Amy's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 06 Apr 2025 19:45:28 -0700 60 Amy's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Dead Cat Tail Assassins 127305606 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.

Nor do they have tails.

But they are most assuredly dead.

Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins.

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins―resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories―have only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark.

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget.]]> 213 P. Djèlí Clark 1250767040 Amy 4 3.86 2024 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins
author: P. Djèlí Clark
name: Amy
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: adult, fantasy, novella, steampunk
review:
I was not expecting to laugh so much reading this novella. Eveen was so snarky in much of her dialog. I just couldn't help but laugh. I hope Clark gives us a bit more someday, because there were some interesting side characters.
]]> Mansfield Park 20622145
Fanny soon falls in love with him, but Edmund is, unfortunately, drawn to the shallow and worldly Mary Crawford. Fanny's quiet humility, steadfast loyalty, and natural goodness are matched against the wit and brilliance of her lovely rival. The tension is heightened when Henry Crawford, Mary's equally sophisticated and flirtatious brother, takes an interest in Fanny.

Jane Austen's subtle, satiric novel skillfully uses her characters' emotional relationships to explore the social and moral values by which they attempt to order their lives.]]> 17 Jane Austen Amy 3 But I liked Fanny very much. And her love of books.]]> 3.81 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Amy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1814
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/27
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, historical-romance, classic
review:
Not my favorite of the books. I didn't like the characters as much. Although I know this may have been the way people were during that time. I just didn't care for the family.
But I liked Fanny very much. And her love of books.
]]> <![CDATA[Of Empires and Dust (The Bound and The Broken, #4)]]> 217673847 I’ldryr viel asatar. I sanvîr viel baralun.

In fire we are forged. In blood we are tempered.

In the Aravell woodland, Calen Bryer grapples with the fallout from the Battle of Aravell. The path forward is littered with choices that will bleed him dry. But he is a Draleid, he is a guardian, and he will always stand when others call.

His sister, Ella, lies fragmented, her mind split between worlds, her fate unknown. But the blood of the wolf is strong.

Hundreds of miles away, in the western villages of Illyanara, Dahlen Virandr leads the defense of Salme and all its inhabitants gathered from across the region. The Uraks are unrelenting, and they know only blood and death. If this is to be his end, he will enter Achyron's Halls as a warrior who would not yield.

Below the mountains of Lodhar, Queen Kira waits in the dark while Hoffnar attempts to sieze control of the Freehold and lead the dwarves towards a new dawn of war.

In Valtara, Dayne Ateres hunts those who betrayed his family, while Alina prepares her army to besiege the legendary Achyron's Keep.

At the edges of the Burnt Lands, Rist Havel is offered a new path forward, one that few have ever trodden, one that could forge him into a mage of no equal.

With the news that Ilkya and Jormun have fallen, along with their soulkin, Eltoar finds himself face-to-face with Salara Ithan � a remnant of his past life that he had long thought dead.

With the Blood Moon in the sky, Kallinvar and the Knights of Achyron battle tirelessly against the Shadow, doing everything within their power to hold back the darkness.

Gods are waking.
The world is burning.
Ashes and dust are all that will remain.]]> Ryan Cahill Amy 0 4.79 Of Empires and Dust (The Bound and The Broken, #4)
author: Ryan Cahill
name: Amy
average rating: 4.79
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: currently-reading, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:

]]> Shōgun (Asian Saga, #1) 8167044 1152 James Clavell Amy 4 historical-fiction 4.52 1975 Shōgun (Asian Saga, #1)
author: James Clavell
name: Amy
average rating: 4.52
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
Great epic story. I can see why people gravitate to it. I think my foray into grimdark helped prepare me for some of the really gross atrocities.
]]> The Wideness of the Sea 35574028
A young artist who now lives in New York City, Anna must return home to mid-coast Maine for her uncle's funeral.

Can she face all that she left behind when she left seven years earlier?

The pain of her own mother’s death, the fractured relationships with her father, and her first love. The life she had built for herself in New York - the art world, her boyfriend - allowed her to forget the grief and hurt she had left behind in Maine.

But when her uncle leaves her a surprising inheritance, it forces her to face her past, and the parts of her self she’s buried.

As she searches for answers about herself, and where she belongs, she discovers how people and places shape us, and how understanding, forgiveness and grace have the power to transform us and the people we love.]]> 266 Katie Curtis Amy 4 My only gripe was the narration of the audiobook. The mispronouncing of Damariscotta. ]]> 4.14 2017 The Wideness of the Sea
author: Katie Curtis
name: Amy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: romance, fiction, set-in-maine
review:
When I found a book where a woman returns to here Coastal Maine home I had to add it to my list. I'm happy to have the opportunity to finally read it while listening to the audio... I loved the dynamics between the characters and how grief wax handled. I loved seeing the places I've visited as a child mentioned in the story.
My only gripe was the narration of the audiobook. The mispronouncing of Damariscotta.
]]> Blood Over Bright Haven 57915993 Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.

An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.

What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.

Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?

A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)]]> 527 M.L. Wang Amy 4 fantasy 4.45 2023 Blood Over Bright Haven
author: M.L. Wang
name: Amy
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves: fantasy
review:
My time with this book was well worth it. I felt the characters were interesting. I think I suspected a few keys things before they were revealed, and mostly felt validated when I was right. I liked the story arc for the protagonist, and her character growth. I also wished I had more from the supporting characters. Just a little more.
]]> The Echo of Old Books 123851931
A novel about the magical lure of books and summoning the courage to rewrite our stories by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings and The Last of the Moon Girls.

Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books� previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.

With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers� tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.]]> 13 Barbara Davis Amy 4 3.81 2023 The Echo of Old Books
author: Barbara Davis
name: Amy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: mystical-realism, romance, fiction, fantasy
review:
Great story. I loved the dual timeline and found the period of time that the earliest dates took place interesting. I liked the story uncovered by the people who found the books and the way our protagonist, through the investigation, found healing for themselves. I may have shed a tear with the last chapter.
]]> <![CDATA[Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (Wayward Children, #10)]]> 57185878 Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.

Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.

Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she'd been missing from birth.

It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.

It wasn't her.

Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyyreka, the Land Beneath the Lake--and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyyreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.

But even in Belyyreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure.]]> 160 Seanan McGuire Amy 4 fantasy, ya-fantasy 4.04 2025 Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (Wayward Children, #10)
author: Seanan McGuire
name: Amy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: fantasy, ya-fantasy
review:
I became fully invested in the book, and then it ended and... I wanted more...
]]> <![CDATA[Things My Son Needs to Know about the World]]> 42202831
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove shares an irresistible and moving collection of heartfelt, humorous essays about fatherhood, providing his newborn son with the perspective and tools he’ll need to make his way in the world.

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood.

As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the “firsts� that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn’t shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life crises to practical jokes and poop.

In between the sleep-deprived lows and wonderful highs, Backman takes a step back to share the true story of falling in love with a woman who is his complete opposite, and learning to live a life that revolves around the people you care about unconditionally. Alternating between humorous side notes and longer essays offering his son advice as he grows up and ventures out into the world, Backman relays the big and small lessons in life, including:

-How to find the team you belong to
-Why airports explain everything about religion and war
-The reason starting a band is crucial to cultivating and keeping friendships
-How to beat Monkey Island 3
-Why, sometimes, a dad might hold onto his son’s hand just a little too tight

This is an irresistible and insightful collection, perfect for new parents and fans of Backman’s “unparalleled understanding of human nature� (Shelf Awareness). As he eloquently reminds us, “You can be whatever you want to be, but that’s nowhere near as important as knowing that you can be exactly who you are.”]]> Fredrik Backman 1508258694 Amy 5 3.94 2012 Things My Son Needs to Know about the World
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Amy
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: adult, short-storie-collections
review:
This collection of essays for his son was so funny most of the time. There were a couple of serious moments, but overall so so funny.
]]> <![CDATA[Rise of the Ranger (The Echoes Saga, #1)]]> 49170959
Mankind has lorded over the land of Illian for a thousand years, building on the ruins left by the elves, as if it were their birthright. A thousand years is a long time for an immortal race to see the truth of things, a truth that has remained unsaid for a millennium - elves are superior. They are faster, stronger and connected to the magical realm in a way that man could never grasp. Illian should belong to them.

Unaware of the shadow that looms in the east, the six kingdoms of man are fractured, unallied, and clawing at each other’s gates for more power.

This isn’t just war set to ravage the land, but a slaughter - the world of man cannot hope to survive.

Thrown into the heart of this war is a man known by many names; an Outlander of the wilds, an assassin, a ranger. Asher was born a thousand years ago, to a life he doesn’t remember. Forty years of brutal training and killing for money has beaten the earliest years of his life away, leaving his ties to the oldest of evils a mystery to all�

RISE OF THE RANGER LAUNCHES AN UNMISSABLE EPIC FANTASY SERIES.]]> 538 Philip C. Quaintrell Amy 0 4.22 2017 Rise of the Ranger (The Echoes Saga, #1)
author: Philip C. Quaintrell
name: Amy
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: to-read, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel, #1)]]> 57571238 Stephen’s god died on the longest day of the year�

Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind�

From the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far side of despair.]]> 13 T. Kingfisher 1705297722 Amy 4 fantasy, humor, rom-com 4.01 2020 Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel, #1)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Amy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: fantasy, humor, rom-com
review:
The inner dialog of the two protagonists was often hilarious. I loved all the laugh out loud moments. Well worth the read. Felt like a fantasy rom-com.
]]> The Lord of the Rings 529015 From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest --- to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom. THE LORD OF THE RINGS tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard, Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
--back cover]]> 1137 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618129022 Amy 5 fantasy, adult, classic ]]> 4.56 1955 The Lord of the Rings
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Amy
average rating: 4.56
book published: 1955
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: fantasy, adult, classic
review:
I waited 30 years to re-read this trilogy! And it was like reading it for the first time! I wanted to pay attention to Samwise this time. He truly is the heart.

]]> <![CDATA[Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)]]> 61219635 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250886088.

A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes.

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success—not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

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

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.]]> 304 Travis Baldree Amy 0 to-read 4.17 2022 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Amy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1)]]> 18952341 640 Ken Liu 1481424270 Amy 4 adult, fantasy, high-fantasy 3.77 2015 The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1)
author: Ken Liu
name: Amy
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: adult, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:
I liked this story, and look forward to the sequel. I liked the complexity of the characters, and the behind the human's scenes conversations between the gods. Kumi is so much more than he appears. I like the way Jia supports him from near or far. I love how the danilion flower is explained, and why this flower was chosen was demonstrated through out the book with Kumi making comparisons himself. Yes, it's safe to say I'll be continuing to the other books.
]]> Lucky Turtle 62315932 In this love story, a teenage girl with a checkered past finds instant chemistry with a mysterious stranger.�

When sixteen-year-old Cindra Zoeller is sent to a reform camp in Montana after being involved in an armed robbery, sheis thrust into a world of mountains and cowboys and prayers and miscreants and people from all walks of life like she’s never seen in suburban Massachusetts. At Camp Challenge, she becomes transfixed by Lucky, a camp employee of mysterious origin—an origin of constant speculation—and the chemistry between them is instant, and profound. The pair escape together into the wilderness to create an idyllic life far from the reach of the law, living off their resounding love, Lucky’s vast knowledge of the wilderness, and a little help from some friends.

