en-US Sat, 05 Apr 2025 09:02:01 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 435307 221 Philip Yancey 0310241820 Elsa 4 3.96 1999
author: Philip Yancey
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1999
rating: 4
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]]> 216151199 When we have the power of God, demons will be manifested and forced to flee, and people will be set free.
听
While reading this book, you will wholeheartedly believe in Christ鈥檚 promise to the Church in John 10:10. Likewise, you will prepare yourself for deliverance so that you can lead others to freedom as well.
听
People are looking for answers to be freed from addictions, anxiety, and depression. They want healing in their marriages, their children to be free from the symptoms of autism, or to not live in poverty any longer. People want relief from mental disorders. They are searching everywhere, paying tons of money to try and find the answers to these problems, or if not finding complete relief, at least alleviating some of the symptoms. All of these things are demonic, and the answer can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Finding Freedom from Demonic Oppression will help guide you step-by-step to learn what you鈥檝e been missing. The good news is that deliverance and freedom are easy. You only have to give your life to Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Deliverer, is the answer to all questions. You simply have to come to Jesus and believe. He does the rest. You don鈥檛 have to pay tons of money. Deliverance is free. God gives it to you. There is a cost, but that cost is surrendering; it鈥檚 nothing you can buy.

By reading this essential guide, you will What deliverance is Why we need deliverance in the church today The first key to receive deliverance How to help others receive deliverance]]> 224 Kathryn Krick 1636414427 Elsa 5 4.31
author: Kathryn Krick
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 5
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]]> 125959 "We call you Saint."

The name ignited a light in Carl's mind. Saint. He'd been covertly recruited for Black Ops and given his life to the most brutal kind of training any man or woman could endure. He was here because he belonged here. To the X Group.

An assassin. The most effective killer in the world. And yet...Carl Strople struggles to retain fleeting memories that betray an even more ominous reality. He's been told part of the truth - but not all of it.

Invasive techniques have stripped him of his identity and made him someone new - for this he is grateful. But there are some things they can't take from him. The love of a woman, unbroken loyalties to his past, the need for survival.

From the deep woods of Hungary to the streets of New York, Saint takes you on a journey of betrayal in a world of government cover-ups, political intrigue, and one man's search for the truth. In the end, that truth will be his undoing.]]> 347 Ted Dekker 1595540067 Elsa 5 4.04 2006
author: Ted Dekker
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2006
rating: 5
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]]> 327684 312 Frank E. Peretti 1400303710 Elsa 3 3.88 2001
author: Frank E. Peretti
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2001
rating: 3
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]]> 324022
Drew O'Connor isn't stirred by news of a ship full of brides. Still broken-hearted from the loss of his beloved, he only wants a maid to tend his house and care for his young sister.

What he ends up with is a wife鈥攁 feisty redhead who claims she is Lady Constance Morrow, daughter of an Earl, brought to America against her will. And she wants to go straight back to England as soon as she can. She hasn't the foggiest notion how to cook, dares to argue with her poor husband, and spends more time working on mathematical equations than housework. What kind of a wife is that? Drew's Christian forbearance is in for some testing.

Headstrong and intelligent, deeply moral but incredibly enticing, Constance turns what was supposed to be a marriage of convenience into something most inconvenient, indeed.]]> 347 Deeanne Gist 0764200720 Elsa 5 3.94 2005
author: Deeanne Gist
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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]]> 7794600 When Gideon Westcott left his privileged life in England to make a name for himself in America's wool industry, he never expected to become a father overnight. And five-year-old Isabella hasn't uttered a word since she lost her mother. The unconventionality of the new governess concerns Gideon--and intrigues him at the same time. But he can't afford distractions. He has a ranch to run, a shearing to oversee, and a suspicious fence-cutting to investigate.
When Isabella's uncle comes to claim the child--and her inheritance--Gideon and Adelaide must work together to protect Isabella from the man's evil schemes. And soon neither can deny their growing attraction. But after so many heartbreaks, will Adelaide be willing to get her head out of the clouds and put her heart on the line?]]> 366 Karen Witemeyer 0764207563 Elsa 4 4.12 2010
author: Karen Witemeyer
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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]]> 56480 Passion and Purity covers dating issues such as:
鈥ow to know which person is the right one to marry
鈥oving passionately while remaining sexually pure
鈥he man's and woman's role in relationships
鈥utting God's desires ahead of personal desires
鈥ow far is too far, physically

This best-selling book now has a new cover, an updated interior design, and a foreword from popular author Joshua Harris. Quest for Love will be redesigned in a similar manner to help readers identify the books as a pair. While Passion and Purity shares the love story of Elisabeth and Jim, Quest for Love is a compilation of stories on how other men and women discovered love through God's direction. Together, these two remarkable books accentuate our need to commit daily to Christ all matters of the heart and to wait on his timing.]]> 192 Elisabeth Elliot 0800758188 Elsa 3 4.13 1984
author: Elisabeth Elliot
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1984
rating: 3
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]]> 209186
Set in early fourteenth-century Britain, Christopher Marlowe's play follows Edward II as he indulges his passion and renounces his duties, and ultimately pays the price for forsaking his country.]]> 160 Christopher Marlowe 1854594109 Elsa 5 3.65 1593
author: Christopher Marlowe
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1593
rating: 5
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]]> 58033 592 William Shakespeare 0451527291 Elsa 4 4.43 1606
author: William Shakespeare
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1606
rating: 4
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]]> 22188
S is back from boarding school, and if we aren鈥檛 careful, she鈥檚 going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldn鈥檛 fit into, steal our boyfriends鈥� hearts, and basically ruin our lives in a major way. I鈥檒l be watching closely . . .

You know you love me,

gossip girl]]> 224 Cecily von Ziegesar 0316910333 Elsa 3 3.52 2002
author: Cecily von Ziegesar
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2002
rating: 3
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]]> 226709 They were such brave children to withstand such suffering. Such clever children to escape such terror!

For Carrie, Chris and Cathy, the attic was a dark horror that would not leave their minds, even while they built bright, promising new lives. Of course mother had to pretend they didn't exist.

And Grandmother was convinced they had the devil in them.

But that wasn't their fault. Was it? Cathy knew what to do.

She now had the powers she had learned from her beautiful mother. She knew it in the way her brother still yearned for her, in the way her guardian touched her, in the way all men looked at her.

She knew it was time to put what she knew to the test. To show her mother and grandmother that the pain and terror of the attic could not be forgotten... Show them.

Show them鈥攐nce and for all.
--back cover]]> 439 V.C. Andrews 0671729470 Elsa 5 3.83 1980
author: V.C. Andrews
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1980
rating: 5
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]]> 363204 44 Tom Stoppard 0573614679 Elsa 2 3.92 1968
author: Tom Stoppard
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1968
rating: 2
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]]> 183316742 Isabela, a wealthy woman, sacrifices her artistic aspirations to marry Marco, a penniless man dedicated to improving conditions on the island. As the island's insular government enacts pro-U.S. policies, Marco builds a real estate empire while struggling to maintain his populist principles. Meanwhile, Isabela feels unfulfilled in her traditional role as a wife and mother and becomes disillusioned with Marco's shifting moral compass. She begins to identify with anti-U.S. factions, leading a dangerous double life that puts her family in peril.
As political violence threatens their paradise, Isabela and Marco question whether their marriage, like the island's relationship with the U.S., should continue. Margarita Barresi's debut novel celebrates Puerto Rican culture while delving into themes of class, oppression, and the effects of colonialism through the lens of a marriage.]]> 352 Margarita Barresi 1639889302 Elsa 5 4.40
author: Margarita Barresi
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 5
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]]> 28187230 341 Ruth Ware 1501132938 Elsa 5 3.73 2016
author: Ruth Ware
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2016
rating: 5
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]]> 92308
'To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness'

The Importance of Being Earnest is a glorious comedy of mistaken identity, which ridicules codes of propriety and etiquette. Manners and morality are also victims of Wilde's sharp wit in Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband, in which snobbery and hypocrisy are laid bare. In Salom茅 and A Florentine Tragedy, Wilde makes powerful use of historical settings to explore the complex relationship between sex and power. The range of these plays displays Wilde's delight in artifice, masks and disguises, and reveals the pretentions of the social world in which he himself played such a dazzling and precarious part.

