en-US Fri, 26 Apr 2024 23:05:57 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 198563728 When a Mexican heiress defies Victorian society to protect her country a British war hero makes it his new mission to protect her�

Isabel Luna Valdés has long since resigned herself to being the “forgotten� Luna sister. But thanks to familial connections to the Mexican ambassador in London, wallflower Isabel is poised to unearth any British intelligence hidden by the ton that might aid Mexico during the French Occupation. Though she slips easily from crowded ballrooms into libraries and private studies, Isabel’s search is hampered by trysting couples and prowling rogues—including the rakish Captain Sirius Dawson.

As a covert agent for the British Home Office, Sirius makes a game of earning the aristocracy’s confidence. He spends his days befriending foolish politicians and seducing well-born ladies in order to learn their secrets. But after he spies a certain sharp-tongued Luna sister lurking in the shadows where no proper debutante should venture, it’s clear Sirius is outmatched, outwitted, and soon to be outmaneuvered by the one woman he can’t resist.

Their mutual attraction is undeniable, but when Isabel discovers private correspondence that could turn the tide of political turmoil in Mexico, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect her country—even if this means ignoring her heart and courting danger...]]> 352 Liana De la Rosa 0593440900 Faye 0 to-read 3.81 2024
author: Liana De la Rosa
name: Faye
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199495033
Father Ilya Pavlovich Sokolovis a lonely priest and pariah of his small town. Tasked with killing an injured monster in the woods, Ilya is certain of his death. Instead, he heals the monster’s injury and lifts its curse, revealing a handsome, memory-less man.

Cocksure Danya is a man lost in an unfamiliar world. He struggles to recall his past life, flashes returning as he and Ilya grow closer. Soon, his appearance begins to change once more, but not into a beast � instead, Danya grows into something just like the Sun that Ilya has worshiped all his life.

With complicated pasts between them, the two must work together to deal with the corruption of Ilya's own church, as well as their blooming feelings for one another.]]> 322 Ian Haramaki Faye 5
This is a medium to high heat book with open-door sex scenes. There are moments of humor blended with more serious themes of trauma and healing. A one-of-a-kind and touching read.

Merged review:

Did you enjoy the hot priests of Fleabag and Midnight Mass, but feel that those shows were too straight and sadly lacking in hot angels? Then this book might be for you! Ilya is a social outcast in a small, isolated community. He is blessed with healing powers as the priest of the sun, but the small-minded townspeople resent him because he wasn't able to save his own father's life many years ago, when he was only a child. A monster has recently been preying on people in the woods nearby and the church establishment have ignored Ilya's requests for help from a qualified hunter, so the mayor of the town forces him to go off alone to kill the monster himself (or more likely, suspects Ilya, die trying). When Ilya finds the creature wounded and suffering, he is moved to perform an act of mercy and heal it, only to find it transforms into a handsome man, Danya. Ilya brings Danya home to live with him and their relationship grows as he recovers, despite Ilya's fears of the reaction if the townspeople were to discover that he's gay. As Danya continues to transform into an angel, they attract the attention of the church leaders in the capital who previously left Ilya to fend for himself, and who have their own secrets to hide.

This is a medium to high heat book with open-door sex scenes. There are moments of humor blended with more serious themes of trauma and healing. A one-of-a-kind and touching read.]]> 3.60 2023
author: Ian Haramaki
name: Faye
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/02/28
shelves:
review:
Did you enjoy the hot priests of Fleabag and Midnight Mass, but feel that those shows were too straight and sadly lacking in hot angels? Then this book might be for you! Ilya is a social outcast in a small, isolated community. He is blessed with healing powers as the priest of the sun, but the small-minded townspeople resent him because he wasn't able to save his own father's life many years ago, when he was only a child. A monster has recently been preying on people in the woods nearby and the church establishment have ignored Ilya's requests for help from a qualified hunter, so the mayor of the town forces him to go off alone to kill the monster himself (or more likely, suspects Ilya, die trying). When Ilya finds the creature wounded and suffering, he is moved to perform an act of mercy and heal it, only to find it transforms into a handsome man, Danya. Ilya brings Danya home to live with him and their relationship grows as he recovers, despite Ilya's fears of the reaction if the townspeople were to discover that he's gay. As Danya continues to transform into an angel, they attract the attention of the church leaders in the capital who previously left Ilya to fend for himself, and who have their own secrets to hide.

This is a medium to high heat book with open-door sex scenes. There are moments of humor blended with more serious themes of trauma and healing. A one-of-a-kind and touching read.

Merged review:

Did you enjoy the hot priests of Fleabag and Midnight Mass, but feel that those shows were too straight and sadly lacking in hot angels? Then this book might be for you! Ilya is a social outcast in a small, isolated community. He is blessed with healing powers as the priest of the sun, but the small-minded townspeople resent him because he wasn't able to save his own father's life many years ago, when he was only a child. A monster has recently been preying on people in the woods nearby and the church establishment have ignored Ilya's requests for help from a qualified hunter, so the mayor of the town forces him to go off alone to kill the monster himself (or more likely, suspects Ilya, die trying). When Ilya finds the creature wounded and suffering, he is moved to perform an act of mercy and heal it, only to find it transforms into a handsome man, Danya. Ilya brings Danya home to live with him and their relationship grows as he recovers, despite Ilya's fears of the reaction if the townspeople were to discover that he's gay. As Danya continues to transform into an angel, they attract the attention of the church leaders in the capital who previously left Ilya to fend for himself, and who have their own secrets to hide.

This is a medium to high heat book with open-door sex scenes. There are moments of humor blended with more serious themes of trauma and healing. A one-of-a-kind and touching read.
]]> 153527725
Maria Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister Maria, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila's Codician colonizers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding not only from the Codicians and their witch hunts, but also from the vengeful eye of her slighted goddess, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the her lover Catalina, and Cat's younger sister Inez. Lunurin is determined to keep her head down - until one day she makes a devastating discovery, which threatens to tear her family apart.

