Gabriela's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 28 Apr 2025 14:53:21 -0700 60 Gabriela's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Leather & Lark (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #2)]]> 127611580
And they can’t stand each other.

Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine and glitter that burns through every cloud and clings to every crevice that Lachlan Kane tries to hide inside. The surly older brother of her best friend’s soulmate, Lachlan thinks she’s just a privileged princess, but Lark has plenty of secrets hiding in the shadows of her bright light. With her formidable family in a tailspin and her best friend’s happiness on the line, she’s willing to make a vow to the man she’s determined to hate, no matter how tempting the broody assassin might be.

As Lachlan and Lark navigate the dark world that binds them together, it becomesimpossible to discerntheirfake marriage from a real one. But it’s not just familiar dangers that haunt them.
There’s another phantom lurking on their doorstep.

And this one has come for blood.]]>
416 Brynne Weaver 0349441588 Gabriela 4 3.98 2024 Leather & Lark (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #2)
author: Brynne Weaver
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/28
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves:
review:

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Baby Teeth 35410511
She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.]]>
304 Zoje Stage 1250170753 Gabriela 2 3.56 2018 Baby Teeth
author: Zoje Stage
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves:
review:
Conflicted to rate this one. I’m not sure if I will read “Dear Hanna� since it skips to her being an adult step parent and not sure I could handle that. Not much depth to this book. Storyline was quite linear the whole time, no twists, just a highly disturbed child that wants daddy to themselves. *pukes a little*
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Dear Vicky 203023089
Grocery store bag boy, Andrew, hates his job. No career growth, rude customers, and the forced customer appreciation greeting have taken a toll on his mental stability. Though his job gives him the flexibility to attend community college, he can find no other enjoyment there. That is until he met the woman that would change his life. During Andrew’s mundane day of grabbing and bagging, Victoria, a customer with an infectious smile and playful personality, gives him the attention that he’s been missing. Attention that now has Andrew believing that he and she are now in a committed relationship. Victoria has no idea that her friendly demeanor has landed her in the crosshairs of an unwell man. But she’ll soon learn that the old adage is You can’t be nice to everyone.

Get to know Andrew Patterson and discover how dangerous a delusion can be.]]>
70 Octavia Grant Gabriela 0 to-read 4.05 Dear Vicky
author: Octavia Grant
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: to-read
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Wild Love (Rose Hill, #1) 195645746
The good kind of wild. The bad kind of wild.

But mostly, the kind of wild that comes with wanting your best friend's little sister and knowing you can't have her.

Forbes may have labeled Ford Grant the World's Hottest Billionaire, but all he cares about is escaping the press and opening a recording studio in gorgeous small town Rose Hill. Something that comes to a screeching halt when he ends up face-to-face with a young girl who claims he's her biological father. Now, he spends his days balancing business with parenting a sullen twelve-year-old, all while trying desperately to keep his hands the hell off his best friend's sister, Rosie Belmont.

After living in the city, Rosie came blasting back into town like a storm. Beautiful, messy, and chaotic. And one wide-eyed, desperate plea for a job is all it takes for Ford to hire her. He vows to keep her at arm's length. Tries to stick to scowls and grumpy one-liners. But with her, verbal sparring is a type of foreplay―friction that soon turns to blistering heat.

Ford knows damn well he shouldn't cross this line. But shouldn't and can't are two very different things.

And the only thing he truly can't do is resist her.]]>
455 Elsie Silver 1464220816 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.03 2024 Wild Love (Rose Hill, #1)
author: Elsie Silver
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #2)]]> 60234574
The Diamond

Death walks alongside me,
But the reaper is no match for me.
I'm trapped in a world full of monsters dressed as men, and those who aren't as they seem.
They won't keep me forever.
I no longer recognize the person I've become,
And I'm fighting to find my way back to the beast who hunts me in the night.
They call me a diamond,
But they've only created an angel of death.

The Hunter

I was born a predator,
With ruthlessness ingrained in my bones.
When what's mine is stolen from me in the night,
Like a diamond hidden within a fortress,
I find that I can no longer contain the beast.
Blood will paint the ground as I tear apart this world to find her.
And bring her back to where she belongs.
No one will escape my wrath,
Especially not those who have betrayed me.

Warning: This is the second and final installment to the Duet. You must read Haunting Adeline first.]]>
649 H.D. Carlton 1957635010 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.27 2022 Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #2)
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Shadows We Hide (Joe Talbert, #2)]]> 39088549
Joe Talbert, Jr. has never once met his namesake. Now out of college, a cub reporter for the Associated Press in Minneapolis, he stumbles across a story describing the murder of a man named Joseph Talbert in a small town in southern Minnesota.

Full of curiosity about whether this man might be his father, Joe is shocked to find that none of the town's residents have much to say about the dead man-other than that his death was long overdue. Joe discovers that the dead man was a loathsome lowlife who cheated his neighbors, threatened his daughter, and squandered his wife's inheritance after she, too, passed away -- an inheritance that may now be Joe's.

Mired in uncertainty and plagued by his own devastated relationship with his mother, who is seeking to get back into her son's life, Joe must put together the missing pieces of his family history -- before his quest for discovery threatens to put him in a grave of his own.]]>
352 Allen Eskens 0316509787 Gabriela 5 4.14 2018 The Shadows We Hide (Joe Talbert, #2)
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
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<![CDATA[Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1)]]> 196915235 Every serial killer needs a friend.
Every game must have a winner.

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?

Butcher & Blackbird is the first book in the Ruinous Love Dark Romance trilogy of interconnected stand-alone dark romantic comedies. This dual POV novel ends on a HEA.]]>
355 Brynne Weaver Gabriela 4 4.13 2023 Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1)
author: Brynne Weaver
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
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The Risk (Mindf*ck, #1) 33131867 Left too little.
I had nothing to lose...until him.

**

~Lana~

I didn't expect him.
I didn't want to fall in love.
But I can't let him go.

Logan Bennett makes the world a safer place.
He's brilliant.
He's a hero.
He locks away the sick and depraved.
But while he's saving lives, I'm taking them. Collecting the debts that are owed to me.

Ten years ago, they took from me. They left me for dead.
They should have made sure I stayed dead.

Now I'm taking from them.
One name at a time.

I've trained for too long.
I've been patient.
I can't stop now.

Revenge is best served cold...

They never see me coming, until I paint their walls red.

Logan doesn't know how they hurt me. He doesn't know about the screams they ignored. He doesn't know how twisted that town really is.

He just knows people are dying.
He doesn't know he's in love with their killer.

No one suspects a dead girl.
And Logan doesn't suspect the girl in his bed.

They're looking for a monster.
Not a girl who loves red.
Not a girl in love.

I'm a faceless nightmare.

At least until I tell them the story they've pretended never happened.

But in the end, will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?

**Graphic
**Adult language
**Some triggers could be too much for the easily disturbed reader
**Sexual content
**Fucked up moral compass; read at your own risk.]]>
132 S.T. Abby Gabriela 0 to-read 4.21 2016 The Risk (Mindf*ck, #1)
author: S.T. Abby
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
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Sidetracked (Mindf*ck, #2) 33271162 Or at least I was...until her.

****
LOGAN

I've had tunnel vision for one main goal for so long, that I forgot there was a whole other world just outside. Until Lana.

She's everything I never expected, and I love the fact I can never guess her every move or reaction. It's part of the reason I keep falling. But I also know she shuts me out, hides things from me she feels she can't share.

One day, I hope she trusts me enough to share.

It isn't until my job puts her at risk that I realize just how fierce she is, but it doesn't stop me from doing all I can to protect her. I should walk away to protect her better, but I can't. Instead, I'm forced to find other ways to keep her safe.

I just hope it's enough.

Though she is fierce, she's still fragile...

Right?]]>
115 S.T. Abby Gabriela 0 to-read 4.37 2016 Sidetracked (Mindf*ck, #2)
author: S.T. Abby
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
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Scarlet Angel (Mindf*ck, #3) 33304878
Logan Bennett makes me want to have a future not tainted by the constant hunger for revenge. Doesn't mean I can stop. Doesn't mean I want to stop. It just means I want more...one day.

But how do you make a good man love the monster inside you without stripping his soul away as well? He is all the best parts of me right now, resurrecting bits of my heart I forgot could even exist.

He makes me feel something other than cold.

He also thinks I'm weak and fragile. Something I laugh about to myself, while secretly soaking in all his protectiveness and concern.

If anyone touches him, harms him, or even threatens him, then they should probably run. Because his girlfriend is a little bit crazy. They just don't know it yet.]]>
139 S.T. Abby Gabriela 0 to-read 4.40 2016 Scarlet Angel (Mindf*ck, #3)
author: S.T. Abby
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Paint It All Red (Mindf*ck, #5)]]> 33361549
Will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?

It's time to fuck with their minds.
It's time to finish it all.
It's time to paint it all red...

Monsters don't usually wish for happily-ever-afters.]]>
177 S.T. Abby Gabriela 0 to-read 4.56 2016 Paint It All Red (Mindf*ck, #5)
author: S.T. Abby
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

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All the Lies (Mindf*ck, #4) 33361546
But that's never happened to me...

I've never felt conflicted on any case. Right is right and wrong is wrong. It's simple. Black and white. There's no such thing as a gray area.

But fuck this case. I don't even know what side I'm on anymore. I don't understand how this town can continue to function without breaking under the weight of all the lies they've spun and lived.

