Beth's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 23 Mar 2025 17:55:12 -0700 60 Beth's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Delicate Condition 62976325 The Push meets The Silent Patient in a gripping thriller that follows a woman convinced a sinister figure is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens—while the men in her life refuse to believe a word she says.

Anna Alcott is desperate to be pregnant. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. And even when she finally manages to get pregnant, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone's playing a twisted game with her.

When the increasingly cryptic threats drive her out of her Brooklyn brownstone and into hiding in the cold, gray ghost town that is the Hamptons in the depths of winter, Anna is almost at the end of her rope.

Then her doctor tells her she's had a miscarriage—except Anna's convinced she's still pregnant, despite everything the grave-faced men around her claim. Could it be that her mind is playing tricks on her? Or is something more sinister at play? As her symptoms become ever more horrifying and the sense of danger ever more present, Anna can't help but wonder what exactly she's carrying inside of her...and why no one will listen when she says something is horribly, painfully wrong.]]> 432 Danielle Valentine 1728276888 Beth 0 to-read 3.61 2023 Delicate Condition
author: Danielle Valentine
name: Beth
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Friend 40164365
When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.

While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog except for brief periods of time. Isolated from the rest of the world, increasingly obsessed with the dog's care, determined to read its mind and fathom its heart, she comes dangerously close to unraveling. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.

Elegiac and searching, The Friend is both a meditation on loss and a celebration of human-canine devotion.]]> 212 Sigrid Nunez 0735219451 Beth 0 to-read 3.72 2018 The Friend
author: Sigrid Nunez
name: Beth
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nightbitch 55835474
At home full-time with her two-year-old son, an artist finds she is struggling. She is lonely and exhausted. She had imagined - what was it she had imagined? Her husband, always travelling for his work, calls her from faraway hotel rooms. One more toddler bedtime, and she fears she might lose her mind.

Instead, quite suddenly, she starts gaining things, surprising things that happen one night when her child will not sleep. Sharper canines. Strange new patches of hair. New appetites, new instincts. And from deep within herself, a new voice...

With its clear eyes on contemporary womanhood and sharp take on structures of power, Nightbitch is an outrageously original, joyfully subversive read that will make you want to howl in laughter and recognition. Addictive enough to be devoured in one sitting, this is an unforgettable novel from a blazing new talent.]]> 256 Rachel Yoder 0385546815 Beth 0 to-read 3.47 2021 Nightbitch
author: Rachel Yoder
name: Beth
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques Literature & Language Topic Course Guidebook]]> 61780713 James Hynes Beth 4 4.75 Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques Literature & Language Topic Course Guidebook
author: James Hynes
name: Beth
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves:
review:

]]> That Sik Luv 122753589 Fornication is a sin.

As it reads, we should flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

They teach us that these thoughts, these actions, are immoral. But that dark side that lives inside all of us, the true nature of man, drives us to seek the need that burns within, demanding to be set free. Deep inside of our bones lies that intrinsic need, one desperate to escape. An innate behavior, seemingly out of our control.

One that screams for sins they tell us are condemning.

Aero is the throat from which I scream.

The dark parts of myself I want hidden from this world are all he sees when he gazes at me beneath yet another mask.

He’s the demon drowning me in my own underlying desires.

He may never stop. Not until I succumb to my truths, or die beneath the weight of his unrelenting grasp.

Because according to him, the life I’ve been living is a hell far worse than death.]]> 496 Jescie Hall Beth 0 currently-reading 3.99 2023 That Sik Luv
author: Jescie Hall
name: Beth
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Because She Loves Me 21888223 The Magpies.

When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end.

But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on reality is slipping. Items go missing in his apartment. Somebody appears to be following him. And as misfortune and tragedy strike his friends and loved ones, Andrew is forced to confront the frightening truth.�

Is Charlie really the girl of his dreams�or the woman of his nightmares?]]> 348 Mark Edwards 1477824863 Beth 0 to-read 3.84 2014 Because She Loves Me
author: Mark Edwards
name: Beth
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fight On � A gift of encouragement.]]> 17819695 64 M.H. Clark 1935414836 Beth 4 4.61 2013 Fight On — A gift of encouragement.
author: M.H. Clark
name: Beth
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Vox 37796866 VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed to speak more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial—this can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.]]> 336 Christina Dalcher 0440000785 Beth 0 to-read 3.52 2018 Vox
author: Christina Dalcher
name: Beth
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Inherited Hunger 219407199 167 Rose Brik 1738151042 Beth 0 to-read 4.44 Inherited Hunger
author: Rose Brik
name: Beth
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Trapper Road (Stillhouse Lake, #6)]]> 61366665 Sometimes danger comes from the most unexpected places.