In desperation, she turns for help to Alon Dakila, heir to Aynila's most powerful family and a gods-blessed healer who has been ardently in love with Lunurin for years. But this choice sets in motion a chain of events beyond her control, awakening Anitun Tabu's rage and putting everyone Lunurin loves in terrible danger. Torn between the call of Alon's magic and Catalina's jealousy, her duty to her family and to her people, Lunurin can no longer keep Anitun Tabu's fury at bay. For the goddess of storms demands vengeance. And she will sweep aside anyone who stands in her way.]]> 486 Gabriella Buba 1803367814 Faye 5 3.95 2024
author: Gabriella Buba
name: Faye
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/02/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 198563715 A young magazine writer in Mumbai must prove her matchmaking skills—and contend with growing feelings for her close family friend—in this debut desi romance.

Confident fashionista Jia Deshpande spends her days writing cliché-ridden listicles for Mimosa, Mumbai’s top women’s magazine. When she can, Jia dishes about the messy truth of real love on her anonymous blog, attends her family’s weekly game nights, and ignores her true feelings for her childhood friend. If that wasn’t enough, Jia needs to successfully set up a coworker with her perfect match to get the green light for her new matchmaking column. Thankfully, organizing meet-cutes has never been difficult for her.

Local pub owner and cocktail genius Jaiman Patil can’t help but be enamored with Jia and her meddling spirit. He’s always been an honorary part of her family, but even more so since his own moved to America. Life with the Deshpandes is chaotic and loud, but it’s also more loving than anything he experienced growing up, and he wouldn’t risk losing that for the world. It feels manageable—until his pub begins to struggle and his long-hidden feelings for Jia grow deeper.

When Jia’s attempts at office matchmaking go haywire, risking new friendships and her relationship with Jaiman, she must reevaluate her own thoughts on love. For the first time, Jia Deshpande realizes that love may be a lot more complicated than she thought. Luckily, happily-ever-afters are never in short supply in Mumbai.]]> 304 Swati Hegde 0593722914 Faye 5
I love matchmaking stories and it was a lot of fun to read about Jia's misguided efforts to find a partner for everyone but herself, only to finally realize that her perfect match has been right in front of her the whole time. Like Emma, Jia is privileged and used to getting her own way, but she's also good-hearted and truly believes that she's helping the people whose lives she interferes with, then tries to repair the damage once she realizes her mistakes. Jaiman is a very sweet and devoted love interest, bringing some of Mr. Knightley's gentle energy (without any creepy age gap).

This is a slow burn romance with closed-door sex scenes. The focus is on the emotional bond between these two loveable idiots as they gradually realize their future is with each other. There is a great cast of supporting characters and I loved reading all the details about life in Mumbai. I can't wait to see what Swati Hegde's next book will be like!]]> 3.48 2024
author: Swati Hegde
name: Faye
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/01/01
shelves:
review:
I was lucky enough to have the chance to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I saw the author describe it as Emma meets You've Got Mail, and it definitely delivers on that promise. The matchmaking elements of Emma transpose really well to this book's setting in modern day Mumbai. I'm an big Austen fan and what I love most about Emma is how unique the titular character is. Swati Hegde really captures that energy with her main character Jia, a wealthy millenial who works as a columinist for a popular magazine that leaves her feeling uninspired, while she secretly runs an anonymous blog in her spare time, dispensing relationship advice that better reflects her real opinions and dreaming of one day starting her own matchmaking business. Riding high on the success of setting up her sister with their handsome neighbour prior to the start of the book, Jia can't see the flaws in her plans to set up her co-workers and prove to her boss that she should be allowed to run a matchmaking project for the magazine. She is equally oblivious to her own feelings for Jaiman, the handsome owner of a struggling local pub and a close friend of her family who's become like another child to her father over the years. Jaiman has been in love with Jia forever, but thinks that she'll never return his feelings after she reacted badly to a single kiss they shared at her sister's wedding a year ago.

I love matchmaking stories and it was a lot of fun to read about Jia's misguided efforts to find a partner for everyone but herself, only to finally realize that her perfect match has been right in front of her the whole time. Like Emma, Jia is privileged and used to getting her own way, but she's also good-hearted and truly believes that she's helping the people whose lives she interferes with, then tries to repair the damage once she realizes her mistakes. Jaiman is a very sweet and devoted love interest, bringing some of Mr. Knightley's gentle energy (without any creepy age gap).

This is a slow burn romance with closed-door sex scenes. The focus is on the emotional bond between these two loveable idiots as they gradually realize their future is with each other. There is a great cast of supporting characters and I loved reading all the details about life in Mumbai. I can't wait to see what Swati Hegde's next book will be like!
]]> 131107507
Saffron Summersby lost everything after her brother’s suspicious death: her dresses, her dowry, her place in society as a baronet’s sister. So when she sees her brother’s face in the latest painting from famous anonymous artist Ravenmore and realizes he might still be alive, she comes up with a plan: learn the identity of the painter, find her brother, and save her sister from marrying a brute in order to avoid financial ruin. She doesn’t expect her investigation to lead her into the den of a notorious rake.

After the death of his sister, Leopold “Leo� Mayweather, Viscount Briarwood, gave up his wild ways and devoted his life to art, particularly the distribution of paintings by the reclusive Ravenmore. So when he discovers someone is stealing the paintings and replacing them with forgeries, he decides to host an art auction to draw out the thief. He doesn’t expect a beautiful woman to storm into his life, determined to unmask Ravenmore.

Fearing Saffron will disrupt his plans, Leo nonetheless agrees to introduce her to Ravenmore in exchange for her help arranging the auction and quietly investigating everyone with interest in the final Ravenmore painting for sale. But as the guests arrive and passion sparks between the viscount and the impoverished lady, the two would-be lovers must navigate a series of suspicious accidents to uncover the truth before someone else they care about becomes the victim of dangerous sabotage.]]> Melissa Kendall Faye 5
Saffron and her sister are impoverished gentry living with their widowed aunt after the death of their parents and older brother. Saffron pins her hopes on her pretty younger sister marrying well and lets her own future take a back seat until she meets Leo.

