Ely8s's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 14 Mar 2025 11:42:19 -0700 60 Ely8s's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)]]> 23398606 A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll...

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood�

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.]]> 291 Christina Henry 0425266796 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.84 2015 Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)
author: Christina Henry
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/14
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]]> The Lovely Bones 12232938
So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.]]> 372 Alice Sebold 0316166685 Ely8s 0 3.87 2002 The Lovely Bones
author: Alice Sebold
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2002
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/03
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]]> Rebecca 17899948 Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

First published in 1938, this classic gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century.]]> 449 Daphne du Maurier 0316323705 Ely8s 0 4.28 1938 Rebecca
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1938
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/03
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]]> 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 Ely8s 0 4.38 2005 The Book Thief
author: Markus Zusak
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/03
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]]> <![CDATA[The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures]]> 210594739 Enter the dark side of discover the monsters, witches, and nightmarish traditions behind one of the most celebrated holidays in the world When we imagine the origins of Christmas, we picture halcyon images of mangers, glowing fireplaces, and snow-blanketed winter hills. But the holiday is celebrated during the darkest time of year in the Northern Hemisphere—a season so dark it has given rise to the most outlandish traditions imaginable. In The Dead of Winter, Oxford-trained historian Sarah Clegg delves deep into the folkloric roots of Christmas in Europe, comparing their often-horrific past to the way they continue to haunt and entertain us now in the 21st century. Detailing the hideous masks and curling horns of "Krampus runs" in Austria, the fearsome horseheads of "hoodenings" in Southeast England, and the candle-crowned young witches of Finland's St. Lucy Festival, the author captures the wild revelry at heart of the winter madness.   In Clegg’s fascinating investigation, these strange, wonderful traditions are cast in their illuminating historical context. And the closer we get to the dark magic and bright enchantment described in The Dead of Winter, the more we start to see how fun it might be to let just a bit of the ancient darkness in.]]> 208 Sarah Clegg 1643757083 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.72 2024 The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures
author: Sarah Clegg
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/05
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)]]> 2767052
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.]]> 374 Suzanne Collins 0439023483 Ely8s 0 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/03
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]]> The Night Circus 9361589
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, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.]]> 506 Erin Morgenstern Ely8s 0 did-not-finish, abandoned 4.00 2011 The Night Circus
author: Erin Morgenstern
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: did-not-finish, abandoned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)]]> 119322
Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.]]> 399 Philip Pullman 0679879242 Ely8s 0 4.02 1995 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)
author: Philip Pullman
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/03
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]]> The Eyes of the Dragon 10611
​Thus begins one of the most unique tales that master storyteller Stephen King has ever written—a sprawling fantasy of dark magic and the struggle for absolute power that utterly transforms the destinies of two brothers born into royalty. Through this enthralling masterpiece of mythical adventure, intrigue, and terror, you will thrill to this unforgettable narrative filled with relentless, wicked enchantment, and the most terrible of secrets…]]> 427 Stephen King Ely8s 0 to-read 3.95 1984 The Eyes of the Dragon
author: Stephen King
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1984
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/03
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]]> Blood Mercy (Blood Grace, #1) 59760653 One human. One immortal. Will their alliance save the kingdom, or will their forbidden love be a death sentence?

When Cassia seeks out a Hesperine, he could end her mortal life in a heartbeat. But she has no fear of his magic or his fangs. She knows the real monster is the human king, her father. If he finds out she’s bargaining with his enemy, he’ll send her to the executioner.

As a Hesperine diplomat, Lio must negotiate with mortals who hate him. Cassia is different, but politics aren't why she captivates the gentle immortal. He wants more than her blood, and if he can’t resist the temptation, he’ll provoke the war he's trying to prevent.

Blood and Ash fans will love this slow-burn, steamy romance with classic fantasy worldbuilding. Follow fated mates Cassia and Lio through their epic love story for a guaranteed series HEA.

New edition featuring a fantasy world map, glossary of lore and characters, enhanced opening chapter, and all-new cover artwork]]> 767 Vela Roth 1957040009 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.93 2018 Blood Mercy (Blood Grace, #1)
author: Vela Roth
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/05/11
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]]> <![CDATA[A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons, #1)]]> 46021762 A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil—until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.

Though forbidden by the alliance council to kill the corrupt king responsible for his parents� murders, Maddek vows to avenge them, even if it costs him the Parsathean crown. But when he learns it was the king’s daughter who lured his parents to their deaths, the barbarian warrior is determined to make her pay.

Yet the woman Maddek captures is not what he expected. Though the last in a line of legendary warrior-queens, Yvenne is small and weak, and the sharpest weapons she wields are her mind and her tongue. Even more surprising is the marriage she proposes to unite them in their goals and to claim their thrones—because her desire for vengeance against her father burns even hotter than his own…]]> 534 Milla Vane 0440000513 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.86 2020 A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons, #1)
author: Milla Vane
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/03/03
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]]> Manacled 52122096
Fanfiction for Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.
Words: 370,256]]> 925 SenLinYu Ely8s 0 to-read 4.63 2019 Manacled
author: SenLinYu
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/12/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (The Guild Codex: Demonized, #2)]]> 50888934
For my entire life, I avoided magic at all costs. Now, I'm responsible for a demon who wields magic more powerful than the toughest mage or sorcerer.

Demons are evil.