Every time I find a shard of truth, my gut twists, my heart beats faster, and I hate this place a little more. Every time I think I've heard the worst, another truth is dug up from the ashes of more burning lies.

Worst of all, I don't even know who to trust anymore. My head is all messed up.

I pride myself on being impossible to fool.
I'm an expert at knowing when someone is lying to me.
I never believed in being blinded by love...until Lana.

**BE WARNED: Some flashbacks can get intense to readers with a sensitive trigger. Skip the blocks in italics if that's the case.]]>
141 S.T. Abby Gabriela 0 to-read 4.52 2016 All the Lies (Mindf*ck, #4)
author: S.T. Abby
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Sweetest Oblivion (Made, #1)]]> 39083635
In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome. She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice. And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another. Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man... Right?]]>
384 Danielle Lori 1721284443 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.98 2018 The Sweetest Oblivion (Made, #1)
author: Danielle Lori
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1)]]> 201017011 “I don’t need another kink.�

That thought pops into my head whenever I pull up my favorite social media app, but alas, every time I scroll, I learn something new about myself, and another one is born. And yes, I know I’m responsible for what the algorithm shows me, but I’m trying to ignore that fact.

Lately, my feed has been dominated by masked men. I’ve favorited videos with them dressed in full cosplay, decked out in futuristic military apparel, and wrapped up like ghouls.

But more than anything else, my FYP is filled with shirtless men wearing ghost masks. Bonus points if they’re heavily tattooed, wielding a knife, or covered in fake blood. At night, I dream about being chased by them, of them catching me and doing deliciously dark things to my more than willing body.

I never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become my new reality.

Lights Out is a fast-paced dark romance with a morally grey male lead. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the TWs at the beginning of the book. ]]>
338 Navessa Allen Gabriela 0 to-read 4.16 2024 Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1)
author: Navessa Allen
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Insatiable (The Edge of Darkness, #1)]]> 187012471 IF HE CAN'T HAVE HER, NO ONE ELSE CAN

Kade Mitchell is obsessed with someone he despises.

A snake in an angel’s skin, Stacey Rhodes is everything he can’t forget � the girl who shattered his heart and drove him deep into the darkness of the underworld.

He watched her for years. Killed anyone who came close to her. But now, granted a brief moment of freedom from the life he’s trapped in, he’s back home and driven to claim her again, breaking every rule he’s ever made for himself.

Not even his hatred can stop the pull between them.

But he’ll never forgive her� will he?


As this is a dark romance , the author highly recommends reading the 'content warning' page.]]>
413 Leigh Rivers Gabriela 0 to-read 4.20 Insatiable (The Edge of Darkness, #1)
author: Leigh Rivers
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[The Deep Dark Descending (Detective Max Rupert, #4)]]> 33946362
Struggling to balance his impulses as a vengeful husband with his obligations as a law enforcement officer, Max devotes himself to relentlessly hunting down those responsible. For most of his life, he has thought of himself as a decent man. But now he’s so consumed with anguish and thoughts of retribution that he finds himself on the edge, questioning who he is and what he stands for.

On a frozen lake at the US–Canadian border, he wrestles with decisions that could change his life forever, as his rage threatens to turn him into the kind of person he has spent his entire career bringing to justice.]]>
281 Allen Eskens 1633883558 Gabriela 3 3.5 ⭐️ 3.91 2017 The Deep Dark Descending (Detective Max Rupert, #4)
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/20
date added: 2025/04/20
shelves:
review:
3.5 ⭐️
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Next of Kin 57504564 ON AN ORDINARY WORKING DAY�

Leila Syed receives a call that cleaves her life in two. Her brother-in-law’s voice is filled with panic. He’s at his son’s nursery to pick up Max. But he isn’t there.

YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE�

Leila was supposed to drop Max off that morning. But she forgot.

Racing to the carpark, she grasps the horror of what she has done. Max has been locked in her car for three hours on the hottest day of the year.

IS ABOUT TO COME TRUE�

But she’s too late.

What follows is an explosive, high-profile trial, that will tear the family apart. But as the case progresses it becomes clear there’s more to this incident than meets the eye�

A gripping, brave and tense courtroom drama, Next of Kin will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final, heart-stopping page.]]>
384 Kia Abdullah 0008433631 Gabriela 4 4.5 ⭐️ 4.05 2021 Next of Kin
author: Kia Abdullah
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves:
review:
4.5 ⭐️
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<![CDATA[The Guise of Another (Detective Max Rupert, #2)]]> 25614426 272 Allen Eskens 1633880761 Gabriela 4 3.78 2015 The Guise of Another (Detective Max Rupert, #2)
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/14
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves:
review:
3.75⭐️ � Compared to The Life We Bury (Book #1) and The Heavens May Fall (Book #3), this plot didn’t quite draw me in or deliver the same emotional depth as the other two but I still enjoyed it.
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<![CDATA[The Heavens May Fall (Detective Max Rupert, #3)]]> 28587698 305 Allen Eskens 1633882063 Gabriela 5 4.14 2016 The Heavens May Fall (Detective Max Rupert, #3)
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/17
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves:
review:

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I Who Have Never Known Men 60811826 Deep underground, forty women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.


As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the fortieth prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.


Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman’s modern classic is an important addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.]]>
184 Jacqueline Harpman 1945492600 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.11 1995 I Who Have Never Known Men
author: Jacqueline Harpman
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

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Notes on an Execution 57773248
Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he’s done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn’t want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. He hoped it wouldn’t end like this, not for him.

Through a kaleidoscope of women—a mother, a sister, a homicide detective—we learn the story of Ansel’s life. We meet his mother, Lavender, a seventeen-year-old girl pushed to desperation; Hazel, twin sister to Ansel’s wife, inseparable since birth, forced to watch helplessly as her sister’s relationship threatens to devour them all; and finally, Saffy, the homicide detective hot on his trail, who has devoted herself to bringing bad men to justice but struggles to see her own life clearly. As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy, exploring the rippling fissures that such destruction inevitably leaves in its wake.

Blending breathtaking suspense with astonishing empathy, Notes on an Execution presents a chilling portrait of womanhood as it simultaneously unravels the familiar narrative of the American serial killer, interrogating our system of justice and our cultural obsession with crime stories, asking readers to consider the false promise of looking for meaning in the psyches of violent men.]]>
306 Danya Kukafka 0063052733 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.04 2022 Notes on an Execution
author: Danya Kukafka
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

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Hidden Pictures 58724923 A wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.]]>
372 Jason Rekulak 1250819342 Gabriela 5 4.12 2022 Hidden Pictures
author: Jason Rekulak
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe]]> 9375 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a now-classic novel about two women: Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age, and gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode, who is telling her life story. Her tale includes two more women, the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, offering good coffee, southern barbecue, and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder. And as the past unfolds, the present will never be quite the same again.]]> 416 Fannie Flagg 0375508414 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.28 1987 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
author: Fannie Flagg
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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Hooked (Never After, #1) 58545703 From USA Today bestselling author Emily McIntire comes a dark and delicious fractured fairy tale reimagining of Peter Pan.

He wants revenge, but he wants her more�

James has always had one agenda: destroy his enemy, Peter Michaels. When Peter’s twenty-year-old daughter Wendy shows up in James’s bar, he sees his way in. Seduce the girl and use her for his revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game.

Wendy has been cloistered away most of her life by her wealthy cold father, but a spontaneous night out with friends turns into an intense and addictive love affair with the dark and brooding James. As much as she knows James is dangerous, Wendy can’t seem to shake her desire for him. But as their relationship grows more heated and she learns more about the world he moves in, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook.

Hooked is a dark contemporary romance and the first complete standalone in the Never After Series: A collection of fractured fairy tales where the villains get the happy ever after. It is not a literal retelling and not fantasy. Hooked features mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised. For all content warnings, check the author's website. ]]>
312 Emily McIntire 173750832X Gabriela 0 to-read 3.78 2021 Hooked (Never After, #1)
author: Emily McIntire
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Heavenly Bodies (Heavenly Bodies, #1)]]> 58650445
In a world where no entities exist but the Stars, cruel and merciless gods that watch over the world, Elara has been cursed by fate. A prophecy that promises she will fall for a Star, and it will kill them both.

But when one descends to wreak havoc on Elara's Kingdom, she is forced to flee into the arms of her enemy in the neighbouring country.

As she learns more about her own magic, and the depth of the Stars' deceit, she also finds herself learning more about the country she is forced to take refuge in, and the enemy prince forced to train her into a weapon.

Something dark brews within her, a power made of night and shadows that begs to be broken free.]]>
619 Imani Erriu Gabriela 0 to-read 3.97 2022 Heavenly Bodies (Heavenly Bodies, #1)
author: Imani Erriu
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
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We Used to Live Here 199798006
As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it� (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).]]>
312 Marcus Kliewer 1982198788 Gabriela 3 3.67 2024 We Used to Live Here
author: Marcus Kliewer
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/02
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We Are Not Like Them 56898303 Told from alternating perspectives, this novel follows two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event.

Jen and Riley have been best friends since kindergarten. As adults, they remain as close as sisters, though their lives have taken different directions. Jen married young, and after years of trying, is finally pregnant. Riley pursued her childhood dream of becoming a television journalist and is poised to become one of the first Black female anchors of the top news channel in their hometown of Philadelphia.

But the deep bond they share is severely tested when Jen’s husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Six months pregnant, Jen is in freefall as her future, her husband’s freedom, and her friendship with Riley are thrown into uncertainty. Covering this career-making story, Riley wrestles with the implications of this tragic incident for her Black community, her ambitions, and her relationship with her lifelong friend.