Gwen Proctor has always been willing to do anything it takes to protect her kids. But there are some things even she can’t protect them from. When a violent incident at Connor’s school brings the press to Gwen’s doorstep, she agrees to take a case out of town hoping to keep her family out of the crushing media spotlight.

The case is that of a missing girl, last seen getting into a truck with a stranger before disappearing. Gwen has a reputation for finding those who are lost, but this time something is wrong. Her instincts are off, and every clue she uncovers only raises more doubts, not just about the missing girl and the circumstances of her disappearance, but also about the fragile safety Gwen’s created for her family.

The closer she comes to uncovering the truth, the more she unwittingly puts those she loves at risk. Someone from Gwen’s past doesn’t appreciate the new life she’s built for herself and is willing to do anything it takes to tear it apart. Except this time it isn’t Gwen in the crosshairs, but her partner Sam. Without her instincts to rely on, how can Gwen protect those she loves against an enemy she never sees coming?]]> 428 Rachel Caine Beth 4
I feel that Carrie Ryan did the characters and narration justice. I’m glad to hear that she knew Rachel Caine personally, which is perhaps why this story felt no different from the previous five. I disliked a bit that the family was so separated for most of the narrative and dealing with the stresses of life long-distance, although I suppose that COVID-19 could have influenced the writer’s direction with the narrative given that Caine passed during the first year of the pandemic.

SPOILER ALERT�.

I liked that Ryan wrapped up the narrative nicely with some character developments as the family readies themselves to step into a new phase of life and adulthood. I do think that the author could have left us with this satisfaction of family support, love, and growth. She could have left us thinking that the main threat to the family was dead and gone. She could have given us a happy ending and closed the chapter on Stillhouse Lake; however, the epilogue suggests otherwise. I’m not sure if the publisher wanted to leave that door open based on fan reviews and feedback. I’ve been unable to find any promise of a book seven, but the epilogue certainly implies that Carrie Ryan might continue the story.

I am torn about this. I would love to hear more about Gwen’s family; however, I do not wish to witness them suffering or dying at the hands of the Lost Angels. If she writes more, I will certainly read more. If she doesn’t, I will be content to think that maybe, just maybe, Gwen and her family have made it through the worst of things and that she’ll continue to help other families through the worst moments of their lives as well.]]> 4.34 2022 Trapper Road (Stillhouse Lake, #6)
author: Rachel Caine
name: Beth
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/03
date added: 2024/10/10
shelves:
review:
This series was the best thing I read in 2022. I found it difficult to get my hands on a used copy of Trapper Road and was ecstatic to finally see it on Audible. I’m slightly disappointed that we lost the additional narrators for book six, but very glad that Gwen’s voice remained the same. I really like Emily Sutton-Smith’s narration of Gwen’s character and family throughout the years.

I feel that Carrie Ryan did the characters and narration justice. I’m glad to hear that she knew Rachel Caine personally, which is perhaps why this story felt no different from the previous five. I disliked a bit that the family was so separated for most of the narrative and dealing with the stresses of life long-distance, although I suppose that COVID-19 could have influenced the writer’s direction with the narrative given that Caine passed during the first year of the pandemic.

SPOILER ALERT�.

I liked that Ryan wrapped up the narrative nicely with some character developments as the family readies themselves to step into a new phase of life and adulthood. I do think that the author could have left us with this satisfaction of family support, love, and growth. She could have left us thinking that the main threat to the family was dead and gone. She could have given us a happy ending and closed the chapter on Stillhouse Lake; however, the epilogue suggests otherwise. I’m not sure if the publisher wanted to leave that door open based on fan reviews and feedback. I’ve been unable to find any promise of a book seven, but the epilogue certainly implies that Carrie Ryan might continue the story.