Richard Allen Cave's introduction and notes discuss the themes of the plays and Wilde's innovative methods of staging. This edition includes the excised 'Gribsby' scene from The Importance of Being Earnest.]]> 431 Oscar Wilde 0140436065 Elsa 4 4.24 1898
author: Oscar Wilde
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1898
rating: 4
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]]> 374188 Ghosts is a three-act tragedy that explores uncomfortable, even forbidden themes. It is also a highly critical commentary on the morality of the day. The play centers around the widow of a prominent Norwegian sea captain whose son returns home and, with tragic consequences, revives the ghosts of the past that she has long labored to put to rest.

Ghosts immediately became a source of controversy for its inclusion of topics like venereal disease, incest, and euthanasia, and it was banned from being performed in England for many years. Its arrival signals a shift in the nature of theatre and, despite negative criticism, it was translated into other languages and performed in Sweden, Germany, and New York within a few years of its debut. It stands now as one of the works considered to have ushered in the era of modern drama.]]> 48 Henrik Ibsen 1420927957 Elsa 3 3.83 1881
author: Henrik Ibsen
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1881
rating: 3
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]]> 42058 Richard III with a new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from all existing printings; it uses the First Quarto, the text closest to the play as it would have been staged. It includes passages from Sir Thomas More's 'History of Richard III'; on-page commentary and notes explain meaning, staging, allusions, and much else; and a detailed introduction that considers composition, sources, performances, and changing critical attitudes to the play. This edition also comes illustrated with production photographs and related art, a full index to the introduction and commentary, and has a durable sewn binding for lasting use.]]> 419 William Shakespeare 0192839934 Elsa 3 3.90 1593
author: William Shakespeare
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1593
rating: 3
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]]> 17788401
Never ask about the past.
Don鈥檛 expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can鈥檛 handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.]]> 330 Colleen Hoover Elsa 4 4.01 2014
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2014
rating: 4
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]]> 219849520 334 Michael G. Kramer 1763586065 Elsa 5 4.31 2024
author: Michael G. Kramer
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2024
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/12/14
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]]> 25902198
Botille is a wily and charismatic peasant, a matchmaker running a tavern with her two sisters in a tiny seaside town.

The year is 1241; the place, Provensa, what we now call Provence, France鈥攁 land still reeling from the bloody crusades waged there by the Catholic Church and its northern French armies.

When the matchmaker finds the mystic near death by a riverside, Botille takes Dolssa in and discovers the girl鈥檚 extraordinary healing power. But as the vengeful Friar Lucien hunts down his heretic, the two girls find themselves putting an entire village at the mercy of murderers.]]> 478 Julie Berry 0451469925 Elsa 5 3.90 2016
author: Julie Berry
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2016
rating: 5
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]]> 18498569
"There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . ."

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office--leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist--an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes' gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand--and fear--the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.]]> 400 Jessie Burton 0062306812 Elsa 3 3.59 2014
author: Jessie Burton
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2014
rating: 3
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]]> 11178225
Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.]]> 348 Ruta Sepetys 039925692X Elsa 4 4.03 2013
author: Ruta Sepetys
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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]]> 40095501 148 Elizabeth George Speare Elsa 3 4.06 1983
author: Elizabeth George Speare
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1983
rating: 3
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]]> 2815590
Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed.]]> 371 Ron Rash 0061470856 Elsa 2 3.54 2008
author: Ron Rash
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2008
rating: 2
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]]> 62446 240 Mark Twain 0451528352 Elsa 4 3.88 1881
author: Mark Twain
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1881
rating: 4
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]]> 7669 489 Michael Crichton 0099244721 Elsa 1 3.87 1999
author: Michael Crichton
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1999
rating: 1
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]]> 17830079
In 1437, after years of regency, the pious and gentle Henry VI, the Lamb, comes of age and accedes to the English throne. His poor health and frailty of mind render him a weakling king -Henry depends on his closest men, Spymaster Derry Brewer and William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, to run his kingdom.

Yet there are those, such as the Plantagenet Richard, Duke of York, who believe England must be led by a strong king if she is to survive. With England's territories in France under threat, and rumours of revolt at home, fears grow that Henry and his advisers will see the country slide into ruin. With a secret deal struck for Henry to marry a young French noblewoman, Margaret of Anjou, those fears become all too real.

As storm clouds gather over England, King Henry and his supporters find themselves besieged abroad and at home. Who, or what can save the kingdom before it is too late?]]> 482 Conn Iggulden 0718159837 Elsa 5 3.91 2013
author: Conn Iggulden
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 5
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]]> 672492 366 Patrick O'Brian 0393308626 Elsa 5 4.45 1984
author: Patrick O'Brian
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1984
rating: 5
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]]> 24382227 Some bodies won鈥檛 stay buried. Some stories need to be told.

When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family鈥檚 property, she has no idea that investigating the brutal century-old murder will lead to a summer of painful discoveries about the past, the present, and herself.

One hundred years earlier, a single violent encounter propels seventeen-year-old Will Tillman into a racial firestorm. In a country rife with violence against blacks and a hometown segregated by Jim Crow, Will must make hard choices on a painful journey towards self discovery and face his inner demons in order to do what鈥檚 right the night Tulsa burns.]]> 384 Jennifer Latham 0316384933 Elsa 5 4.19 2017
author: Jennifer Latham
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2017
rating: 5
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]]> 40909452 In this breathtaking novel, rich in history and adventure, #1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon continues the story of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser that started with the now-classic novel Outlander and continued in Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager. Once again spanning continents and centuries, Gabaldon has created a work of sheer brilliance.

What if you knew someone you loved was going to die? What if you thought you could save them? How much would you risk to try?

Claire Randall has gone to find Jamie Fraser, the man she loved more than life, and has left half her heart behind with their daughter, Brianna. Claire gave up Jamie to save Brianna, and now Bree has sent her mother back to the Scottish warrior who was willing to give his life to save them both. But a chilling discovery in the pages of history suggests that Jamie and Claire's story doesn't have a happy ending.

Brianna dares a terrifying leap into the unknown in search of her mother and the father she has never met, risking her own future to try to change history . . . and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past . . . or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong.]]> 928 Diana Gabaldon 0525618732 Elsa 4 4.35 1996
author: Diana Gabaldon
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1996
rating: 4
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]]> 1381 Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy.

So begins Robert Fagles' magnificent translation of the Odyssey.

If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, then the Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of everyman's journey though life. Odysseus' reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces, during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.

In the myths and legends that are retold here, Fagles has captured the energy and poetry of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom, and given us an Odyssey to read aloud, to savor, and to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery.

Renowned classicist Bernard Knox's superb Introduction and textual commentary provide new insights and background information for the general reader and scholar alike, intensifying the strength of Fagles' translation.

This is an Odyssey to delight both the classicist and the public at large, and to captivate a new generation of Homer's students.

--

Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning new modern-verse translation.]]> 541 Homer 0143039954 Elsa 0 to-read 3.79 -700
author: Homer
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.79
book published: -700
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 58868338
Our polarized, divisive culture seems to be without heroes and role models. We are adrift in a dark sea of disillusionment and distrust and we need "human lighthouses" to give us hope and direct us back to the goodness in each other and in our own hearts.

Steve Pemberton found a lighthouse in an ordinary man named John Sykes, his former high school counselor. John gave Steve a safe harbor after Steve escaped an abusive foster home and together they navigated a new path that led to personal and professional success. Through stories of people like John and several others, you will identify how the hardships you have overcome equip you to be a "human lighthouse," inspiring those around you.