We Are Not Like Them is both a powerful conversation starter and a celebration of the enduring power of friendship.]]>
336 Christine Pride 1982181036 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.02 2021 We Are Not Like Them
author: Christine Pride
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/01
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<![CDATA[Under Your Scars (Under Your Scars, #1)]]> 177121503
According to the FBI, I was considered a serial murderer after three kills. What do they call me after fifty-two? They call me the Silencer. One final bullet would have been all it took to stop me from taking another soul, and I would have been doing Meridian City a service by pulling that trigger. An angel crying for help stopped me, and that night, I took three lives for her. Then three turned into eight. Then eight turned into twenty. Twenty turned into twenty-one. Twenty one turned into twenty-three. Elena Young is the hero in my story, but I’m the villain in hers. And this is the kind of story where the villain gets the girl, even if it kills her.]]>
660 Ariel N. Anderson Gabriela 0 to-read 4.41 2023 Under Your Scars (Under Your Scars, #1)
author: Ariel N. Anderson
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read
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Kill for Me, Kill for You 176451879
One dark evening on New York City’s Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, especially loneliness and an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed their families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you.

In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shares with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She’s attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there?

Intricate, heart-racing, and from an author who “is the real deal� (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Kill for Me, Kill for You will keep you breathless until the final page.]]>
340 Steve Cavanagh 1668049341 Gabriela 5 4.13 2023 Kill for Me, Kill for You
author: Steve Cavanagh
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
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<![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 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.08 2007 City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: to-read
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White Smoke 56304423 The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!

Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.

The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.

But “running from ghosts� is just a metaphor, right?

As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.]]>
373 Tiffany D. Jackson 006302909X Gabriela 3 3.81 2021 White Smoke
author: Tiffany D. Jackson
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/03/28
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The One 40670312 How far would you go to find The One?

A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner the one you are genetically made for.

That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.

Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.� They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after� isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others�

A word-of-mouth hit in the United Kingdom, The One is a fascinating novel that shows how even the simplest discoveries can have complicated consequences.]]>
418 John Marrs Gabriela 4 4.09 2016 The One
author: John Marrs
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/27
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The Quiet Librarian 214175092 After the murder of her best friend, a librarian’s search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this sweeping novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from award-winning writer Allen Eskens.

Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota whowants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared.

Thirty years before, Hana was someone Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia—until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend—the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head.

Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her eight-year-old grandson in Hana’s care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora—and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too.]]>
320 Allen Eskens 0316566314 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.19 2025 The Quiet Librarian
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/21
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<![CDATA[Forsaken Country (Detective Max Rupert, #5)]]> 60021126
Three fathers collide far beyond the reach or safety of the law in this breathtaking thriller from the bestselling and beloved author of The Stolen Hours and The Life We Bury.

Max Rupert has left his position as a Minneapolis homicide detective to live in solitude. Mourning the tragic death of his wife, he's also racked by guilt—he alone knows what happened to her killer.But then the former local sheriff, Lyle Voight, arrives with a desperate plea: Lyle’s daughter Sandy and his six-year-old grandson Pip have disappeared. Lyle’s certain Sandy's ex-husband Reed is behind it, but the new sheriff is refusing to investigate.

When Max reluctantly looks into their disappearance, he too becomes convinced something has gone very wrong. But the closer Max and Lyle get to finding proof, the more slippery Reed becomes, until he makes a break for the beautiful but formidable Boundary Waters wilderness with vulnerable Pip in tow.

Racing after the most dangerous kind of criminal—a desperate father—and with the ghosts of their own pasts never far behind, Max and Lyle go on the hunt within a treacherous landscape, determined to bring an evil man to justice, and to bring a terrified child home alive.]]>
Allen Eskens 1549159372 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.19 2022 Forsaken Country (Detective Max Rupert, #5)
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/21
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<![CDATA[The Stolen Hours (Joe Talbert, #3)]]> 56620855
Lila Nash is on the verge of landing her dream job—working as a prosecutor under the Hennepin County Attorney—and has settled into a happy life with her boyfriend, Joe Talbert. But when a woman is pulled from the Mississippi River, barely alive, things in the office take a personal turn.

The police believe the woman’s assailant is local photographer Gavin Spenser, but the case quickly flounders as the evidence wears thin. It seems Gavin saw this investigation coming—and no one can imagine how carefully he has prepared.

The more determined Lila is to put Gavin behind bars, the more elusive justice becomes. Battling a vindictive new boss and haunted by the ghosts of her own unspeakable attack, which she’s kept a dark secret for eight long years, Lila knows the clock is ticking down. In a race against an evil mastermind, it will take everything Lila’s got to outsmart a killer—andto escape the dark hold of her own past.

“A near-perfect thriller, The Stolen Hours is a true nail-biter that will have you reading long into the night.� � Book Reporter

“Even readers who predict the tale’s biggest twist before it arrives will still have the breath knocked out of them by the surprises that follow.� � Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“There’s not a moment misplaced or a second lost. With the precision of a watchmaker, Eskens assembles the fine parts of a mystery and sets them to the tempo of a thriller, leaving the reader breathless.� —Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries]]>
320 Allen Eskens 0316703494 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.26 2021 The Stolen Hours (Joe Talbert, #3)
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/21
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<![CDATA[The Life We Bury (Joe Talbert, #1; Detective Max Rupert, #1)]]> 20758175
As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory. Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?]]>
304 Allen Eskens 1616149981 Gabriela 5 4.06 2014 The Life We Bury (Joe Talbert, #1; Detective Max Rupert, #1)
author: Allen Eskens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
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Humans of New York: Stories 24019187 Humans of New York. In the first three years, his audience steadily grew from a few hundred to over one million. In 2013, his book Humans of New York, based on that blog, was published and immediately catapulted to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List. It has appeared on that list for over twenty-five weeks to date. The appeal of HONY has been so great that in the course of the next year Brandon's following increased tenfold to, now, over 12 million followers on Facebook. In the summer of 2014, the UN chose him to travel around the world on a goodwill mission that had followers meeting people from Iraq to Ukraine to Mexico City via the photos he took.
Now, Brandon is back with the follow up to Humans of New York that his loyal followers have been waiting for: Humans of New York: Stories. Ever since Brandon began interviewing people on the streets of NY, the dialogue he's had with them has increasingly become as in-depth, intriguing, and moving as the photos themselves. Humans of New York: Stories presents a whole new group of humans, complete with stories that delve deeper and surprise with greater candour.]]>
428 Brandon Stanton 1250058902 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.55 2015 Humans of New York: Stories
author: Brandon Stanton
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/18
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Red River Road 195790904 Anna Downes's extraordinary next thriller Red River Road follows a woman desperate to discover what happened to her sister on a solo road trip through the Australian outback.

Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, her free-spirited younger sister, Phoebe, vanished without a trace on the remote, achingly beautiful coastal highway in Western Australia. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up on her.

Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy retraces her sister’s steps, searching for any clues the police may have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and how dangerous were they?

And then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, who is on the run from her own dark past. Katy realizes that Beth might be her best—and only—chance of finding the truth, and the two women form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this wild, beautiful, and perilous place.

Anna Downes takes us on a twist-filled journey into the dark side of solo female travel, in this gripping novel that explores what drives us to keep searching for those we have lost, the family bonds that can make or break us, and the deception of memory.]]>
369 Anna Downes 1250868017 Gabriela 3 library-books 3.5 ⭐️ 3.74 2024 Red River Road
author: Anna Downes
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: library-books
review:
3.5 ⭐️
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<![CDATA[The Asylum Confessions: Cults (The Asylum Confession Files, #4)]]> 58612019 But first, they give me their deathbed confessions and this time - it's all about those involved in cults.

There will be 5 confessions within this book, and trust me...it's going to be a wild ride:
PATIENT 983 - thought she gave birth to the antichrist.
PATIENT 962 - his nickname was the Candyman...any guesses why?
PATIENT 922 - grew up in a cult and believes he was the first of a 'pure' race.
PATIENT 835 - he was part of a secret test by the government and I've been waiting on his confession for a while!
PATIENT 727 - this was a kid who loved Halloween and believed in all the rules. I sure you hope you didn't break any...

------------------
WHO AM I? I think by now you know who I am...Jack Steen and for those who arrive on my 'death' ward at the Asylum, I'm the last face many will see before they die. I'm the night nurse at the Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

Most of my patients are serial killers and mass murderers and they know me as the Angel of Death. I offer my patients a deal: in exchange for an easy death, I want their story. Not the one anyone can read about in the papers, I want the real story - the one they haven't told anyone else.

Some of these killers have never confessed to their crimes, some kept certain information to themselves...those are the stories I want. If they give them to me, I'll make their death...easier.

They're already dying, that's why they're now my patients. If they play nice, I can make their death less painful. But only if they play nice and tell me their confessions.

The majority of these killers are expert manipulators. I realize they could be playing me and messing with my head. It's a chance I'm willing to take. And now...they might just be playing with yours too.

Fans of Stephen King and Joe Hill and can't get enough stories about serial killers are going to enjoy reading the deathbed confessions from The Asylum.