That's what my textbooks say. That's what I see. He's ruthless, he's temperamental, he's cold. But he protects me without fail. I wonder if he's hiding a heart behind his hostility.

My demon is a monster.

Whether he's heartless or not, my contract with him is illegal and beyond dangerous. Together, we must find a way to return him to his own world before anyone discovers our secret. If that wasn't bad enough, I've come to realize something else:

My demon isn't the only monster I should be worried about.

--
From the author of The Guild Codex: Spellbound comes a new series that will plunge an unprepared young woman into the darkest magic of the mythic world.

--
THE GUILD CODEX: DEMONIZED
Taming Demons for Beginners (#1)
Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (#2)]]> 358 Annette Marie 1988153379 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.33 2019 Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (The Guild Codex: Demonized, #2)
author: Annette Marie
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized, #1)]]> 44932446
When I arrived at my uncle's house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don't practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.

Rule two: Don't listen to the demon.

My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I'm supposed to act like I don't know how illegal and dangerous it is.

Rule three: Don't talk to the demon.

All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn't find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn't notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn't break the rules.

But I did, and now it's too late.

--
From the author of The Guild Codex: Spellbound comes a new series that will plunge an unprepared young woman into the darkest magic of the mythic world.

--
THE GUILD CODEX: DEMONIZED
Taming Demons for Beginners (#1)
Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (#2)]]> 315 Annette Marie 1988153360 Ely8s 0 currently-reading 4.23 2019 Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized, #1)
author: Annette Marie
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1)]]> 36506438 293 Terry Pratchett Ely8s 0 to-read 4.03 1983 The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1983
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith]]> 6569709
At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 432 Jon Krakauer Ely8s 0 4.09 2003 Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
author: Jon Krakauer
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2023/11/28
date added: 2023/11/28
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]]> Tress of the Emerald Sea 60531406 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?]]> 443 Brandon Sanderson Ely8s 0 to-read 4.34 2023 Tress of the Emerald Sea
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/07
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]]> <![CDATA[Creativity (Osho Insights for a New Way of Living)]]> 97007
But nowadays, the situation has dramatically changed. In today's world, the ability to respond creatively to new challenges is demanded of everybody, from corporate CEOs to "soccer moms." Those whose toolbox for dealing with life includes only what they have learned in the past from their parents and their teachers are at a distinct disadvantage both in their relationships and in their careers. Making a switch from imitative and rule-bound behavior to creative innovation and flexibility requires a profound change in our attitudes about ourselves and our capabilities.

Creativity is a handbook for those who understand the need to bring more creativity, playfulness, and flexibility to their lives. It's a manual for thinking "outside the box"-and learning to live there as well.]]> 194 Osho 0312205198 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.19 1999 Creativity (Osho Insights for a New Way of Living)
author: Osho
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume - Volume I : Text, Volume II: Workbook for Students, Volume III: Manual for Teachers]]> 173673
Featuring an updated text split into three volumes - Text, Workbook for Students & Manual for Teachers - this thought-provoking and informative book includes universal spiritual themes that will help you to achieve dramatic, lasting results in every aspect of your life.

By following the self-study programme, you will learn to develop a constant state of happiness and peace though the application of its principles.
__________

'I love it. Will make you see the world differently' - 5* reader review

'This book can and will change your life' - 5* reader review

'Anyone who has ever sensed that pull against the ego for a greater understanding and meaning to life, will feel blessed to have discovered this great work.' - 5* reader review ]]> 1312 Foundation for Inner Peace 0670869759 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.16 1976 A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume - Volume I : Text, Volume II: Workbook for Students, Volume III: Manual for Teachers
author: Foundation for Inner Peace
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe]]> 42583943 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A renowned psychic medium teaches us how to recognize and interpret the life-changing messages from loved ones and spirit guides on the Other Side.

Laura Lynne Jackson is a psychic medium and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Light Between Us. She possesses an incredible gift: the ability to communicate with loved ones who have passed, convey messages of love and healing, and impart a greater understanding of our interconnectedness. Though her abilities are exceptional, they are not unique, and that is the message at the core of this book. Understanding "the secret language of the universe" is a gift available to all. As we learn to ask for and recognize signs from the other side, we will start to find meaning where before there was only confusion, and see light in the darkness. We may decide to change paths, push toward love, pursue joy, and engage with life in a whole new way.

In Signs, Jackson is able to bring the mystical into the everyday. She relates stories of people who have experienced uncanny revelations and instances of unexplained synchronicity, as well as others drawn from her own experience. There's the lost child who appears to his mother as a deer that approaches her unhesitatingly at a highway rest stop; the name written on a dollar bill that lets a terrified wife know that her husband will be okay; the Elvis Presley song that arrives at the exact moment of Jackson's own father's passing; and many others. This is a book that is inspiring and practical, deeply comforting and wonderfully motivational, in asking us to see beyond ourselves to a more magnificent universal design.]]> 288 Laura Lynne Jackson 0399591591 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.12 2019 Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe
author: Laura Lynne Jackson
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Martian Chronicles 76778
The Martian Chronicles tells the story of humanity’s repeated attempts to colonize the red planet. The first men were few. Most succumbed to a disease they called the Great Loneliness when they saw their home planet dwindle to the size of a fist. They felt they had never been born. Those few that survived found no welcome on Mars. The shape-changing Martians thought they were native lunatics and duly locked them up.