The humble gestures of kindness that change the course of our lives can shift the course for America too. With a unique vision for building up individuals and communities and restoring trust, The Lighthouse Effect opens your eyes to those who are quietly heroic. You will reflect on the lighthouses in your own life and be reminded that the greatest heroes are alongside us--and within us.]]> 240 Steve Pemberton 0310362334 Elsa 0 to-read 4.29
author: Steve Pemberton
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 40892001 Nothing happened鈥r did it?
Jeremy is an adrenaline junky who just made a serious mistake. It nearly killed him. While being drug under water with a parachute line around his neck, he saw his life pass before his eyes鈥lus something else, something not part of his life. Something he dismisses until he begins to suspect its true importance. Now he has to see it
Maybe to save the world.
But how do you have a near-death experience intentionally? Jeremy scrambles to solve this puzzle while the world scrambles to solve its own near death experience.
Timing is everything.]]> 369 Jody Summers 0989107973 Elsa 0 to-read 4.43 2018
author: Jody Summers
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 220363612 Mike Martin 1068852933 Elsa 0 to-read 4.42
author: Mike Martin
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 215515923 鈥淭his story held my heart from the beginning.鈥� Edward Stubbins has never known kindness. Orphaned in post-war England, he is sent to Australia at age ten, where cruelty and rejection define his youth.

Against all odds, Edward carves out a life for himself鈥攗ntil love, the one thing he dares to believe in, is ripped away. From that moment on, he vows never to love again鈥� and dies a bitter man.

But death is not the end. Edward is offered a seemingly impossible chance鈥攖o live again. Another life, another fate.

This time, he鈥檚 not in control鈥攋ust a passenger in a life both eerily familiar and unexpectedly different. The man he becomes treads a path that echoes Edward鈥檚 own painful past, yet glimmers with traces of hope.

Then fate takes a cruel turn.

Is he doomed to relive the suffering he once endured, or is there something more at play鈥攕omething that could change everything?

One More Life to Live is a gripping tale of fate, redemption, and the possibility that the universe is far more merciful than it seems.]]> 346 Steven Decker Elsa 0 to-read 4.38 2024
author: Steven Decker
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 34330645
As a computational biologist, Theo is more familiar with digital code and microbes than the dark arts of forensic sleuthing. But a field trip to Montana suddenly lands him in the middle of an investigation into the bloody killing of one of his former students. As more details, and bodies, come to light, the local cops determine that the killer is either a grizzly gone rogue鈥� or Theo himself. Racing to stay one step ahead of the police, Theo must use his scientific acumen to uncover the killer. Will he be able to become as cunning as the predator he hunts鈥攂efore he becomes its prey?]]> 382 Andrew Mayne 1612184979 Elsa 0 to-read 4.09 2017
author: Andrew Mayne
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 55897948 337 D.K. Janotta Elsa 0 to-read 4.53
author: D.K. Janotta
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 34640476
The first book, The State, represents a radically new political system of society, one which is the most democratic system ever possible! This is a completely new society, a real civil society, which otherwise in the capitalist system is only a utopia. In this book, I scrutinize the principles of scientific socialism; i.e., all those principles of Marxism concerning the state that build socialism as a political system.

The second book, The Economic Theory of Socialism, is a sequel, and as far as I know, the only sequel of the greatest work by Karl Marx 鈥� Capital. The economics of socialism makes Marx鈥檚 socialism already completely possible. In this book, I scrutinize the economic laws that build socialism as a more effective economic system than capitalism. These laws are extracted from Marx鈥檚 main work 鈥� Capital.

From 1917 to 1991, the totalitarian system in USSR and East Europe was called socialism, and even by the scientific nonsense and absurd names of communism and communist system. In this system, the official ideology was allegedly Marxism, but really it could not endure any Marxist criticism. There was never any socialism anywhere!

In the twentieth century, we passed through a system of utopian socialism as proof that this was not socialism that was not possible, but for the utopia of writers before and after Marx. We were visited by a utopian socialism, which at the contemporary stage is simply capitalism 鈥� state, monopolistic.

There is no better application of Keynes鈥檚 doctrine than the 鈥渟ocialism鈥� of the twentieth century. His 鈥減lanned capitalism鈥� is actually 鈥減lanned socialism.鈥�

About the
Todor Bombov lives in Varna, Bulgaria, the town called the Pearl of Black Sea.]]> 242 Todor Bombov 1681819643 Elsa 0 to-read 4.34 2017
author: Todor Bombov
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> 211398166 336 Michael G. Kramer Elsa 0 to-read 4.38
author: Michael G. Kramer
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 29977617 356 Maria Nhambu Elsa 0 to-read 4.30 2016
author: Maria Nhambu
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 216383106 鈥淢otive Black offers a stunning exploration of the protagonist's inner life, a maelstrom of conflicting desires, self-doubt, and existential despair. Yet it is cinematic in style and exceptional in the use of imagery.鈥� 鈥擱eaders' Favorite

At the bottom of the rabbit hole, there is no light. The steel walls, strung in wire, are as cold as the air, and whoever might find you inside the dark of this massive, enclosed dome is entitled by the ruling Institute to Love you, or be Loved by you, however they desire. Their Safety and Happiness鈥擥oogle, the watchful AI, will assure you鈥攄epends on it, and to deny them this, well, that鈥檚 just Hateful.

In this uncompromising and darkly humorous satire on the LGBT, where the infinite spectrum of gender鈥攏ow known as Color鈥攊s fully realized, misgendering anyone results in being dismantled for parts or processed into Safe food. Simon, one of the few Shells to have a Natural, unmodified and still identifiably male body, must navigate this absurdist, transhumanist hellscape. Having been locked out of every unoccupied Safe Space after yet another argument with Google, he is left with no choice but to try and survive whatever might be bumping around every corner of Safe Dome Austin.

What follows in the first of this four-part series鈥� MOTIVE BLACK 鈥攊s a maelstrom of manipulation by Google, a mysterious Institute researcher named Ana, and the voice of an unseen figure, who only Simon can hear. They each have their own motives, and Simon is at the center of everything. In the fever dream of Simon鈥檚 attempt to find freedom, he鈥檒l come closer to the truth of this nightmarish future, a truth as horrific as it is unimaginable.]]> 490 Adam Scott Huerta Elsa 0 to-read 4.34
author: Adam Scott Huerta
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 112932939
From the Author, What I Like About the Book:
The characters! Yanara, the protagonist, is a kick-a鈥攃elestial wizard, funny, witty, surprising. I allowed her to narrate her story, and she allowed me to come along for the wild ride. Her spouses, Mandolen and Frost, are spicy. Their five kids are amazing, one a worldmaker, another a mage, a third a pathfinder, the fourth a future king, and an adopted silverblood. Along with their menagerie of three wolves, a shibal cat, two snowfoxes, a golden eagle, and a lightning dragon (the 鈥渓ightning鈥� part is essential). Their aerial fighting team, the Furies, their mage team, the Dragoons.
The romance and the paradigm of marriage and family. On Yand, marriage is what you put in your marriage contract. Non-binary, multi-racial families are common.
Themes of profound courage and sacrifice at the brink of genocide are explored by the main plot of war. I drew from personal experiences to describe the war's devastation to the world and its people, and it was painful to write. Cathartic? Yes, to a measure. No, because plenty more awaits to be told鈥�
The world is vivid and exotic, inviting you to dive in and indulge鈥�
The story has extensive dialog and exciting scenes and is brilliantly illustrated by Ms Lily Dormishev.]]> 308 Andri E. Elia Elsa 0 to-read 4.39
author: Andri E. Elia
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 0
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]]> 62291 An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces manoeuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others鈥攁 supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...]]> 1177 George R.R. Martin 055357342X Elsa 0 to-read 4.54 2000
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2000
rating: 0
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]]> 211423616 WINNER: 3X 2024 Global eBook Award (Business, Communications, Leadership)

WINNER: 2X Goody Business BookAward (Business - Management, Leadership - Think Differently)

WINNER: Nonfiction Authors Association, Silver Medal Award

FINALIST: 2024 American Book Fest, Best Book Award in Business: Management and Leadership

FINALIST: 2024 Goody Business Book Award in Business - Thought Leadership

DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE: 2024 NYC Big Book Award

Seeking Fairness at Work examines the unwritten rules at work鈥攔ules that, when broken, demotivate employees and keep them from doing their best work and companies from reaching their full potential.

It鈥檚 well known that high engagement is essential to greater productivity, profit growth, customer loyalty, and employee retention.

What鈥檚 less understood is the crucial role the implied social contract plays in this process and how it relates to the five most common workplace norms that betray fairness, leaving employees feeling dispirited, disengaged, and headed for the door.