WARNING: There is swearing in this book. And some stories might be a trigger for something you have a hard time handling. But, these are the confessions of serial killers, mass murderers and such, so what do you expect?]]>
248 Jack Steen 1987877527 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.21 The Asylum Confessions: Cults (The Asylum Confession Files, #4)
author: Jack Steen
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.21
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/07
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<![CDATA[The Asylum Confessions: Till Death Do Us Part (The Asylum Confession Files, #3)]]> 58145347 But first, they give me their confessions and this time - it's all about the couples who kill together.

Inside this book are 4 DeathBed Confessions that relate to things these couples did:
Patient 852 is a Preacher with a past.
Patient 1123 shouldn’t be trusted.
Patient 901 are farmers with buried secrets.
Patient 643 has a thing for soil and gardens.

WHO AM I? I think by now you know who I am...Jack Steen and for those who arrive on my 'death' ward at the Asylum, I'm the last face many will see before they die. I'm the night nurse at the Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

Most of my patients are serial killers and mass murderers and they know me as the Angel of Death. I offer my patients a deal: in exchange for an easy death, I want their story. Not the one anyone can read about in the papers, I want the real story - the one they haven't told anyone else.

Some of these killers have never confessed to their crimes, some kept certain information to themselves...those are the stories I want. If they give them to me, I'll make their death...easier.

They're already dying, that's why they're now my patients. If they play nice, I can make their death less painful. But only if they play nice and tell me their confessions.

The majority of these killers are expert manipulators. I realize they could be playing me and messing with my head. It's a chance I'm willing to take. And now...they might just be playing with yours too.

Fans of Stephen King, Joe Hill and like to read books like The Bird Box, The Haunting and can't get enough stories about serial killers are going to enjoy reading the deathbed confessions from The Asylum.

WARNING: There is swearing in this book. And some stories might be a trigger for something you have a hard time handling. But, these are the confessions of serial killers, mass murderers and such, so what do you expect?]]>
226 Jack Steen 1987877535 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.17 The Asylum Confessions: Till Death Do Us Part (The Asylum Confession Files, #3)
author: Jack Steen
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/07
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<![CDATA[The Asylum Confessions: Family Matters (The Asylum Confession Files, #2)]]> 57643498
But first, they give me their confessions and this time - it's all about FAMILY.

Inside this book are 4 DeathBed Confessions that relate to family issues:

Patient 424 is a father who just wanted to protect his little girl.

Patient 1001 is a pig farmer who never should have had children.

Patient 523 wants you to believe he's the brother of a mob boss.

Patient 983 would argue she should receive the Mother of the Year award.

WHO AM I? My name is Jack Steen and for those who arrive on my 'death' ward at the Asylum, I'm the last face many will see before they die. I am the night nurse at the Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

Most of my patients are serial killers and mass murderers and they know me as the Angel of Death.

When they come onto my floor, I offer a deal: tell me their story, their 'untold' story that hasn't been read about in the news, sensationalized by media or cataloged in a ridiculous number of academic papers. I want the real story - the one they haven't old anyone. Some of these killers have never confessed to their crimes, some kept certain information to themselves...those are the stories I want.

If they give them to me, I'll make their death...easier. They're already dying, that's why they're now my patients. If they play nice, I can make their death less painful. But only if they play nice and tell me their confessions.

The majority of these killers are expert manipulators. I realize they could be playing me and messing with my head. It's a chance I'm willing to take.

And now...they might just be playing with yours too.

Fans of Stephen King, Joe Hill and like to read books like The Bird Box, The Haunting and can't get enough stories about serial killers are going to enjoy reading the deathbed confessions from The Asylum.

WARNING: There is swearing in this book. And some stories might be a trigger for something you have a hard time handling.

But, these are the confessions of serial killers, mass murderers and such, so what do you expect?

Want to read the next set of Confession books? Sign up for my mailing list over on my website - JackSteenBooks dot com.]]>
210 Jack Steen 1987877543 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.18 2021 The Asylum Confessions: Family Matters (The Asylum Confession Files, #2)
author: Jack Steen
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Asylum Confessions (The Asylum Confession Files, #1)]]> 54972390
But first, they give me their confessions.

Fans of Stephen King, Joe Hill and like to read books like The Bird Box, The Haunting and can't get enough stories about serial killers are going to enjoy reading the deathbed confessions from The Asylum.

My name is Jack Steen and for those who arrive on my 'death' ward at the Asylum, I'm the last face many will see before they die. I am the night nurse at the Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

Most of my patients are serial killers and mass murderers and they know me as the Angel of Death.

When they come onto my floor, I offer a deal: tell me their story, their 'untold' story that hasn't been read about in the news, sensationalized by media or cataloged in a ridiculous number of academic papers. I want the real story - the one they haven't old anyone. Some of these killers have never confessed to their crimes, some kept certain information to themselves...those are the stories I want.

If they give them to me, I'll make their death...easier. They're already dying, that's why they're now my patients. If they play nice, I can make their death less painful. But only if they play nice and tell me their confessions.

The majority of these killers are expert manipulators. I realize they could be playing me and messing with my head. It's a chance I'm willing to take.

And now...they might just be playing with yours too.

Inside this book are 4 DeathBed Confessions:

Patient 1024 has an interesting 'appetite'.

Patient 974 is the Ken to his Barbie, and he would do anything to keep her happy.

Patient 871 is a Nanny, but not one you want watching your kids.

Patient 1203 is the sweetest, broken soul you'll ever meet but her confession is a hard read.

WARNING: There is swearing in this book. And some stories might be a trigger for something you have a hard time handling.

But, these are the confessions of serial killers, mass murderers and such.]]>
270 Jack Steen 1987877454 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.88 2021 The Asylum Confessions (The Asylum Confession Files, #1)
author: Jack Steen
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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Looking for Jane 61273371
1971: As a teenager, Dr. Evelyn Taylor was sent to a home for “fallen� women where she was forced to give up her baby for adoption—a trauma she has never recovered from. Despite the constant threat of arrest, she joins the Jane Network as an abortion provider, determined to give other women the choice she never had.

1980: After discovering a shocking secret about her family, twenty-year-old Nancy Mitchell begins to question everything she has ever known. When she unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she feels like she has no one to turn to for help. Grappling with her decision, she locates “Jane� and finds a place of her own alongside Dr. Taylor within the network’s ranks, but she can never escape the lies that haunt her.]]>
400 Heather Marshall 1668013681 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.34 2022 Looking for Jane
author: Heather Marshall
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: to-read
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Monday's Not Coming 35068534
As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?]]>
448 Tiffany D. Jackson 0062422693 Gabriela 4 3.75 ⭐️ 4.24 2018 Monday's Not Coming
author: Tiffany D. Jackson
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves:
review:
3.75 ⭐️
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Little Secrets 45046683
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

Permanently.

All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret...

Overwhelmed by tragedy, a woman desperately tries to save her marriage in award-winning author Jennifer Hillier's Little Secrets, a riveting novel of psychological suspense.]]>
352 Jennifer Hillier Gabriela 4 4.19 2020 Little Secrets
author: Jennifer Hillier
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
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The Intern 203579152 A Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge.

Madison Rivera lands the internship of a lifetime working for Judge Kathryn Conroy—but Madison has a secret that could destroy her career: Her troubled younger brother Danny has been arrested, and Conroy is the judge on his case. When Danny goes missing after accusing the judge of corruption, Madison’s quest for answers brings her deep into the judge’s glamorous world. Is Kathryn Conroy a mentor, a victim, or a criminal? Is she trying to help Madison or use her as a pawn? And why is somebody trying to kill her?]]>
384 Michele Campbell 1250795257 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.03 2023 The Intern
author: Michele Campbell
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: to-read
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Forget Me Not 217387937 A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.

With the entire summer now looming ahead—a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother—Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents� as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.

Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.]]>
336 Stacy Willingham 1250887976 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.21 2025 Forget Me Not
author: Stacy Willingham
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/14
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The October Film Haunt 222377146 Horror Movie meets the scope and emotion of Stephen King in this heart-pounding, magnetic tour de force about a woman pulled into a cult horror film that is determined to have a sequel, by critically acclaimed author Michael Wehunt.

Ten years ago, Jorie Stroud was the rising star of the October Film Haunt � a trio of horror enthusiasts who camped out at the filming locations of their favorite scary movies, sharing their love through their popular blog. But after a night in the graveyard from Proof of Demons � perhaps the most chilling cult film ever made, directed by the enigmatic Hélène Enriquez � everything unraveled.

Now, Jorie has built an isolated life with her young son in Vermont. In the devastating wake of her viral, truth-stretching Proof of Demons blog entry � hysteria, internet backlash, and the death of a young woman � Jorie has put it all, along with her intense love for the horror genre, behind her.

Until a videotape arrives in the mail. Jorie fears someone might be filming her. And the “Rickies� � Enriquez obsessives who would do anything for the reclusive director � begin to cross lines in shocking ways. It seems Hélène Enriquez is making a new kind of sequel…and Jorie is her final girl.

As the dangers grow even more unexpected and strange, Jorie must search for answers before the Proof of the movie’s title finds her and takes everything she loves.

This riveting and layered horror novel unleashes supernatural terror in a world where truth can be manipulated, and nothing is as it seems. Beautiful and horrifying, with an unforgettable cast of characters, The October Film Haunt will shock and delight readers all the way to its breathless final page.

"So unique and steeped in 21st century paranoia and dread you won't be able to read this alone at night." - Paul Tremblay

"The horror in here is palpable, but the writing itself is just as How can one pen have this many good lines in it?" - Stephen Graham Jones]]>
336 Michael Wehunt 1250333695 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.44 2025 The October Film Haunt
author: Michael Wehunt
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/14
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The Witch's Orchard 217387630 A ninth generation Appalachian herself, Archer Sullivan brings the mountains of North Carolina to life in The Witch’s Orchard, a wonderfully atmospheric novel that introduces private investigator Annie Gore.