Leo has also recently lost someone, and is still grieving after the death of his sister. He has let his estate fall into neglect while he throws himself into his painting. The two of them are brought together in an effort to catch an art thief. Leo wants to find out who's been stealing the Ravenmore paintings he sold to galleries and replacing them with forgeries. After seeing her brother's likeness in one of the paintings, Saffron is convinced that Ravenmore can prove he's still alive and agrees to help Leo.

I really felt for Leo over the course of the book, as he's lost so much. Saffron was a clever and industrious heroine who didn't give up in the face of her reduced circumstances. The search for the art thief gave the book an exciting adventure/ mystery element, but the main focus is definitely on the relationship between the characters and their growing romance.

I would describe the heat level as medium. There are open door sex scenes but they aren't as long/detailed as some high heat books, so if you're a reader who prefers the romance to be the focus and the sex scenes to be a nice bonus then you'll be happy with this balance.

A great book with compelling characters! I can't wait to read the next one. ]]> 4.35
author: Melissa Kendall
name: Faye
average rating: 4.35
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/12/12
shelves:
review:
I received a free ARC of this book but my opinion is my own.

Saffron and her sister are impoverished gentry living with their widowed aunt after the death of their parents and older brother. Saffron pins her hopes on her pretty younger sister marrying well and lets her own future take a back seat until she meets Leo.

Leo has also recently lost someone, and is still grieving after the death of his sister. He has let his estate fall into neglect while he throws himself into his painting. The two of them are brought together in an effort to catch an art thief. Leo wants to find out who's been stealing the Ravenmore paintings he sold to galleries and replacing them with forgeries. After seeing her brother's likeness in one of the paintings, Saffron is convinced that Ravenmore can prove he's still alive and agrees to help Leo.

I really felt for Leo over the course of the book, as he's lost so much. Saffron was a clever and industrious heroine who didn't give up in the face of her reduced circumstances. The search for the art thief gave the book an exciting adventure/ mystery element, but the main focus is definitely on the relationship between the characters and their growing romance.

I would describe the heat level as medium. There are open door sex scenes but they aren't as long/detailed as some high heat books, so if you're a reader who prefers the romance to be the focus and the sex scenes to be a nice bonus then you'll be happy with this balance.

A great book with compelling characters! I can't wait to read the next one.
]]> 179947244
Lieutenant Eli Williams was supposed to be dead. In the two years since his shipwreck, his friends and family mourned him, his brother spent his savings, and his fiancée married someone else. So, when he turns up in the middle of the London social season, he quickly becomes the talk of the town. All Eli wants is to set his life back in order and reconnect with Jane Bishop, a friend who has always meant so much more to him, before returning to sea.

Jane refuses to waste any more of her life pining over Eli, who chose her cousin instead of her. She needs to focus on gaining her financial independence by establishing a ladies' gambling club. Never mind that Eli keeps trying to atone for his past mistake by bringing in new members. He's obviously keeping secrets about his disappearance, which means that she can't trust him with her heart even if she did kiss him in a moment of weakness. Or three.

As Eli works to regain her trust, Jane's defensive walls begin to crumble. But when Eli faces a court of inquiry on suspicion of desertion, Jane must decide if she can let go of the past to build a future with Eli, or risk losing him for good.

This charming and sexy friends to enemies to lovers historical romance romp is the perfect read for fans of Evie Dunmore and India Holton.]]> 336 Faye Delacour 1728290635 Faye 0 3.44 2024
author: Faye Delacour
name: Faye
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 61432172
As a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, ignored middle child Elle was destined to be a doctor. Instead, she is underemployed as a mediocre magical calligrapher at the fairy temp agency, paranoid that her murderous younger brother will find her and their elder brother.

Using her full abilities will expose Elle’s location. Nevertheless, she challenges herself by covertly outfitting Luc, her client and crush, with high-powered glyphs.

Half-elf Luc, the agency’s top security expert, has his own secret: he’s responsible for a curse laid on two children from an old assignment. To heal them, he’ll need to perform his job duties with unrelenting excellence and earn time off from his tyrannical boss.

When Elle saves Luc’s life on a mission, he brings her a gift and a request for stronger magic to ensure success on the next job—except the next job is hunting down Elle’s younger brother.

As Luc and Elle collaborate, their chemistry blooms. Happiness, for once, is an option for them both. But Elle is loyal to her family, and Luc is bound by his true name. To win freedom from duty, they must make unexpected sacrifices.]]> 325 Mia Tsai 1616963840 Faye 5
The world-building in this book is truly exceptional. Tremendously detailed but never clunky or distracting. There could easily be a whole series about the faery temp agency and the supporting cast of characters, but the focus of the story is on the relationship between Elle and Luc. This is a book that lets its characters be strong and vulnerable at the same time. We see them deal with loss, regret, sacrifice, and loneliness. They struggle with the duty they owe to others and how it keeps them from pursuing their own happiness. Their connection is built up believably over the course of the book, and I love how soft Luc is with Elle even when his job is to be terrifying with everyone else. I always love it when a woman who is doing so much for others gets to be taken care of by someone else for a change. Without any spoilers, this book is very emotional, especially at the end. You may cry. An amazingly well written and compelling story.

I only hope that one day readers will get the book two we deserve. For Tony. ]]> 3.67 2023
author: Mia Tsai
name: Faye
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/12/01
shelves:
review:
A perfect blend of fantasy and romance. Elle is a magical calligrapher working in a faery temp agency, where she's been hiding out from her murderous younger brother and never using her abilities to their full potential to avoid attracting attention. Luc is her client and a half-elf security expert who works for a domineering boss that leaves him little time or freedom to make connections with others. They grow closer after he asks for a personalized commission for a job, but Elle's loyalty to her family and Luc's obligation to his boss are at odds when he is assigned to track down her brother.

