we did not need 12 povs (not exaggerating)! It feels sooo lazy when you just swap and there’s no mystery to what ANY character who has more than three lines of dialogue is thinking
- wish they had gotten to prance around the magic school more
- the spells have got to be some of the laziest or cheesiest thing ever written and I can’t decide which
- dognapping

Pros
- permanent consequences of magic
- gay people
- numpties
- kidnapping

]]> <![CDATA[Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity]]> 85767 Gender Trouble has become one of the key works of contemporary feminist theory, and an essential work for anyone interested in the study of gender, queer theory, or the politics of sexuality in culture. This is the text where Judith Butler began to advance the ideas that would go on to take life as "performativity theory," as well as some of the first articulations of the possibility for subversive gender practices, and she writes in her preface to the 10th anniversary edition released in 1999 that one point of Gender Trouble was "not to prescribe a new gendered way of life [...] but to open up the field of possibility for gender [...]" Widely taught, and widely debated, Gender Trouble continues to offer a powerful critique of heteronormativity and of the function of gender in the modern world.]]> 236 Judith Butler 0415389550 suzanna 0 dnf 4.07 1989 Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
author: Judith Butler
name: suzanna
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/05
shelves: dnf
review:

]]>