Former Air Force Special Investigator Annie Gore joined the military right after high school to escape the fraught homelife of her childhood. Now, she’s getting by as a private investigator and her latest case takes her to an Appalachian holler not unlike the one where she grew up.

Ten years ago, three little girls went missing from their tiny mountain town. While one was returned, the others were never seen again. After all this time without answers, the brother of one of the girls wants to hire an outsider, and he wants Annie. While she may not be from his town, she gets mountain towns. Mountain people. Driving back into the hills for a case this old—it might be a fool’s errand. But Annie needs to put money in the bank and she can’t turn down a case. Not even one that dredges up her own painful past.

In the shadow of the Blue Ridge, Annie begins to track the truth, navigating a decade’s worth of secrets, folklore of witches and crows, and a whole town that prefers to forget. But while the case may have been buried, echoes of the past linger. And Annie’s arrival stirs someone into action.]]>
320 Archer Sullivan 1250338689 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.32 2025 The Witch's Orchard
author: Archer Sullivan
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/14
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Allegedly 30037870
Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? She wouldn’t say.

Mary survived six years in baby jail before being dumped in a group home. The house isn’t really “home”—no place where you fear for your life can be considered a home. Home is Ted, who she meets on assignment at a nursing home.

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary must find the voice to fight her past. And her fate lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But who really knows the real Mary?]]>
390 Tiffany D. Jackson 0062422642 Gabriela 4 4.05 2017 Allegedly
author: Tiffany D. Jackson
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
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Keep It in the Family 60109530
Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a chilling message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their dream home was once a house of horrors.

In the wake of their traumatic discovery, the baby arrives and Mia can’t shake her fixation with the monstrous crimes that happened right above them. Haunted by the terrible things she saw and desperate to find answers, her obsession pulls her ever further from her husband.

Secrecy shrouds the mystery of the attic, but when shards of a dark truth start to emerge, Mia realises the danger is terrifyingly present. She is prepared to do anything to protect her family—but is it already too late?]]>
380 John Marrs 1542017289 Gabriela 5 4.08 2022 Keep It in the Family
author: John Marrs
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
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<![CDATA[I'm No Monster: The Horrifying True Story of Josef Fritzl]]> 6483092 256 Stefanie Marsh 0425230031 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.65 2009 I'm No Monster: The Horrifying True Story of Josef Fritzl
author: Stefanie Marsh
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
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Razorblade Tears 54860585 A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance.

Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid.

The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss.

Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed his father was a criminal. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy.

Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250252708]]>
336 S.A. Cosby Gabriela 0 to-read 4.08 2021 Razorblade Tears
author: S.A. Cosby
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: to-read
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One by One 54197718
A night spent sleeping on dirt and leaves is not how Claire Matchett expected to spend her vacation.

She thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubs with two other couple friends. It sounded like heaven.

Then Claire’s minivan breaks down on a lonely dirt road. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to hike the rest of the way to their hotel. But it turns out the woods aren’t as easy to navigate as they thought.

Hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost.

And as they navigate deeper into the woods, the members of their party are struck down mysteriously one by one. Has a wild animal been hunting them? Or is the hunter one of them?

But as more time passes, one thing becomes clear:

Only one of them will return home alive.]]>
295 Freida McFadden Gabriela 4 3.87 2020 One by One
author: Freida McFadden
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
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The Drummer's Heart 218024103 That was the one rule my bandmates followed, because they knew how much it messed me up to think about her, especially on tour.
My ex, Nicole.
The one who got away and the woman who still owned every piece of my heart.
After our divorce, I threw myself into the rock scene, trying to forget my heartbreak.
Three years after we split, a phone call from Nicole changed everything.
She told me her grandmother wasn’t doing well.
Mimi was still family to me, and she apparently had one wish before dying: to spend time with us—Nicole and me.
With Mimi’s caretaker away on vacation, it would be the ideal time for us to move in with her for a couple of weeks.
Of course, I couldn’t refuse.
But there was a catch.
Nicole apparently never told her that we’d gotten a divorce.
She hadn’t believed Mimi could handle it, because her grandmother loved me so much.
So, not only would I have to see Nicole again, but I’d be pretending to still be her husband.
Two weeks in a tiny house in a small town with the woman who broke my heart. Or was it me who broke hers?
It was complicated.
And it was about to be a heck of a lot more complicated sharing one bed in the guest room with a woman who wasn’t mine anymore.]]>
340 Penelope Ward 1959827812 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.09 The Drummer's Heart
author: Penelope Ward
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: to-read
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Room 31685789
Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience—and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough ... not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.]]>
321 Emma Donoghue Gabriela 0 to-read 4.18 2010 Room
author: Emma Donoghue
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/01
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The Mother-in-Law 46251368
From the moment Lucy met her husband's mother, Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana was exquisitely polite, and properly friendly, but Lucy knew that she was not what Diana envisioned. But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice who helped female refugees assimilate to their new country. Diana was happily married to Tom, and lived in wedded bliss for decades. Lucy wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.

That was five years ago.

Now, Diana has been found dead, a suicide note near her body. Diana claims that she no longer wanted to live because of a battle with cancer.

But the autopsy finds no cancer.
The autopsy does find traces of poison and suffocation.
Who could possibly want Diana dead?
Why was her will changed at the eleventh hour to disinherit both of her adult children and their spouses?

With Lucy's secrets getting deeper and her relationship with her mother-in-law growing more complex as the pages turn, this new novel from Sally Hepworth is sure to add to her growing legion of fans.]]>
347 Sally Hepworth Gabriela 5 3.94 2019 The Mother-in-Law
author: Sally Hepworth
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
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<![CDATA[Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)]]> 61431922 Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile� humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die]]>
528 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.56 2023 Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
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Friends with Benefits 217388127 Lifelong best friends say 'I do' to a marriage of convenience, trading vows for a financial safety net and benefits. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Katherine Center.

Evie Bloom pays attention to the details. Her very job depends on it—as an aspiring Foley artist, she’s responsible for every crisp footstep, smacking kiss, and distinct sound in film and television. So when she’s selected for a fellowship opportunity that would make all her career dreams come true, she’s quick to spot the there are no health benefits, and for someone with a chronic illness, that’s a non-starter.

Theo Cohen is an elementary school teacher who can't afford to live on his own in LA, and is facing eviction after his roommates couple up and move out of their dream of a rent-controlled apartment. But there is one loophole in his each tenant must meet an income threshold, unless the tenants are married.

For Theo, the answer is obvious. Marry Evie, his best friend since forever. It’s not as if they don’t spend all their free time together anyways. Not only will Theo be able to keep his apartment, but Evie can be added to his insurance plan so she can accept her dream fellowship. It’s such a logical, practical solution. Never mind that Evie doesn’t really want to be married—not to Theo, not to anyone—ever. Or the small, complicating fact that Theo has always been a little bit in love with Evie.

But it doesn’t have to be a big deal. Marriage. It will just give them space to breathe, and much-needed relief from the daily financial stress. It won’t change anything.

It’s . . . going to change everything.]]>
384 Marisa Kanter 1250358892 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.63 Friends with Benefits
author: Marisa Kanter
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.63
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Close Your Eyes and Count to 10]]> 211894916 An extreme game of hide-and-seek turns deadly in this riveting new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger

When the real game begins, who will make it to the count of 10?

Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.

Enter Adele, a single mother with a fierce determination to protect her children at all costs. When she begins the game, she unwittingly enters a twisted web of deception and intrigue. Can she maneuver through the treacherous storm and the relentless competition and get home to her family? In a ruthless battle for survival where the stakes are higher than ever, the blurry line between the virtual and the real proves that the only person we can trust is ourselves.]]>
384 Lisa Unger 0778333361 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.15 2025 Close Your Eyes and Count to 10
author: Lisa Unger
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.15
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

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

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

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

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

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

As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.]]>
448 David Baldacci 1538742055 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.10 2025 Strangers in Time
author: David Baldacci
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/27
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Dark Roads 54860353
Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance…]]>
375 Chevy Stevens 1250133572 Gabriela 4 3.93 2021 Dark Roads
author: Chevy Stevens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/26
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Still Missing 7159515
Still Missing interweaves the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfold through sessions with her psychiatrist, with a second narrative following the events after her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Still Missing is a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted novel.]]>
342 Chevy Stevens 0312595670 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.98 2010 Still Missing
author: Chevy Stevens
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: to-read
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They Never Learn 124948406 From the author of the “raw, ingenious, and utterly fearless� (Wendy Walker, USA TODAY bestselling author) Temper comes a dynamic psychological thriller about two women who give bad men exactly what they deserve.

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.

Every year, she searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she’s avoided drawing attention to herself—but as she’s preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Scarlett insinuates herself into the investigation and charms the woman in charge, Dr. Mina Pierce. Everything’s going according to her master plan…until she loses control with her latest victim, putting her secret life at risk of exposure.

Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies and fade into the background. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident—everything Carly wishes she could be—and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is sexually assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay...and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.