The world-building in this book is truly exceptional. Tremendously detailed but never clunky or distracting. There could easily be a whole series about the faery temp agency and the supporting cast of characters, but the focus of the story is on the relationship between Elle and Luc. This is a book that lets its characters be strong and vulnerable at the same time. We see them deal with loss, regret, sacrifice, and loneliness. They struggle with the duty they owe to others and how it keeps them from pursuing their own happiness. Their connection is built up believably over the course of the book, and I love how soft Luc is with Elle even when his job is to be terrifying with everyone else. I always love it when a woman who is doing so much for others gets to be taken care of by someone else for a change. Without any spoilers, this book is very emotional, especially at the end. You may cry. An amazingly well written and compelling story.

I only hope that one day readers will get the book two we deserve. For Tony.
]]> 195790885
When she gets mistaken for a server at her own thirtieth birthday party, Liz vows to stop playing a minor character in her own life. The (incredibly well-researched and scientific) plan? A crash course in confidence . . . via an improv comedy class. The catch? She’s terrible at it, and the only person willing to practice with her is a certain extroverted wilderness guide who seems dead set on saving their marriage.

But as Liz and Tobin get closer again, she’s forced to confront all the reasons they didn’t work the first time, along with her growing suspicion that her social awkwardness might mean something deeper. Liz must learn improv’s most important lesson—“Yes, and”—or she’ll have to choose between the love she always wanted and the dreams that got away.

Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chances explores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice . . . with the same person?]]> 352 Maggie North 1250910129 Faye 5
I picked up a free ARC from netgalley during a read now campaign, but my opinions are my own.

Liz has just turned 30 and is taking stock of her life. She's unappreciated at her job with a wilderness expedition company despite her hard work because she has difficulty navigating social interactions. At home, she's stuck following in the wake of her dazzling, charismatic husband Tobin, while their communication has broken down and she often feels like she's stuck saying no to things while he gets to be the fun one. Frustrated and determined to change her life, she separates from Tobin and embarks on a journey to learn the skills she needs to get an important promotion... THROUGH THE POWER OF IMPROV COMEDY. Unfortunately, she's not very good at it. Tobin is the only person Liz can find to practice with her, but he's not giving up on their marriage and is determined to fix their issues... ALSO THROUGH THE POWER OF IMPROV COMEDY.

This book is really sweet and unique. I guarantee you have not read anything like it! Liz is such a great character. I found her so relatable and her experience to be just heartbreaking. She is trying so hard to make herself fit into the mold that comes easily to the obnoxious dude-bros who work in her company, although she comes to understand and appreciate herself much more over the course of the book. If you have ever felt like the odd one out in a place where everyone seems to know some unspoken code except for you, you will deeply resonate with Liz.

Tobin and Liz are both fully fleshed out characters with some family drama to deal with that plays a role in who they are and the problems in their marriage. I found the treatment of their family dynamics to be particularly insightful. Although I could understand why Liz felt like she needed to leave Tobin to work on herself, he is never an unsympathetic character. On the contrary, his devotion to Liz was very sweet and we get to see deeper layers to his personality as they address what went wrong in their marriage and work to find a second chance. I do not reread books very often, but I would happily come back to this one again. A second-chance romance with maximum feels. Maggie North is very talented and I loved this book from start to finish. ]]> 3.55 2024
author: Maggie North
name: Faye
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/12/01
shelves:
review:
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!

I picked up a free ARC from netgalley during a read now campaign, but my opinions are my own.

Liz has just turned 30 and is taking stock of her life. She's unappreciated at her job with a wilderness expedition company despite her hard work because she has difficulty navigating social interactions. At home, she's stuck following in the wake of her dazzling, charismatic husband Tobin, while their communication has broken down and she often feels like she's stuck saying no to things while he gets to be the fun one. Frustrated and determined to change her life, she separates from Tobin and embarks on a journey to learn the skills she needs to get an important promotion... THROUGH THE POWER OF IMPROV COMEDY. Unfortunately, she's not very good at it. Tobin is the only person Liz can find to practice with her, but he's not giving up on their marriage and is determined to fix their issues... ALSO THROUGH THE POWER OF IMPROV COMEDY.

This book is really sweet and unique. I guarantee you have not read anything like it! Liz is such a great character. I found her so relatable and her experience to be just heartbreaking. She is trying so hard to make herself fit into the mold that comes easily to the obnoxious dude-bros who work in her company, although she comes to understand and appreciate herself much more over the course of the book. If you have ever felt like the odd one out in a place where everyone seems to know some unspoken code except for you, you will deeply resonate with Liz.

Tobin and Liz are both fully fleshed out characters with some family drama to deal with that plays a role in who they are and the problems in their marriage. I found the treatment of their family dynamics to be particularly insightful. Although I could understand why Liz felt like she needed to leave Tobin to work on herself, he is never an unsympathetic character. On the contrary, his devotion to Liz was very sweet and we get to see deeper layers to his personality as they address what went wrong in their marriage and work to find a second chance. I do not reread books very often, but I would happily come back to this one again. A second-chance romance with maximum feels. Maggie North is very talented and I loved this book from start to finish.
]]> 145624872
Straddling the worlds of the ton and the working class, as an ex-solider turned railroad magnate, Zach hunts killers for the Metropolitan Police by day and dutifully attends balls at night. In neither world has he met a woman with the brazenness to mock him. So when a saucy governess blows him a kiss he is determined to catch her, never expecting that when he does he will find an intelligent, quirky woman hiding more than her true name. As Zach peels back the layers of Emily’s lies, he falls for the street-wise woman who handles a dagger like a pro and kisses like a mistress. But when his affair with Emily intertwines with his hunt for a killer, he discovers Emily is hiding an explosive secret—one that could destroy them both.]]> 352 Lindsay Lovise 1538740524 Faye 0 to-read 3.86 2024
author: Lindsay Lovise
name: Faye
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61423847 A forbidden love between a Mexican heiress and a shrewd British politician makes for a tantalizing Victorian season.