But more rockets arrived from Earth, and more, piercing the hallucinations projected by the Martians. People brought their old prejudices with them � and their desires and fantasies, tainted dreams. These were soon inhabited by the strange native beings, with their caged flowers and birds of flame.

Contents:
Rocket Summer
Ylla
The Summer Night
The Earth Men
The Taxpayer
The Third Expedition
-And the Moon Be Still As Bright
The Settlers
The Green Morning
The Locusts
Night Meeting
The Shore
Interim
The Musicians
Way in the Middle of the Air
The Naming of Names
Usher II
The Old Ones
The Martian
The Luggage Store
The Off Season
The Watchers
The Silent Towns
The Long Years
There Will Come Soft Rains
The Million Year Picnic]]> 182 Ray Bradbury 0553278223 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.16 1950 The Martian Chronicles
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1950
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/29
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]]> The Appeal (The Appeal, #1) 54621096 447 Janice Hallett 1788165292 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.82 2021 The Appeal (The Appeal, #1)
author: Janice Hallett
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/17
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life]]> 57800575 A remarkable exploration of the therapeutic relationship, Dr. Mark Epstein reflects on one year's worth of therapy sessions with his patients to observe how his training in Western psychotherapy and his equally long investigation into Buddhism, in tandem, led to greater awareness - for his patients, and for himself.

For years, Dr. Mark Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist. Content to use his training in mindfulness as a private resource, he trusted that the Buddhist influence could, and should, remain invisible. But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his personal spiritual leanings, he was surprised to learn how many were eager to learn more. The divisions between the psychological, emotional, and the spiritual, he soon realized, were not as distinct as one might think.

In The Zen of Therapy, Dr. Epstein reflects on a year's worth of selected sessions with his patients and observes how, in the incidental details of a given hour, his Buddhist background influences the way he works. Meditation and psychotherapy each encourage a willingness to face life's difficulties with courage that can be hard to otherwise muster, and in this cross-section of life in his office, he emphasizes how therapy, an element of Western medicine, can in fact be considered a two-person meditation. Mindfulness, too, much like a good therapist, can "hold" our awareness for us--and allow us to come to our senses and find inner peace.

Throughout this deeply personal inquiry, one which weaves together the wisdom of two worlds, Dr. Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as spiritual friendship, and reveals how a therapist can help patients cultivate the sense that there is something magical, something wonderful, and something to trust running through our lives, no matter how fraught they have been or might become. For when we realize how readily we have misinterpreted our selves, when we stop clinging to our falsely conceived constructs, when we touch the ground of being, we come home.]]> 320 Mark Epstein 0593296613 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.90 2022 The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life
author: Mark Epstein
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/21
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]]> Snow, Glass, Apples 6366271
This version was a chapbook compiled by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and sold at Comic Con 2008 and on the BPAL website with all proceeds going to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.]]> 25 Neil Gaiman Ely8s 0 to-read 4.14 1995 Snow, Glass, Apples
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Joyland 13596166
A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old - and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time. It is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.]]> 285 Stephen King 1781162646 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.90 2013 Joyland
author: Stephen King
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1) 54659771 He was supposed to be a myth.
But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell... he was, quite simply, mine.

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade.

With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth... a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed.

Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her—for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close�

A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet.]]> 380 Katee Robert 1728231736 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.68 2021 Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1)
author: Katee Robert
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1)]]> 46261182 This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN B07SV21LFY

You have been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny.

If you're one of the Fae, elemental magic is in your blood. And apparently it's in ours. As twins born in the month of Gemini, we're a rare breed even in this academy of supernatural a-holes.

Changelings were outlawed hundreds of years ago but I guess our birth parents didn't get the memo. Which means we're totally unprepared for the ruthless world of Fae.

Air. Fire. Water. Earth.

No one has ever harnessed all four of them, until we arrived. And it hasn't made us any friends so far.

As the rarest Elementals ever known, we're already a threat to the four celestial heirs; the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we've ever seen. It doesn't help that they're the most dangerous beasts in the Academy. And probably on earth too.

Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They've only got until the lunar eclipse to force us out and they'll stop at nothing to succeed.

We never knew we had a birthright to live up to but now that we do, we intend to claim our throne.

We can't expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt or the vampires fancy a snack then we have to be ready. But we've been looking after each other for a long time and fighting back is in our blood.

Today's horoscope: totally screwed.]]> 436 Caroline Peckham Ely8s 0 to-read 3.80 2019 The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1)
author: Caroline Peckham
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> S. 17860739 One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire.

A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown.

THE BOOK: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V. M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey.

THE WRITER: Straka, the incendiary and secretive subject of one of the world’s greatest mysteries, a revolutionary about whom the world knows nothing apart from the words he wrote and the rumours that swirl around him.

THE READERS: Jennifer and Eric, a college senior and a disgraced grad student, both facing crucial decisions about who they are, who they might become, and how much they’re willing to trust another person with their passions, hurts, and fears.

S. , conceived by filmmaker J. J. Abrams and written by award-winning novelist Doug Dorst, is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a book and enmeshing themselves in a deadly struggle between forces they don’t understand. It is also Abrams and Dorst’s love letter to the written word.
]]> 469 J.J. Abrams 0316201642 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.86 2013 S.
author: J.J. Abrams
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/08/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Law of Innocence (The Lincoln Lawyer, #6; Harry Bosch Universe #35)]]> 51810799
Mickey elects to defend himself and must strategize and build his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles, all the while looking over his shoulder--as an officer of the court he is an instant target.

