Cassandra's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:32:42 -0700 60 Cassandra's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery]]> 56179372 Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

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

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

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

Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.]]> 305 Brom 125062200X Cassandra 5 to-read 4.23 2021 Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
author: Brom
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Legendary (Caraval, #2) 36329818
After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever...

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.]]> 451 Stephanie Garber 125009531X Cassandra 4 4.12 2018 Legendary (Caraval, #2)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/10/12
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]]> <![CDATA[The ​Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash, #3)]]> 55240343 She's been the victim and the survivor�

Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.

The enemy and the warrior�

Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the kingdoms� dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head.

A lover and heartmate�

But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other.

And now she will become Queen.]]> 645 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457254 Cassandra 4 4.11 2021 The ​Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash, #3)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/10/12
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]]> <![CDATA[A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash, #2)]]> 54319549 A Betrayal�

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’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice...

Casteel Da’Neer 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’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to 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’s 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—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret�

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 Cassandra 4 4.32 2020 A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash, #2)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/10/12
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]]> Caraval (Caraval, #1) 27883214 A legendary competition.
A mesmerizing romance.
An unbreakable bond
between two sisters.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.]]> 407 Stephanie Garber 1250095255 Cassandra 4 3.97 2016 Caraval (Caraval, #1)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2016
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/10/12
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]]> <![CDATA[From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1)]]> 52831200 A Maiden�

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty�

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom�

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.]]> 622 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457017 Cassandra 4 4.19 2020 From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/10/12
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]]> Thistlefoot 60018639
Thistlefoot, as the house is called, has arrived from the Yagas' ancestral home in Russia--but not alone. A sinister figure known only as the Longshadow Man has tracked it to American shores, bearing with him violent secrets from the past: fiery memories that have hidden in Isaac and Bellatine's blood for generations. As the Yaga siblings embark with Thistlefoot on a final cross-country tour of their family's traveling theater show, the Longshadow Man follows in relentless pursuit, seeding destruction in his wake. Ultimately, time, magic, and legacy must collide--erupting in a powerful conflagration to determine who gets to remember the past and craft a new future.

An enchanted adventure illuminated by Jewish myth and adorned with lyrical prose as tantalizing and sweet as briar berries, Thistlefoot is an immersive modern fantasy saga by a bold new talent.]]> 448 GennaRose Nethercott 059346883X Cassandra 0 to-read 3.92 2022 Thistlefoot
author: GennaRose Nethercott
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)]]> 50659467
At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.]]> 419 Sarah J. Maas 1635575567 Cassandra 0 to-read 4.16 2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Skeleton Key 59415174 THIS REUNION WILL TEAR A FAMILY APART...

Summer, 2021. Nell has come home at her family's insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Fifty years ago, her father wrote The Golden Bones. Part picture book, part treasure hunt, Sir Frank Churcher created a fairy story about Elinore, a murdered woman whose skeleton was scattered all over England. Clues and puzzles in the pages of The Golden Bones led readers to seven sites where jewels were buried � gold and precious stones, each a different part of a skeleton. One by one, the tiny golden bones were dug up until only Elinore's pelvis remained hidden.

The book was a sensation. A community of treasure hunters called the Bonehunters formed, in frenzied competition, obsessed to a dangerous degree. People sold their homes to travel to England and search for Elinore. Marriages broke down as the quest consumed people. A man died. The book made Frank a rich man. Stalked by fans who could not tell fantasy from reality, his daughter, Nell, became a recluse.

But now the Churchers must be reunited. The book is being reissued along with a new treasure hunt and a documentary crew are charting everything that follows. Nell is appalled, and terrified. During the filming, Frank finally reveals the whereabouts of the missing golden bone. And then all hell breaks loose.

From the bestselling author of He Said/She Said and Watch Her Fall, this is a taut, mesmerising novel about a daughter haunted by her father's legacy...]]> 512 Erin Kelly Cassandra 0 to-read 3.76 2022 The Skeleton Key
author: Erin Kelly
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/05
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]]> The Lost Apothecary 53288434 A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders� that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive.]]> 301 Sarah Penner 0778311015 Cassandra 5 3.72 2021 The Lost Apothecary
author: Sarah Penner
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/10/05
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This was just a good story! It didn’t have any huge thrilling aspects but it kept me engaged and I was genuinely excited for the ending.
]]> <![CDATA[Chain of Gold (The Last Hours, #1)]]> 43175555 Chain of Gold, a Shadowhunters novel, is the first novel in a brand-new trilogy where evil hides in plain sight and love cuts deeper than any blade.

Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else.

But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monsters are nothing like those Shadowhunters have fought before—these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers—and forced a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.]]> 589 Cassandra Clare 1481431897 Cassandra 3 nope 4.35 2020 Chain of Gold (The Last Hours, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/12
date added: 2023/09/19
shelves: nope
review:

]]> It 830502
It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real ...

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them back to Derry to face the nightmare without an end, and the evil without a name.]]> 1184 Stephen King 0450411435 Cassandra 3 nope 4.28 1986 It
author: Stephen King
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/09/19
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]]> Cooking for Friends 8604787 "As a chef, I work at a thousand miles an hour, but when I'm at home, I want to slow down."

Away from the high-octane energy of the professional kitchen, Gordon Ramsay makes meals at home that are more relaxed, where cooking is fun and everyone gets involved in preparing food for family and friends. The way Gordon cooks here embodies his strongly held views: use in-season, fresh ingredients at their peak; support local producers and farmers' markets whenever possible; and celebrate the food culture and its many influences.

And while Gordon loves to celebrate traditional food, he proves that it doesn't have to be boring, bland, or un-inventive. "Cooking for Friends" is full of Gordon's best-loved versions of classic dishes--try a slow-cooked dish like Honey Roast Ham or Corn-Fed Chicken Legs with Braised Peas and Onions, or invite people around for a Sunday lunch of Roast Rib-Eye with Caramelized Shallot and Red Wine Gravy. Cook the ultimate in comfort food, Shepherd's Pie with Branston Pickle or Bakewell Tart, and get the kids involved in making Farfalle with Bacon, Peas, and Sage or Grilled Vegetable Lasagna.

"Cooking for Friends" contains more than one hundred of Gordon's favorite recipes that he loves to cook and eat with friends and family--uncomplicated recipes but all with Gordon's remarkable feeling for flavor and his extraordinary technical know-how.

]]> 381 Gordon Ramsay 0061965855 Cassandra 0 nope 3.82 2008 Cooking for Friends
author: Gordon Ramsay
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2023/09/19
date added: 2023/09/19
shelves: nope
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)]]> 61431922 Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

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

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

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

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

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

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die]]> 528 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 Cassandra 4 4.56 2023 Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 4
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]]> The Hacienda 57840571 Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches...

In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.

But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.

When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?

Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her.

Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.

Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.]]> 352 Isabel Cañas Cassandra 0 to-read 3.83 2022 The Hacienda
author: Isabel Cañas
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy, #1)]]> 61612864
A girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never even noticed them. That's about to change.

Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty, and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.]]> 559 Mark Lawrence 0593437918 Cassandra 0 to-read 3.94 2023 The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy, #1)
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/19
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]]> Spells for Forgetting 59559145
August knows he is not welcome on Saoirse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.]]> 351 Adrienne Young 0593358511 Cassandra 0 to-read 3.85 2022 Spells for Forgetting
author: Adrienne Young
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/19
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]]> Cackle 61058915 The Return.
Ěý
All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She’s stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation.ĚýĚý
Ěý
Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, who wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself. That’s how Sophie lives. Annie can’t help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, wanting to spend more and more time with her, despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem…a little afraid of her. And like, okay. There are some things. Sophie’s appearance is uncanny and ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power…but she couldn’t be…could she?]]> 319 Rachel Harrison 0593202031 Cassandra 0 to-read 3.71 2021 Cackle
author: Rachel Harrison
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/19
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]]> The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) 50520939
Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.

Most of them.]]> 376 Olivie Blake Cassandra 0 to-read 3.56 2020 The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1)
author: Olivie Blake
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/19
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]]> Revenge 16032127 Yoko Ogawa.