Ana María Luna Valdés has strived to be the perfect daughter, the perfect niece, and the perfect representative of the powerful Luna familia. So, when Ana María is secretly sent to London with her sisters to seek refuge during the French occupation of Mexico, she experiences her first taste of freedom far from the judgmental eyes of her domineering father. If only she could ignore the piercing looks she receives across ballroom floors from the austere Mr. Fox.

Gideon Fox elevated himself from the London gutters by chasing his burning desire for more: more opportunities, more choices. For everyone. Now as a member of Parliament, Gideon's on the cusp of securing the votes he needs to put forth a measure to abolish the Atlantic slave trade once and for all--a cause that is close to his heart as the grandson of a formerly enslaved woman. The charmingly vexing Ana MarĂ­a is a distraction he must ignore.

But when Ana MarĂ­a finds herself in the crosshairs of a nefarious nobleman with his own political agenda, Gideon knows he must offer his hand as protection...but will this Mexican heiress win his heart as well?]]> 352 Liana De la Rosa 0593440889 Faye 0 to-read 3.44 2023
author: Liana De la Rosa
name: Faye
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199147362 Summoning one can be a disaster.

When apothecary Growina Crowe receives a witch’s grimoire as collateral, she attempts to summon an otherworldly companion. In the process, she forgets a boiling teapot, topples candles, and sets her herb garden ablaze. The next morning, a magic-eating monster besets her town, prompting a bounty hunt.

Growina fears she may be responsible, but there are only two ways to find out for sure: wait for bounty hunters to catch her, or join one of the adventuring parties. Unfortunately, she lacks the social skills to make friends, or she would never have tried to summon one.

Several cities away, actor Florian Honeybeard—unrecognizable without his feminine makeup—is mistaken for a soothsayer and accidentally kidnapped. To survive, he must improvise the role and assist a team of mercenaries. Their mission: collect the bounty on the magic-eating monster and apprehend the person responsible.]]> 341 L.N. Clarke Faye 0 to-read 3.81 2021
author: L.N. Clarke
name: Faye
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 196407998 A lying Twitch streamer
A demon hungry for her secrets

After spending the summer wracked with guilt about causing the accident that killed her little sister, ambitious gamer and chronic liar Viv returns to Twitch streaming. She never told her parents the truth about the accident, but she hopes that maybe making it big in streaming and giving the money to them is penance enough for her mistakes.

The weekend before school starts, Viv finds the perfect horror game to make her Twitch comeback, and during an offline practice run, an NPC asks Viv for a secret. She decides to tell them the truth about her sister’s death since a game could never share her secret―in doing so, she accidentally welcomes a demonic mimic into her life.

No one believes Viv when she tells them about her evil doppelganger. Viv has lied to get her best friend’s sympathy and has spread rumors for attention, so why should anyone trust her now? The only person who believes her is Ash, a cute social outcast whom Viv once bullied. In trying to clear her name and kill the mimic, Viv discovers that her lies have hurt people who never deserved it, herself included.]]> 304 Tatiana Schlote-Bonne Faye 5 to-read 3.86 2024
author: Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
name: Faye
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 75665914
What if one little wish changed everything?

When Gemma gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she reacts the way any reasonable twenty-eight-year-old would: by getting drunk with her sister, kooky aunt, and best friend, Dax. After one too many margaritas, they decide to perform a love- cleansing spell, which promises to erase Gemma’s ex from her memory. They follow all the instructions, including a platonic kiss from Dax to seal the deal.

When Gemma wakes up, she realizes that this silly spell has worked. Not only does it seem that she never dated her ex, but the rest of her life is completely unrecognizable. The worst part: Dax has no idea who she is.

To reverse the spell and get back to her old life, Gemma must convince her once-best-friend-now-near-stranger to kiss her. But as she carries out her plans, she finds herself falling for him—hard. Soon, Gemma begins to wonder whether she even wants to go back to the way things once were. What if Dax was The One all along?]]> 352 Kate Robb 0593596536 Faye 0 to-read 3.78 2023
author: Kate Robb
name: Faye
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 195790787 In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife―the only problem is she's starting to think that might be her.

Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep―not his fault!―he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)

But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.]]> 352 Alexandra Vasti 1250910943 Faye 0 to-read 3.81 2024
author: Alexandra Vasti
name: Faye
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 123416657 "The rare gift that delivers it all: elevated prose, characters with depth, unpredictable twists, and a pitch-perfect mood."—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

Phoebe Dean was the most popular girl alive and dead.

For the last ten years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing: Why did it take young Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe?

Someone knows what really happened the night Phoebe died. Someone who is ready to tell the truth.

With Phoebe's memorial in just three days, grief, delusion, ambition, and regret tornado together with biting gossip in a town full of people obsessed with a long-gone tragedy with four people at its heart—the caretaker, the secret girlfriend, the missing bad boy, and a former football star. Just kids back then, are forever tied together the fateful rainy night Phoebe died.

Perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Celeste Ng, Tate's literary suspense Twenty-Seven Minutes is a gripping debut about what happens when grief becomes unbearable and dark secrets are unearthed in a hometown that is all too giddy to eat it up.]]> 377 Ashley Tate Faye 0 to-read 3.19 2024
author: Ashley Tate
name: Faye
average rating: 3.19
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 118925396
Furious and heartbroken, Hannah takes Bowie and moves in with her mama and stepdaddy in the mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia. Hannah realizes that her parents� cabin has vacation property gold written all over it—and could save her mama from going broke. Again.

Only problem? The cabin’s décor is . . . mildly terrifying and it’s in desperate need of renovation. Hannah hires the hot carpenter living in the treehouse next door to fix up the place. Not only does River respect Hannah’s business acumen, he looks at her like she’s a woman, not a hot mess. And Hannah can’t deny that River awakens something new inside her.