Using evidence-based science, academic research, interviews, and real-life stories, business strategist and host of the Business Confidential Now podcast, Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, analyzes why traditional means of improving employee engagement, retention and satisfaction inevitably fall short.

Discover solutions aimed at neutralizing toxic norms and empowering a culture where employees can do their best work. The book offers a five-part strategy filled with practical tips any leader can use Trust with More Self-Awareness Improve Relationship Chemistry with More Empathy Make Genuine Accountability a Cornerstone Maintain a Cultural Safety Net Mend the Structural Safety Net Seeking Fairness at Work is ideal for executives, managers, and entrepreneurs who want to raise their employees鈥� game instead of their defenses; the human resource professionals, consultants, and employment attorneys who advise them; and employees wanting a reality check of their own workplace experiences.
]]> 224 Hanna Hasl-Kelchner Elsa 0 to-read 4.39
author: Hanna Hasl-Kelchner
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 0
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]]> 217217019
A restless spirit, fallen from heaven to earth, finds solace in a simple activity. Two close friends, trapped in various situations for years, remain unaware of how close their destination truly is. When Dakota left her profession at the peak of her career due to unforeseen circumstances, the same profession found a new Dakota years later. In this seductive and kinky story, the universe uses bizarre circumstances to guide each character to their destined path.]]> 236 Rebecca Harlem 1035864509 Elsa 0 to-read 4.44
author: Rebecca Harlem
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 50366246 212 Linda Keen 1733340424 Elsa 0 to-read 4.37 1998
author: Linda Keen
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 201311165 Jonathan has lost something huge but invisible 鈥� but what first led him down that path? Now surrounded by the struggles of others who are confused and often hostile, he is driven by kindness.
Then he is given an unexpected and enormous gift 鈥� a Manor House. Unusual and intriguing things have been going on there and the press can never quite get to the bottom of it.
But now his psychic lover will not tell him something and stays away.
His mind races with possibilities, pressures are building and he senses an inexplicable, evil presence in a half empty storeroom. Do demons only exist in bible stories? He fears exorcism might work or it might fail, these possibilities are both very frightening.
Odd events start to occur 鈥� is it safe?
Something intrudes between him and his lover and then a horrible event drives everyone away from the Manor House. Alone and distraught Jonathan takes comfort in reading, but there are no clear answers to his questions. The Vatican archives will always hold many secrets.
He gets an astonishing and heart-breaking message from beyond the grave 鈥�
Suddenly the mystery of the storeroom is explained 鈥�
It becomes clear that nothing is what it appears to be 鈥�
Who is the man who seemed real?
The truth behind all this is complex. A shocking story you will remember but may try to forget 鈥]> 261 Elizabeth Tebby Germaine Elsa 0 to-read 4.43
author: Elizabeth Tebby Germaine
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 0
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]]> 51106657
A top-secret paramilitary agency wants the U-10 and its gadgets, the guy who has the U-10 wants to keep it, and the alien who lost the U-10 wants it back. A death squad is dispatched to retrieve the U-10 and will stop at nothing, including the destruction of Earth, to accomplish their mission. Using the U-10 to heal battle wounds produces unexpected results.

What good is a U-10 survival kit that has just three options?
(A) Saves you. (B) Kills you. (C) Turns you into an alien?]]> 348 Sam B. Miller II Elsa 0 to-read 4.32 2019
author: Sam B. Miller II
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 219688205 Fate Finally Found Us is a love story that transcends time, distance, and the trials of life. Tommy Beal lived the life of a true rock star, sharing stages with some of the most iconic bands in history, but the true highlight of his life was not fame鈥攊t was love. His saving grace, his forever love, would come in the form of a woman whose presence felt like destiny fulfilled.

Barbara Beal鈥檚 narrative, woven with adventure, heartache, and faith, reminds us that love often finds us when we least expect it and in the most unexpected ways. From childhood friends who experienced the ups and downs of life, Tommy and Barbara鈥檚 paths crossed repeatedly until fate finally brought them together. With heartfelt reflections, deep emotion, and a glimpse into a lifetime of intertwined moments, this story captures the beauty of love鈥檚 resilience and the guiding hand of destiny.

Prepare to be swept into a world of tender moments, life鈥檚 greatest challenges, and the unshakable belief that some love stories are written in the stars. Fate Finally Found Us will captivate your heart and lift your soul as you discover that sometimes, the best things in life truly do come to those who wait.]]> 127 Barbara Beal Elsa 0 to-read 4.35
author: Barbara Beal
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.35
book published:
rating: 0
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]]> 219055410 Sgt. Windflower Mysteries Best Selling and Award-Winning Light Mysteries
# 1 Best Selling Cozy Mystery on Amazon
Winner of the Bony Blithe Award for Best Light Mystery
Silver Medallist at Reader鈥檚 Choice Awards
Short-Listed for LOLA 2024 Must Read Book of the Year

Welcome back to Grand Bank, where a mystery is just around the corner and danger is often too close for comfort鈥�

Winston Windflower is back with the RCMP, this time as Acting Inspector, hoping for a peaceful life in the tiny town of Grand Bank, Newfoundland. But when suspicious fires erupt and an outsider鈥檚 body is discovered in one of them, his hopes are quickly dashed. Now, they have a murder to solve.

As the investigation deepens, Windflower uncovers connections to a major gold heist on the mainland, introducing a host of nefarious characters who begin to wreak havoc on the local police force. To make matters worse, Windflower receives a cryptic message in a dream warning that his friend and colleague, Eddie Tizzard, is in grave danger.

Windflower must protect Eddie and those he loves as he tracks down a murderer while keeping the town safe from harm in this page-turning mystery full of intrigue and suspense and a Windflower鈥檚 signature humour and warmth.

Praise for the Best-Selling and Award-Winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries

鈥淩eading this series is like taking a deep cleansing breath and feeling relaxed and happy while visiting with Windflower and his family and workmates.鈥� Jem鈥檚 Books 鈥淩eaders cannot get enough of Windflower and this series. Fall in love with the relationships, the cases, the town and when they talk about food鈥� I highly encourage you to grab a snack and a drink, go to your comfy seat and dig in.鈥� Cozy Mystery Book Reviews 鈥淏e prepared to be charmed by Windflower, a food-loving sergeant who could possibly be Canada鈥檚 most polite Mountie.鈥� Halifax Chronicle-Herald 鈥淚f you love murder mysteries that are well-crafted, majorly entertaining, and interesting enough to keep you reading way past your bedtime, I can recommend trying the latest Sgt. Wildflower Mystery鈥� Perfect at Midnight blog ]]> 432 Mike Martin 1990896235 Elsa 0 to-read 4.50
author: Mike Martin
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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]]> 11424443 304 Kyle Keyes 1456503790 Elsa 0 to-read 4.41 2011
author: Kyle Keyes
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 197122500
Spanning fourteen years and five continents, prostitutes, hitmen, intelligence agents, ladyboys, thieves, junkies and shaman are just a few of the people encountered in places as far and wide as the Rif Mountains, the Amazon Rainforest, South East Asian jungles and the Australian Outback. From Bangkok to Beirut, Medellin to Johannesburg and a hundred other cities in between; from Jamaican strip clubs to South African military bases and gangster villas in Thailand to bus crashes in Panama, this is a story like no other.

It is strong, bold and brutally honest. Will suit those interested in the subjects of gang stalking, targeted individuals, mind control, international travel, backpacking, freelance journalism, sex, drugs and rock n roll, and anyone else who likes to be transported into another world by the pages of a good book.]]> 427 Edward Williams Elsa 0 to-read 4.33
author: Edward Williams
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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review:

]]> 18801512 The tale, based on historical sources, recounts their struggles, passions, enemies, and accomplishments. Even today, the jury is out on Theodora. Because their court historian Procopius painted her and Justinian as the blackest sinners--degenerate, lustful, and corrupt--the shining Golden Age they created was seen as debauched and rotten. The novel tells another side of their story in all its complexity, strengths and weaknesses.]]> 556 Carol Strickland Elsa 0 to-read 4.40 2013
author: Carol Strickland
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> 101265124
Brown finds that an alien species has successfully assimilated themselves with the humans on Earth and is ruling over them covertly. When an attempt is made to kidnap him, he realises he has become a target in a hidden game where different groups are vying for power, complicated by the introduction of artificial humans and super androids to boost Earth鈥檚 population and armies.