But they can run from the outside world for only so long, and the consequences of their naïve fantasy of a future together—and circumstances shaped by skin color—will keep them apart for decades. Cindra gets trapped in a relationship, safely if stultifying suburban, where she is both cosseted and controlled by a man who claims to be her rescuer. But for Cindra, there will never be another Lucky, and she dreams of one day finding him, the only man she’s ever fully trusted, her soulmate.

Page-turning, full of vivid characters, delicious suspense, and ultimately joy, Lucky Turtle is a big- hearted, deeply engrossing love story from one of our most entertaining and perceptive writers.]]> 432 Bill Roorbach 1643753908 Amy 5 adult, fiction It is a love story, but not a romance.
I was thinking this would make a great book club read. Lots to discuss.
]]> 3.36 2022 Lucky Turtle
author: Bill Roorbach
name: Amy
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: adult, fiction
review:
I really loved this story. The characters were complex. There was hardship for many in the face of adversities. Either parents or a system that failed them, and yet they find a way to go on.
It is a love story, but not a romance.
I was thinking this would make a great book club read. Lots to discuss.

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)]]> 16054217 The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.]]> 561 Deborah Harkness 0670025593 Amy 5 fantasy-romance 4.15 2014 The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Amy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/07/30
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: fantasy-romance
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Adulthood Is a Myth (Sarah's Scribbles, #1)]]> 28589527 These casually drawn, perfectly on-point comics by the hugely popular young Brooklyn-based artist Sarah Andersen are for the rest of us. They document the wasting of entire beautiful weekends on the internet,the unbearable agony of holding hands on the street with a gorgeous guy, anddreaming all day of getting home and back into pajamas. In other words, the horrors and awkwardnesses of young modern life. Oh and they are totally not autobiographical. At all.

Adulthood Is a Myth presents many fan favorites plus dozens of all-new comics exclusive to this book. Like the work of fellow Millennial authors Allie Brosh, Grace Helbig, and Gemma Correll, Sarah's frankness on personal issues like body image, self-consciousness, introversion, relationships, and the frequency of bra-washing makes her comics highly relatable and deeply hilarious. ]]> 112 Sarah Andersen 1449478956 Amy 4 humor, graphic-novels 4.34 2016 Adulthood Is a Myth (Sarah's Scribbles, #1)
author: Sarah Andersen
name: Amy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: humor, graphic-novels
review:
I really enjoyed this. I found it very humorous. I might have even found many illustrated panels relatable. Especially the "Pajamas"!
]]> <![CDATA[The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy, #2)]]> 169485073 This highly anticipated follow-up to The Will of the Many—one of 2023’s most lauded and bestselling fantasy novels—follows Vis as he grapples with a dangerous secret that could change the course of history across alternate dimensions.


OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM.

The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. Still hail me as Catenicus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am.

But with all that has happened—with what I fear is coming—I am not sure it matters anymore.

I am no longer one. I won the Iudicium, and lost everything—and now, impossibly, the ancient device beyond the Labyrinth has replicated me across three separate worlds. A different version of myself in each of Obiteum, Luceum, and Res. Three different bodies, three different lives. I have to hide; fight; play politics. I have to train; trust; lie. I have to kill; heal; prove myself again, and again, and again.

I am loved, and hated, and entirely alone.

Above all, though, I need to find answers before it’s too late. To understand the nature of what has happened to me, and why.

I need to find a way to stop the coming Cataclysm, because if all I have learned is true, I may be the only one who can.]]> James Islington Amy 0 to-read 4.65 2025 The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy, #2)
author: James Islington
name: Amy
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Gift 900773
The time is the 1950s, when life was simpler, people still believed in dreams, and family was, very nearly, everything. The place is a small midwestern town with a high school and a downtown, a skating pond and a movie house. And on a tree-lined street in the heartland of America, an extraordinary set of events begins to unfold. And gradually what seems serendipitous is tinged with purpose.

A happy home is shattered by a child's senseless death. A loving marriage starts to unravel. And a stranger arrives--a young woman who will touch many lives before she moves on. She and a young man will meet and fall in love. Their love, so innocent and full of hope, helps to restore a family's dreams. And all of their lives will be changed forever by the precious gift she leaves them.]]> 275 Danielle Steel 0739315978 Amy 4 adult, fiction, romance 3.47 1986 The Gift
author: Danielle Steel
name: Amy
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: adult, fiction, romance
review:
A really good reread. A story of beautiful gifts that the people who come into our lives can be no matter how long they stay. Yes... I cried.
]]> <![CDATA[Mistletoe at Moonglow (Moonglow Christmas, #1)]]> 27495123 152 Deborah Garner Amy 3 fiction, novella, christmas There is a small hotel in a small Montana town. A new cafe inside, an artist in the kitchen named Mist, and a handful of guests who need just a little something extra to get them through the holiday.
A feel goid story for this tine of year.]]> 3.92 2015 Mistletoe at Moonglow (Moonglow Christmas, #1)
author: Deborah Garner
name: Amy
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: fiction, novella, christmas
review:
It felt like I was reading an episode of Good Witch. That's not a bad thing. It was a light and fluffy read. Very Christmasy! I liked it a lot.
There is a small hotel in a small Montana town. A new cafe inside, an artist in the kitchen named Mist, and a handful of guests who need just a little something extra to get them through the holiday.
A feel goid story for this tine of year.
]]> <![CDATA[Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)]]> 199347538 Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. Featuring gorgeous orange sprayed edges!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 125088120X Amy 4 adult, fantasy, fiction 4.17 2024 Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)
author: T.J. Klune
name: Amy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: adult, fantasy, fiction
review:
I really enjoyed the story. I know this may not be the last. I loved reading the children's conversations. The found family is so beautiful. I love the humor Klune uses in the dialog between characters. Just a great sequel.
]]> <![CDATA[Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth And Sky Book 3)]]> 217413461 The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in this stunning conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.

Even the sea cannot stay calm before the storm. —Teek saying

Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.

And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.]]> 592 Rebecca Roanhorse 1837863059 Amy 4 fantasy 4.40 2024 Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth And Sky Book 3)
author: Rebecca Roanhorse
name: Amy
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: fantasy
review:
I felt this was a good finale. The author tied thing up well, and I quite liked the ending and character arcs.
]]> <![CDATA[This Is How You Lose the Time War]]> 43352954 Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.]]> 209 Amal El-Mohtar Amy 4 sci-fi, fantasy-romance BEAUTIFUL. 3.87 2019 This Is How You Lose the Time War
author: Amal El-Mohtar
name: Amy
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: sci-fi, fantasy-romance
review:
BEAUTIFUL.
]]> Untitled (The Burning, #4) 53655863 Evan Winter Amy 0 to-read 4.20 Untitled (The Burning, #4)
author: Evan Winter
name: Amy
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lord of Demons (The Burning, #3)]]> 53655834 432 Evan Winter 0356513017 Amy 0 to-read 4.35 2025 The Lord of Demons (The Burning, #3)
author: Evan Winter
name: Amy
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Red God (Red Rising Saga, #7) 61657799 Pierce Brown Amy 0 to-read 4.49 2025 Red God (Red Rising Saga, #7)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Amy
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Of Gods and Ashes (The Bound and The Broken, #5)]]> 204254857 Ryan Cahill Amy 0 to-read 4.60 Of Gods and Ashes (The Bound and The Broken, #5)
author: Ryan Cahill
name: Amy
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Firebred (Storm Dragons #2) 215808042 Newfound friends must overcome countless danger in a quest to save the world in this epic sequel of the Storm Dragons saga!

REMY has come a long way from his life as a scrappy orphan on Cutthroat Wedge. Still on the run from the evil pirate Jhaeros, Remy and his dragon, Storm, set out to find a True Dragon, the only creature old enough to understand why the magic that powers their floating islands is dying. After a confession from a long-forgotten sky knight about the remote location of a True Dragon, Remy is more determined than ever to help save the day. But this is easier said than done when an ancient force has done everything in its power to keep that True Dragon hidden.

GEM is ready to harness magic to protect her friends, but training is impossible now that she’s far away from the College of Magic. That is, until she teams up with the surly wizard Lysander aboard the Queen’s Blade, forming a begrudging partnership and beginning a journey to master magic. As Gem grows stronger, so does her desire to live up to her title as the princess by halting the kingdom’s impending doom. But what good is revealing the truth about the dire state of the world if nobody will listen?

To save their realm, Remy, Gem, and Storm must evade the king’s guards, discover the hidden truths about the past, and face down a vengeful villain none of them saw coming. Together they will discover who they are, what it means to be a good friend, and what it takes to be a hero.]]> 336 Julie Kagawa 1368090311 Amy 0 to-read 4.54 2025 Firebred (Storm Dragons #2)
author: Julie Kagawa
name: Amy
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lightningborn (Storm Dragons, #1)]]> 182506528
REMY spends his days trying to survive the mean streets of Cutthroat Wedge—one of the many islands floating in the gravitational pull of the magical Maelstrom raging below. But his life changes forever when a violent storm brings a baby dragon to his doorstep, and he feels a bond he has never felt with anyone. Remy names the dragon Storm and vows to protect this new friend, no matter the cost.

GEM longs for the day when she call herself a true mage. That is, if she can convince her teachers and peers that just because she’s a princess doesn’t mean she’s lazy and spoiled. But when Gem learns that the floating islands that make up her kingdom are rapidly sinking into the Maelstrom, she makes it her mission to save her world. Against the king’s wishes, she accesses forbidden research and discovers the secret to saving humanity may lie in a True Dragon—a dragon capable of intelligent thought and able to cast and use magic. But True Dragons are extinct . . . aren’t they?

Remy’s and Gem’s lives will never be the same when their fates collide, thanks to Storm. With an evil pirate mage named Jhaeros determined to claim the rare dragon for himself, the two must learn to trust in each other as they team up with a shifty pirate captain and her crew, stand together against impossible odds, and embark on the adventure of a lifetime.]]> 329 Julie Kagawa 1368090303 Amy 0 to-read 4.25 2024 Lightningborn (Storm Dragons, #1)
author: Julie Kagawa
name: Amy
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Saga, Volume 12 214151174 In the epic twelfth volume of SAGA, Alana takes on a dangerous new role, her 12-year-old daughter Hazel forges an important friendship, and the galaxy's balance of power begins to shift.