Can Hannah embrace a future that looks different from the picture-perfect family she once dreamed of . . . and maybe start living life on her own terms?]]> 336 Laura Piper Lee 1454948841 Faye 0 to-read 3.56 2024
author: Laura Piper Lee
name: Faye
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 197470077 When legends bite back.

Lemon Ziegler wants to escape the rural town of Devil’s Elbow and go to college—but that's impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate a lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the tradition of Old Lucy, the famed monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations by staging sightings to keep tourists coming. Lemon can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her secret to her friends, including Troy Ramirez, who has been secretly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to tell her lest he ruin their friendship.

When a real lake monster starts eating people, Lemon spills the secret to her best friends, and they must figure out how to stop the monster before it kills half the town.]]> 434 Nicole M. Wolverton 074430962X Faye 0 to-read 4.03 2024
author: Nicole M. Wolverton
name: Faye
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 201751811
The summer before her senior year, Addie hurled the worst words she could think of at her sister—and hours later, Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The police ruled her death an accident, but Addie has never bought it. Her ballet-prodigy sister didn’t slip and fall; she was pushed.

Addie’s number one suspect: Thatcher Montgomery, the rich boy down the street who always had a thing for Fiona. No one believes her—least of all Thatcher’s cousin Seth, Addie’s childhood rival and the boy she’s always loved to hate. Arguing with Seth is easy; living with her own questionable choices involving Seth the night Fiona died . . . much harder.

But when one year later Thatcher is found dead at the bottom of the same ravine, Addie is forced to admit she was wrong. To catch the real killer, she’ll have to seek help from the only one she can trust—the boy she was with during both murders. As Addie and Seth dodge corrupt police and his even more corrupt family, Addie will have to decide if her growing bond with Seth is stronger than familial ties, and if their link will keep her safe—or turn her into the next victim.]]> 304 M.K. Pagano 059362002X Faye 0 to-read 3.73 2024
author: M.K. Pagano
name: Faye
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 123429195
Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says.

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.]]> 297 Megan Lally 1728270111 Faye 0 to-read 4.04 2023
author: Megan Lally
name: Faye
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 69363969 Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse.

Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim).

But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in town. Lilou comes to Kess for help breaking a mysterious curse—and the only clue she has leads straight into the center of Eelgrass Bog.

Everyone knows the bog is full of witches, demons, and possibly worse, but Kess and Lilou are determined not to let that stop them. As they investigate the mystery and uncover long-buried secrets, Kess begins to realize that the curse might hit closer to home than she’d ever expected, and she’ll have to summon all her courage to find a way to break it before it’s too late..]]> Mary Averling Faye 0 to-read 4.48 2024
author: Mary Averling
name: Faye
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 176442743
High school is hard enough to survive without an apocalypse to navigate.

Sid Spencer has always been the most normal girl in her abnormal hometown, a tourist trap built over one of the fault lines that seal magic away from the world. Meanwhile, all Sid has to deal with is hair-ruining humidity, painful awkwardness, being one of four Asians in town, and her friends dumping her when they start dating each other—just days after one of the most humiliating romantic rejections faced by anyone, ever, in all of history.

Then someone kills one of the Guardians who protect the seal. The earth rips open and unleashes the magic trapped inside. Monsters crawl from the ground, no one can enter or leave, and the man behind it all is roaming the streets with a gang of violent vigilantes. Suddenly, Sid’s life becomes a lot less ordinary. When she finds out her missing brother is involved, she joins the remaining Guardians, desperate to find him and close the fault line for good.

Fighting through hordes of living corpses and uncontrollable growths of forest, Sid and a ragtag crew of would-be heroes are the only thing standing between their town and the end of the world as they know it. Between magic, murderers, and burgeoning crushes, Sid must survive being a perfectly normal girl caught in a perfectly abnormal apocalypse.

Only—how can someone so ordinary make it in such an extraordinary world?]]> 416 Robin Wasley 1665914602 Faye 0 to-read 3.94 2024
author: Robin Wasley
name: Faye
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 193544854 A Children's Book Council 2025 Young Adult, Teacher, and Librarian Favorites Awards Winner

Someone has murdered the queen bee of Sierton High School. All the dead girl’s friends are suspects. And each one has a reason for wanting her dead.

Ella Moore was the most popular girl in school…and also the most hated. When she’s murdered at her own party, there are too many suspects to count--and too many people who think she deserved it. The police’s prime suspect is the new girl, Dawn Foster. She was the last to hand Ella a drink on the night Ella died. Plus, all of Ella’s friends with a motive for wanting her dead are more than willing to implicate Dawn.

But Dawn refuses to go down without a fight. She’s determined to clear her name. As she delves deeper into the past, she discovers that Ella and her friends had enemies, and someone is out for revenge. She must uncover the truth before the police arrest the wrong suspect and before the next person dies.]]> 336 Cindy R.X. He 1728293391 Faye 5 to-read 3.66 2024
author: Cindy R.X. He
name: Faye
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 196600322 An inclusive and essential guide to reproductive health—including period problems, pelvic pain, menopause, fertility, sexual health, vaginal and urinary conditions, and overall wellbeing―from leading expert Dr. Karen Tang

Reproductive healthcare, from abortion to gender-affirming care, is under siege. The onus continues to fall on patients to find and advocate for the care they need. Dr. Karen Tang is on a mission to transform how women engage with their bodies and their healthcare.

Did you know that one in three women experiences menstrual abnormalities or pelvic issues, yet these conditions are overwhelmingly misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or dismissed? The root causes for these issues, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and pelvic-floor muscle dysfunction, don’t receive the stream of funding for research and new treatments that other conditions do, despite the potential to affect up to half the population.