An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her landlady has murdered her husband. Years later, the writer’s stepson reflects upon his stepmother and the strange stories she used to tell him. Meanwhile, a surgeon’s lover vows to kill him if he does not leave his wife. Before she can follow-through on her crime of passion, though, the surgeon will cross paths with another remarkable woman, a cabaret singer whose heart beats delicately outside of her body. But when the surgeon promises to repair her condition, he sparks the jealousy of another man who would like to preserve the heart in a custom tailored bag. Murderers and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and innocent bystanders—their fates converge in a darkly beautiful web that they are each powerless to escape.

Macabre, fiendishly clever, and with a touch of the supernatural, Yoko Ogawa’s Revenge creates a haunting tapestry of death—and the afterlife of the living.]]> 162 Yōko Ogawa Cassandra 0 to-read 3.91 1998 Revenge
author: YĹŤko Ogawa
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> The Silent Patient 40097951
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.]]> 336 Alex Michaelides 1250301696 Cassandra 0 to-read 4.17 2019 The Silent Patient
author: Alex Michaelides
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/19
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]]> If We Were Villains 30319086
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.]]> 354 M.L. Rio 125009528X Cassandra 0 to-read 4.11 2017 If We Were Villains
author: M.L. Rio
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2) 60652997 Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. Alex Stern is back and the Ivy League is going straight to hell.

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex� Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies� most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.]]> 481 Leigh Bardugo 1250313104 Cassandra 0 to-read 4.09 2023 Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)]]> 29588376 ASIN B000JMKNJ2 moved to the more recent edition

An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying.]]> 752 Scott Lynch Cassandra 4 4.32 2006 The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)
author: Scott Lynch
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/12
date added: 2023/09/12
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]]> The Devil in the White City 21996
Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.

Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.]]> 496 Erik Larson 0739303406 Cassandra 3 3.99 2003 The Devil in the White City
author: Erik Larson
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/12
date added: 2023/09/12
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]]> <![CDATA[One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)]]> 32571395 This is an alternate cover edition of ASIN B01M98J44U.
---
One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.]]> 360 Karen M. McManus Cassandra 4 4.00 2017 One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)
author: Karen M. McManus
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/12
date added: 2023/09/12
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]]> <![CDATA[The Broken Eye (Lightbringer, #3)]]> 12652457 New York Times bestseller
The Broken Eye continues the spectacular Lightbringer series from the New York Times bestselling author of The Black Prism and The Blinding Knife.

As the old gods awaken and satrapies splinter, the Chromeria races to find the only man who can still end a civil war before it engulfs the known world. But Gavin Guile has been captured by an old enemy and enslaved on a pirate galley. Worse still, Gavin has lost more than his powers as Prism--he can't use magic at all.

Without the protection of his father, Kip Guile will face a master of shadows as his grandfather moves to choose a new Prism and put himself in power. With Teia and Karris, Kip will have to use all his wits to survive a secret war between noble houses, religious factions, rebels, and an ascendant order of hidden assassins called The Broken Eye.


Lightbringer
The Black Prism
The Blinding Knife
The Broken Eye
The Blood Mirror

For more from Brent Weeks, check
Night Angel
The Way of Shadows
Shadow's Edge
Beyond the Shadows

Night The Complete Trilogy (omnibus)
Perfect A Night Angel Novella (e-only)
The Way of The Graphic Novel]]> 688 Brent Weeks 0316235555 Cassandra 4 4.45 2014 The Broken Eye (Lightbringer, #3)
author: Brent Weeks
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/12
date added: 2023/09/12
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]]> <![CDATA[The Year of the Witching (Bethel, #1)]]> 49789629 A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.]]> 368 Alexis Henderson 0593099605 Cassandra 5 ]]> 3.79 2020 The Year of the Witching (Bethel, #1)
author: Alexis Henderson
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/08
date added: 2023/09/12
shelves:
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This book was so good I couldn’t put it down! Very Shakespearean in how there’s different genres wrapped within it. The love story was impeccable but alas rated PG. But my favorite part was that the dark elements remained dark throughout while paying homage to them once being the victim. I love it!

]]> Spinning Silver 36896898 Spinning Silver draws readers deeper into a glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.