Some ruling factions are preparing for war against the planet Levita and re-conquest of a group of planets, former colonies in the Delta Quadrant, who have declared their independence from Earth.

Brown realises that he is also running the gauntlet of former enemies who are out to get him. He is desperate to thwart the prospects of war against Levita, where he has a son he has never met and is also against re-colonisation after his recent experiences on Pirrus.

Aboard The Space Adventurer, the cruise ship on which he is returning, he meets two beautiful women. Marika, who has been sent as his minder, by the EPA, Earth Policy Administration, to keep an eye on Brown as they don鈥檛 fully trust him and Leela, the daughter of Earth鈥檚 biggest industrialist, who is secretly building the super androids on a space hub, where the ship makes a stop.

He soon realises that he is in a desperate battle for survival, before he can even reach Earth and the big bash the EPA is throwing for him, for successfully completing his mission on Pirrus.]]> 0 Max Nowaz 1803133961 Elsa 4 4.28 2023
author: Max Nowaz
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
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]]> 13281368 The Passage, Justin Cronin constructed an unforgettable world transformed by a government experiment gone horribly wrong. Now the scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic story surges forward with The Twelve.

In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child鈥檚 arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as 鈥淟ast Stand in Denver,鈥� has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned鈥攁nd that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind鈥檚 salvation...unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man鈥檚 extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.]]> 592 Justin Cronin 0345504984 Elsa 5 4.00 2012
author: Justin Cronin
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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]]> 24770
But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world鈥攁nd it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever....]]> 425 Scott Westerfeld 0689865384 Elsa 5 3.85 2005
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
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]]> 49669410
An explorer returns to gather information from a climate-ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet鈥檚 finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind鈥攈opeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there鈥檚 no telling how they鈥檝e devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.

N. K. Jemisin鈥檚 Emergency Skin is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.]]> 38 N.K. Jemisin 1542093570 Elsa 4 4.02 2019
author: N.K. Jemisin
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2019
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/11/12
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]]> 8935689
Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.]]> 467 Iain M. Banks 1857231384 Elsa 5 3.86 1987
author: Iain M. Banks
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at:
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]]> 112292
Captain John "Black Jack" Geary's legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic "last stand" in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.

Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance's one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic "Black Jack" legend...]]> 293 Jack Campbell 0441014186 Elsa 5 3.97 2006
author: Jack Campbell
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
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]]> 169756 Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon鈥攁 chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world鈥攁nd a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.]]> 308 M.T. Anderson 0763622591 Elsa 3 3.55 2002
author: M.T. Anderson
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2002
rating: 3
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]]> 40024139 Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union鈥攈oly matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

This is a previously published edition of ISBN 9780062878021. An alternate cover edition can be found here.]]> 513 Shelby Mahurin Elsa 4 3.92 2019
author: Shelby Mahurin
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> 16007855
Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous鈥攅specially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna鈥檚 great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she鈥檚 prepared to risk.

In the most sensual and fast-paced installment yet, Sweet Reckoning brings all the beloved Neph together one last time to fight for their freedom.]]> 379 Wendy Higgins 0062265970 Elsa 3 4.28 2014
author: Wendy Higgins
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> 42265183
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose鈥攐ne Celine is sure has set her in his sights... and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Ren茅e Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.]]> 425 Ren茅e Ahdieh 1524738174 Elsa 4 3.65 2019
author: Ren茅e Ahdieh
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> 11544421 Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them鈥攏o matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack鈥檚 shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there鈥檚 little available in Atlanta.

Kate can鈥檛 bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute鈥攁nd they鈥檒l pay him in medicine. With the young people鈥檚 survival and the Pack鈥檚 future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer鈥攂ut they have little doubt that they鈥檙e heading straight into a trap鈥�

Includes the short story "An Ill-Advised Rescue"]]> 355 Ilona Andrews 1937007588 Elsa 5 4.43 2013
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2013
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> 75619895
And have the adventure of a lifetime.

Upon arrival in the winter wonderland of Lunwyn, Finnie realizes she鈥檚 been played and finds herself walking down the aisle to wed The Drakkar.

Instantly thrown into inauspicious circumstances, with years of practice (she did survive that elephant stampede), Finnie bests the challenges and digs into her adventure.

But as Frey Drakkar discovers the woman who is his new wife is not Princess Sjofn, a woman he loathes, but instead his Finnie, a free spirit with a thirst for venture just like him, without her knowledge, he orders his new bride bound to his frozen world鈥�

Everlasting.]]> 494 Kristen Ashley Elsa 4 3.86 2011
author: Kristen Ashley
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> 22020052
Many years ago, two children from completely different worlds forged a connection, a fateful connection, an unbreakable bond that would change their lives forever鈥�

Salome knows only one way to live鈥攗nder Prophet David鈥檚 rule. In the commune she calls home, Salome knows nothing of life beyond her strict faith, nor of life beyond the Fence鈥攖he fence that cages her, keeps her trapped in an endless cycle of misery. A life she believes she is destined to always lead, until a horrific event sets her free.

Fleeing the absolute safety of all she has ever known, Salome is thrust into the world outside, a frightening world full of uncertainty and sin; into the protective arms of a person she believed she would never see again.

River 鈥楽tyx鈥� Nash knows one thing for certain in life鈥攈e was born and bred to wear a cut. Raised in a turbulent world of sex, Harleys, and drugs, Styx, unexpectedly has the heavy burden of the Hades Hangmen gavel thrust upon him, and all at the ripe old age of twenty-six鈥攎uch to his rivals鈥� delight.

Haunted by a crushing speech impediment, Styx quickly learns to deal with his haters. Powerful fists, an iron jaw and the skillful use of his treasured German blade has earned him a fearsome reputation as a man not to be messed with in the shadowy world of outlaw MC鈥檚. A reputation that successfully keeps most people far, far away.

Styx has one rule in life鈥攏ever let anyone get too close. It鈥檚 a plan that he has stuck to for years, that is, until a young woman is found injured on his lot鈥� a woman who looks uncannily familiar, a woman who clearly does not belong in his world, yet a woman he feels reluctant to let go鈥�

The Hades Hangmen series has been taken down from Amazon and is no longer for sale.]]> 466 Tillie Cole Elsa 5 4.05 2014
author: Tillie Cole
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2014
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/09/12
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]]> 58124274 Erika

I was told that dreams were our heart鈥檚 desires. My nightmares, however, became my obsession.

His name is Michael Crist.

My boyfriend鈥檚 older brother is like that scary movie that you peek through your hand to watch. He is handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college鈥檚 basketball team and now gone pro, he鈥檚 more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than me.

But I noticed him.

I saw him. I heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid鈥or years, I bit my nails, unable to look away.

Now, I鈥檝e graduated high school and moved on to college, but I haven鈥檛 stopped watching Michael. He鈥檚 bad, and the dirt I鈥檝e seen isn鈥檛 content to stay in my head anymore.

Because he鈥檚 finally noticed me.

Michael

Her name is Erika Fane, but everyone calls her Rika.

My brother鈥檚 girlfriend grew up hanging around my house and is always at our dinner table. She looks down when I enter a room and stills when I am close. I can always feel the fear rolling off of her, and while I haven鈥檛 had her body, I know that I have her mind. That鈥檚 all I really want anyway.

Until my brother leaves for the military, and I find Rika alone at college.

In my city.

Unprotected.

The opportunity is too good to be true as well as the timing. Because you see, three years ago she put a few of my high school friends in prison, and now they鈥檙e out.

We鈥檝e waited. We鈥檝e been patient. And now every last one of her nightmares will come true.


***Corrupt can be read as a stand-alone. No cliffhanger.]]> 516 Penelope Douglas 1518783872 Elsa 4 3.69 2015
author: Penelope Douglas
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/09/12
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]]> 20559676
Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don鈥檛 go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.

While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.

As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor鈥檚 brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.