Romeo & Juliet meets Star Wars in this genre-blending, sci-fi/fantasy space opera about star crossed lovers from enemy worlds. An epic for mature readers, Saga follows new parents Marko and Alana as they risk everything to raise their child amidst a never-ending galactic war. A multiple award winning, critically acclaimed masterpiece and one of the most iconic, bestselling comic book series of its time.

The SAGA series has sold over 7 million copies to date across all formats, has been translated into 20 languages, and has garnered multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards, plus a Hugo Award, British Fantasy Award, ŷ Choice Award, Shuster Award, Inkwell Award, Ringo Award, and more. It has been featured in such mainstream media outlets as TIME, Entertainment Weekly, The Atlantic, NPR, and beyond, and has become a pop culture phenomenon.

Collects SAGA #67-72]]> 160 Brian K. Vaughan 1534355332 Amy 0 to-read 4.42 2025 Saga, Volume 12
author: Brian K. Vaughan
name: Amy
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bookstore Keepers (Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories, #3)]]> 214128353
Five years into their happily ever after, Isabel and Johnny are making the most of their second chance at love. Then one night, Johnny awakens from an extraordinary dream…and their world is irrevocably altered. Isabel does her best to give Johnny space as he struggles to accept the new chapter life has opened for them. But Johnny can’t do it alone—no one can. As the whole family is soon to discover, seasons change, but love never does.]]> 35 Alice Hoffman 1662522045 Amy 0 to-read 4.06 2025 The Bookstore Keepers (Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories, #3)
author: Alice Hoffman
name: Amy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Answer Is No 219876684 In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone?

Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.]]> 68 Fredrik Backman 1662526520 Amy 0 to-read 3.94 2024 The Answer Is No
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Amy
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t: 14 Habits that Are Holding You Back from Happiness]]> 38107311 For everyone who loved You Are a Badass and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck--a cut-through-the-crap guide to quitting the self-destructive habits that undermine happiness and success

How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t is a straight-shooting approach to self-improvement for women, one that offers no-crap truth-telling about the most common self-destructive behaviors women tend to engage in. From listening to the imposter complex and bitchy inner critic to catastrophizing and people-pleasing, Andrea Owen--a nationally sought-after life coach--crystallizes what's behind these invisible, undermining habits. With each chapter, she kicks women's gears out of autopilot and empowers them to create happier, more fulfilling lives. Powerfully on-the-mark, the chapters are short and digestible, nicely bypassing weighty examinations in favor of punch-points of awareness.
]]> Andrea Owen Amy 4 non-fiction, self-help Cool. ]]> 3.60 2018 How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t: 14 Habits that Are Holding You Back from Happiness
author: Andrea Owen
name: Amy
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: non-fiction, self-help
review:
I wasn't sure if I would get anything useful, but I gave it a try... because everyone has a time when the sh*t feelings are just getting in the way of happierness... also I wanted a replacement for my Buzzword "like" that didn't work out a few months ago. Now I feel like I accomplished a thing, and got some interesting hindsight for making a few habits of thought changes.
Cool.
]]> <![CDATA[Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)]]> 30300822
With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. It's a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough.

Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.

While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law...]]> 27 Joe Abercrombie Amy 5 adult, fantasy, high-fantasy The Fight & battle sequences were intense, and often quite gorish. ]]> 4.38 2008 Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Amy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: adult, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:
What a great time I had with this trilogy as a whole! The 3rd book, kept me on the edge of my seat. The conversations between characters, as well as inner dialog with themselves, just kept the story moving.
The Fight & battle sequences were intense, and often quite gorish.
]]> <![CDATA[Homeland (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #1)]]> 50027 Discover the origin story of one of the greatest heroes of the Realms—Drizzt Do’Urden—in this thrilling first installment of the Dark Elf Trilogy

Drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden, first introduced in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, quickly became one of the fantasy genre’s standout characters. With Homeland, Salvatore pulls back the curtain to reveal the startling tale of how this hero came to be—how this one lone drow walked out of the shadowy depths of the Underdark; how he left behind an evil society and a family that wanted him dead.

As the third son of Mother Malice and weaponmaster Zaknafein, Drizzt Do’Urden is meant to be sacrificed to Lolth, the evil Spider Queen, per drow tradition. But with the unexpected death of his older brother, young Drizzt is spared—and, as a result, further ostracized by his family. As Drizzt grows older, developing his swordsmanship skills and studying at the Academy, he begins to realize that his idea of good and evil does not match up with those of his fellow drow. Can Drizzt stay true to himself in a such an unforgiving, unprincipled world?

Homeland is the first book in the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Legend of Drizzt series.]]> 343 R.A. Salvatore Amy 4 fantasy set as different from his Dark Elf people. He questions, and doubts. No matter how much he is beaten. Will he be his societies undoing? I can't wait to find out. ]]> 4.26 1990 Homeland (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #1)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Amy
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: fantasy
review:
The feeling of nostalgia was there for me to dip into Forgotten Realms. I'm happy to have picked up fantasy I'm well acquainted with. Drizzt is an interesting character. From the beginning of his birth, he has been
set as different from his Dark Elf people. He questions, and doubts. No matter how much he is beaten. Will he be his societies undoing? I can't wait to find out.
]]> <![CDATA[Nightblade (Nightblade Epic #1)]]> 45419194
An epic tale of adventure, with characters you’ll never forget.

Everyone begins their life dreaming of the great person they could become, only to have those hopes battered and broken by the world around them. The world tells them they’re not special. Family convinces them to abandon their goals for the safe route, the sure route.

Loren has been born to cruel parents and raised in an obscure village. She’s long resigned herself to an unremarkable life under the sway of a father who beats her and a mother who sees her only as means to a dowry. Loren’s dreams have almost burnt out—until fate rekindles their spark into a flame that will consume the world.

SOMETIMES ALL WE NEED IS A PUSH.

When Loren meets the fugitive wizard Xain, she dares to hope again. Escaping her village, she finds the nine kingdoms more complicated and dangerous than she could have imagined. But at long last, she’s ready to face the challenge or die in the attempt.

Loren has reclaimed her dreams—this time for good. Armed with only her wit and her courage, she will do anything to become the woman she’s always wanted to be: Nightblade, the most renowned thief in all the land.]]> Garrett Robinson Amy 3 fantasy, ya-fantasy 3.50 2014 Nightblade (Nightblade Epic #1)
author: Garrett Robinson
name: Amy
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: fantasy, ya-fantasy
review:
This got better as I continued. But the narration was not what I would've chosen. The American southern accent took me out of the story when characters dialog happened. I think it will be better reading the print version.
]]> Fahrenheit 451 17470674
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

--back cover]]> 227 Ray Bradbury 0007491565 Amy 0 to-read 4.01 1953 Fahrenheit 451
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Amy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Familiar 199016915 From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 13 Leigh Bardugo 1250329140 Amy 3 adult, fantasy It was ok. 3.56 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Amy
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/24
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: adult, fantasy
review:
It was ok.
]]> <![CDATA[Mine (The Lair of the Wolven, #3)]]> 176443026 In this gripping finale of The Lair of the Wolven series, destiny and desire are at war in the Black Dagger Brotherhood World as a deadly male holds the key to Lydia Susi and Daniel Joseph’s future�

Lydia knows time is running out, Daniel’s terminal diagnosis has doomed her to grief, and she just wants to spend as much time as she can with him. When his doctor goes missing, however, their secret lab’s location is compromised and suddenly she is at war with an enemy she doesn’t understand.

As a former black ops soldier, Daniel is very familiar with the danger they’re in, and he’s determined to keep his beautiful wolven safe. This means he must turn to his former boss—and relying on a sympathy for anything is a worst-case scenario on a good day. But what choice does he have?

With Daniel’s sixth sense telling him there’s more to the kidnapping, he and Lydia must work with their allies to defend the underground facility. Little do they know that the sympathy has something even more valuable to offer them� but at what cost?]]> 478 J.R. Ward 1982180234 Amy 4 3.97 2024 Mine (The Lair of the Wolven, #3)
author: J.R. Ward
name: Amy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/18
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: adult, paranormal-fantasy, werewolves, romance
review:
I so love J.R. Ward's writing. Nicely tied together 3 rd book! With enough to have me wondering if we will see some of the characters pop up in future books! I hope so.
]]> <![CDATA[Infinity Gate (Pandominion, #1)]]> 61237044
The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds - except that they're really just the one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they'll eradicate it by whatever means necessary, no matter the cost to human life.

Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a solution to her own Earth's environmental collapse when she stumbles across the secret of inter-dimensional travel. It could save everyone on her dying planet, but now she's walked into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of.

And she needs to choose a side before it kills her.]]> 499 M.R. Carey 0316504386 Amy 0 to-read 4.06 2023 Infinity Gate (Pandominion, #1)
author: M.R. Carey
name: Amy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The One and Only Ivan 17726507
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home - and his own art - through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan's unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.

©2012 Katherine Applegate; (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers]]> Katherine Applegate Amy 5 middle-grade 4.11 2012 The One and Only Ivan
author: Katherine Applegate
name: Amy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: middle-grade
review:
I loved it. Inspired by true events, and written very well. I felt so many emotions, and cried happy-ending tears. Would recommend.
]]> <![CDATA[The Fury of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #3)]]> 61755703 The Fury of the Gods is the earth-shattering final book in John Gwynne's bestselling Norse-inspired epic fantasy series, packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance

THE FINAL BATTLE FOR THE FATE OF VIGRIÐ APPROACHES

Varg has overcome the trials of his past and become an accepted member of the Bloodsworn, but now he and his newfound comrades face their biggest challenge yet: slaying a dragon.

Elvar is struggling to consolidate her power in Snakavik, where she faces threats from within and without. As she fights to assert her authority in readiness for the coming conflict, she faces a surely insurmountable task: reining in the ferocity of a wolf god.

As Biorr and his warband make their way north, eager for blood, Gudvarr pursues a mission of his own, hoping to win Lik-Rifa's favour and further his own ambitions.

All paths lead to Snakavik, where the lines are being drawn for the final battle - a titanic clash that will shake the foundations of the world, and bear witness to the true fury of the gods.]]> 528 John Gwynne 0356514293 Amy 5 adult, fantasy, high-fantasy 4.47 2024 The Fury of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #3)
author: John Gwynne
name: Amy
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/09
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: adult, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:
Oh how I loved this trilogy! Strong unforgettable characters, and such amazing battle sequences. Impeccable finale! I want to reread everything Gwynne all over again!
]]> <![CDATA[Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)]]> 43529373
Northmen have spilled over the border of Angland and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country. Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back and win undying glory. There is only one problem � he commands the worst-armed, worst-trained, worst-led army in the world.