I am torn about this. I would love to hear more about Gwen’s family; however, I do not wish to witness them suffering or dying at the hands of the Lost Angels. If she writes more, I will certainly read more. If she doesn’t, I will be content to think that maybe, just maybe, Gwen and her family have made it through the worst of things and that she’ll continue to help other families through the worst moments of their lives as well.
]]> Lakeview House 60593045 What Lies Below

Icy water laps against the wooden jetty. But the girl doesn’t notice the cold as she slips slowly under the freezing surface�

Running from a devastating relationship that almost cost her everything, Maddy Hart impulsively accepts a job as a live-in caretaker at imposing Lakeview House. She has no memories of having visited the crumbling mansion on the banks of Lake Thirlmere before, but when she arrives, something about the house feels familiar�

The more time Maddy spends in the house, the more unsettled she feels. Why does the local story about the last woman who lived here, who drowned on her wedding day, chill Maddy to the bone? By day, she clears out the dusty rooms, but in the dead of night it’s hard to explain away the eerie noises or crackly radio she hears hours after she turned it off. Slowly, Maddy begins to fear that her worst nightmare is coming true, has her past caught up with her�?

When a soaking wet wedding dress is left on Maddy’s doorstep she feels completely trapped. It is her exact measurements. Is her ex trying to send her a message? Or has Maddy’s digging uncovered an even deadlier secret? Will this perfect escape become the perfect trap?]]> 483 Helen Phifer 1803144068 Beth 3
I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I loved the setting as well as Alfie’s endearing and quirky character. Beyond him, though, I felt that the character descriptions fell a bit flat or weren’t unique enough to be distinctive or have me caring much about their fates.

Certain plot elements seemed convenient and/or a cop-out. It could have been a brilliant twist; however, it felt more like whiplash. There was no OMG-I-should-have-seen-this-coming moment. I was simply skeptical and at a loss to find the plot breadcrumbs that should have led me to this conclusion.

Perhaps I didn’t pay enough attention. I did listen to the audiobook while working and shelving at the shop. I liked the narrator but disliked that the character voices lacked distinction. Perhaps that led to my secondary character confusion.

This is my first Helen Phifer novel. Perhaps I will give her another shot.]]> 3.83 2020 Lakeview House
author: Helen Phifer
name: Beth
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/10
date added: 2024/10/10
shelves:
review:
Honestly, I barely glanced at this book before deciding that it was right up my alley � the main character is a writer and domestic violence survivor. *Hello! Familiar much?* Psychological and supernatural thrillers are my go-to genres.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I loved the setting as well as Alfie’s endearing and quirky character. Beyond him, though, I felt that the character descriptions fell a bit flat or weren’t unique enough to be distinctive or have me caring much about their fates.

Certain plot elements seemed convenient and/or a cop-out. It could have been a brilliant twist; however, it felt more like whiplash. There was no OMG-I-should-have-seen-this-coming moment. I was simply skeptical and at a loss to find the plot breadcrumbs that should have led me to this conclusion.

Perhaps I didn’t pay enough attention. I did listen to the audiobook while working and shelving at the shop. I liked the narrator but disliked that the character voices lacked distinction. Perhaps that led to my secondary character confusion.

This is my first Helen Phifer novel. Perhaps I will give her another shot.
]]> <![CDATA[Identity (Stillhouse Lake #3.5)]]> 50618126
Takes place before events in Bitter Falls]]> 48 Rachel Caine Beth 0 to-read 3.88 2020 Identity (Stillhouse Lake #3.5)
author: Rachel Caine
name: Beth
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[More Language of Letting Go: 366 New Daily Meditations (Hazelden Meditation Series)]]> 281883
This new volume of meditations offers clients ongoing wisdom and guidance about relationship issues. An excellent enhancement to therapy, daily thoughts provide clients with ongoing insights into issues such as surrendering, the damaging effects of manipulation, and healthy communication. More Language of Letting Go shares unsentimental, direct help for clients recovering from chemical dependency, healing from relationships and family issues, and exploring personal growth.]]> 432 Melody Beattie 1568385587 Beth 0 to-read 4.47 More Language of Letting Go: 366 New Daily Meditations (Hazelden Meditation Series)
author: Melody Beattie
name: Beth
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories]]> 99300
Written from a feminist perspective, often focusing on the inferior status accorded to women by society, the tales include "turned," an ironic story with a startling twist, in which a husband seduces and impregnates a naïve servant; "Cottagette," concerning the romance of a young artist and a man who's apparently too good to be true; "Mr. Peebles' Heart," a liberating tale of a fiftyish shopkeeper whose sister-in-law, a doctor, persuades him to take a solo trip to Europe, with revivifying results; "The Yellow Wallpaper"; and three other outstanding stories.