Featuring Layne Fargo’s trademark “propulsive writing style� (Kirkus Reviews) and “sinister, of the moment� (Chicago Review of Books) suspense, They Never Learn is a feminist serial killer story perfect for fans of Killing Eve and Chelsea Cain.]]>
349 Layne Fargo Gabriela 0 to-read 3.86 2020 They Never Learn
author: Layne Fargo
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves: to-read
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Look Closer 59316367 448 David Ellis 0399170928 Gabriela 5 library-books 4.17 2022 Look Closer
author: David Ellis
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves: library-books
review:

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Dark August 52167189
When Gus spots a front-page news story about the unearthing of a body linked to one of the cold case files from her childhood trunk, she can't resist following her mother's clues. As she digs deeper, determined to finish her mother's investigation, her search leads her to a deserted ghost town, which was left abandoned when the residents fled after a horrific fire. As Gus' obsession with the case grows, she inadvertently stirs up the evils of the past, putting her life in danger. But Gus is undeterred and is committed to uncovering long-buried secrets, including the secrets surrounding a missing geology student, the young ballerina in the Polaroid, a prominent family's devastating legacy, and a toxic blast that blew an entire town off the map.

But is Gus ready to learn the truths that culminated on one terrible August night, more than a decade earlier, when lives were taken, and secrets were presumed buried forever...?

Dark August introduces a bold new voice and will leave readers guessing until the final startling conclusion.]]>
448 Katie Tallo 0062948040 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.74 2020 Dark August
author: Katie Tallo
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: to-read
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A Little Life 22822858
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride.Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.]]>
720 Hanya Yanagihara 0385539258 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.28 2015 A Little Life
author: Hanya Yanagihara
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: to-read
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The Dark Hours 218022032 For fans of Tana French and Jane Harper, this debut crime thriller follows a retired police detective who must face down a vicious killer and the memories that haunt her—thirty years after bringing down one of Ireland’s most prolific serial killers.

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

Thirty years ago, Julia helped to bring down the most prolific serial killer Ireland had ever seen, and while that case spurred a successful career and a bestselling book, it's also the reason she's in hiding now, all alone and haunted by the things tha happened all those years ago, without the husband she had depended upon. When a copycat killer strikes, Julia is called back to active duty, but this time, she's not the young, naive officer she was then. She knows killers like this one, who hunt for sport, and she's determined to put a stop to his plans--or die trying.]]>
320 Amy Jordan 077838781X Gabriela 0 to-read 3.74 2025 The Dark Hours
author: Amy Jordan
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
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The Family Experiment 197108968 From the acclaimed author of The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and brilliant speculative thriller about families: real and virtual.

Some families are virtually perfect�

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby�

Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi—a virtual baby.]]>
384 John Marrs 1335000364 Gabriela 4 3.5 ⭐️ 4.00 2024 The Family Experiment
author: John Marrs
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves:
review:
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Here To Stay 42249612 A beautiful home. A loving wife. And in-laws to die for.

Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot’s life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige � he just doesn’t quite know what he’s signing up for.

The Robinsons arrive with Gemma’s sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot starts to suspect that the Robinsons are hiding a dark secret. And then there are the scars on his wife’s body that she won’t talk about . . .

As Elliot’s in-laws become more comfortable in his home, encroaching on all aspects of his life, it becomes clear that they have no intention of moving out. To protect Gemma, and their marriage, Elliot delves into the Robinsons� past. But is he prepared for the truth?]]>
370 Mark Edwards 1542044898 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.04 2019 Here To Stay
author: Mark Edwards
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/12
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House of Glass 195790531
A young nanny who plunged to her death, or was she pushed? A nine-year-old girl who collects sharp objects and refuses to speak. A lawyer whose job it is to uncover who in the family is a victim and who is a murderer. But how can you find out the truth when everyone here is lying?

Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny - in the midst of her parent's bitter divorce - and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, appointed to serve as counsel for children in custody cases. She never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but Stella's mentor, a revered judge, believes Stella is the only one who can help.

From the moment Stella passes through the iron security gate and steps into the gilded, historic DC home of the Barclays, she realizes the case is even more twisted, and the Barclay family far more troubled, than she feared. And there's something eerie about the house itself: It's a plastic house, with not a single bit of glass to be found.

As Stella comes closer to uncovering the secrets the Barclays are desperate to hide, danger wraps around her like a shroud, and her past and present are set on a collision course in ways she never expected. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder. The mother, the father, the grandmother, the nanny's boyfriend. Even Rose. Is the person Stella's supposed to protect the one she may need protection from?]]>
341 Sarah Pekkanen 125028399X Gabriela 4 3.84 2024 House of Glass
author: Sarah Pekkanen
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/07
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The Man Made of Smoke 217387838 The latest gripping serial killer thriller from the New York Times bestselling author Alex North.

Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?

With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.]]>
320 Alex North 1250757894 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.24 2025 The Man Made of Smoke
author: Alex North
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/05
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<![CDATA[Breaking Up with Dairy: 100 Indulgent Plant-based Recipes for Cheese (and Butter, Cream, and Milk) Lovers Everywhere]]> 214175180
Cheese can be the breaking point that keeps many from breaking up from dairy—because let's face it, dairy is delicious. In Breaking Up With Dairy, Chef Bai shares over one hundred unbelievable plant-based dairy recipes.

Includes recipes that mimic beloved cheeses like Gorgonzola, Young Gruyere, Pepper-Jack, Parmesan, and more, which you can use in the following recipes:

-Baked Truffle Mac
-New York Style Spelt Bagels with Roasted Garlic Cream Cheese
-Breakfast Pizza Pockets with Hollandaise
-Mini Quiches
-Air-Fried Ricotta Balls with Ratatouille Sauce
-And so much more!

Breaking up with dairy doesn't have to feel like a loss with these mouth-watering substitute dishes!]]>
320 Bailey Ruskus 0306833522 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.82 Breaking Up with Dairy: 100 Indulgent Plant-based Recipes for Cheese (and Butter, Cream, and Milk) Lovers Everywhere
author: Bailey Ruskus
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.82
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rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
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<![CDATA[Don't Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life]]> 212924073 A top trainer on effective speaking offers a fast way to improve your public speaking and communication skills by focusing on delivery—because how you say something matters more than what you say—with exercises that build boost confidence and influence.

Whether you like it or not,talking out loud is a critical aspect of our humanity, but an estimated 77% of people have some level of anxiety around public speaking—with most under the age of 45. In the age of technology, we're getting worse at communicating by the day, but the good news is, everyone can improve their speaking. Michael Chad Hoeppner is the foremost expert on effective speaking. He's coached presidential candidates, famous CEOs, UN dignitaries, law firms, and Ivy League deans on their communication skills. If you're a highly influential person who wants help speaking, you go to MCH; he'stheguy. Now, he shares his wide‑ranging knowledge in Don't Say Um. For the first time, the coaching that the world’s most high-stakes speakers can afford is accessible to a global audience.

Hoeppner hascreated an entirely new approach to communication training, giving people the physical tools to quickly improve their speaking, instead of just the same old speaking coach BS. With simple-to-master exercises likefinger‑walking to stop using filler words or silent storytelling to avoid monotone, think of Don’t Say Um like a How-To manual or a beloved cookbook � but a book only focused on Delivery. Why? Of course how you say it matters more than what you say. But transforming Delivery unlocks a virtuous cycle that actually improves the content, too. Like working with a famous golf pro or elite personal trainer, readers finally have a step-by-step process to build their communication muscles and escape counter-productive bromides like ‘just be authentic� or ‘imagine the audience in their underwear.�

Through these exercises, you will be able to talk to a group with complete confidence or just to effectively tell a joke. Don't Say Um works for all situations, and it works forever.Don't Say Umchallenges our preconceived notions of good speaking techniques and offers powerful tools to become master communicators. Hoeppner offers up his method to change how we communicate that works in all situations and can radically improve your quality of life.]]>
288 Michael Chad Hoeppner 0306834502 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.11 Don't Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life
author: Michael Chad Hoeppner
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.11
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<![CDATA[Gentle: Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want]]> 214175098 From the author of Soulful Simplicity and Project 333, a collection of 30 practices to overcome chronic overwhelm, cultivate self-compassion, and find permission to do less—perfect for readers of Rest is Resistance and Wintering.

Written by minimalism expert and celebrated author Courtney Carver, Gentle is the “don’t do it all� self-help book you need to live with less stress and more ease, less overwhelm and more joy by uncovering the Gentle You.
Grounded in self-compassion and a fierce commitment to less, becoming the Gentle You isn’t about taking the easy road. It’s a practice of real self-care that, over time, will soothe your nervous system and strengthen your relationships.
Organized into three parts—Rest, Less, and Rise�30 challenges and simple practices will help readers radically and (yes)gentlyshift their pace, headspace, and heart.
It’s time to find strength in your softness, fierceness in your flexibility, and to finally rise—not by pushing through but by connecting with theGentleYou, standing in your light and honoring the person you are.]]>
288 Courtney Carver 1538765217 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.04 2025 Gentle: Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want
author: Courtney Carver
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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The Fourth Consort 211003694 A new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (the inspiration for the major motion picture Mickey 17).

Dalton Greaves is a hero. He’s one of humankind’s first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood.

That’s what they told him, anyway. The only actual members of Unity that he’s ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreau’s human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig so that she wouldn’t become the next one of Boreau’s crew to get eaten by locals while prospecting.

Funny thing, though—turns out there actually is a benevolent confederation out there, working for the good of all life. They call themselves the Assembly, and they really don’t like Unity. More to the point, they really, really don’t like Unity’s new human minions.