And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is leading a party of bold adventurers on a perilous mission through the ruins of the past. The most hated woman in the South, the most feared man in the North, and the most selfish boy in the Union make a strange alliance, but a deadly one. They might even stand a chance of saving mankind from the Eaters. If they didn’t hate each other quite so much.

Ancient secrets will be uncovered. Bloody battles will be won and lost. Bitter enemies will be forgiven � but not before they are hanged.]]> 549 Joe Abercrombie Amy 5 adult, high-fantasy 4.17 2007 Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Amy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/31
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: adult, high-fantasy
review:
I had a great time reading this , and wanted to pick up book 3 as soon as I finished. I especially like the characters, such as Logan, and Glockta. Morally grey... the torturer darker grey, but there's just something about him. Glockta's internal dialog is the most fun to read.
]]> <![CDATA[The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #2)]]> 57341045
Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest.

As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own–and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance.

Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her. Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god.

Their only hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead…and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth.]]> 633 John Gwynne 0356514226 Amy 5 adult, fantasy, high-fantasy 4.51 2022 The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #2)
author: John Gwynne
name: Amy
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves: adult, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:
From beginning to end, this book kept me coming back for more! I loved it!
]]> <![CDATA[My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry]]> 23604559 A charming, warmhearted novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller A Man Called Ove.

Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy—as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-strangers crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry is told with the same comic accuracy and beating heart as Fredrik Backman’s bestselling debut novel, A Man Called Ove. It is a story about life and death and one of the most important human rights: the right to be different.]]> 372 Fredrik Backman 1501115065 Amy 5 I love Elsa! And yes, dang it, I cried. More than once. So good!]]> 4.04 2013 My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Amy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/06
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: adult, contempoary, literary-fiction, humor
review:
I loved this so much. The relationships, the found family. The way Elsa and her grandmother loved each other. The way Elsa thought about her granny, and how she interacted with everyone she came in contact with.
I love Elsa! And yes, dang it, I cried. More than once. So good!
]]> Any Human Power 192631473 From a bestselling storyteller who brings together myths and speculative futures with a radical compassion, comes the story of a family at the heart of a political crisis and the ensuing uprising of a disenfranchised generation. A family that harnesses the skills and stories needed for real change, if they can choose the right path, before it is too late �

As Lan lies dying, she makes a promise that binds her long into the Beyond. Fifteen years later, her teenage granddaughter, Kaitlyn, triggers an international storm of outrage that unleashes the rage of a whole betrayed generation. For one shining fragment of time, the world is with her. But then the backlash begins and soon she and those closest to her find themselves facing the wrath of the old establishment, who will use every dirty trick in the book to fight them off.

Watching over the growing chaos is Lan, who taught them all to think independently, approach power sceptically and dream with clear intent. She knows more than one generation’s hopes are on the line. Nothing less than the future of humanity stands in the balance.

Grand in scope, rich in courageous characters who breathe new life into ancient wisdom, here is a dream of a better future: a world we’d be proud to leave to our children and their children and on, generations down the line.]]> 396 Manda Scott 1914613562 Amy 4 Lan is doing her best even though she is no longer among the living to help keep her family safe but also assist in bettering the world. Her grandchildren are trying to make a positive change in their world, and those that are corrupte in power will do what ever they can to stop the movement, and stay in power. The power of shining a light on a dark truth, and sparking change... I have so many thoughts. A good book.]]> 3.88 2024 Any Human Power
author: Manda Scott
name: Amy
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/06
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: adult, contempoary, fantasy, mystical-realism, paranormal-fantasy
review:
This was an interesting look at the spiritual world, and connections to the living. The influence of those who've past may have when we still feel we need them the most.
Lan is doing her best even though she is no longer among the living to help keep her family safe but also assist in bettering the world. Her grandchildren are trying to make a positive change in their world, and those that are corrupte in power will do what ever they can to stop the movement, and stay in power. The power of shining a light on a dark truth, and sparking change... I have so many thoughts. A good book.
]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #1)]]> 52694527 Set in a brand-new, Norse-inspired world, and packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance, The Shadow of the Gods begins an epic new fantasy saga from bestselling author John Gwynne.

After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið.

Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out.

Now, as whispers of war echo across the mountains and fjords, fate follows in the footsteps of three people: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods . . .]]> 480 John Gwynne 0356514188 Amy 5 4.19 2021 The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #1)
author: John Gwynne
name: Amy
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/04
date added: 2024/10/04
shelves: animal-companions, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:
I really loved the POV's so far. I liked and disliked the characters we've met through them. I felt all the feels, from lighthearted joy, to
]]> <![CDATA[Fractal Noise (Fractalverse, #0)]]> 62711641 Adamura discovers the Anomaly.

On the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII:a circular pit, 50 kilometers wide.

Its curve not of nature, but design.

Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole and why.

But they all carry the burdens of lives carved out on disparate colonies in the cruel cold of space.

For some the mission is the dream of the lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking, and for one it is a desperate attempt to find meaning in an uncaring universe.

Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last.

And the ghosts of their past follow.]]> 286 Christopher Paolini 1250862485 Amy 3 adult, sci-fi 3.44 2023 Fractal Noise (Fractalverse, #0)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Amy
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: adult, sci-fi
review:
I liked the book. I think Paolini tackled the themes of grief well in this story, and also the ambitions of the other characters and how the mission played out in the story. It didn't leave me with any big emotions, but some of the struggle Alex goes through will stick with me a bit.
]]> <![CDATA[Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)]]> 37864158
“Fun, terrifying, hilarious, and brilliant.� —Daniel José Older, New York Times bestselling author of Shadowshaper and Star Last Shot

“[C]rafts a powerful and fiercely personal journey through a compelling postapocalyptic landscape.� —Kate Elliott, New York Times bestselling author of Court of Fives and Black Wolves

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.]]> 263 Rebecca Roanhorse 1534413510 Amy 5 4.10 2018 Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)
author: Rebecca Roanhorse
name: Amy
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/02
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:
Love it and can't wait to read the next book! Maggie is my new favorite badass monster slaying character!
]]> <![CDATA[Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards, #1)]]> 48594470
As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles� debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.]]> 451 Janella Angeles 1250204364 Amy 4 fantasy 3.53 2020 Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards, #1)
author: Janella Angeles
name: Amy
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/21
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: fantasy
review:
This book was one of those where I wanted to keep reading, because I wanted to know what was happening. The confusion I felt was okay, because as the story developed I was getting answers... now at the end of got more questions but that can only be fixed by reading the sequel... favorite side character... Ira the seamstress.
]]> Green Rider (Green Rider, #1) 6536955 481 Kristen Britain 144063209X Amy 4 high-fantasy 4.27 1998 Green Rider (Green Rider, #1)
author: Kristen Britain
name: Amy
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/10
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: high-fantasy
review:
This was an enjoyable quest adventure fantasy. I'm intrigued enough to possibly pick up the next book at some point. I definitely do not regret my time reading this story. The side characters who assisted our young protagonist where an eclectic little group. I wonder if they will meet again, and who she will meet next on other adventures.
]]> Puddin' (Dumplin', #2) 28269171
Millie Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a girl. Not this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream—and to kiss her crush. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring the girls together over the course of a semester, they will surprise everyone (especially themselves) by realizing they might have more in common than they ever imagined.]]> 437 Julie Murphy 0062418408 Amy 5 ya-fiction, fiction
Merged review:

I loved Dumplin' & I love Puddin'! Omg... I really wish there had been a book like this when I was an older teen. I truly believe it would've changed how I thought about myself. It would have had me thinking differently a lot sooner!]]> 4.00 2018 Puddin' (Dumplin', #2)
author: Julie Murphy
name: Amy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/06/18
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: ya-fiction, fiction
review:
I loved Dumplin' & I love Puddin'! Omg... I really wish there had been a book like this when I was an older teen. I truly believe it would've changed how I thought about myself. It would have had me thinking differently a lot sooner!

Merged review:

I loved Dumplin' & I love Puddin'! Omg... I really wish there had been a book like this when I was an older teen. I truly believe it would've changed how I thought about myself. It would have had me thinking differently a lot sooner!
]]> <![CDATA[The Billionaire (The O'Banyon Brothers, #1)]]> 28092795 This billionaire's got it bad, and that's not good� The first O'Banyon Brothers novel from New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward writing as Jessica Bird.

Take-no-prisoners deal-maker Sean O'Banyon (aka SOB) eats Wall Street financiers for lunch. So why is he losing sleep over a sweet-faced nurse in old jeans and a too-big T-shirt? Maybe it's those warm green eyes. Or the way she blushes when he gets personal. Maybe it's the way she challenges everything he's believed about himself for so long.

There's no denying they have serious chemistry. But sooner or later Lizzie will learn his deep, dark secrets. First, he has trust issues. Second, the whole family thing is not for him. And, last, he doesn't do relationships—even if there's something about Lizzie that makes him want everything he can't have�

A reader-favorite story previously published as The Billionaire Next Door.

]]> 167 Jessica Bird 1459295323 Amy 4 adult, romance 3.97 2007 The Billionaire (The O'Banyon Brothers, #1)
author: Jessica Bird
name: Amy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/07
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: adult, romance
review:
This story was sexy romance. It touched on some hard life stuff with our main characters, and I thought it was done well. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the author's blacklist.
]]> <![CDATA[The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co, #1)]]> 18108320
In The Screaming Staircase, the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the Hall''s legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day?]]> 400 Jonathan Stroud Amy 4 I really enjoyed this 4.32 2013 The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co, #1)
author: Jonathan Stroud
name: Amy
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2019/10/11
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this
]]> <![CDATA[Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood, #1)]]> 22754644
Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he's pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he's never met.

Incredibly funny and poignant, this twenty-first-century coming-of-age, coming out story—wrapped in a geek romance—is a knockout of a debut novel by Becky Albertalli.]]> 325 Becky Albertalli 0062348698 Amy 4 ya-fiction 4.33 2015 Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood, #1)
author: Becky Albertalli
name: Amy
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/29
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: ya-fiction
review:
I really, really liked it. Simon is funny. The parents awkward.
]]> <![CDATA[The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves, #2)]]> 50161981 They are each other's fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope.

Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost -- one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumoured to grant its possessor the power of God.

Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into the icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all.

As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined.

A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job.]]> 416 Roshani Chokshi 1250144590 Amy 5 ya-fantasy There were moments I found that were so heart breaking. I want so much for theses characters to see there self worth. Zofia showed her bravery. She surprises even herself.
This was a great middle book sequel and now I so look forward to the next book. What is in store for this crew of treasure hunters next?