These charming tales are not only highly readable and full of humor and invention, but also offer ample food for thought about the social, economic, and personal relationship of men and women � and how they might be improved.

Collects:
—The Yellow Wallpaper
—Three Thanksgivings
—The Cottagette
—TܰԱ
—Making a Change
—If I Were a Man
—Mr. Peebles' Heart]]> 129 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 0486298574 Beth 5 4.05 1892 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Beth
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1892
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Allowing Kids to Choose Success]]> 21824846
Listen and learn:

The importance of self-image
How failures can create successes
The six steps to a child’s self-concept
How you can send positive messages that help kids choose success]]> Foster W. Cline Beth 3 3.00 1988 Allowing Kids to Choose Success
author: Foster W. Cline
name: Beth
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/21
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves:
review:

]]> The Man with the Blue Guitar 977171 82 Wallace Stevens 3888147603 Beth 0 to-read 4.26 1937 The Man with the Blue Guitar
author: Wallace Stevens
name: Beth
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1937
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Calming the Chaos: Behavior Improvement Strategies for the Child With Adhd]]> 2689878 0 Jim Fay 1930429320 Beth 4 3.57 1999 Calming the Chaos: Behavior Improvement Strategies for the Child With Adhd
author: Jim Fay
name: Beth
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves:
review:

]]> Our Little Lies 41040396 How far would you go to protect your perfect life?

Marianne has a life others dream of. A beautiful townhouse on the best street in the neighbourhood. Three bright children who are her pride and joy.

Sometimes her past still hurts: losing her mother early, growing up in foster care. But her husband, Simon, is always there. A successful surgeon, he’s the envy of every woman they’ve ever met. Flowers, gifts, trips to France: nothing is too good for his family.

Then Simon says another woman’s name. The way he lingers on it, Caroline , gives Marianne a shudder of suspicion, but she knows it’s nothing � she can’t entertain this flash of paranoia.

In the old days, she’d have distracted herself by excelling at work, but Marianne left her glamorous career when she married. She’d speak to a friend, but she’s too busy with her children and besides, Simon doesn’t approve of the few she has left.

It’s almost by accident that Marianne starts to learn more about Caroline. But once started, she can’t stop, because what she finds makes her wonder: is the question she should be asking not ‘should she be jealous�, but... ‘should she be scared?’]]> 318 Sue Watson 1786817497 Beth 4 favorites
Simon is a manipulative and covert narcissist who values appearances above all else. He isolates Marianne from the other school moms and continually casts doubt about her physical and mental health all while positioning himself as the amazing husband and wonderful father. These actions enable him to develop his own relationships with friends and coworkers while garnering their sympathies for his lot in life. Cue poor Simon, the martyr.

Marianne is a modern-day madwoman in the attic. She is an unreliable narrator. This is compounded by the fact that her husband is constantly telling her that her perceptions are wrong and continues to shove medication down her throat, which leads to more lost time and misunderstandings.

***Spoiler Alert***

I actually thought that he was going to get away with it, that he had deleted the emails, murdered his mistress, and pulled of the ultimate gaslighting, leaving Marianne to think either that she had imagined the entire thing or that all roads would lead to her if she said a word to anyone about what he’d done. This, however, is not how it turns out. I did find the slight twist believable. There were enough breadcrumbs throughout the narrative. I was, however, unsure if I preferred this happy ending for her and her children. ]]> 3.73 2018 Our Little Lies
author: Sue Watson
name: Beth
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/07
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Wow. Talk about dysfunctional! I did not like Marianne in the beginning. She came off as some 1950’s housewife with OCD tendencies. Gradually, we begin to understand that she wasn’t always this way, that she had a life before marriage, and a career before kids. But now, she is caught in a never-ending game of Simon Says.