When an encounter between Boreau’s scout ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both parties, Dalton finds himself marooned, caught between a stickman, one of the Assembly’s nightmarish shock troops, the planet’s natives, who aren’t winning any congeniality prizes themselves, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, he’ll need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal that he literally cannot refuse, all while making sure Neera doesn’t come to the conclusion that he’s worth more to her dead than alive.

Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, The Fourth Consort asks an important how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?]]>
288 Edward Ashton 1250286336 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.92 2025 The Fourth Consort
author: Edward Ashton
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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Things Left Unsaid 211003752 A dazzling, electrifying, and thought-provoking novel for readers of Maame and Honey Girl, Things Left Unsaid is a mesmerizing and deeply-felt exploration of discovering your place in the world and the lasting power of love.

When twenty-six year old Shirin Bayat bumps into Kian at a house party in London, she is taken aback by the immediate feelings that resurface. It’s been a decade since they were close friends at school, before painful events pulled them apart, suddenly and seemingly forever. Ever since, Shirin has lived with the aching weight of things left unsaid between them.

Now they're back in each other's lives, at a time when Shirin needs someone she can trust the most. Feeling stuck in a sea of slippery friendships and deeply burned out by her publishing job, Kian is a bright light amongst a sea of gray. There’s nothing worse than losing the person you trust most with your deepest secrets and desires, and Shirin and Kian are determined to hold tightly to each other.

But of course, life often has other plans. Will it be different this time around, or are Shirin and Kian destined to fall apart once more?]]>
320 Sara Jafari 1250288835 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.01 2025 Things Left Unsaid
author: Sara Jafari
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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Breathing for Both of Us 210900199 'A gripping, dark page turner which pulls no punches.' Sunday Times Bestselling Author ~ Catherine Cooper]]> 260 H.P. Parry Gabriela 0 to-read 3.00 2023 Breathing for Both of Us
author: H.P. Parry
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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Joy Moody Is Out of Time 217387839 From the author of the beloved novel Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder comes another quirky and irresistible new crime novel

Strange things are happening behind the bright pink facade of Bayside’s premier laundromat, Joyful Suds; home to Joy Moody and her twin daughters.

For much of their lives, Joy has been lying to Cassie and Andie. What started as a colorful tale to explain how the twins came to live with her grew over the years and was always something she meant to set straight. Joy really did think she had more time. Worse still, Joy is struggling to define the truth from the lies.

The girls have long believed they are vital to the future and must stay hidden to stay safe. Joy has told them that their impending 21st birthday is significant; they will step into their roles as daughters of the future revolution and life as they know it will change. Joy was right - everything will change, just not in the way the expected. On Andie and Cassie’s birthday, Joy Moody is found dead and her girls face a world they are not prepared for without their mother. Joy Moody is out of time� in more ways than one.]]>
352 Kerryn Mayne 1250340500 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.75 2024 Joy Moody Is Out of Time
author: Kerryn Mayne
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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The New Mother 211004134 The Favor, The New Mother is both relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling—a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia.

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It's hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it's murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?]]>
432 Nora Murphy 1250372747 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.89 2023 The New Mother
author: Nora Murphy
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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The Business Trip 211003858
Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic.

And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women� or what did they do to him?

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, THE BUSINESS TRIP takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who?]]>
344 Jessie Garcia 1250364418 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.62 2025 The Business Trip
author: Jessie Garcia
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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High Season 217388179 Never speak of that summer.

On a beautiful summer’s night twenty years ago, troubled seventeen-year-old Tamara Drayton was found floating face-down in the pool of her family’s idyllic mansion in the south of France, leaving her twin brother, golden-boy Blake, to pick up the pieces of their shattered family.

Also left behind was their sister Nina who, at six years old, became the youngest person ever to testify in a French murder trial. Because she’s the only one who saw what happened—who watched as her babysitter, Josie Jackson, pushed Tamara under the water, and held her there until she stopped breathing.

Didn’t she? Twenty years later, Nina's memories have faded, leaving her with no idea of what really transpired that night. When a new true crime documentary about her sister’s murder is announced, Nina thinks this might be her chance to finally find out.

But the truth always comes at a cost. Who will pay the price?

Set over two unforgettable summers two decades apart, High Season is a dark, tense exploration of the nature of memory, the enduring power of truth, and all the gray areas in between.]]>
384 Katie Bishop 1250283930 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.09 2025 High Season
author: Katie Bishop
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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Here One Moment 208516656 If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.]]>
512 Liane Moriarty 0593798600 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Here One Moment
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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With a Vengeance 219603177 One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge.

In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family.Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution.

Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall ontoa luxurytrain from Philadelphia to Chicago,an overnightjourney of fourteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.

But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge—and that they won’t stop until everyone else is dead.

With time running out before the train reaches its destination, Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most. In order to destroy her enemies, she must first save them—even though it means putting her own life at risk.]]>
400 Riley Sager 0593472403 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.59 2025 With a Vengeance
author: Riley Sager
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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The Missing Half 217213002 Two women haunted by their sisters' unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.

Nicole “Nic� Monroe is in a rut. At twenty-four, she lives alone in a dinky apartment in her hometown of Mishawaka, Indiana, she’s just gotten a DWI, and she works the same dead-end job she’s been working since high school, a job she only has because her boss is a family friend and feels sorry for her. Everyone has felt sorry for her forthelast seven years—since the day her older sister, Kasey, vanished without a trace.

On thenight Kasey went missing, her car was found overahundred miles from home. Thedriver’s door was open and her purse was untouched intheseat next to it. The only real clue in her disappearance was Jules Connor, another young woman from the same area who disappeared inthesame way, two weeks earlier. But with so little for the police to go on, both their cases eventually went cold.

Nic wants nothing more than to move on—from her sister’s disappearance andthestate it’s left her in. But then one day, Jules’s sister, Jenna Connor, walks into her life and offers Nic something she hasn’t felt inalong hope. What follows isagripping tale of two sisters who will do anything to find theirmissinghalves, even if it means destroying everything they’ve ever known.]]>
272 Ashley Flowers 0593726987 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.03 2025 The Missing Half
author: Ashley Flowers
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Perfect Divorce (Perfect, #2)]]> 219240806 From the author of the multimillion-copy bestselling thriller The Perfect Marriage

Till death do us part. Yours. Not Mine.

It’s been eleven years since high-powered attorney Sarah Morgan defended her husband, Adam, against the charge of murdering his mistress. Sarah has long since moved on, starting a family with her new husband, Bob Miller, and changing careers. Her life is back to being exactly how she always wanted � or is it?

After discovering Bob engaged in a one-night stand, Sarah wastes no time filing for divorce. However, amid their ugly separation, new DNA evidence is uncovered in the case against Adam, forcing the police to reopen the investigation and putting Sarah right back in the spotlight. Everyone wants to know what really happened, most of all former deputy Marcus Hudson, who is hell-bent on finding the truth.

But when the woman Bob slept with is reported missing, he and Sarah start to fight dirty, and a high-stakes game of cat and mouse ensues. Filled with page-turning suspense and Jeneva Rose’s signature twists and turns, this book will have readers wondering: Can Bob and Sarah achieve the perfect divorce? Or will it be “’til death do us part�?]]>
288 Jeneva Rose Gabriela 0 to-read 4.16 2025 The Perfect Divorce (Perfect, #2)
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.16
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rating: 0
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King of Ashes 219833252 Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family—and the family business—together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.

Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his himself, and his own particular set of skills.

Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.

Because everything burns.]]>
352 S.A. Cosby 1250832063 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.52 2025 King of Ashes
author: S.A. Cosby
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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One of Our Own 203146256 A suicide prevention hotline volunteer answers a call that turns her world upside down in this edge-of-your-seat audio original thriller by the bestselling author of The Perfect Child and The Best of Friends, performed by A.J. Cook (Criminal Minds) and Tessa Albertson (Younger).

Felicia, a single mother and lawyer by day, volunteers at a local crisis center to give back to her tightknit community in a small Wisconsin town. One night, she answers a horrifying call: through tears, a frantic teenage girl tells her that she was a victim of sexual assault at a local house party.

Felicia is shocked, and breaking protocol, she begins communicating with the girl on her own, determined to keep her safe and hold her assailants accountable. But as she gets closer and closer to the truth, she can’t shake the feeling that she and the girl are connected by more than the phone call. As the girl shares more details, Felicia begins to think the unthinkable—someone close to her may be involved in this heinous crime.

As Felicia earns the girl’s trust and more facts emerge about the incident, she faces a gut-wrenching battle between her protective instincts and the moral responsibility to do what’s right. This taut thriller is the perfect listen for fans of The Push, Wrong Place Wrong Time, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.]]>
Lucinda Berry Gabriela 4 3.88 2024 One of Our Own
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
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Easy, super quick listen to end off the year. Listened via audiobook this morning. Predictable but still enjoyable. Not sure if I agree that a mother’s love is conditional but to each their own. Definitely could have packed a bigger punch if she was more conflicted with doing the right thing and balancing her relationships.
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The Lake Escape 217387729 The next riveting summer suspense by the author of THE BLOCK PARTY and ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY, Jamie Day.

WILL THIS BE THE BEST WEEK OF THEIR LIVES... OR THE LAST?

JULIA, DAVID, AND ERIKA grew up together spending summers at their idyllic Vermont lake homes for as long as they can remember. Now adults—with their own sullen teens, endless mortgages, and low-voltage sex lives—the three friends have amassed secrets over the years.