But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.]]> 465 Naomi Novik Cassandra 5 4.20 2018 Spinning Silver
author: Naomi Novik
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/14
date added: 2020/04/14
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]]> <![CDATA[The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer, #2)]]> 13515944 Gavin's powers are fading and his end draws near as war rages across the satrapies in the second novel of the NYT bestselling Lightbringer series by Brent Week.Gavin Guile is dying. He'd thought he had five years left -- now he has less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiance who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies. Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole sixteen years ago. If you loved the action and adventure of the Night Angel trilogy, you will devour this incredible epic fantasy series by Brent Weeks.]]> 704 Brent Weeks Cassandra 4 4.45 2012 The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer, #2)
author: Brent Weeks
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/08
date added: 2020/04/08
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]]> <![CDATA[The Black Prism (Lightbringer, #1)]]> 7165300
When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.]]> 629 Brent Weeks 0316075558 Cassandra 5 4.23 2010 The Black Prism (Lightbringer, #1)
author: Brent Weeks
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/03
date added: 2020/04/03
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]]> Memoirs of a Geisha 929
In "Memoirs of a Geisha," we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction - at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful - and completely unforgettable.]]> 503 Arthur Golden 1400096898 Cassandra 0 4.31 1997 Memoirs of a Geisha
author: Arthur Golden
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)]]> 8525590
When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can't bring herself to hate him as much as she'd like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband's strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?]]> 358 Lauren DeStefano 1442409053 Cassandra 2 3.81 2011 Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)
author: Lauren DeStefano
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2020/02/17
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> The Wicked Deep 35297394 Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials in this haunting story about three sisters on a quest for revenge—and how love may be the only thing powerful enough to stop them.

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow�

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters� return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to save Bo, or save herself.]]> 310 Shea Ernshaw 1481497340 Cassandra 4 3.85 2018 The Wicked Deep
author: Shea Ernshaw
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/01/14
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Blood of Elves (The Witcher, #1)]]> 6043781 The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher.
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.

Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world - for good, or for evil.

As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all - and the Witcher never accepts defeat.

The Witcher returns in this sequel to The Last Wish, as the inhabitants of his world become embroiled in a state of total war.]]> 398 Andrzej Sapkowski Cassandra 4 4.05 1994 Blood of Elves (The Witcher, #1)
author: Andrzej Sapkowski
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at: 2020/01/29
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Winter of the Witch (The Winternight Trilogy, #3)]]> 36621586 Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.


Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers—and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, stronger than ever and determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself and her history as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.

Advance praise for The Winter of the Witch

“Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy isn’t just good—it’s hug-to-your-chest, straight-to-the-favorites-shelf, reread-immediately good, and each book just gets better. The Winter of the Witch plunges us back to fourteenth-century Moscow, where old gods and new vie for the soul of Russia and fate rests on a witch girl’s slender shoulders. Prepare to have your heart ripped out, loaned back to you full of snow and magic, and ripped out some more.”�Laini Taylor]]> 400 Katherine Arden 1101886005 Cassandra 5 4.48 2019 The Winter of the Witch (The Winternight Trilogy, #3)
author: Katherine Arden
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/17
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy, #2)]]> 34050917 The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden’s enchanting first novel, introduced readers to an irresistible heroine. Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family’s wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Vasilisa’s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko—Frost, the winter demon from the stories—and together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost’s aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch.

In The Girl in the Tower, Vasilisa faces an impossible choice. Driven from her home by frightened villagers, she has only two options left: marriage or the convent. She cannot bring herself to accept either fate and instead chooses adventure, dressing herself as a boy and setting off astride her magnificent stallion Solovey.

But after she prevails in a skirmish with bandits, everything changes. The Grand Prince of Moscow anoints her a hero for her exploits, and she is reunited with her beloved sister and brother, who are now part of the Grand Prince’s inner circle. She dares not reveal to the court that she is a girl, for if her deception were discovered it would have terrible consequences for herself and her family. Before she can untangle herself from Moscow’s intrigues—and as Frost provides counsel that may or may not be trustworthy—she will also confront an even graver threat lying in wait for all of Moscow itself.]]> 360 Katherine Arden 1101885963 Cassandra 5 4.34 2017 The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy, #2)
author: Katherine Arden
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/03
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)]]> 25489134
After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.]]> 319 Katherine Arden 1101885939 Cassandra 4 4.07 2017 The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)
author: Katherine Arden
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/29
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> Big Little Lies 33516773 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

From the author of Truly Madly Guilty and The Husband s Secret comes a novel about the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.]]> 460 Liane Moriarty 0399587195 Cassandra 4 4.40 2014 Big Little Lies
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/29
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)]]> 43204703 here.

Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.]]> 484 Brigid Kemmerer 1681195089 Cassandra 3 3.94 2019 A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)
author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/03/29
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers, #2)]]> 42952728 Find the heir, win the crown.

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.

Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen--until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

In the sequel to New York Times bestselling A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Brigid Kemmerer returns to the world of Emberfall in a lush fantasy where friends become foes and love blooms in the darkest of places.]]> 450 Brigid Kemmerer Cassandra 1 3.85 2020 A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers, #2)
author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2020
rating: 1
read at: 2020/03/20
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> The Starless Sea 43575115 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.]]> 498 Erin Morgenstern 038554121X Cassandra 5 3.82 2019 The Starless Sea
author: Erin Morgenstern
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/02/27
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) 43263680
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs� are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.]]> 461 Leigh Bardugo 1250313074 Cassandra 5 4.00 2019 Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/02/27
date added: 2020/03/29
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)]]> 7728889 578 Libba Bray Cassandra 4 3.93 2012 The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)
author: Libba Bray
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/29
date added: 2020/03/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)]]> 1215032 There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.�

My name is Kvothe.
I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
You may have heard of me.

So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view � a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man's Fear, an escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe uncovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's Road.

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, is forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived ... until Kvothe.

In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

]]> 994 Patrick Rothfuss 0756404738 Cassandra 5 4.55 2011 The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2020/02/29
date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)]]> 186074
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 075640407X Cassandra 4 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2020/01/29
date added: 2020/03/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Book Thief 19063 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

(Note: this title was not published as YA fiction)]]> 592 Markus Zusak Cassandra 5 4.38 2005 The Book Thief
author: Markus Zusak
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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date added: 2020/03/29
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]]> Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]> 393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 Cassandra 4 4.22 2018 Circe
author: Madeline Miller
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/29
date added: 2020/03/29
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I loved this book! I will say even with having a knowledge of Greek mythology this reads very slowly and is a character driven novel so it isn’t your typical story. However, the spin this novel puts on the make dominated Greek myths is amazing!
]]> Scarlett, Part 2 225474 Alexandra Ripley 5555353650 Cassandra 5 3.66 Scarlett, Part 2
author: Alexandra Ripley
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.66
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/12/03
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Advanced Physical Chemistry (Chemistry Lessons #3)]]> 38125061
Penny strives to keep things platonic, but when Caleb gives her the kiss of her life, she realizes he wants to be more than just friends. Tired of always being “good little Penny,� she throws caution to the wind and pursues a no-strings fling with the hottie barista. It’s not like they have anything in common beyond scorching physical chemistry, so what does she have to lose?

Only her heart.

Now, this fanfic-reading, plus-size heroine faces an unsolvable problem. What do you do when being apart is unbearable…but being together is impossible?

Advanced Physical Chemistry is the third in a series of standalone rom-coms featuring geeky heroines who work in STEM fields.]]> 276 Susannah Nix Cassandra 5 Loved it!

Read the whole thing in one sitting!!!! This is my favorite of the trilogy. Just the right amount of everything]]> 3.78 2018 Advanced Physical Chemistry (Chemistry Lessons #3)
author: Susannah Nix
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/11/05
date added: 2018/11/05
shelves:
review:
Loved it!

Read the whole thing in one sitting!!!! This is my favorite of the trilogy. Just the right amount of everything
]]> <![CDATA[Intermediate Thermodynamics (Chemistry Lessons, #2)]]> 35914136
Her patience is put to the test when it’s time to fulfill her end of the deal. But the more time she spends with her nemesis, the more hate turns into attraction—and attraction into something much deeper. As Esther’s carefully-constructed defenses start to crumble, will love be her undoing or her salvation?