Mickey knows he's been framed. Now, with the help of his trusted team, he has to figure out who has plotted to destroy his life and why. Then he has to go before a judge and jury and prove his innocence.]]> 432 Michael Connelly 0316498025 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.36 2020 The Law of Innocence (The Lincoln Lawyer, #6; Harry Bosch Universe #35)
author: Michael Connelly
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Great Alone 34912895 Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents� passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights� lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.]]> 435 Kristin Hannah Ely8s 0 to-read 4.44 2018 The Great Alone
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/05/08
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]]> Made for Love 32600556 307 Alissa Nutting 0062280554 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.48 2017 Made for Love
author: Alissa Nutting
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fair Warning (Jack McEvoy, #3; Harry Bosch Universe, #34)]]> 48985654 The hero of The Poet and The Scarecrow is back in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly. Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar--until now.

Veteran reporter Jack McEvoy has taken down killers before, but when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered in a particularly brutal way, McEvoy realizes he might be facing a criminal mind unlike any he's ever encountered.

McEvoy investigates---against the warnings of the police and his own editor---and makes a shocking discovery that connects the crime to other mysterious deaths across the country. But his inquiry hits a snag when he himself becomes a suspect.

As he races to clear his name, McEvoy's findings point to a serial killer working under the radar of law enforcement for years, and using personal data shared by the victims themselves to select and hunt his targets.

Called "the Raymond Chandler of this generation" (Associated Press), Michael Connelly once again delivers an unputdownable thriller that reveals a predator operating from the darkest corners of human nature---and one man courageous and determined enough to stand in his way.]]> 416 Michael Connelly Ely8s 0 to-read 4.23 2020 Fair Warning (Jack McEvoy, #3; Harry Bosch Universe, #34)
author: Michael Connelly
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/04/22
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Ocean at the End of the Lane]]> 15783514
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.]]> 181 Neil Gaiman 0062255657 Ely8s 0 4.00 2013 The Ocean at the End of the Lane
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/04
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]]> <![CDATA[The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)]]> 228665
Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half-men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master’s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al’Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.]]> 800 Robert Jordan 0812511816 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.19 1990 The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2) 5996209 Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire. She's paid
to bind and banish creatures from the
Otherworld.

But something happened after her last battle. She became queen of the Thorn Land. With her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and eager to avoid the prophecy about her firstborn destroying mankind, the job's really not all it's cracked up to be.

Now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one seems willing to find out why. Or to put an end to it. Not that Eugenie's fazed by spilling fey blood, but this enemy is shrewd, subtle, and dangerous -- and nursing a very personal grudge.

Eugenie must venture deep into the Otherworld and trust in a power she can barely control. She may be a reluctant queen, but she's vowed to do her duty, even if it means facing the darkest and deadliest side of her nature.]]> 480 Richelle Mead 0553819879 Ely8s 0 4.12 2008 Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/02/24
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]]> Iron Crowned (Dark Swan, #3) 8709525 An embattled mystically entwined with our own,
the Otherworld is at the mercy of one woman...

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land’s queen, she’s fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear�

Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown’s ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation--one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril…]]> 378 Richelle Mead 0553826107 Ely8s 0 4.07 2011 Iron Crowned (Dark Swan, #3)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/02/24
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]]> Shadow Heir (Dark Swan, #4) 11506205
Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld...

The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't--or won't--reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon--and risk the ultimate sacrifice...]]> 400 Richelle Mead 0553826093 Ely8s 0 3.85 2011 Shadow Heir (Dark Swan, #4)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/02/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1)]]> 30281 355 Laurell K. Hamilton 0425197549 Ely8s 0 4.05 1993 Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1)
author: Laurell K. Hamilton
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1993
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/02/24
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]]> <![CDATA[The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)]]> 26032825 Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.]]> 370 Holly Black 0316310271 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.01 2018 The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)
author: Holly Black
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/02/24
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]]> Dark Matter 27833670 A mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy.

Jason Dessen is walking home through the chilly Chicago streets one night, looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the fireplace with his wife, Daniela, and their son, Charlie—when his reality shatters.

"Are you happy with your life?"

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."

In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that's the dream?

And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human--a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of.]]> 342 Blake Crouch 1101904224 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.13 2016 Dark Matter
author: Blake Crouch
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/09/04
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]]> Gun, With Occasional Music 16718
Metcalf has been shadowing Celeste, the wife of an affluent doctor. Perhaps he's falling a little in love with her at the same time. When the doctor turns up dead, our amiable investigator finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the Inquisitor's Office and gangsters who operate out of the back room of a bar called the Fickle Muse.

Mixing elements of sci-fi, noir, and mystery, this clever first novel from the author of Motherless Brooklyn is a wry, funny, and satiric look at all that the future may hold.]]> 271 Jonathan Lethem 0156028972 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.77 1994 Gun, With Occasional Music
author: Jonathan Lethem
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/08/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> Ill Wind (Weather Warden, #1) 86451 337 Rachel Caine 0451459520 Ely8s 0 3.74 2003 Ill Wind (Weather Warden, #1)
author: Rachel Caine
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/12
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]]> Idaho 30141401
But then something unimaginably shocking happens, an act so extreme it will scatter the family in every different direction.