This is their story鈥]> 268 J.A. Redmerski Elsa 4 4.01 2013
author: J.A. Redmerski
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: recommended, wish-list, favs, to-reread, favorites
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]]> 58724923 A wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

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

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

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

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it鈥檚 too late.]]> 372 Jason Rekulak 1250819342 Elsa 5 thriller 4.12 2022
author: Jason Rekulak
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: thriller
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]]> 67998095
By contrast, melting ice sheets have brought the Gulf Stream to a halt and northern latitudes, including Scotland, are being hit by snow and ice storms. It is against this backdrop that Addie, a young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station, discovers the body of a man entombed in ice.

The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger, missing for three months after vanishing during what he claimed was a hill-walking holiday. But Younger was no hill walker, and his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven, is inexplicable.

Cameron Brodie, a veteran Glasgow detective, volunteers to be flown north to investigate Younger's death, but he has more than a murder enquiry on his agenda. He has just been given a devastating medical prognosis by his doctor and knows the time has come to face his estranged daughter who has made her home in the remote Highland village.

Arriving during an ice storm, Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, find themselves the sole guests at the inappropriately named International Hotel, where Younger's body has been kept refrigerated in a cake cabinet. But evidence uncovered during his autopsy places the lives of both Brodie and Roy in extreme jeopardy.

As another storm closes off communications and the possibility of escape, Brodie must face up not only to the ghosts of his past, but to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that George Younger's investigations had threatened to expose.]]> 368 Peter May Elsa 4 faves 4.12 2023
author: Peter May
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: faves
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]]> 12513614
Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, na茂ve and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him.

This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence.]]> 276 C.J. Roberts Elsa 5 3.94 2011
author: C.J. Roberts
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: ebooks, fiction, 2024, adventure, psychological, bookshelf, i-own
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]]> 22107214 Drawn to collide into an impossible bliss鈥�"

Labeled a 鈥楥ursed鈥� woman of Eve from birth, Maddie has endured nothing but pain and repression at the hands of The Order鈥檚 most abusive elder, Moses. Now living with her sister in The Hangmen鈥檚 secluded compound, finally, Maddie, is free. Free from the suffocating faith she no longer believes in. Free from endless years of physical and mental torment.

Just鈥� free鈥�

At age twenty-one, the timid and shy Maddie is content to live within the confines of her new home鈥攕afe from the outside world, safe from harm and, strangely, protected by the Hangmen鈥檚 most volatile member; the heavily pierced and tattooed, Flame.

Flame.

The man who ceaselessly watches over her with his midnight dark and searing eyes. The man who protects her with a breath-taking intensity. And the man who stirs something deep within her numbed heart.

But when circumstances conspire for Flame to need HER help, Maddie bravely risks it all for the broken man who has captivated her fragile soul.

The Hangmen鈥檚 most infamous member, Flame, is ruled by one thing鈥攁nger. Plagued by haunting demons from his past, an all-consuming rage, and isolated by an abhorrent hatred of being touched, Flame's days are filled with suffocating darkness, pierced only by a single ray of light鈥擬addie. The shy, beautiful woman he cannot purge from his thoughts. The woman he has an overwhelming need to possess鈥�
... the only person who has ever been able to touch him.

Flame鈥檚 mission in life is to protect Maddie, to keep her safe. Until a trigger from his troubled past sends him spiraling into madness, trapping him in the deepest recesses of his disturbed mind.

His Hangmen brothers fear that Flame is beyond saving.

His only hope of salvation: Maddie and her healing light.

Dark Contemporary Romance.
Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, disturbingly sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language, and very mature topics.
Recommended for age 18 years and over.

The Hades Hangmen series has been taken down from Amazon and is no longer for sale.]]> 371 Tillie Cole Elsa 4 4.39 2015
author: Tillie Cole
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: all-time-favs, psychological-thrillers, psychological-thriller, recommend, dark, crime-fiction, to-buy
review:

]]> 62874245 听
Lee Gulliver never thought she鈥檇 find herself living on the streets鈥攏o one ever does鈥攂ut when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla. In Seattle, she parks in a secluded spot by the beach to lay low and plan her next move鈥攗ntil early one morning, she sees a听sobbing woman throw herself into the ocean. Lee hauls the woman back to the surface, but instead of appreciation, she is met with fury. The drowning woman, Hazel, tells her that she wanted to die, that she鈥檚 trapped in a toxic, abusive marriage, that she鈥檚 a prisoner in her own home. Lee has thwarted her one chance to escape her life.

Out of options, Hazel retreats to her gilded cage, and Lee thinks she鈥檚 seen the last of her, until her unexpected return the next morning. Bonded by disparate but difficult circumstances, the women soon strike up a close and unlikely friendship. And then听one day, Hazel makes a shocking request: she wants Lee to help her disappear. It鈥檒l be easy, Hazel assures her, but Lee soon learns that nothing is as it seems, and that Hazel may not be the friend Lee thought she was.]]> 336 Robyn Harding 1538726769 Elsa 5 3.99 2023
author: Robyn Harding
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: on-my-bookshelf, drama, mystery-crime, thriller-mystery, mine, favorite, absolute-favorites, all-time-favorites, need-to-buy, to-read-fiction, re-read, 5-star-books, owned, suspense, books-i-own, my-favorites
review:

]]> 29908754 218 R.D. Ronald Elsa 4 4.00 2012
author: R.D. Ronald
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: home-library, on-my-shelf, want, kindle, the-best, favorite-books, loved-it, contemporary, own, fav, crime, loved, want-to-buy, mystery-thriller, my-books, wishlist, book-club, mystery, novels, best-books, my-library, books-to-buy, 5-stars, my-ebooks, must-read, read-more-than-once
review:

]]> 31309
Pit your wits against the powers of deduction of the 鈥楾uesday Night Club鈥�. But don't forget that Miss Marple is present. Sometime later, many of the same people are present at a dinner given by Colonel and Dolly Bantry. Another set of six problems. Even later there's a thirteenth. Can you match Miss Marple's performance?

The 13 stories are: 1. The Tuesday Night Club, 2. The Idol House of Astarte, 3. Ingots of Gold, 4. The Bloodstained Pavement, 5. Motive v. Opportunity, 6. The Thumbmark of St. Peter, 7. The Blue Geranium, 8. The Companion, 9. The Four Suspects, 10. A Christmas Tragedy, 11. The Herb of Death, 12. The Affair at the Bungalow, and 13. Death by Drowning.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the collection of short stories, "The Thirteen Problems." Entries for each of the stories are located elsewhere in 欧宝娱乐. There are 12 Miss Marple novels and 20 short stories, thirteen of which are in this collection. The 20 short stories about Miss M can be found by searching 欧宝娱乐 for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."]]> 315 Agatha Christie 0007120869 Elsa 4 3.98 1932
author: Agatha Christie
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1932
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/09/01
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]]> 202369408 272 Michael Wyndham Thomas 1738404331 Elsa 5 4.30 2023
author: Michael Wyndham Thomas
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/09/01
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]]> 150739 not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

Cover illustrator: Peter de S猫ve]]> 240 Patricia C. Wrede 015204566X Elsa 3 4.16 1990
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1990
rating: 3
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date added: 2024/07/16
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]]> 46777 Welcome to the realm of very scary faeries!

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death.]]> 272 Holly Black 0689867042 Elsa 5 3.72 2002
author: Holly Black
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2002
rating: 5
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]]> 54319549 A Betrayal鈥�

Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that鈥檚 one order she鈥檚 more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice...

Casteel Da鈥橬eer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he鈥檚 the only way for her to get what she wants鈥攖o find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she鈥檚 ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself鈥攁bout him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she鈥檚 far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret鈥�

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.]]> 637 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457106 Elsa 3 4.32 2020
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 3
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]]> 57945316 From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire

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

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

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

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?]]> 544 R.F. Kuang 0063021420 Elsa 5 4.17 2022
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 5
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]]> 209441121
But forty-one years of suppressed fury is about to burst out of Niki McKnight after the Vikings' treatment of Rollo. Her lava-hot rage and desire for justice on behalf of all the women who filed petitions against the former King, sets our key characters off on a new path.

The resulting power struggles in Viking bring new faces and fresh problems into the Gateway but Dola and Finn have their own issues.

The stakes are heightened further during the inaugural meeting of Breanna's hilariously unconventional royal book club, while Aysha faces an unexpected predicament with Autumn.