]]> 4.15 2020 The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves, #2)
author: Roshani Chokshi
name: Amy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/06
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: ya-fantasy
review:
I love the friendships so much. Again, a book that contains that trope I find so very irresistible... found family.
There were moments I found that were so heart breaking. I want so much for theses characters to see there self worth. Zofia showed her bravery. She surprises even herself.
This was a great middle book sequel and now I so look forward to the next book. What is in store for this crew of treasure hunters next?


]]> Vicious Spirits (Gumiho, #2) 48999842 New romance and dangers abound in this companion to the crowd-pleasing Wicked Fox.

As Vicious Spirits begins, Miyoung and Jihoon are picking up the pieces of their broken lives following the deaths of Miyoung's mother, Yena, and Jihoon's grandmother. With the support of their friend Somin, and their frenemy, Junu, they might just have a shot at normalcy. But Miyoung is getting sicker and sicker by the day and her friends don't know how to save her. With few options remaining, Junu has an idea but it might require the ultimate sacrifice and, let's be honest, Junu isn't known for his "generosity." Meanwhile, the events at the end of Wicked Fox have upended the forces that govern life and death and there are supernatural entities lurking in the background that will stop at nothing to right their world.]]> 409 Kat Cho 1984812386 Amy 4 demons, fantasy, ya-fantasy The book begins not long after characters in book one suffer tragedy. I love the Asian Lore and really enjoyed the friendships. A great sequel to Wicked Fox. Wrapped up very nicely.
Would recommend.]]> 4.06 2020 Vicious Spirits (Gumiho, #2)
author: Kat Cho
name: Amy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/10/31
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: demons, fantasy, ya-fantasy
review:
This was a story about loss, letting go, and healing.
The book begins not long after characters in book one suffer tragedy. I love the Asian Lore and really enjoyed the friendships. A great sequel to Wicked Fox. Wrapped up very nicely.
Would recommend.
]]> An Enchantment of Ravens 34997533 A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince—in this gorgeous debut novel.

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love—and that love violates the fair folks� ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.]]> 303 Margaret Rogerson Amy 3 ya-fantasy 3.81 2017 An Enchantment of Ravens
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Amy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/27
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: ya-fantasy
review:
I wanted to connect more, but maybe I'm begining to reached my limit on Fantasy this month. It was light and sweet and... whimsical. I didn't dislike the book, or the characters. Dark and cruel as some of it was. I also found myself laughing as times. I'd give the author another try down the road. I don't know if this story will turn into a series, but do see series potential.
]]> <![CDATA[Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle, #2)]]> 34326424 427 Jay Kristoff 1466885041 Amy 5 4.46 2017 Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle, #2)
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Amy
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/21
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves:
review:
Kristoff you brilliant beautiful... bleeping bleeper! You had me riveted to the end. I did not see "that" coming! I think I should have but, I missed it... thinking now, I realize I was happily devouring the glory of gladiatorial battles, step by step bringing Mia closer to her goal. I cant even say what questions I'm left with, because spoilers! I'm off to jump into Book 3.
]]> Talon (Talon, #1) 21425501 Dragons walk among us in the groundbreaking modern fantasy series from Julie Kagawa, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron King.

Dragon v. dragonslayer

To take her rightful place in the powerful Talon organization, hatchling Ember Hill must prove she can hide her dragon nature and blend in with humans. Her delight at the prospect of a summer of human teen experiences is short-lived, however, once she discovers that she must also train for her destined career in Talon. But a chance meeting with a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught.

Garret Xavier Sebastian, a young dragonslayer in the top-secret Order of St. George, is tasked with hunting her down. But when faced with Ember’s bravery, confidence, and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything the Order has ingrained in him?and what he might be willing to give up to learn the truth about dragons.

Books in the Talon
Talon
Rogue
Soldier
Legion
Inferno]]> 450 Julie Kagawa 146033051X Amy 4 ya-fantasy 3.81 2014 Talon (Talon, #1)
author: Julie Kagawa
name: Amy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/17
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: ya-fantasy
review:
Suburban dragon shifters... an interesting concept. I really enjoyed the book. I am invested, and really looking forward to finding out just what Talon has in store for our Rogue Dragons. What is Talon hiding? Will others turn on the organizations they've been trained to serve since birth? Who will Ember chose? I have to admit... I'm leaning towards Team Garrett.
]]> The Weight of the Stars 38495896 A vivid, evocative YA lesbian romance about how the universe is full of second chances

Ryann Bird dreams of traveling across the stars. But a career in space isn’t an option for a girl who lives in a trailer park on the “wrong� side of town. So Ryann becomes her circumstances and settles for acting out and skipping school to hang out with her delinquent friends.

One day she meets Alexandria: a furious loner who spurns Ryann’s offer of friendship. After a horrific accident leaves Alexandria with a broken arm, the girls are brought together despite themselves—and Ryann learns her secret: Alexandria’s mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way trip to the edge of the solar system.

Every night without fail, Alexandria waits to catch radio signals from her mother. And now it’s up to Ryann to lift her onto the roof day after day until the silence between them grows into friendship, and eventually something more.

The Weight of the Stars is the new LGBT young adult romance from K. Ancrum, written with the same style of short, micro-fiction chapters and immediacy that garnered acclaim for her debut, The Wicker King.


An Imprint Book

�The Weight of the Stars is one of the most gentle, gracious, and, overall, kind books that I've read all year ... It's a YA romance about girls and stars and friendship and mercy and loss and regret and what we owe each other and what we give away to lift each other up ... This book is starlight on broken concrete, it's flowers on a broken rooftop, and it's a masterpiece.� —Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a Doorway

“As bright as it is stellar ... a story with a lush, dark atmosphere; heartbreaking circumstances; bright, new love that blossoms from ugliness; and vividly real, magnetic characters.� —Booklist (starred review)

“Touches on sexual identity, friendship, nontraditional families, and the price of human space exploration. The characters' resilience and vulnerability are deftly handled ... For readers who are drawn to the unconventional, this will be a satisfying read.� �Kirkus Reviews

“Their slow-burn romance ... is sweetly, devastatingly understated.� - BCCB

PRAISE FOR THE WICKER KING:

“Ancrum delves into the blurry space between reality and madness. A haunting and provocative read that will keep teens riveted.� �School Library Journal

“Teen fans of moody psychological horror will be entranced.� �Booklist

“Give this to readers who like complex, experimental fictions about intense relationships that acquire mythic resonance.� �The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“An eerie piece of realistic fiction whose characters revel in intense emotions.� �Kirkus Reviews

“An eerie and mesmerizing thriller that questions the space where reality and perception overlap, The Wicker King is a spine-tingling read that will have you riveted.� —Caleb Roerhrig, author of Last Seen Leaving and White Rabbit]]> 383 K. Ancrum 1250101646 Amy 5 3.92 2019 The Weight of the Stars
author: K. Ancrum
name: Amy
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/09
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2)]]> 52691509
First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.]]> 502 Amie Kaufman 1524720941 Amy 4 sci-fi 4.32 2020 Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2)
author: Amie Kaufman
name: Amy
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/23
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: sci-fi
review:
Did it move me to tears... close, but I laughed a few times, snickered a lot, and this sequel was the action packed YA Sci-fi I was looking for; with the quippy dialogue I needed. I missed Aurora Legion Squad 312. I'm left with a cliff hanger
]]> <![CDATA[The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (Grishaverse, #0.5 & 2.5 & 2.6)]]> 35152401 289 Leigh Bardugo 1250122538 Amy 5 ya-fantasy, fantasy 4.24 2017 The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (Grishaverse, #0.5 & 2.5 & 2.6)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Amy
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/14
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: ya-fantasy, fantasy
review:
I felt these short dark fairytales were written well. I was enchanted with each one. This author is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, and one I would happily recommend.
]]> <![CDATA[Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey]]> 28261615 306 Bill Roorbach 1608933946 Amy 4 non-fiction 4.00 2005 Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey
author: Bill Roorbach
name: Amy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/19
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: non-fiction
review:
Roorbach has taken me on a journey of exploration with-in my own backyard. He explores the Temple Stream as I once did my own wooded home, and nearby brooke. With curiosity, and excitement at each small discovery.
]]> Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) 43301737 The mesmerizing adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex� Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs� are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.]]> 476 Leigh Bardugo 1250313082 Amy 5 4.13 2019 Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Amy
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/12/27
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: paranormal-fantasy, ghosts, witchy-reads, fiction
review:
Yes it took me better part of 2 months to read, but I loved it. It was dark and sometimes brutal but that only added to the feel of the story. The first half of the story, I wasn't in a good mindset (not the books fault), and just needed to stop and read a bit of something else before stepping into a world of college with the twist society's practicing a darker kind of magic. About halfway through when I was about to read another book, I found I just couldn't put it down... I was consumed with finding out what threatening predicament Alex Stern would gef get herself into next, and I just had to know what happened to Darlington!
]]> The Last Namsara (Iskari, #1) 34701849
These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.]]> 432 Kristen Ciccarelli 0062568000 Amy 4 ya-fantasy, dragons 4.15 2017 The Last Namsara (Iskari, #1)
author: Kristen Ciccarelli
name: Amy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/24
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: ya-fantasy, dragons
review:
I really liked this book. The Author pulled me into the story, and ... dang it, I want my own Dragon to ride!
]]> <![CDATA[The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co., #2)]]> 22063068 448 Jonathan Stroud 1484711467 Amy 4 ghosts, horror 4.34 2014 The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co., #2)
author: Jonathan Stroud
name: Amy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2021/02/09
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: ghosts, horror
review:
Really enjoyable. Getting to know the 3 young agents is loads of fun. They get themselves in some nasty situations, but then thats their job. I'm hoping to read the rest of the series very soon! At least the next couple of books! Why wait 'til October for creepy feels!
]]> <![CDATA[Devil's Cut (The Bourbon Kings, #3)]]> 31298946 In #1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward’s thrilling finale of the Bourbon Kings series, the Bradford family dynasty teeters on the edge of collapse after the murder of their patriarch—and a shocking arrest.

At first, the death of William Baldwine, the head of the Bradford family, was ruled a suicide. But then his eldest son and sworn enemy, Edward, came forward and confessed to what was, in fact, a murder. Now in police custody, Edward mourns not the disintegration of his family or his loss of freedom . . . but the woman he left behind. His love, Sutton Smythe, is the only person he has ever truly cared about, but as she is the CEO of the Bradford Bourbon Company’s biggest competitor, any relationship between them is impossible. And then there’s the reality of the jail time that Edward is facing.

Lane Baldwine was supposed to remain in his role of playboy, forever in his big brother Edward’s shadow. Instead he has become the new head of the family and the company. Convinced that Edward is covering for someone else, Lane and his true love, Lizzie King, go on the trail of a killer—only to discover a secret that is as devastating as it is game-changing.