In a story told from multiple perspectives and in razor-sharp prose, we gradually learn more about this act, and the way its violence, love and memory reverberate through the life of every character in Idaho.]]> 320 Emily Ruskovich 0701189096 Ely8s 0 3.48 2017 Idaho
author: Emily Ruskovich
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2020/01/12
date added: 2020/01/12
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut Universe, #1)]]> 36238876
Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.]]> 432 Mary Robinette Kowal 146686124X Ely8s 0 4.16 2018 The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut Universe, #1)
author: Mary Robinette Kowal
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2020/01/12
date added: 2020/01/12
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]]> Slaughterhouse-Five 4981 Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.�

An instant bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five made Kurt Vonnegut a cult hero in American literature, a reputation that only strengthened over time, despite his being banned and censored by some libraries and schools for content and language. But it was precisely those elements of Vonnegut’s writing—the political edginess, the genre-bending inventiveness, the frank violence, the transgressive wit—that have inspired generations of readers not just to look differently at the world around them but to find the confidence to say something about it.

Fifty years after its initial publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut's portrayal of political disillusionment, PTSD, and postwar anxiety feels as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever, an enduring beacon through our own era’s uncertainties.]]> 275 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Ely8s 0 4.10 1969 Slaughterhouse-Five
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/14
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]]> Night 1617 Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must simply never be allowed to happen again.]]> 120 Elie Wiesel 0374500010 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.38 1956 Night
author: Elie Wiesel
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1956
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)]]> 17162156 369 Ransom Riggs 1594746036 Ely8s 0 3.88 2011 Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)
author: Ransom Riggs
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/05
shelves: currently-reading, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)]]> 37442 Alternative cover edition of ISBN 9780060987107

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

]]> 406 Gregory Maguire Ely8s 0 3.52 1995 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)
author: Gregory Maguire
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/05
date added: 2019/06/05
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review:

]]> The Song of Achilles 11250317
Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.]]> 352 Madeline Miller 1408816032 Ely8s 0 4.38 2011 The Song of Achilles
author: Madeline Miller
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/05
date added: 2019/06/05
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review:

]]> Hidden Figures 25953369 349 Margot Lee Shetterly Ely8s 0 to-read 3.97 2016 Hidden Figures
author: Margot Lee Shetterly
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/12
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]]> <![CDATA[Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)]]> 38619 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780441014897.

Ilona Andrews invites you to experience the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring the intriguing fantasy world of mercenary Kate Daniels�

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…]]> 260 Ilona Andrews Ely8s 0 did-not-finish 4.06 2007 Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/12
shelves: did-not-finish
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]]> Norse Mythology 37903770 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780393356182

Neil Gaiman, long inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction, presents a bravura rendition of the Norse gods and their world from their origin though their upheaval in Ragnarok.

In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki—son of a giant—blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose, these gods emerge with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.]]> 301 Neil Gaiman Ely8s 0 to-read 4.11 2017 Norse Mythology
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/03/20
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]]> The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle 11275
In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife's missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan's forgotten campaign in Manchuria.

Gripping, prophetic, suffused with comedy and menace, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a tour de force equal in scope to the masterpieces of Mishima and Pynchon.]]> 607 Haruki Murakami 0965341984 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.16 1994 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/03/20
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]]> Catch-22 168668
Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.]]> 453 Joseph Heller 0684833395 Ely8s 0 extreme-book-nerd 3.99 1961 Catch-22
author: Joseph Heller
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1961
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/01/06
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]]> Fahrenheit 451 13079982 Sixty years after its original publication, Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown more relevant than ever before.

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.� But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.]]> 194 Ray Bradbury Ely8s 0 extreme-book-nerd 3.97 1953 Fahrenheit 451
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1953
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/01/06
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]]> Brave New World 5129 Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine� (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune]]> 268 Aldous Huxley 0060929871 Ely8s 0 extreme-book-nerd 3.99 1932 Brave New World
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1932
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/01/06
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]]> <![CDATA[Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch]]> 12067
People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons � well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel � would quite like the Rapture not to happen.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist…]]> 491 Terry Pratchett Ely8s 0 to-read 4.27 1990 Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)]]> 10836728
So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, The Rook is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.]]> 504 Daniel O'Malley 0316098795 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.09 2012 The Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)
author: Daniel O'Malley
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter, #1)]]> 3819326 USA Today bestselling author Nalini Singh introduces a world of beauty and bloodlust, where angels hold sway over vampires�

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she’s the best—but she doesn’t know if she’s good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option…even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…]]> 339 Nalini Singh 0425226921 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.07 2009 Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter, #1)
author: Nalini Singh
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1)]]> 6294549
The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. As she steps back into fae society, dealing with a cast of characters not entirely good or evil, she realizes that more than her own life will be forfeited if she cannot find Evening's killer.]]> 346 Seanan McGuire 0756405718 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.76 2009 Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1)
author: Seanan McGuire
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[American Gods (American Gods, #1)]]> 4407
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...

This is the author's preferred text, never before published in the UK, and is about 12,000 words longer than the previous UK edition.