In Code Yellow in Gretna Green, Niki discovers what happens when a furious Recorder is pushed too far and heads into Angry Town.]]> 776 Linzi Day Elsa 2 4.62 2024
author: Linzi Day
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2024
rating: 2
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date added: 2024/07/16
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]]> 92121 175 Roger Zelazny 0380014300 Elsa 4 4.07 1970
author: Roger Zelazny
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1970
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/07/16
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]]> 50027 Discover the origin story of one of the greatest heroes of the Realms鈥擠rizzt Do鈥橴rden鈥攊n this thrilling first installment of the Dark Elf Trilogy

Drow ranger Drizzt Do鈥橴rden, first introduced in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, quickly became one of the fantasy genre鈥檚 standout characters. With Homeland, Salvatore pulls back the curtain to reveal the startling tale of how this hero came to be鈥攈ow 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鈥橴rden 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鈥攁nd, 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 Elsa 4 4.26 1990
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1990
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/05/06
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]]> 41804
I, ROBOT

They mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on perhaps its greatest adventure: the invention of the first positronic man. It was a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities鈥攁nd unforeseen risks. For the scientists who invented the earliest robots weren't content that their creations should ' remain programmed helpers, companions, and semisentient worker-machines. And soon the robots themselves; aware of their own intelligence, power, and humanity, aren't either.

As humans and robots struggle to survive together鈥攁nd sometimes against each other鈥攐n earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. Human men and women confront robots gone mad, telepathic robots, robot politicians, and vast robotic intelligences that may already secretly control the world. And both are asking the same questions: What is human? And is humanity obsolete?

In l, Robot Isaac Asimov changes forever our perception of robots, and human beings and updates the timeless myth of man's dream to play god. with all its rewards鈥攁nd terrors.
--front flap]]> 224 Isaac Asimov 0553803700 Elsa 5 4.22 1950
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1950
rating: 5
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]]> 116296
Who would not to wish to be the man in charge of Ankh-Morpork's Royal Mint and the bank next door?

It's a job for life. But, as former con-man Moist von Lipwig is learning, the life is not necessarily for long.

The Chief Cashier is almost certainly a vampire. There's something nameless in the cellar (and the cellar itself is pretty nameless), it turns out that the Royal Mint runs at a loss. A 300 year old wizard is after his girlfriend, he's about to be exposed as a fraud, but the Assassins Guild might get him first. In fact lot of people want him dead

Oh. And every day he has to take the Chairman for walkies.

Everywhere he looks he's making enemies.

What he should be doing is . . . Making Money!]]> 394 Terry Pratchett 0061161640 Elsa 5 book-challenge-2024 4.26 2007
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/04/29
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]]> 24830 The Illustrated Man has remained in print since being published in 1951 is fair testimony to the universal appeal of Ray Bradbury's work. Only his second collection (the first was Dark Carnival, later reworked into The October Country), it is a marvelous, if mostly dark, quilt of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In an ingenious framework to open and close the book, Bradbury presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man--a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos. What's even more remarkable, and increasingly disturbing, is that the illustrations are themselves magically alive, and each proceeds to unfold its own story, such as "The Veldt," wherein rowdy children take a game of virtual reality way over the edge. Or "Kaleidoscope," a heartbreaking portrait of stranded astronauts about to reenter our atmosphere--without the benefit of a spaceship. Or "Zero Hour," in which invading aliens have discovered a most logical ally--our own children. Even though most were written in the 1940s and 1950s, these 18 classic stories will be just as chillingly effective 50 years from now. --Stanley Wiater

Contents:

路 Prologue: The Illustrated Man 路 ss *
路 The Veldt [鈥淭he World the Children Made鈥漖 路 ss The Saturday Evening Post Sep 23 鈥�50
路 Kaleidoscope 路 ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Oct 鈥�49
路 The Other Foot 路 ss New Story Magazine Mar 鈥�51
路 The Highway [as by Leonard Spalding] 路 ss Copy Spr 鈥�50
路 The Man 路 ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Feb 鈥�49
路 The Long Rain [鈥淒eath-by-Rain鈥漖 路 ss Planet Stories Sum 鈥�50
路 The Rocket Man 路 ss Maclean鈥檚 Mar 1 鈥�51
路 The Fire Balloons [鈥溾�業n This Sign...鈥欌�漖 路 ss Imagination Apr 鈥�51
路 The Last Night of the World 路 ss Esquire Feb 鈥�51
路 The Exiles [鈥淭he Mad Wizards of Mars鈥漖 路 ss Maclean鈥檚 Sep 15 鈥�49; F&SF Win 鈥�50
路 No Particular Night or Morning 路 ss *
路 The Fox and the Forest [鈥淭o the Future鈥漖 路 ss Colliers May 13 鈥�50
路 The Visitor 路 ss Startling Stories Nov 鈥�48
路 The Concrete Mixer 路 ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Apr 鈥�49
路 Marionettes, Inc. [Marionettes, Inc.] 路 ss Startling Stories Mar 鈥�49
路 The City [鈥淧urpose鈥漖 路 ss Startling Stories Jul 鈥�50
路 Zero Hour 路 ss Planet Stories Fll 鈥�47
路 The Rocket [鈥淥utcast of the Stars鈥漖 路 ss Super Science Stories Mar 鈥�50
路 Epilogue 路 aw *]]> 186 Ray Bradbury 000712774X Elsa 4 4.14 1951
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1951
rating: 4
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]]> 22206 Lullaby is a comedy/drama/tragedy. In that order. It may also be Chuck Palahniuk's best book yet.]]> 260 Chuck Palahniuk 0099437961 Elsa 0 3.76 2002
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/29
shelves: challenge-2024, reading-challenge, reading-challenge-2024
review:

]]> 52022378 For five years Me鈥檃cca Mysuth Sheever has lived among his 鈥渟worn enemies,鈥� pretending to be one of them. One night he buys a journal, its pages blank. The woman who sells him the journal extracts his promise to record his deeds for study. 鈥淟o, the steps of your life mark the journey of your soul.鈥� To expose his prior life, however, would be akin to suicide, for Sheever is a man brimming with secrets.

He begins the journal cautiously, describing the area where he works as a cook, and the people he鈥檚 forced to endure. Hints of his past emerge as he also records day-to-day events. As the journal evolves, he finds himself more entangled than he ever wanted to be in the lives around him, and more sympathetic to people he wanted to hate.

Memories haunt him, and he struggles to maintain a grip on his sanity as he prays for 鈥� and fears 鈥� the signal that his years in exile have ended and he can return home.

This then is Sheever鈥檚 Journal, Diary of a Poison Master.

About the Author:
K. Ritz lives with her husband in a small town in Massachusetts. This is her first book in a series about a world of shadows.
]]> 410 K. Ritz 1950015327 Elsa 5 to-read 4.30 2019
author: K. Ritz
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/04/14
shelves: to-read
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]]> 61608233
"Just that she is all heart. She doesn't have an artificial bone in her body, and therefore, doesn't have the ruthlessness necessary to survive the royal court."

Flaminius's days of bouncing between beds are snatched away the instant he sets eyes on his perfect genetic match, Aurelia. Suddenly, the tedious task of claiming his rightful place on the throne of Arkhnuet doesn't seem as daunting with his whip-smart wife by his side. But it's not like Aurelia had a choice; Flaminius is the only soul she can reproduce with, and she's not about to play a role in her people's extinction.

After a swift wedding and passionate honeymoon, an assassination attempt plummets the lovers back into the reality of ruling. Fueled by their indomitable matched hormones and fierce loyalty to each other, together they must evade his mother's Machiavellian schemes, hunt down the mysterious cause of death among the match-making Keys, and protect the people from a violent supremacist cult, the Oradagra. But it turns out that the greatest threat to their existence is something neither of them could have seen coming, and it's a race against time to save the entire Arkhnuetian planet.]]> 312 Therisa Peimer 1039125611 Elsa 0 to-read 4.29 2022
author: Therisa Peimer
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/14
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]]> 203024688 Money laundering, drugs, international crime, smuggling, fraud and murder ... all this hidden behind the bucolic backdrop of a rich country estate, an established timber mill, a cozy rural village and a magnificent forest. Saskia van Essen has to dig deep to unearth the rot infecting this home of family and friends.