Simon is a manipulative and covert narcissist who values appearances above all else. He isolates Marianne from the other school moms and continually casts doubt about her physical and mental health all while positioning himself as the amazing husband and wonderful father. These actions enable him to develop his own relationships with friends and coworkers while garnering their sympathies for his lot in life. Cue poor Simon, the martyr.

Marianne is a modern-day madwoman in the attic. She is an unreliable narrator. This is compounded by the fact that her husband is constantly telling her that her perceptions are wrong and continues to shove medication down her throat, which leads to more lost time and misunderstandings.

***Spoiler Alert***

I actually thought that he was going to get away with it, that he had deleted the emails, murdered his mistress, and pulled of the ultimate gaslighting, leaving Marianne to think either that she had imagined the entire thing or that all roads would lead to her if she said a word to anyone about what he’d done. This, however, is not how it turns out. I did find the slight twist believable. There were enough breadcrumbs throughout the narrative. I was, however, unsure if I preferred this happy ending for her and her children.
]]> <![CDATA[The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1)]]> 43822820 here.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

The can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.]]> 352 Lisa Jewell 1501190105 Beth 4 favorites 3.93 2019 The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1)
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Beth
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/23
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
I enjoyed the various points of view once I got clearer picture of the main characters. I identified most with Lucy and her experiences. The short chapters made this a page-turner and seemed to flow well with a few surprises that were, in my opinion, believable and evidence was adequately integrated.
]]> The Girls at 17 Swann Street 39324901 The chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists� list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound.

Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears � imperfection, failure, loneliness � she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile women with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran; quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and face six meals a day.

Yara Zgheib's poetic and poignant debut novel is a haunting, intimate journey of a young woman's struggle to reclaim her life. Every bite causes anxiety. Every flavor induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.]]> 373 Yara Zgheib 1250202442 Beth 4 favorites
"There is no tragedy in suffering. It is, just as happiness is. To be present for both, that is life, I think."]]> 3.97 2019 The Girls at 17 Swann Street
author: Yara Zgheib
name: Beth
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/14
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
I don’t remember the last time that I devoured a book in 24 hours. Anna’s struggles with depression, restricting food, and maintaining a sense of control are so familiar. People who haven’t struggled personally with an eating disorder simply don’t understand how difficult it is to stare at a plate of food, a bite of food, and will yourself to eat or not to eat � whichever the case may be. This is the most accurate account of anorexia I’ve read to date despite its being fictional. If you’ve ever been close to someone who’s struggled with an eating disorder, it’s worth the read.

"There is no tragedy in suffering. It is, just as happiness is. To be present for both, that is life, I think."
]]> The Ex-Wife 39082076
Newly married Natasha has the perfect house, a loving husband and a beautiful little girl called Emily. She’d have it all if it wasn’t for Jen, her husband’s ex-wife who just won’t leave them alone �

Then Natasha returns home one day to find her husband and Emily gone without trace. Desperate to get her daughter back, Natasha will do anything even if it means accepting an offer of help from Jen. But can she trust her? And do either of them really know the man they married?

If you loved The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl or The Couple Next Door then this dark, twisting psychological thriller from Amazon chart bestseller Jess Ryder is guaranteed to have you gripped.]]> 352 Jess Ryder 1786814048 Beth 4 favorites 4.09 2018 The Ex-Wife
author: Jess Ryder
name: Beth
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/19
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> The Retreat 36156752 A missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.

Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found―and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive.

Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers� retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.

When Lucas’s investigation leads him and Julia into the woods, they discover a dark secret―a secret that someone will do anything to protect�

What really happened that day by the river? Why was Lily never found? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat?]]> 335 Mark Edwards 1477805176 Beth 4 favorites 3.83 2018 The Retreat
author: Mark Edwards
name: Beth
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/19
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Liar 34813902 How far would you go to protect your family?

Single dad Ben is doing his best to raise his children alone, with the help of his devoted mother Judi. Life isn’t easy, but Judi’s family means everything to her and together, they manage.

Then Ben meets Amber. Everyone thinks this is a perfect match for Ben but Judi isn’t sure � there’s just something about Amber that doesn’t add up.