]]> 635 Neil Gaiman Ely8s 0 did-not-finish 4.10 2001 American Gods (American Gods, #1)
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/03
shelves: did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, #1)]]> 235718
But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny. . .]]> 358 Richelle Mead 0758216416 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.95 2007 Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, #1)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1) 8709527
Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist - one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside - and within - the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.]]> 432 Richelle Mead 1595143173 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.20 2011 Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Storm Born (Dark Swan, #1) 2754510
Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy—one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.

Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her...]]> 361 Richelle Mead 1420100963 Ely8s 0 3.90 2008 Storm Born (Dark Swan, #1)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/03/06
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Herald-Mage (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage, #1-3)]]> 28762 900 Mercedes Lackey 0739422952 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.48 1990 The Last Herald-Mage (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage, #1-3)
author: Mercedes Lackey
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/26
shelves: to-read
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]]> Pretty Girls 25574782
Now another girl has disappeared, with chilling echoes of the past. And it seems that she might not be the only one.

Claire is convinced Julia's disappearance is linked.

But when she begins to learn the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery, and nothing will ever be the same...]]> 432 Karin Slaughter 0062430874 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.99 2015 Pretty Girls
author: Karin Slaughter
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Girl on the Train 22557272
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 336 Paula Hawkins 1594633665 Ely8s 0 3.97 2015 The Girl on the Train
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/18
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review:

]]> Big Little Lies 19486412
A murder . . . a tragic accident . . . or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
But who did what?

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.]]> 458 Liane Moriarty 0399167064 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.24 2014 Big Little Lies
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/12/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> Gone Girl 19288043 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here

Who are you?
What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?]]> 415 Gillian Flynn 0307588378 Ely8s 0 4.22 2012 Gone Girl
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/18
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]]> <![CDATA[Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy]]> 3494957 A funny, raucous, and delightfully dirty history of 1,000 years of bedroom-hopping secrets and scandals of Britain?s royals.

Insatiable kings, lecherous queens, kissing cousins, and wanton consorts? History has never been so much fun.

Royal unions have always been the stuff of scintillating gossip, from the passionate Plantagenets to Henry VIII's alarming head count of wives and mistresses, to the Sapphic crushes of Mary and Anne Stuart right on up through the scandal-blighted coupling of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Thrown into loveless, arranged marriages for political and economic gain, many royals were driven to indulge their pleasures outside the marital bed, engaging in delicious flirtations, lurid love letters, and rampant sex with voluptuous and willing partners.

This nearly pathological lust made for some of the most titillating scandals in Great Britain?s history. Hardly harmless, these affairs have disrupted dynastic alliances, endangered lives, and most of all, fed the salacious curiosity of the public for centuries. Royal Affairs will satiate that curiosity by bringing this arousing history alive.]]> 447 Leslie Carroll 0451223985 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.87 2008 Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy
author: Leslie Carroll
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> Safe With Me 31489055
Anna lives a solitary existence, taking solace in order and routine. Her only friend is the lonely old lady next door. She doesn’t like to let people to get too close � she knows how much damage they can do.

Then one ordinary day Anna witnesses a devastating road accident and recognises the driver as Carla, the woman who ruined her life all those years ago. Now it’s Anna’s chance to set things straight but her revenge needs to be executed carefully �

First she needs to get to know Liam, the man injured in the accident. She needs to follow the police investigation. She needs to watch Carla from the shadows�

But as Anna’s obsession with Carla escalates, her own secrets start to unravel. Is Carla really dangerous or does Anna need to worry about someone far closer to home?

A compelling, gripping psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and The Sister.

What everyone's saying about SAFE WITH

'Holy Hell what a jaw dropper!.....Just need a moment to lift my jaw back off the floor, what a fantastic debut!' Chelle's Book Reviews

'First let me say, just WOW. It has been a long time since I read a book this good. I was completely spellbound by this psychological thriller and could hardly put it down... Safe With Me went far beyond my expectations in every way ...There are so many secrets, backstories, and undercurrents, and this wonderful feeling of dread throughout, it is like nectar for the reader. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a psychological thriller. I am looking forward to the next book from K.L. Slater. She has knocked this one out of the proverbial park' Shelf Knowledge

'Oh my gosh! What a belter of a debut! Safe With Me is totally brilliant' The Little Bookworm

'Sublimely dark and all-consuming, Slater has written a novel so gripping, so captivatingly exciting that I found myself shushing everyone and ignoring everything simply so I could carry on reading.' Becca's Books

'This one will keep you up at night, flipping the pages ...One word of caution, prepare to be surprised & shocked more than once.' First to Read

'Freakin' awesome...you need to start this book on a day when you have nothing else to do, because believe me you will not want to put this down once you start it.' I Love Reading

'WOW,I'm going to have to catch up with the housework tomorrow because I have just spent the last two days devouring this jaw droppingly brilliant debut psychological thriller. 'Nicki's Life of Crime

'Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lots of twists in the story kept me guessing right to the end. Very well written.' Book Attic Confessions

'I was totally captivated by this book from the start, it is truly a gripping read with some gobsmacking twists that will leave you breathless!' Emma the little Bookworm

'You know how some books declare 'It'll leave you on the edge of your seat", I swear I almost fell off mine more than once ... this is a gem of a read, hugely enjoyable in a perverse making yourself feel on-edge kind of way!' Woman Reads Books]]> 376 K.L. Slater 178681109X Ely8s 0 to-read 3.72 2016 Safe With Me
author: K.L. Slater
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/12/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Blood Defense (Samantha Brinkman, #1)]]> 27207654 First in a new series from bestselling author and famed O. J. Simpson trial prosecutor Marcia Clark, a “terrific writer and storyteller� (James Patterson).

Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious, hard-charging Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, is struggling to make a name for herself and to drag her fledgling practice into the big leagues. Sam lands a high-profile double-murder case in which one of the victims is a beloved TV star—and the defendant is a decorated veteran LAPD detective. It promises to be exactly the kind of media sensation that would establish her as a heavy hitter in the world of criminal law.

Though Sam has doubts about his innocence, she and her two associates (her closest childhood friend and a brilliant ex-con) take the case. Notorious for living by her own rules—and fearlessly breaking everyone else’s—Samantha pulls out all the stops in her quest to uncover evidence that will clear the detective. But when a shocking secret at the core of the case shatters her personal world, Sam realizes that not only has her client been playing her, he might be one of the most dangerous sociopaths she’s ever encountered.

]]> 400 Marcia Clark 150398995X Ely8s 0 to-read 3.85 2016 Blood Defense (Samantha Brinkman, #1)
author: Marcia Clark
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/12/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Lost Girls 27213253
Sixty years later Lucy, the quiet and watchful middle sister, lives in the lake house alone. Before she dies, she writes the story of that devastating summer in a notebook that she leaves, along with the house, to the only person to whom it might matter: her grandniece, Justine.

For Justine, the lake house offers a chance to escape her manipulative boyfriend and give her daughters the stable home she never had. But it’s not the sanctuary she hoped for. The long Minnesota winter has begun. The house is cold and dilapidated, the frozen lake is silent and forbidding, and her only neighbor is a strange old man who seems to know more than he’s telling about the summer of 1935.

Soon Justine’s troubled oldest daughter becomes obsessed with Emily’s disappearance, her mother arrives with designs on her inheritance, and the man she left behind launches a dangerous plan to get her back. In a house steeped in the sorrows of the women who came before her, Justine must overcome their tragic legacy if she hopes to save herself and her children.]]> 341 Heather Young 0062456601 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.80 2016 The Lost Girls
author: Heather Young
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/12/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> I See You 26233572
Winner of the Richard and Judy Summer Book Club 2017

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation: just a grainy image, a website address and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.

Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make...

If you like Shari Lapena, Paula Hawkins, Rachel Abbott, B A Paris, Fiona Barton, Ruth Ware and CL Taylor, you'll love this gripping psychological thriller.]]> 386 Clare Mackintosh 0751554138 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.87 2016 I See You
author: Clare Mackintosh
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)]]> 237209
Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.]]> 429 Tana French 0670038601 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.75 2007 In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)
author: Tana French
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Woman in Cabin 10 (Lo Blacklock, #1)]]> 28187230 341 Ruth Ware 1501132938 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.73 2016 The Woman in Cabin 10 (Lo Blacklock, #1)
author: Ruth Ware
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cloud Atlas 49628
Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. . . .

Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter. . . . From there we jump to the West Coast in the 1970s and a troubled reporter named Luisa Rey, who stumbles upon a web of corporate greed and murder that threatens to claim her life. . . . And onward, with dazzling virtuosity, to an inglorious present-day England; to a Korean superstate of the near future where neocapitalism has run amok; and, finally, to a postapocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history.

But the story doesn't end even there. The narrative then boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.

As wild as a videogame, as mysterious as a Zen koan, Cloud Atlas is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.]]> 509 David Mitchell 0375507256 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.02 2004 Cloud Atlas
author: David Mitchell
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1)]]> 27003
Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids . . .

Suspenseful and outlandish, absorbing and fun, The Eyre Affair is a caper unlike any other and an introduction to the imagination of a most distinctive writer and his singular fictional universe.]]> 374 Jasper Fforde 0142001805 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.89 2001 The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1)
author: Jasper Fforde
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell 14201
Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange.

Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.]]> 1006 Susanna Clarke Ely8s 0 to-read 3.84 2004 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
author: Susanna Clarke
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Queen of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #1)]]> 18712886
Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea's forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea's nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen's Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.

Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen's vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen's Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as "the Fetch."

Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.]]> 434 Erika Johansen 0062290363 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.00 2014 The Queen of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #1)
author: Erika Johansen
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2]]> 29069989 The eighth story, nineteen years later �

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.]]> 327 John Tiffany 1338099132 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.63 2016 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2
author: John Tiffany
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/09/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> Neverwhere (London Below, #1) 14497
"Neverwhere" is the London of the people who have fallen between the cracks.

Strange destinies lie in wait in London below - a world that seems eerily familiar. But a world that is utterly bizarre, peopled by unearthly characters such as the Angel called Islington, the girl named Door, and the Earl who holds Court on a tube train.

Now a single act of kindness has catapulted young businessman Richard Mayhew out of his safe and predictable life - and into the realms of "Neverwhere." Richard is about to find out more than he ever wanted to know about this other London. Which is a pity. Because Richard just wants to go home...]]> 370 Neil Gaiman 0060557818 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.17 1996 Neverwhere (London Below, #1)
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/05/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![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 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/05/10
shelves: to-read
review:

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

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.]]> 377 Rick Riordan 0786838655 Ely8s 4 4.31 2005 The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1)]]> 8667848
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.]]> 592 Deborah Harkness 0670022411 Ely8s 4 4.01 2011 A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1)
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Lost Things (The Book of Lost Things, #1)]]> 69136 The Book of Lost Things.

Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.]]> 339 John Connolly 0743298853 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.96 2006 The Book of Lost Things (The Book of Lost Things, #1)
author: John Connolly
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Yes Please 20910157 Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.]]> 329 Amy Poehler 0062268341 Ely8s 0 currently-reading 3.85 2014 Yes Please
author: Amy Poehler
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Insurgent (Divergent, #2) 11735983
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian DIVERGENT series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.]]> 525 Veronica Roth 0007442912 Ely8s 0 3.96 2012 Insurgent (Divergent, #2)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/20
shelves: currently-reading, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Divergent (Divergent, #1) 13335037
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.]]> 487 Veronica Roth 0062024035 Ely8s 5 4.13 2011 Divergent (Divergent, #1)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/08/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Urban Shaman (Walker Papers, #1)]]> 297929
No worries. No pressure. Never mind the lack of sleep, the perplexing new talent for healing from fatal wounds, or the cryptic, talking coyote who appears in her dreams.

And if all that's not bad enough, in the three years Joanne's been a cop, she's never seen a dead body -- but she's just come across her second in three days.

It's been a bitch of a week. And it isn't over yet.]]> 410 C.E. Murphy 0373802234 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.74 2005 Urban Shaman (Walker Papers, #1)
author: C.E. Murphy
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/08/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)]]> 9533378
Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.]]> 304 Kevin Hearne 0345522478 Ely8s 0 to-read 4.09 2011 Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/08/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)]]> 8490112
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?]]> 418 Laini Taylor 0316134023 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.98 2011 Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)
author: Laini Taylor
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/08/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Ely8s 5 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Ely8s
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/04/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #1)]]> 6261189
The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.]]> 339 Stacia Kane 0345515579 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.66 2010 Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #1)
author: Stacia Kane
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom, #1)]]> 3241366 355 Devon Monk 0451462408 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.65 2008 Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom, #1)
author: Devon Monk
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Strange Angels (Strange Angels, #1)]]> 6006518 293 Lili St. Crow 1595142517 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.79 2009 Strange Angels (Strange Angels, #1)
author: Lili St. Crow
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Destiny (Rogue Angel, #1) 106588 An ancient order tied to the Vatican…A blood fortune buried in the caves of France…A conspiracy of power, greed and darkest evil�

Archaeologist and explorer Annja Creed’s fascination with the myths and mysteries of the past leads her to a crypt in the caves of France, where the terrifying legend of the Beast of Gevaudin hints at the unimaginable. What she discovers is shattering: an artifact that will seal her destiny; a brotherhood of monks willing to murder to protect their secret; and a powerful black-market occultist desperate to put his own claim to centuries-old blood money. Annja embarks on a high-tension race across Europe and history itself, intent on linking the unholy treachery of the ages with the staggering revelations of the present. But she must survive the shadow figures determined to silence her threat to their existence.]]> 352 Alex Archer 0373621191 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.69 2006 Destiny (Rogue Angel, #1)
author: Alex Archer
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, #1)]]> 67513
The undead are another matter.

Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with vengeance on his mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.

The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire-and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay...]]> 307 Karen Chance 0451460936 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.72 2006 Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, #1)
author: Karen Chance
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/12/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Divine Misfortune 6390127
Teri and Phil had never needed their own personal god. But when Phil is passed up for a promotion - again-it's time to take matters into their own hands. And look online.

Choosing a god isn't as simple as you would think. There are too many choices; and they often have very hefty prices for their eternal blood, money, sacrifices, and vows of chastity. But then they found Luka, raccoon god of prosperity. All he wants is a small cut of their good fortune.

Oh -- and can he crash on their couch for a few days?

Throw in a heartbroken love goddess and an ancient deity bent on revenge and not even the gods can save Teri and Phil.]]> 307 A. Lee Martinez 0316041270 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.90 2010 Divine Misfortune
author: A. Lee Martinez
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Velocity 32421
Bill Wiles is an easygoing, hardworking guy who leads a quiet, ordinary life. But that is about to change. One evening, after his usual eight-hour bartending shift, he finds a typewritten note under the windshield wiper of his car.

"If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours."


It seems like a sick joke, and Bill's friend on the police force, Lanny Olson, thinks so too. His advice to Bill is to go home and forget about it. Besides, what could they do even if they took the note seriously? No crime has actually been committed. But less than twenty-four hours later, a young blond schoolteacher is found murdered, and it's Bill's fault: he didn't convince the police to get involved. Now he's got another note, another deadline, another ultimatum...and two new lives hanging in the balance.

Suddenly Bill's average, seemingly innocuous life takes on the dimensions and speed of an accelerating nightmare. Because the notes are coming faster, the deadlines growing tighter, and the killer becoming bolder and crueler with every communication--until Bill is isolated with the terrifying knowledge that he alone has the power of life and death over a psychopath's innocent victims. Until the struggle between good and evil is intensely personal. Until the most chilling words of all are: "The choice is yours."]]> 460 Dean Koontz 0553588257 Ely8s 0 to-read 3.87 2005 Velocity
author: Dean Koontz
name: Ely8s
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/08/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>