In this adventure, Saskia travels into the mountains of eastern Australia. She takes a job to help restructure a well-established timber mill, thinking her main task is to straighten out some financial mismanagement and modernise the organisation. Instead, she stumbles into the clutches of international crime. She needs all her cyber and observational skills, as well as her mountain biking skills to save the organisation, her new-found friends and herself.

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PRAISE FOR "The Forest"

(BEST BOOK Chanticleer Book Reviews - 5 stars! ) "The Forest", a slow-burning mystery ... follows a young investigator unravelling a mystery that sits deep in the core of a private logging organization ... "The Forest" is an eye-opener for mystery readers and the business world alike.

(Prairies Book Reviews) An exhilarating and thrilling read ... The warmth and complexities of family connections, buried mysteries, and a persistent protagonist all combine to create an enthralling tale ... atmospheric and thoroughly engaging.

(OnLineBookClub review - Five stars)The central characters in this book are so easy to love and connect to ... The author has a remarkable ability to capture the reader's attention. Her ability to describe scenes engagingly and arouse curiosity contribute to the factors that make this book difficult to put down. Readers will always be curious to know what will happen next.]]> 320 Miriam Verbeek 064888547X Elsa 0 to-read 4.39
author: Miriam Verbeek
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.39
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]]> 30267929
As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century鈥檚 darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.]]> 403 Georgia Hunter 0399563083 Elsa 0 to-read 4.39 2017
author: Georgia Hunter
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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]]> 2548866
James Potter thinks he knows, but as he begins his own adventure at Hogwarts, he discovers just how much of a challenge it really is to live up to the legend of the great Harry Potter. As if it wasn鈥檛 enough dealing with the delegates from the American wizarding school and figuring out the mysteriously polite Slytherins, James and his new friends, Ralph and Zane, begin to uncover a secret plot that could pit the Muggle and the Magical worlds against each other in all-out war.

Now, with the help of Ted Lupin and his band of merry mischief makers (The Gremlins), James must race to stop a war that could change the world forever. His only hope is to learn the difference between being a hero and being the son of a hero.]]> 391 G. Norman Lippert Elsa 0 to-read 3.78 2007
author: G. Norman Lippert
name: Elsa
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2007
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]]> 28170940 鈥淚 seen a kid killed鈥e strangled it, up by the horse.鈥�

When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike鈥檚 office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy鈥檚 story, Strike and Robin Ellacott鈥攐nce his assistant, now a partner in the agency鈥攕et off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike鈥檚 own life is far from straightforward: his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been鈥擱obin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much trickier than that.]]> 650 Robert Galbraith 0751572853 Elsa 0 to-read 4.19 2018
author: Robert Galbraith
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
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]]> 80195872 Peter Brune鈥檚 latest work had its genesis in more than 40 interviews he conducted with DPs in the period 2001鈥�2022. He spoke to migrants from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece and Hungary.
Inspired by their resilience, their enterprise and their determination to make a new life for themselves in Australia, the author has written about their harrowing war experiences-鈥攄rawing largely on their own words鈥�-their reception in Australia and their first responses to an alien culture. Their subsequent reflections on the journeys they undertook and how they fared here are both moving and revelatory.
Peter also analyses the Chifley government鈥檚 immigration policies, which were driven by Arthur Calwell, and the selection criteria that were applied to assess applicants. Both Chifley and Calwell saw the need for a greater population for economic and security reasons; but they also felt an obligation to alleviate the deprivations suffered by millions of Europeans.
Suffering, Redemption and Triumph is an extraordinary exposition of how mass postwar immigration created the modern, multicultural society in which we now live. Peter makes the case that it is one of the most significant periods in the Australian story.]]> 448 Peter Brune 1922896489 Elsa 0 to-read 4.27
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name: Elsa
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]]> 6969 The newest edition is here. Another alternate cover can be found here.

Emma Woodhouse is one of Austen's most captivating and vivid characters. Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect.]]> 474 Jane Austen 0141439580 Elsa 0 to-read 4.05 1815
author: Jane Austen
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1815
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]]> 43308768 Written as if she dictated her memoir AFTER she was President, the book zooms along in short, fast-paced chapters that cover everything from changing taxation to ridding the world of war - and so much more. Read, enjoy and please post a review!]]> 79 Nancy Omeara Elsa 0 to-read 4.32
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name: Elsa
average rating: 4.32
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]]> 75609342 Over the previous year, Ruth, an older nurse, seduced the na茂ve, twenty-one-year-old Connie, with romantic poetry, music and films. But Ruth abruptly abandoned her romantic intentions and rushed off to get married when rumours swirled around the hospital about their 鈥榝riendship鈥�.
In a desperate attempt to escape her pain and humiliation, Connie accepts a job as a nurse in a remote Canadian Arctic settlement, a place where she can block out all the failures of her life, a place here she can start again. She has romantic notions about this new life in the snow, imagining herself to be an intrepid traveller like the merchant-seaman grandfather she never met. Her new life will be a place where Ruth, firmly locked into a box, cannot follow.

However, Connie's romantic notions are brutally shattered when she finally arrives in Harbour Inlet, her home for the foreseeable future. She is snubbed by Paul Archer, the government administrator, who seems bent on making life as difficult as possible, and she makes an enemy of Mrs Brooks, the deeply religious vicar鈥檚 wife, when she tries to befriend Mrs Brooks鈥檚 twelve-year-old daughter, Esther.
All thoughts of Ruth come flooding back when Connie meets Canadian anthropologist, Daisy. She is frightened and confused by the feelings Daisy arouses in her and tries to deal with them by finding negative comparisons between Ruth and Daisy.
Another Canadian, Elizabeth takes Connie under her wing, helping her though her first bout of debilitating homesickness, and teaching her how to bake with limited ingredients. Elizabeth's photographer husband, Peter, introduces Connie to photography which, over time, becomes something that she can lose herself in when life become difficult. Ilannaq, Connie鈥檚 Inuit interpreter, also becomes a good friend and her influence is indispensable in helping Connie gain trust in the Inuit communities, some of whom who are hostile towards Western influence. Connie understands why, when she learns that many have been taken to the mainland, never to return, and that some Inuit children have been taken to Canadian boarding schools where any reference to Inuit culture or language is forbidden. Connie is outraged at this discovery and blames Daisy for being part of the Canadian government, under whose regime these terrible things are happening.

One of Connie's challenges is to accept that things are not black and white in this alien environment, and that if she is to succeed as a nurse, she has to understand and accept a culture that is very different to her own. She also has to come to terms with her feelings about Daisy.
Can Connie survive in this cold, unfamiliar world? Does she have the courage to embark on the journey towards understanding and acceptance of others, and, more importantly, herself?]]> 261 Sheena Billett 1739674332 Elsa 0 to-read 4.30 2023
author: Sheena Billett
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
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]]> 199556688
Napoleon Xylophone - Book 1

Napoleon Xylophone hates his name, that鈥檚 why his friend calls him Zam. His life is about to change when his grandfather is abducted by a supernatural being. Zam doesn鈥檛 let his walking disability get in the way of fighting the changelings, wytes and gargoyles that come to life in the Underworld beneath Newcastle where his grandfather is held against his will. Not when he has a ghost for a friend, a wheelchair that thinks it's a changeling, and a grandfather who created a new life form that allows whoever wears it to speak to Time.]]> 209 Frank Lambert Elsa 0 to-read 4.30 2012
author: Frank Lambert
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2012
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]]> 34051011
Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters鈥攕trong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis鈥攕urvive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.]]> 496 Min Jin Lee Elsa 0 to-read 4.35 2017
author: Min Jin Lee
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2017
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]]> 60529238
Emily not only starts remembering her dreams, she finds herself transforming them into reality, and her life inexplicably begins to blossom. She travels around the world searching for answers, encountering people and experiencing life-changing events that she's dreamed about before, forming relationships that could last a lifetime.

But new, powerful dreams compel her to abandon the path she'd hoped to follow, and Emily must now face a final, frightening question. Can she determine her own destiny or will it be written by processes she simply cannot control?]]> 325 Steven Decker Elsa 0 to-read 4.23
author: Steven Decker
name: Elsa
average rating: 4.23
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]]>