Intermediate Thermodynamics follows in the tradition of contemporary romantic comedy favorites like Penny Reid, Sally Thorne, and Jennifer Crusie. This sweet, enemies-to-lovers romance is the second in a series of standalone rom-coms featuring geeky heroines who work in STEM fields.]]> 310 Susannah Nix 0999094858 Cassandra 4 3.68 2017 Intermediate Thermodynamics (Chemistry Lessons, #2)
author: Susannah Nix
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/11/05
date added: 2018/11/05
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Remedial Rocket Science (Chemistry Lessons, #1)]]> 35430572
The last thing Melody expects when she accepts a dream job offer is to run into her college one-night stand again. Not only does the hunky blast from her past work at the same aerospace company where she's just started in the IT department, he's the CEO's son.

Jeremy's got a girlfriend and a reputation as a bad boy, so Melody resolves to keep her distance and focus on building a new life for herself in Los Angeles. But despite her good intentions, she can't seem to stay away from the heavenly-smelling paragon of hotness.

As the two begin to forge an unlikely friendship, Melody's attraction to Jeremy grows deeper than she's ready to admit. Can the woman who always plays it safe take a risk on the man who's all wrong for her in all the right ways?]]> 262 Susannah Nix Cassandra 4 Loved it!!!

I really like books that keep my attention and help me to paint a picture. This was a super fun read and did just that]]> 3.60 2017 Remedial Rocket Science (Chemistry Lessons, #1)
author: Susannah Nix
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/11/05
date added: 2018/11/05
shelves:
review:
Loved it!!!

I really like books that keep my attention and help me to paint a picture. This was a super fun read and did just that
]]> Sharp Objects 6460221 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B000JMKTLO

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.]]> 394 Gillian Flynn Cassandra 2 Not my favorite

I knew who the killer was and why pretty early on and the other parts of the story weren't keeping my attention :\]]> 4.05 2006 Sharp Objects
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2018/11/03
date added: 2018/11/03
shelves:
review:
Not my favorite

I knew who the killer was and why pretty early on and the other parts of the story weren't keeping my attention :\
]]> The Night Circus 11506091 Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in The Night Circus, the spellbinding bestseller that has captured the world's imagination.

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des RĂŞves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.]]> 401 Erin Morgenstern Cassandra 4 Good reaf

Sow to start but once this book took off I was hooked. Really enjoy putting the pieces together while revealing the secrets within the chapters]]> 4.11 2011 The Night Circus
author: Erin Morgenstern
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/04
date added: 2018/10/04
shelves:
review:
Good reaf

Sow to start but once this book took off I was hooked. Really enjoy putting the pieces together while revealing the secrets within the chapters
]]> American Gods 30165203
Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what - and who - it finds there...]]> 635 Neil Gaiman Cassandra 5 4.11 2001 American Gods
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/09/01
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]]> Pretty Girls 24371990 Librarian’s note: This is a previously-published edition of
Kindle ASIN: B00VES8D6K.

In this electrifying new stand-alone thriller, New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter—“one of the best crime novelists in America� (The Washington Post)—delivers a chilling jolt of suspense. With a missing girl in the news, Claire Scott can’t help but be reminded of her sister, who disappeared twenty years ago in a mystery that was never solved. But when Claire begins to learn the truth about her sister, nothing will ever be the same.]]> 548 Karin Slaughter Cassandra 5 Great thrill read!

I loved the suspense waiting to find out the next plot twist guessing who did it. With a nice sentiment at the end]]> 4.04 2015 Pretty Girls
author: Karin Slaughter
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/12
date added: 2018/01/12
shelves:
review:
Great thrill read!

I loved the suspense waiting to find out the next plot twist guessing who did it. With a nice sentiment at the end
]]> <![CDATA[The Night Angel Trilogy (Night Angel, #1-3)]]> 6122735 "Way of Shadows", "Shadow's Edge", "Beyond the Shadows" all in one beautiful hardcover edition]]> 1392 Brent Weeks 160751351X Cassandra 5 4.44 2009 The Night Angel Trilogy (Night Angel, #1-3)
author: Brent Weeks
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/12/09
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]]> Dracula 17245 You can find an alternative cover edition for this ISBN here and here.

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.