As Lane rushes to discover the truth, and Sutton finds herself irresistibly drawn to Edward in spite of his circumstances, the lives of everyone at Easterly will never be the same again. For some, this is good; for others, it could be a tragedy beyond imagining. Only one thing’s for Love survives all things. Even murder.]]> 418 J.R. Ward 0698193059 Amy 4 fiction, romance It filled a void.
Ward never fails to engage me.

Merged review:

A nice 3rd book wrap-up. I really enjoyed this trilogy.
It filled a void.
Ward never fails to engage me.]]> 4.29 2017 Devil's Cut (The Bourbon Kings, #3)
author: J.R. Ward
name: Amy
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/03/02
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: fiction, romance
review:
A nice 3rd book wrap-up. I really enjoyed this trilogy.
It filled a void.
Ward never fails to engage me.

Merged review:

A nice 3rd book wrap-up. I really enjoyed this trilogy.
It filled a void.
Ward never fails to engage me.
]]> <![CDATA[Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)]]> 34854714 The hotly-anticipated sequel to SIX OF CROWS, this is GAME OF THRONES meets OCEAN'S ELEVEN in a fantasy epic from the number 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

After pulling off a seemingly impossible heist in the notorious Ice Court, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker feels unstoppable. But life is about to take a dangerous turn - and with friends who are among the deadliest outcasts in Ketterdam city, Kaz is going to need more than luck to survive in this unforgiving underworld.

As gripping, sweeping and memorable as the Grisha trilogy - SHADOW AND BONE, SIEGE AND STORM and RUIN AND RISING - this novel is perfect for fans of Laini Taylor, Kristin Cashore and GAME OF THRONES.

]]> 478 Leigh Bardugo 1780622325 Amy 5 4.51 2016 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Amy
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/06
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves:
review:
This was soooooo good! I love this world/setting, the characters... I believe I loved this more than the Grisha trilogy. Bardugo is such an amazing storyteller. Her writing style keeps me coming back again and again.
]]> Pirate Stew 54308300
Long John has a whole crew of wild pirates in tow, and—for one boy and his sister—he's about to transform a perfectly ordinary evening into a riotous adventure beneath a pirate moon. It's time to make some PIRATE STEW.

Marvelously silly and gloriously entertaining, this tale of pirates, flying ships, doughnut feasts and some rather magical stew is perfect for all pirates, both young and old.

With a deliciously rhyming text from master storyteller Neil Gaiman and spellbinding illustrations by the supremely talented Chris Riddell, this is the picture book of the year!

Pirate Stew! Pirate Stew!
Pirate Stew for me and you!
Pirate Stew, Pirate Stew
Eat it and you won’t be blue
You can be a pirate too!]]> 48 Neil Gaiman 0062934589 Amy 5 childrens, middle-grade 4.50 2020 Pirate Stew
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Amy
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/09
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: childrens, middle-grade
review:
This is fun story. Parents go out for an evening leaving their children in the care of a ships cook! A picture book with an adventure. I loved it.
]]> <![CDATA[Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor]]> 52198367 Based on the viral Instagram challenge that captivated participants worldwide, Me and White Supremacy takes readers on a 28-day journey, complete with journal prompts, to do the necessary and vital work that can ultimately lead to improving race relations.

Updated and expanded from the original workbook (downloaded by nearly 100,000 people), this critical text helps you take the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources, giving you the language to understand racism, and to dismantle your own biases, whether you are using the book on your own, with a book club, or looking to start family activism in your own home.

This book will walk you step-by-step through the work of examining:

Examining your own white privilege What allyship really means Anti-blackness, racial stereotypes, and cultural appropriation Changing the way that you view and respond to race How to continue the work to create social change

Awareness leads to action, and action leads to change. For readers of White Fragility, White Rage, So You Want To Talk About Race, The New Jim Crow, How to Be an Anti-Racist and more who are ready to closely examine their own beliefs and biases and do the work it will take to create social change.

]]> 256 Layla F. Saad 1728209811 Amy 4 non-fiction 4.38 2020 Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor
author: Layla F. Saad
name: Amy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/19
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Grey (Fifty Shades as Told by Christian, #1)]]> 25643846 See the world of Fifty Shades of Grey anew through the eyes of Christian Grey.

In Christian's own words, and through his thoughts, reflections, and dreams, E L James offers a fresh perspective on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the world.

Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty—until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair.He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist.Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold,wounded heart.

Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?


This book is intended for mature audiences.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 576 E.L. James 1101946350 Amy 5 romance, fiction 4.13 2015 Grey (Fifty Shades as Told by Christian, #1)
author: E.L. James
name: Amy
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2017/09/16
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: romance, fiction
review:

]]> Perfect on Paper 53701640 "Perfectly wonderful.� —Becky Albertalli

In Sophie Gonzales' Perfect on Paper, Leah on the Offbeat meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before: a bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her classmates is hired by the hot guy to help him get his ex back.

Her advice, spot on. Her love life, way off.

Darcy Phillips:
� Can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes—for a fee.
� Uses her power for good. Most of the time.
� Really cannot stand Alexander Brougham.
� Has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke…who is in love with someone else.
� Does not appreciate being blackmailed.

However, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89—out of which she’s been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service—that’s exactly what happens. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach—at a generous hourly rate, at least. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back.

Darcy has a good reason to keep her identity secret. If word gets out that she’s behind the locker, some things she's not proud of will come to light, and there’s a good chance Brooke will never speak to her again.

Okay, so all she has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who’s already fallen for him once? What could go wrong?]]> 352 Sophie Gonzales 1250769779 Amy 4 ya-fiction, contempoary 4.03 2021 Perfect on Paper
author: Sophie Gonzales
name: Amy
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/25
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: ya-fiction, contempoary
review:
The was an enjoyable story. It had some great dialogue. I loved thevconversations between friends, and even some between parent and child. I liked the stories arch. The outcome was satisfying too. And yes there were a couple points where I got a little weepy. I'd recommend to others looking for a YA contemporary set around HS , discovering who you are, and first love.
]]> <![CDATA[The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3)]]> 52066765 The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.

Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.

Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?


]]> 656 R.F. Kuang 0062662651 Amy 5 fantasy, fiction 4.24 2020 The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3)
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Amy
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/12
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: fantasy, fiction
review:
What else can I possibly say about The Poppy War Trilogy? This 3rd installment did not deviate from the 2nd or 1st... It was intense, it was bloody, and often gory. In the 1st book Rin is the student of war, in the 2nd she is a soldier & a weapon. In this, the 3rd, Rin is a general, and a god... All around her is the aftermath of war. The utter destruction left in the wake of violence, and rage unleashed... Holy crap, I was undone.
]]> <![CDATA[Amari and the Great Game (Supernatural Investigations, #2)]]> 58594986
But between the fearsome new Head Minister’s strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton’s curse steadily worsening, Amari’s plate is full. So when the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand up for magiciankind as its new leader, she declines. She’s got enough to worry about!

But her refusal allows someone else to step forward, a magician with dangerous plans for the League. This challenge sparks the start of the Great Game, a competition to decide who will become the Night Brothers� successor and determine the future of magiciankind.

The Great Game is both mysterious and deadly, but among the winner’s magical rewards is Quinton’s last hope—so how can Amari refuse?]]> 400 B.B. Alston 0062975218 Amy 4 urban-fantasy, middle-grade 4.53 2022 Amari and the Great Game (Supernatural Investigations, #2)
author: B.B. Alston
name: Amy
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/12
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: urban-fantasy, middle-grade
review:
It is not often that I pick up a Middle Grade book and enjoy it this much. The characters are fun, and the story as engaging as the first book. I'm looking forward to Book 3, and finding out if one of my theories it right one the nose!
]]> <![CDATA[The Dregs of Empire: A Tale of the Sun Eater]]> 203765552 RETURN TO THE WORLD OF THE SUN EATER IN THIS SPIN-OFF ADVENTURE SET AFTER THE EVENTS OF BOOK FIVE!For thousands of years, the icy planet of Belusha has served the galactic Sollan Empire as its most notorious prison planet. It is here the very worst men in the Empire are locked murderers, traitors, deserters—each condemned to toil on the oil rigs and scrapyards of the planet in bitter cold, preyed upon both by the men of the Martian Guard set to watch over them, and by the Outborn reavers whose fathers escaped the work camps to scratch a living from the icy wilderness.It is a hard world. A desperate world.And it is here that Lorian Aristedes finds alone; friendless; betrayed even by his own failing, mutant flesh. Is it here that Lorian Aristedes has been sentenced to work himself to death for the crime of abetting his master’s escape from Imperial justice.For any other man, it would be the end of his story…but for Lorian Aristedes—once the left hand of the Halfmortal, Hadrian Marlowe himself—it is only the beginning.]]> 330 Christopher Ruocchio Amy 4 4.24 The Dregs of Empire: A Tale of the Sun Eater
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/31
date added: 2024/09/01
shelves: adult, fantasy, fiction, sci-fi
review:
I felt this Tale of the Sun Eater novella gave a bit more depth to one of the side characters, and one of my favorites. He reminds me of Tyrion Lanister from the GoT. Love the mix of a clever strategic mind and sharp wit!
]]> <![CDATA[First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)]]> 11003853 First Grave on the Right is the smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper.

Charley sees dead people. That's right, she sees dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e., murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

This is a thrilling debut novel from Darynda Jones, an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense.

First Grave on the Right is the winner of the 2012 Rita Award for Best First Book.]]> 350 Darynda Jones 0312360800 Amy 0 to-read 4.04 2011 First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)
author: Darynda Jones
name: Amy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fangs of Oannos (Sun Eater, #5.7)]]> 210268186 65 Christopher Ruocchio Amy 0 to-read 4.34 The Fangs of Oannos (Sun Eater, #5.7)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Queen Amid Ashes 201168614
Hadrian Marlowe is newly a knight of the galaxy-spanning Sollan a hero who they say slew the alien Prince Aranata Otiolo in single combat; a man they say no man or xenobite can kill.

Acting on the Emperor’s orders, Hadrian has come to the desert planet Thagura and driven off the Cielcin invaders, rescuing in the process the Lady Gadar Malyan, Baroness of that entire world.