It’s Not Hysteria is a comprehensive guide to common conditions and potential treatment options, with practical tools such as symptom prompts and sample questions to ask one's provider. In the face of uncertainty and misinformation, It’s Not Hysteria is destined to become a new classic that educates and empowers.]]> 467 Karen Tang 1250894182 Faye 0 to-read 4.24 2024
author: Karen Tang
name: Faye
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 157020041 In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family.

Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.

Then an enemy's iron bullet kills her mother, Venus’s life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother's killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians.

As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it's hard to tell who to trust…Herself included.]]> 467 Bethany Baptiste 1728251958 Faye 0 to-read 3.70 2024
author: Bethany Baptiste
name: Faye
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 83139285 Perfect for fans of Sonali Dev and Uzma Jalaluddin, Noreen Mughees’s sparkling debut novel reunites star-crossed childhood sweethearts against all odds, only for their second chance to clash with their parents� strict beliefs.

Thirty-three-year-old hijabi Sana Saeed has put away her childhood dream of ishq—an all-consuming, sweeping love. The arranged dates she’s agreed to have failed time after time, and she has responsibilities to consider—namely her sweet, autistic younger brother, Zia. Sana and Zia are a package deal, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. But their traditional mother won’t allow Sana to be named as his future guardian� unless she’s married.

When Daniel Malik walks into Sana’s office at the Department of Environmental Conservation, she’s astonished—their childhood friendship has been a cherished memory ever since a feud between their families put an end to it eighteen years ago. But there’s no chance of them becoming close again; Daniel may be as hot as a Bollywood heartthrob, but not only is he Sana’s new boss, her mother would disown her if she ever brought him home.

With the clock ticking, Sana agrees to a marriage arranged by her family. She’s seen plenty of arranged marriages grow into love; maybe that will happen for her too. But when a high-stakes case at work forces Sana and Daniel to team up, they find themselves less able—and willing—to play their parts of “good desi children.�

Now Sana must make a choice: family and security, or the one man who claimed her heart long ago�
]]> 320 Noreen Mughees 1639105115 Faye 0 to-read 3.65 2023
author: Noreen Mughees
name: Faye
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 176443221
Korinna has simple stay on the Navitas , stay out of trouble, and stay alive. She may be a Redseer, a blind priestess with the power to manipulate space-time, but she is the weakest in her Order. Useless and outcast. Or so she has been raised to believe.

As she takes her place as a navigator on an Imperium ship, Korinna’s full destiny is revealed to blood brimming with magic, she is meant to become a weapon of the Imperium, and pawn for the Order that raised her. But when the ship is attacked by the notorious pirate Aster Haran, Korinna’s world is ripped apart.

Aster has a vendetta against the Imperium, and an all-consuming, dark power that drives her to destroy everything in her path. She understands the world in a way Korinna has never imagined, and Korinna is drawn to her against her better judgment.

With the Imperium and the justice-seeking warrior Sahar hot on her heels, Korinna must choose her side, seize her power and fulfil her destiny--or risk imperiling the future of the galaxy, and destroying the fabric of space-time itself.]]> 400 Meredith Mooring 1786189380 Faye 5
The story follows three women from three different religious orders: Korinna, a blind priestesses raised to serve as a space navigator using the redsight she fuels with her blood; Esther, a space pirate who worships a dead goddess; and Sahar, a scientist-turned-judge who is charged with a terrible mission from her high priestess.

The book is part space opera, part political thriller, part queer love story. The author weaves together the experiences of three very different heroines to create a complex and compelling world. If you have been longing for an epic SF novel with excellent disability representation, if you loved the political intrigues and arcane prophecy vibes of Dune, or if you just want more sapphic space pirates in your life, you will love this book.

Merged review:

I was very fortunate to have a chance to read this book prior to publication so there may be some differences in the final version.

The story follows three women from three different religious orders: Korinna, a blind priestesses raised to serve as a space navigator using the redsight she fuels with her blood; Esther, a space pirate who worships a dead goddess; and Sahar, a scientist-turned-judge who is charged with a terrible mission from her high priestess.

The book is part space opera, part political thriller, part queer love story. The author weaves together the experiences of three very different heroines to create a complex and compelling world. If you have been longing for an epic SF novel with excellent disability representation, if you loved the political intrigues and arcane prophecy vibes of Dune, or if you just want more sapphic space pirates in your life, you will love this book.]]> 3.48 2024
author: Meredith Mooring
name: Faye
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/11
shelves:
review:
I was very fortunate to have a chance to read this book prior to publication so there may be some differences in the final version.

The story follows three women from three different religious orders: Korinna, a blind priestesses raised to serve as a space navigator using the redsight she fuels with her blood; Esther, a space pirate who worships a dead goddess; and Sahar, a scientist-turned-judge who is charged with a terrible mission from her high priestess.

The book is part space opera, part political thriller, part queer love story. The author weaves together the experiences of three very different heroines to create a complex and compelling world. If you have been longing for an epic SF novel with excellent disability representation, if you loved the political intrigues and arcane prophecy vibes of Dune, or if you just want more sapphic space pirates in your life, you will love this book.

Merged review:

I was very fortunate to have a chance to read this book prior to publication so there may be some differences in the final version.

The story follows three women from three different religious orders: Korinna, a blind priestesses raised to serve as a space navigator using the redsight she fuels with her blood; Esther, a space pirate who worships a dead goddess; and Sahar, a scientist-turned-judge who is charged with a terrible mission from her high priestess.

The book is part space opera, part political thriller, part queer love story. The author weaves together the experiences of three very different heroines to create a complex and compelling world. If you have been longing for an epic SF novel with excellent disability representation, if you loved the political intrigues and arcane prophecy vibes of Dune, or if you just want more sapphic space pirates in your life, you will love this book.
]]> 127823335 A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!

Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.

It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.

“Let’s get them together,� she says.

It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.

“It’ll be easy� she says.

There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.

But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?

Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.

Beth’s not mature enough for this�

Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé.