In Dracula, Bram Stoker created one of the great masterpieces of the horror genre, brilliantly evoking a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and also illuminating the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

This Norton Critical Edition includes a rich selection of background and source materials in three areas: Contexts includes probable inspirations for Dracula in the earlier works of James Malcolm Rymer and Emily Gerard. Also included are a discussion of Stoker's working notes for the novel and "Dracula's Guest," the original opening chapter to Dracula. Reviews and Reactions reprints five early reviews of the novel. "Dramatic and Film Variations" focuses on theater and film adaptations of Dracula, two indications of the novel's unwavering appeal. David J. Skal, Gregory A. Waller, and Nina Auerbach offer their varied perspectives. Checklists of both dramatic and film adaptations are included.

Criticism collects seven theoretical interpretations of Dracula by Phyllis A. Roth, Carol A. Senf, Franco Moretti, Christopher Craft, Bram Dijkstra, Stephen D. Arata, and Talia Schaffer.

A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.]]> 488 Bram Stoker 0393970124 Cassandra 5 4.02 1897 Dracula
author: Bram Stoker
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1897
rating: 5
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]]> The Girl on the Train 22557272
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 336 Paula Hawkins 1594633665 Cassandra 5 3.97 2015 The Girl on the Train
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/12/09
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]]> Water for Elephants 43641
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.]]> 368 Sara Gruen 1565125606 Cassandra 5 4.11 2006 Water for Elephants
author: Sara Gruen
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/12/09
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]]> Into the Water 33151805 The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon The Girl on the Train returns with Into the Water, her addictive new novel of psychological suspense.

A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.

Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she'd never return.

With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.

Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.]]> 386 Paula Hawkins 0735211205 Cassandra 5 3.59 2017 Into the Water
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/12/09
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]]> The Company of Wolves 16046989 200 Angela Carter Cassandra 5 3.82 1981 The Company of Wolves
author: Angela Carter
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1981
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/10/10
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[This Full House (Make Lemonade, #3)]]> 5126954 496 Virginia Euwer Wolff 0061583049 Cassandra 1 3.88 2008 This Full House (Make Lemonade, #3)
author: Virginia Euwer Wolff
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2008
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2012/08/21
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review:

]]> Wuthering Heights 6185 You can find the redesigned cover of this edition HERE.

At the centre of this novel is the passionate love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff - recounted with such emotional intensity that a plain tale of the Yorkshire moors acquires the depth and simplicity of ancient tragedy.

This best-selling Norton Critical Edition is based on the 1847 first edition of the novel. For the Fourth Edition, the editor has collated the 1847 text with several modern editions and has corrected a number of variants, including accidentals. The text is accompanied by entirely new explanatory annotations.

New to the fourth Edition are twelve of Emily Bronte's letters regarding the publication of the 1847 edition of Wuthering Heights as well as the evolution of the 1850 edition, prose and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and Edward Chitham's insightful and informative chronology of the creative process behind the beloved work.

Five major critical interpretations of Wuthering Heights are included, three of them new to the Fourth Edition. A Stuart Daley considers the importance of chronology in the novel. J. Hillis Miller examines Wuthering Heights's problems of genre and critical reputation. Sandra M. Gilbert assesses the role of Victorian Christianity plays in the novel, while Martha Nussbaum traces the novel's romanticism. Finally, Lin Haire-Sargeant scrutinizes the role of Heathcliff in film adaptations of Wuthering Heights.

A Chronology and updated Selected Bibliography are also included.]]> 464 Emily Brontë Cassandra 5 3.89 1847 Wuthering Heights
author: Emily Brontë
name: Cassandra
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1847
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/08/21
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]]> Gone with the Wind 18405 1037 Margaret Mitchell 0446365386 Cassandra 5 4.30 1936 Gone with the Wind
author: Margaret Mitchell
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1936
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/08/21
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]]> Charlotte’s Web 24178 Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a classic of children's literature that is "just about perfect." This high-quality paperback features vibrant illustrations colorized by Rosemary Wells!

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter.

E. B. White's Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come. This edition contains newly color illustrations by Garth Williams, the acclaimed illustrator of E. B. White's Stuart Little and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, among many other books.]]> 184 E.B. White 0064410935 Cassandra 5 4.20 1952 Charlotte’s Web
author: E.B. White
name: Cassandra
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1952
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/08/21
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]]>