But not all the fighting is ended. Pockets of inhuman resistance remain on the desert world, and Hadrian the Halfmortal must soon do battle with not only the man-eating alien barbarians, but with something just as man’s own inhumanity to man.]]> Christopher Ruocchio Amy 4 3.91 Queen Amid Ashes
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/24
date added: 2024/08/24
shelves: adult, novella, scifi-fantasy, sci-fi, fantasy
review:
This novella falls before book 4, I believe. This is Harlow's first reel battle with the Cielcin, as they liberate a planet. He meets a Baroness, who takes a shine to him... it won't do her any good... lol This also foreshadows the things Harlow may contemplate later in life, with more understanding for the choices others make compared to his own.
]]> <![CDATA[An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder]]> 212379205
Frances and her husband, George, have two points of interest in Paris. One is an impromptu holiday to visit the Paris Exposition. The other is personal. George’s Aunt Julia has requested her nephew’s help in looking into the suspicious death of renowned artist Paul Ducasse. Though Julia is not entirely forthcoming about her reasons, she is clearly a woman mourning a lost love.

At the exposition, swarming with tourists, tragedy casts a pall on the festivities. A footbridge collapses. Julia is among the casualties. However, she was not just another fateful victim. Julia was stabbed to death amid the chaos. With an official investigation at a standstill, George and Frances realize that to solve the case they must dig into Julia’s life—as well as Paul’s—and question everything and everyone in Julia’s coterie of artists and secrets.

They have no shortage of suspects. There is Paul’s inscrutable widow, Gabrielle. Paul’s art dealer and manager, Lucien. Julia’s friend Martine, a sculptress with a jealous streak. And art jurist, Monsieur Beaufoy. The investigation takes a turn when it’s revealed that George has inherited control of Julia’s estate—and another of her secrets. While George investigates, Frances safeguards their new legacy, and is drawn further into danger by a killer determined to keep the past buried.]]> 500 Dianne Freeman Amy 0 to-read 4.00 2024 An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder
author: Dianne Freeman
name: Amy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Amari and the Despicable Wonders (Supernatural Investigations, #3)]]> 75668244
Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Nevermoor.

War has come to the supernatural world, and Amari’s two worst enemies are leading the charge.

Elaine Harlowe has manipulated her way into becoming prime minister, using her mind control ability to force the Bureau to take up her vicious grudge against magiciankind. Meanwhile, Dylan Van Helsing, the newly crowned leader of the League of Magicians—and Amari’s former partner—is after a destructive new power that would not only ensure the magicians� victory . . . it would make him invincible.

With neither the Bureau nor the League safe for Amari, and her newly returned brother, Quinton, determined to keep her out of the fray, she and her friends decide to find a way to end the war on their own.

So when they learn that the only way to stop Dylan is to find powerful magical inventions known as Wonders, they go after them. But wielding these items comes at a terrible cost, and Amari will have to decide just how much she’s willing to sacrifice . . . because the Despicable Wonders will demand everything.]]> 400 B.B. Alston 0062975242 Amy 0 to-read 4.15 2024 Amari and the Despicable Wonders (Supernatural Investigations, #3)
author: B.B. Alston
name: Amy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Black Bird Oracle (All Souls, #5)]]> 203518955 Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself—and her family history—in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series.

Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clairmont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, these two otherworldly beings found themselves at the center of a battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Since then, they have fallen in love, traveled to Elizabethan England, dissolved the Covenant between the three species, and awoken the dark powers within Diana’s family line.

Now, Diana and Matthew receive a formal demand from the Congregation: They must test the magic of their seven-year-old twins, Pip and Rebecca. Concerned with their safety and desperate to avoid the same fate that led her parents to spellbind her, Diana decides to forge a different path for her family’s future and answers a message from a great-aunt she never knew existed, Gwyneth Proctor, whose invitation simply reads: It’s time you came home, Diana.

On the hallowed ground of Ravenswood, the Proctor family home, and under the tutelage of Gwyneth, a talented witch grounded in higher magic, a new era begins for Diana: a confrontation with her family’s dark past, and a reckoning for her own desire for even greater power—if she can let go, finally, of her fear of wielding it.]]> 444 Deborah Harkness 0593724771 Amy 0 to-read 3.96 2024 The Black Bird Oracle (All Souls, #5)
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Amy
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[She Who Knows (She Who Knows #1)]]> 202470599 Part science fiction, part fantasy, and entirely infused with West African culture and spirituality, this novella offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a teenager whose coming of age will herald a new age for her world. Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, this is the first in the She Who Knows trilogy

When there is a call, there is often a response.

Najeeba knows.

She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What’s just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it’s not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there’s neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it’s a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she’s only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba’s presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.

Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress.]]> 161 Nnedi Okorafor 075641895X Amy 0 to-read 4.00 2024 She Who Knows (She Who Knows #1)
author: Nnedi Okorafor
name: Amy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lesser Devil (Sun Eater) 203115717 Can the youngest son of a noble house save his family from a plot generations in the making?

Crispin Marlowe grew up in his brother’s shadow, but Hadrian is gone, and his grandmother - the Duchess of Delos - is dying.

Answering her summons, Crispin takes off on what should be a routine flight to the ducal palace from the castle at Devil’s Rest. But he is flying into a trap. There are whispers of treachery among the duchess’s many daughters, rumors of hidden knives in the planet’s court...if he can even make it there.

With no one coming to save him and only his sister, Sabine, and a few injured guardsmen to protect him, House Marlowe’s least famous son must make his heroic stand, and contend not only the foes arrayed against his house, but with the cultists who dwell in the mountains above his family’s ancestral home....

Listening Length: 5 hours and 46 minutes.]]> 6 Christopher Ruocchio Amy 4 3.85 2020 The Lesser Devil (Sun Eater)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/21
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves: novella, sci-fi, scifi-fantasy, adult
review:
I liked the story showing the youngest 2 Harlows. Crispan has matured, and his character growth is nice to see. That was my favorite part of the story. No matter what his messages to Hadrian, I hope they have a moment to reconnect...
]]> Disquiet Gods (Sun Eater, #6) 176443792
The end is nigh.

It has been nearly two hundred years since Hadrian Marlowe assaulted the person of the Emperor and walked away from war. From his Empire. His duty. From the will and service of the eldritch being known only as the Quiet. The galaxy lies in the grip of a terrible plague, and worse, the Cielcin have overrun the realms of men.

A messenger has come to Jadd, bearing a summons from the Sollan Emperor for the one-time hero. A summons, a pardon, and a plea. HAPSIS, the Emperor’s secret first-contact intelligence organization, has located one of the dreadful Watchers, the immense, powerful beings worshipped by the Pale Cielcin.

Called out of retirement and exile, the old hero—accompanied by his daughter, Cassandra—must race across the galaxy and against time to accomplish one last, impossible

To kill a god.]]> 704 Christopher Ruocchio 1982193328 Amy 4 4.58 2024 Disquiet Gods (Sun Eater, #6)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/17
date added: 2024/08/17
shelves: adult, sci-fi, scifi-fantasy, fantasy
review:
Another edition to The Sun Eater series that will propel us closer an ending. A few eww moments of gore... but I got through them, as I am invested now in the characters and seeing it to the end. I am really enjoying the series, looking forward to the next book.
]]> Ashes of Man (Sun Eater #5) 204258144
The galaxy is burning.

With the Cielcin united under one banner, the Sollan Empire stands alone after the betrayal of the Commonwealth. The Prophet-King of the Cielcin has sent its armies to burn the worlds of men, and worse, there are rumors � whispers that Hadrian Marlowe is dead, killed in the fighting.

But it is not so. Hadrian survived with the help of the witch, Valka, and together they escaped the net of the enemy having learned a terrible truth: the gods that the Cielcin worship are real and will not rest until the universe is dark and cold.

What is more, the Emperor himself is in danger. The Prophet-King has learned to track his movements as he travels along the borders of Imperial space. Now the Cielcin legions are closing in, their swords poised to strike off the head of all mankind.

Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins.]]> 23 Christopher Ruocchio Amy 5 adult, scifi-fantasy, sci-fi 4.44 2022 Ashes of Man (Sun Eater #5)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/13
date added: 2024/08/13
shelves: adult, scifi-fantasy, sci-fi
review:
I am feeling a bit protective of our protagonist and storyteller. He's been through it... and then goes through more... and just when he's thinking , "That's it, they are gonna put me on ice..." I'm off to seek book 6...
]]> <![CDATA[Kingdoms of Death (Sun Eater, #4)]]> 214349805 The fourth novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire.

Hadrian Marlowe is trapped.

For nearly a century, he has been a guest of the Emperor, forced into the role of advisor, a prisoner of his own legend. But the war is changing. Mankind is losing.

The Cielcin are spilling into human space from the fringes, picking their targets with cunning precision. The Great Prince Syriani Dorayaica is uniting their clans, forging them into an army and threat the likes of which mankind has never seen.

And the Empire stands alone.

Now the Emperor has no choice but to give Hadrian Marlowe--once his favorite knight--one more impossible task: journey across the galaxy to the Lothrian Commonwealth and convince them to join the war. But not all is as it seems, and Hadrian's journey will take him far beyond the Empire, beyond the Commonwealth, impossibly deep behind enemy lines.]]> Christopher Ruocchio Amy 5 scifi-fantasy ... so horrible, but so good. I think this was my favorite in the series so far.]]> 4.44 2022 Kingdoms of Death (Sun Eater, #4)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/10
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: scifi-fantasy
review:
Hadrian Harlow really goes through some things... I cried more than once during one battle... an the tears would come again! So good
... so horrible, but so good. I think this was my favorite in the series so far.
]]> <![CDATA[Calendar Girl: Volume One (Calendar Girl #1-3)]]> 26253863
No money. No life.

The time limit was one year. On January 1st I had to pay up or my Father was going to be killed. When you’re faced with an ultimatum like this, you do whatever you have to do.

And that’s exactly what I did.

The job…Exquisite Escorts. My role, serve as high priced arm candy to anyone that can afford the $100,000 price tag for a month of my company. Sex is optional (for me) and a 20% increase on the price.

Mia Saunders just barely escaped a paltry life back home in Las Vegas until she gets the call that her Father has been beaten to within an inch of his life for not paying his gambling debt. Problem is, the lone shark is her lousy, ruthless ex-boyfriend. Another guy in a long line of men she’d fallen head over heels for. Not anymore. Mia’s mission is simple. Serve as a high-priced escort for her Aunt’s company and pay monthly against her Father’s bad debt. A month with a rich man who she doesn’t have to sleep with if she doesn’t want to? Easy money. At least that’s the way it was supposed to go.
]]> 277 Audrey Carlan 1943893993 Amy 4 romance 3.96 2015 Calendar Girl: Volume One (Calendar Girl #1-3)
author: Audrey Carlan
name: Amy
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/12
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: romance
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Demon in White (The Sun Eater Series)]]> 63354156
To make matters worse, a cult of personality has formed around Hadrian, spurred on by legends of his having defied death itself. Men call him Halfmortal. Hadrian's rise to prominence proves dangerous to himself and his team, as pressures within the Imperial government distrust or resent his new influence.