This summer, David is eager to show off his newly renovated home—which now blocks his friends� cherished lake views—and his much-younger girlfriend. He also, unwittingly, brings a nanny with a hidden agenda. What could possibly go wrong?

When David’s girlfriend mysteriously vanishes after a shouting match, Julia and Erika wonder just how well they know their lifelong friend. The lake harbors a harrowing two young women, with no known connection, vanished without a trace thirty years ago. Did the lake take another?

As a search is mounted, an intricate web of lies, deceits, and betrayals spanning generations starts to surface, and everyone finds themselves in danger of becoming the next victim. Of the lake, or something darker.]]>
368 Jamie Day 1250358191 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.70 The Lake Escape
author: Jamie Day
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.70
book published:
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Indiscretion 222505124
He's her boss. She's his greatest temptation.

The first time I met Dawson Reed, we wound up in bed.
The problem was, neither of us knew the other were there.
When I woke up in the middle of the night and found a stranger next to me, instinct kicked in and I attacked the intruder.
Only it turned out, the man wasn’t an intruder at all.
Dawson had rented this cabin, too. Apparently, a system glitch allowed a duplicate booking.
We’d soon find out we were in town for the same wedding, and Dawson was the groomsman I’d been warned about. He was as tall, dark and jaw-droppingly gorgeous as my best friend had described. Though she was also right when she’d said you two will hate each other.
When daylight rolled around, Dawson and I attempted to straighten out the mess we found ourselves in. But it proved to be more difficult than we initially thought. Since it was a holiday weekend, there wasn’t a single room available for more than fifty miles.
I suppose things could be worse than sharing a cabin for a weekend with a handsome man you despise.
Like maybe him winding up being your new boss?]]>
339 Vi Keeland 1959827855 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.97 2025 Indiscretion
author: Vi Keeland
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/31
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Party of Liars 217388119 A lavish, Texas-sized Sweet Sixteen turns deadly in this twisty, pulse-pounding new novel � serving up a fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit. Let the festivities begin�

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

It’s a killer guest list . . .

DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

Ѹ鳢ձ: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .

Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive. ]]>
336 Kelsey Cox 1250378818 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.09 2025 Party of Liars
author: Kelsey Cox
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Locked Ward 217388258 Was it...
Bitter, all-consuming jealousy?
Pathological sibling rivalry?
Pure insanity?

Whatever the cause—and everyone has a theory—it's the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family.

Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.�

Amanda doesn't trust Georgia, but she can't abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that's so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator?

Nothing is as it seems in Sarah Pekkanen’s The Locked Ward, a shocking psychological thriller about the complex bonds of sisterhood—and what happens when they are stretched to the breaking point.

Some doors in the Locked Ward should never be opened.]]>
320 Sarah Pekkanen 1250349516 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.90 2025 The Locked Ward
author: Sarah Pekkanen
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Chase Lovett Wants Me (Tilton University)]]> 222209967 A brand new standalone, opposites attract, college hockey romance.

Chase Lovett.
Star of my (unrequited) fantasies.
Hottest guy on campus.
Hockey god.

Too bad he has no idea who I am. Literally, I’m so invisible to him that he once sat on me in class.

No thanks to a fire in the dorms, he just became my accidental roommate.
Did I mention the hotel room our university moved us to has only one bed?
Not ideal.

Worse, I accidentally left “My Precious� Lord of the Rings underwear hanging to dry in our shower.
My actual nightmare.

My name is Cammie Lovelock and this might just be the worst, best thing that’s ever happened to me.]]>
226 Helena Hunting 1998657027 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.51 Chase Lovett Wants Me (Tilton University)
author: Helena Hunting
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.51
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

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Ward D 123193218 spending the night on a locked psychiatric ward.

Amy has been dreading her evening working on Ward D, the hospital’s inpatient mental health unit. There are very specific reasons why she never wanted to do this required overnight rotation. Reasons nobody can ever find out.

And as the hours tick by, Amy grows increasingly convinced something terrible is happening within these tightly secured walls. When patients and staff start to vanish without a trace, it becomes clear that everyone on the unit is in grave danger.

Amy’s worst nightmare was spending the night on Ward D.

And now she might never escape.
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348 Freida McFadden Gabriela 4 3.98 2023 Ward D
author: Freida McFadden
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:

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Pen Pal 60192737 A USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling novel

The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary, and contained a single sentence:

I’ll wait forever if I have to.

It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.

Out of simple curiosity, I wrote back to ask him what exactly he was waiting for. His reply?

You.

I told the mystery man he had the wrong girl. He said he didn’t. I said we’d never met, but he said I was wrong.

We went back and forth, exchanging letters every week that grew increasingly more intimate. Then one day, the letters stopped. When I found out why, it was already too late.

Dante was at my doorstep.

And nothing on earth could have prepared me for what happened next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING:

This novel contains content intended for a mature audience only. Due to explicit language, graphic sex, detailed depictions of death and grief, intense power play dynamics, and other possible triggers, it is not suitable for sensitive readers. (Full list of TWs on author's website.)]]>
320 J.T. Geissinger Gabriela 5
I considered giving it 4 stars but the twist was probably one of the best I’ve read in a psychological thriller and the overall ending tied together nicely.

Aidan is a loveable character because although he was dominant he showed great vulnerability and care toward Kayla and gave up his life for her and continued to love and look out for her in the afterlife even if he did some of it via “Dante�.

Not what I expected but a really great story.]]>
4.11 2022 Pen Pal
author: J.T. Geissinger
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:
*SPOILER*

I considered giving it 4 stars but the twist was probably one of the best I’ve read in a psychological thriller and the overall ending tied together nicely.

Aidan is a loveable character because although he was dominant he showed great vulnerability and care toward Kayla and gave up his life for her and continued to love and look out for her in the afterlife even if he did some of it via “Dante�.

Not what I expected but a really great story.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Trauma of Burnout: How to Manage Your Nervous System Before It Manages You]]> 212924023
Drawing on polyvagal theory and her professional insights as a trauma therapist working with clients experiencing anxiety, trauma and burnout, Clinical Psychologist Dr Claire Plumbly will help you understand:

✨Why stress is different from burnout
✨How burnout stifles your ability to interact, think clearly and be productive or creative.
✨Why you get stuck in burnout and cannot ‘think� your way out of it or engage in activities you know could help you.
� Cultural beliefs and psychological patterns that cause burnout
� How to soothe your nervous system back to full capacity using techniques and compassion.

By the end of this book, you will have tools to thrive amidst the challenges of modern life, at work, at home and through positive interactions and relationships.]]>
304 Claire Plumbly 0306836319 Gabriela 0 to-read 4.38 2024 The Trauma of Burnout: How to Manage Your Nervous System Before It Manages You
author: Claire Plumbly
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Shearings 222850840
Bound by loyalty and history, Charlotte revives complex relationships from her childhood navigating a labyrinth of secrets, facing enemies both known and hidden. As the stakes rise, Charlotte discovers that the key to unraveling the mystery lies within the heart of her own family and community.

In a race against time, Charlotte must confront the shadows of her past to save the innocent and bring justice to those who have suffered. The Shearings is a gripping thriller that explores the depths of human resilience and the enduring power of love and truth in the face of darkness. Will Charlotte's courage be enough to overcome the demons of her past, or will the echoes of justice remain forever out of reach?]]>
460 Federico Iwan Gabriela 0 to-read 4.88 2024 The Shearings
author: Federico Iwan
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.88
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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What Lies in the Woods 60784373
For decades afterward, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods―no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.]]>
336 Kate Alice Marshall 1250859883 Gabriela 0 to-read 3.93 2023 What Lies in the Woods
author: Kate Alice Marshall
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Wife Upstairs 52636419
A great career. A handsome and loving husband. A beautiful home in the suburbs and a plan to fill it with children. Life is perfect—or so it seems.

Then she’s in a terrible accident� and everything falls apart.

Now Victoria is unable to walk. She can’t feed or dress herself. She can’t even speak. She is confined to the top floor of her house with twenty-four-hour care.

Sylvia Robinson is hired by Victoria’s husband to help care for her. But it turns out Victoria isn’t as impaired as Sylvia was led to believe. There’s a story Victoria desperately wants to tell... if only she could get out the words.

Then Sylvia discovers Victoria’s diary hidden away in a drawer.

And what’s inside is shocking.]]>
414 Freida McFadden Gabriela 0 to-read 4.08 2020 The Wife Upstairs
author: Freida McFadden
name: Gabriela
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Devil You Know (Dr. Jane McGill, #2)]]> 35260919
She’s got a great job at a VA Hospital, an adorable daughter, and a loving husband. Granted, it would be wonderful if her preschooler wouldn’t wake her up at three in the morning, and it would be a miracle if her husband would change the toilet paper roll once every millennium. Still, in most ways, she has the ideal life she’d always imagined.

Then Jane discovers that Dr. Ryan Reilly is the VA’s newest vascular surgeon. Dr. Ryan Reilly, a.k.a. Sexy Surgeon, a.k.a. the biggest jerk she ever loved.

A decade ago, Jane broke up with the Sexy Surgeon to marry the Nice Software Engineer, but as cracks and crevices appear in her marriage, she can’t help but wonder what life would have been like if she’d made a different choice. Or if it isn’t too late to change her mind…]]>
355 Freida McFadden Gabriela 0 to-read 3.89 2017 The Devil You Know (Dr. Jane McGill, #2)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Gabriela
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: to-read
review:

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