That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.]]> 368 Emma R. Alban 006331200X Faye 0 to-read 3.76 2024
author: Emma R. Alban
name: Faye
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 41154302 Award-winning author Sonali Dev launches a new series about the Rajes, an immigrant Indian family descended from royalty, who have built their lives in San Francisco...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that only in an overachieving Indian American family can a genius daughter be considered a black sheep.

Dr. Trisha Raje is San Francisco’s most acclaimed neurosurgeon. But that’s not enough for the Rajes, her influential immigrant family who’s achieved power by making its own non-negotiable rules:

·       Never trust an outsider

·       Never do anything to jeopardize your brother’s political aspirations

·       And never, ever, defy your family

Trisha is guilty of breaking all three rules. But now she has a chance to redeem herself. So long as she doesn’t repeat old mistakes.

Up-and-coming chef DJ Caine has known people like Trisha before, people who judge him by his rough beginnings and place pedigree above character. He needs the lucrative job the Rajes offer, but he values his pride too much to indulge Trisha’s arrogance. And then he discovers that she’s the only surgeon who can save his sister’s life.

As the two clash, their assumptions crumble like the spun sugar on one of DJ’s stunning desserts. But before a future can be savored there’s a past to be reckoned with...

A family trying to build home in a new land.

A man who has never felt at home anywhere.

And a choice to be made between the two.

Ěý±Ő±Ő> 481 Sonali Dev Faye 5 3.65 2019
author: Sonali Dev
name: Faye
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
shelves:
review:
This is a retelling that reminds you how original retellings can be. It's a gender-swapped version of p&p, centered around a wealthy political family. Never once did it feel derivative. It's really an original novel that plays with the themes of p&p in a way that makes you eager to keep reading to see what Sonali Dev will do with all your favorite characters and scenes. Her version of Darcy's infamous first proposal was very different, and yet perfectly captured the agonizing second-hand embarrassment that this scene is supposed to make you feel. Dev's books are low-heat in terms of sex, but the emotional tension is at max. If you don't need graphic on-page sex in your romance books, but want so many feeeeeelings, she delivers!
]]> 54976986 An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780525656975 can be found here.

Spanning Prohibition-era Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New Zealand, wartime London, and modern-day Los Angeles, Great Circle tells the unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost.

After being rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, Marian and Jamie Graves are raised by their dissolute uncle in Missoula, Montana. There—after encountering a pair of barnstorming pilots passing through town in beat-up biplanes—Marian commences her lifelong love affair with flight. At fourteen she drops out of school and finds an unexpected and dangerous patron in a wealthy bootlegger who provides a plane and subsidizes her lessons, an arrangement that will haunt her for the rest of her life, even as it allows her to fulfill her destiny: circumnavigating the globe by flying over the North and South Poles.

A century later, Hadley Baxter is cast to play Marian in a film that centers on Marian's disappearance in Antarctica. Vibrant, canny, disgusted with the claustrophobia of Hollywood, Hadley is eager to redefine herself after a romantic film franchise has imprisoned her in the grip of cult celebrity. Her immersion into the character of Marian unfolds, thrillingly, alongside Marian's own story, as the two women's fates—and their hunger for self-determination in vastly different geographies and times—collide. Epic and emotional, meticulously researched and gloriously told, Great Circle is a monumental work of art, and a tremendous leap forward for the prodigiously gifted Maggie Shipstead.]]> 608 Maggie Shipstead Faye 4 4.06 2021
author: Maggie Shipstead
name: Faye
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
shelves:
review:
I liked this book a lot but it's not for everyone. I see that a common complaint in the bad reviews is that it was too long, but most of the reviewers who wrote that also seem to have problems with the fact that this is a book that follows the lives of two women in great detail, stopping to explore all the history and human connections we form in life that make us who we are, and how much of our true selves are hidden from those around us, even from ourselves, leaving behind a story when we die that can never capture the full truth. If you enjoy studying people and what makes them tick, you will probably appreciate this book's meandering narrative that spans to take you through so many different lives. If you don't enjoy reading about human relationships and you're looking for more external happenings in your plot, you may feel burdened by those 600 pages
]]> 53415121
When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it's this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it's not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.]]> 345 Rachel Lynn Solomon Faye 4 3.67 2021
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: Faye
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
shelves:
review:

]]> 32075671 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062498533 can be found here.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.]]> 454 Angie Thomas 0062498533 Faye 5 4.46 2017
author: Angie Thomas
name: Faye
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
shelves:
review:

]]> 46207682 A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice.

"I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me."

Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart. Her upcoming marriage to the son of her father's rival heralds peaceful days to come.

But his sudden departure before their reign begins fractures the kingdom beyond repair.

Years later, Talyien receives a message, urging her to attend a meeting across the sea. It's meant to be an effort at reconciliation, but an assassination attempt leaves the queen stranded and desperate to survive in a dangerous land. With no idea who she can trust, she's on her own as she struggles to fight her way home.]]> 496 K.S. Villoso 0316532665 Faye 5 3.63 2018
author: K.S. Villoso
name: Faye
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
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Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the �80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501139231 Faye 2 4.39 2017
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Faye
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 2
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date added: 2022/08/31
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review:
I wanted to like this book, but I just could not enjoy it. The characters didn't have a lot of depth to them. A number of plot points were not believable to me. Specifically (spoiler), Evelyn had an abusive husband that just let her divorce him without any fuss the minute she decided to leave, and even though there are consequences for her career, she doesn't really experience any realistic psychological consequences. It felt like the abuse was deployed for drama rather than treated as a serious subject
]]> 50892360 The first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.

A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.]]> 454 Rebecca Roanhorse 1534437673 Faye 5 4.17 2020
author: Rebecca Roanhorse
name: Faye
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2020
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/08/31
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review:
This was one of the best books I read all year. The subject matter is pretty heavy at times (themes of violence, genocide/persecution), but it was handled very skillfully. A haunting story and intricate world building. I can't wait to read book 2.
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