Caught in the middle, Hadrian must contend with enemies before him--and behind.

And above it all, there is the mystery of the Quiet. Hadrian did defy death. He did return. But the keys to the only place in the universe where Hadrian might find the answers he seeks lie in the hands of the Emperor himself....]]> Christopher Ruocchio 1664740570 Amy 4 adult, scifi-fantasy 4.62 2020 Demon in White (The Sun Eater Series)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/03
date added: 2024/08/03
shelves: adult, scifi-fantasy
review:
The story just keeps moving forward... or backward to go forward?... I'm in! Questions! Must keep reading!
]]> <![CDATA[The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow: A Tale from The Bound and The Broken]]> 214009527 The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow is a short story set in the world of The Bound and The Broken.

Vars Bryer is a man of The Glade. He loves his wife, feels at peace in his home, and would give the air in his lungs to keep his children safe.

But the past has finally found him, and it cares little for the wants and desires of men.]]> 28 Ryan Cahill Amy 5 adult, fantasy, novella Another, please!!!

It's a short story. A tiny glimpse of life with Caleb's dad. I so hope to someday have a story about Vars before The Glade.]]> 4.48 The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow: A Tale from The Bound and The Broken
author: Ryan Cahill
name: Amy
average rating: 4.48
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/31
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: adult, fantasy, novella
review:
Another, please!!!

It's a short story. A tiny glimpse of life with Caleb's dad. I so hope to someday have a story about Vars before The Glade.
]]> <![CDATA[The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)]]> 944073
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.

]]> 515 Joe Abercrombie 0575079797 Amy 5 adult, fantasy, high-fantasy I want more.
I will be reading all the Joe Abercrombie.
Greedy, greedy, me.
I feel that in previous books I've only dipped my toe into the murky uncertain water... with The Blade Itself I've just taken a running jump into it... and I've found the depths invigorating! Pha!!! No romantasy for me! Grim dark worlds, filled with morally grey characters, political machinations, and impending war! ]]> 4.21 2006 The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Amy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/28
date added: 2024/07/28
shelves: adult, fantasy, high-fantasy
review:
I am impressed.
I want more.
I will be reading all the Joe Abercrombie.
Greedy, greedy, me.
I feel that in previous books I've only dipped my toe into the murky uncertain water... with The Blade Itself I've just taken a running jump into it... and I've found the depths invigorating! Pha!!! No romantasy for me! Grim dark worlds, filled with morally grey characters, political machinations, and impending war!
]]> <![CDATA[Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (Ernest Cunningham, #2)]]> 167006698
The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty:

the debut writer (me!)

the forensic science writer

the blockbuster writer

the legal thriller writer

the literary writer

the psychological suspense writer

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime.

Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?]]> 320 Benjamin Stevenson 006327907X Amy 0 3.82 2023 Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (Ernest Cunningham, #2)
author: Benjamin Stevenson
name: Amy
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves: to-read, mystery-thriller-horror
review:

]]> Save the Date 33963823
The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.

There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.

Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.]]> 433 Morgan Matson 1481404598 Amy 3 contempoary 3.75 2018 Save the Date
author: Morgan Matson
name: Amy
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2018/09/17
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: contempoary
review:
It was ok. I was hoping for a 4 star read at least, but it wasn't meant to be for me. There were too many moments that seemed to begin or end too abruptly, and I found I wanted a little more depth. The funny moments were, laugh out loud or chuckles, I had that.
]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Edan (The Edan Trilogy, #1)]]> 123153535
Among the gathering resistance is the sorceress Sequara, whose mission is to protect her island and her Andumaic faith from the Torrlonders� aggression.

As holy war looms over the kingdoms of Eormenlond, a chance encounter bestows a terrible curse upon a young man. Dayraven’s curse may decide Eormenlond’s fate. But first, with the help of unlikely friends, he must survive the shattering of his world.

Equal parts epic and lament, The Way of Edan is the lyrical opening of The Edan Trilogy.]]> 539 Philip Chase Amy 4 adult, fantasy 3.93 2023 The Way of Edan (The Edan Trilogy, #1)
author: Philip Chase
name: Amy
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/19
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves: adult, fantasy
review:
To say I took my time reading this would be an understatement. I'm glad I did. By the end I was ready to continue with book 2. I have to know how Dayraven will react to what has happened, who will survive the next battle... or not... 4.5!
]]> Dumplin' (Dumplin', #1) 24957546 Side Effects May Vary. With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine�ٳܳ� is guaranteed to steal your heart.

Dubbed “ٳܳ’� by her former beauty queen mom, Willowdean has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American-beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . untilWill takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But sheissurprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself.So she sets out to take back her confidence by doingthe most horrifying thing she can entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.]]> 380 Julie Murphy 0062327208 Amy 5 ya-fiction, contempoary 4.08 2015 Dumplin' (Dumplin', #1)
author: Julie Murphy
name: Amy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/05/07
date added: 2024/07/18
shelves: ya-fiction, contempoary
review:
I so could've used a book like this when I was a HS senior. I found myself relating to Willowdean so so much. I was up way way way past my bedtime reading this book 'til it's finish... I found myself wanting more Dumplin' ... at 2AM!!! On A school night! This in bed no later than 11pm girl was reading like a girl who had nowhere to go in the morning!
]]> <![CDATA[Serpents of Sky and Flame (Merciless Dragons, #1)]]> 208913842 Dragon captures maiden. Maiden makes dragon's life absolute hell...

At the end of a terrible war, a sorcerer casts a curse that destroys every female in the entire race of dragons. In retaliation, Kyreagan, the dragon prince, leads a raid on the sorcerer's kingdom, during which the male dragons snatch human women and carry them off to the dragons' domain. When Princess Serylla is captured by the Prince of Dragons and taken to his cave, she is furious, terrified, and determined to make his existence so miserable he'll either have to kill her or let her go.

Kyreagan's frustration with his pretty captive is compounded by the fact that his plan--to turn all the human women into female dragons--isn't working. The enchantress he kidnapped isn't powerful enough to work that spell; the most she can do is give the male dragons the ability to shift into human form for a number of hours each day.

As Serylla and the other captured women scheme for their freedom, the dragons struggle to cope with the strangeness of having human bodies for the first time. Neither side realizes that a much greater enemy is watching, waiting to destroy them all.

This spicy, adult fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Rebecca Yarros, Carissa Broadbent, LJ Andrews, and Katee Robert. Contains intense themes. Reading guidance can be found at the beginning of the book or on the author's website.]]> 267 Rebecca F. Kenney Amy 0 3.60 Serpents of Sky and Flame (Merciless Dragons, #1)
author: Rebecca F. Kenney
name: Amy
average rating: 3.60
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/17
shelves: to-read, adult, dragons, fantasy-romance
review:

]]> Howling Dark 57700263 Hadrian Marlowe is lost.
For half a century, he has searched the farther suns for the lost planet of Vorgossos, hoping to find a way to contact the elusive alien Cielcin. He has not succeeded, and for years has wandered among the barbarian Normans as captain of a band of mercenaries.
Determined to make peace and bring an end to nearly four hundred years of war, Hadrian must venture beyond the security of the Sollan Empire and among the Extrasolarians who dwell between the stars. There, he will face not only the aliens he has come to offer peace, but contend with creatures that once were human, with traitors in his midst, and with a meeting that will bring him face to face with no less than the oldest enemy of mankind.
If he succeeds, he will usher in a peace unlike any in recorded history. If he fails... the galaxy will burn. Duration: 28:03:37]]> 29 Christopher Ruocchio 1501991272 Amy 4 4.00 2019 Howling Dark
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/14
date added: 2024/07/14
shelves: adult, fantasy, scifi-fantasy, sci-fi
review:
Ruocchio's way of keeping the story moving forward was done well. I was fully engaged and immersed, always wanting to keep reading, and see what cones next as we are shown how Hadrian comes to destroy a sun. I'm looking forward to reading book 3.
]]> Does It Hurt? 60034351
I've forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I've only ever walked in stolen shoes.

Could I be a girl who is searching for the meaning of life in faceless men? They were all so forgettable. Until he came along. He took me under a waterfall and made me forget my name, and in return, I took his instead.

Enzo Vitale.

An enigmatic man that will only ever love the deep sea. Or rather the predators that inhabit it. Turns out, he's not so different than the monsters he feeds. He lured me onto his boat like a fish in the ocean, seeking vengeance for my crime. Had I realized his intentions, and that a massive storm would leave us shipwrecked, I would've ran.

Now, I'm a girl who's seeking refuge in a decrepit lighthouse with a man who loathes me almost as much as he craves me. He wants to hurt me, but the old caretaker of the abandoned island may have intentions far more sinister.

It's no longer a question of who I am, but rather, will I survive?]]> 432 H.D. Carlton Amy 0 3.90 2022 Does It Hurt?
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Amy
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/10
shelves: to-read, adult, mystery-thriller-horror
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater Series)]]> 68043199 Christopher Ruocchio 1664470123 Amy 4 3.81 2018 Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater Series)
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Amy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/07
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: fantasy, sci-fi, scifi-fantasy, fiction
review:
The book opens with Hadrian telling us he's a hero, & soldier to some, and murder of billions to others.... and then he begins at the begining with the tale of how he became who he is... I love a roman-like civilization is space. ...but remember... even Rome burned.... I am looking forward to reading book 2!
]]> <![CDATA[Desperate Measures (Wicked Villains, #1)]]> 57773707 Once upon a time, I was a sheltered princess.

On the night Jafar takes everything from my father, he offers me a devil’s bargain—walk with my freedom and nothing else, or attempt to best him and regain my inheritance. In my arrogance, I play right into his hands. I foolishly assume I have a chance to come out on top.

I’m wrong.

Now Jafar owns me, body and soul.

We fight during the day, but when night comes, we play out every fantasy I’ve never allowed myself to admit to having. I can’t hide them from Jafar, though. We know each other—and the dark desires we share—far too well. He sees to my every need, no matter how carnal or extravagant. It’s almost enough for me to be happy�

But a gilded cage is still a prison, and I’ll do anything to obtain my freedom—even betray the man I’m falling for.

In DESPERATE MEASURES, you’ll find:
-> Dark Fairy Tale Retelling
-> Enemies to lovers
-> Kinky Roleplay
-> Captive Heroine
-> Alpha Hero]]> 230 Katee Robert Amy 3 adult, fantasy-romance 3.83 2019 Desperate Measures (Wicked Villains, #1)
author: Katee Robert
name: Amy
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/02
date added: 2024/07/02
shelves: adult, fantasy-romance
review:
Entertaining yes. Mind blowing no. Worth my time? Yes. I wondered about the series, & now my curiosity it sated... I think if I decided I was in the mood, for dark taboo
]]>