Ben can’t see why his mother dislikes his new girlfriend. And Amber doesn’t want Judi anywhere near her new family. Amber just wants Ben and the children.

The further Judi delves into Amber’s personal life, the closer she gets to shocking secrets that could change everything. And Judi must make a decision that could lead to the most disastrous consequences.
]]> 326 K.L. Slater Beth 4 favorites 3.93 2017 Liar
author: K.L. Slater
name: Beth
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/03
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
For those of you who like to read the last page first, Slater actually does this without revealing who lives and who dies. Since the chapters oscillate between the the points of view of the mother and her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, we are left guessing until the very last chapter. My main complaint is that the points of view were not as distinctive as I would have liked, but I can now see that may have been intentional given that we are inevitably drawn to partners who mirror or mimic our parents. I was prepared to give this a firm three stars but then was caught off guard by the revelations in the last few chapters, which left me in a state of awe and odd satisfaction at the end. Worth the read.
]]> <![CDATA[Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake, #1)]]> 33128934 An Amazon Charts and USA Today bestseller.

Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.

With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.

But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.

]]> 301 Rachel Caine 1477821554 Beth 4 favorites 4.12 2017 Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake, #1)
author: Rachel Caine
name: Beth
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer]]> 31373633 A little book with a big heart!

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here comes an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.

With all the same charm of his bestselling full-length novels, here Fredrik Backman once again reveals his unrivaled understanding of human nature and deep compassion for people in difficult circumstances. This is a tiny gem with a message you’ll treasure for a lifetime.]]> 97 Fredrik Backman 1501160575 Beth 4 favorites 4.34 2015 And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Beth
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2020/01/28
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Tapping At My Door (DS Nathan Cody, #1)]]> 28932946
DS Nathan Cody, still bearing the scars of an undercover mission that went horrifyingly wrong, is put on the case. But the police have no leads, except the body of the bird - and the victim's missing eyes.

As flashbacks from his past begin to intrude, Cody realises he is battling not just a murderer, but his own inner demons too.

And then the killer strikes again, and Cody realises the threat isn't to the people of Liverpool after all - it's to the police.

Following the success and acclaim of the Callum Doyle novels, A Tapping at My Door is the first instalment of David Jackson's new Nathan Cody series.

From the bestselling author of Cry Baby, the beginning of a brilliant and gripping police procedural series set in Liverpool, perfect for fans of Peter James and Mark Billingham

"Recalls Harlan Coben - though for my money Jackson is the better writer." Guardian]]> 384 David Jackson 1785761072 Beth 4 favorites 3.82 2016 A Tapping At My Door (DS Nathan Cody, #1)
author: David Jackson
name: Beth
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2020/01/30
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past]]> 24683741
While much work has been done in the field of trauma studies to address "explicit" traumatic memories in the brain (such as intrusive thoughts or flashbacks), much less attention has been paid to how the body itself stores "implicit" memory, and how much of what we think of as "memory" actually comes to us through our (often unconsciously accessed) felt sense. By learning how to better understand this complex interplay of past and present, brain and body, we can adjust our relationship to past trauma and move into a more balanced, relaxed state of being. Written for trauma sufferers as well as mental health care practitioners, Trauma and Memory is a groundbreaking look at how memory is constructed and how influential memories are on our present state of being.]]> 219 Peter A. Levine 158394995X Beth 4 favorites 4.15 2015 Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past
author: Peter A. Levine
name: Beth
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tucker's Way / For Tucker (Tucker 1 & 1.5)]]> 23559640
Ella seeks solace on the same country road after overcoming cancer. Although she is Tucker’s peer agewise, she was raised in a world of privilege and opportunity. Still, Ella shares a tragic part of Tucker’s experience—she also suffered abuse. Hers was at the hands of her husband, a prominent judge in the community and Tucker’s sworn enemy.

When Tucker finds herself at risk of losing custody of her beloved youngest grandchild and worse, the child’s mother is murdered, she draws support and strength from her new friendship with Ella. These two women from disparate backgrounds form a fierce bond, and they weather life’s storms together with faith, love, and determination.

Revised edition: Previously published as two volumes, Tucker’s Way and For Tucker, this combined edition includes editorial revisions.]]> 355 David Johnson 1477877002 Beth 4 favorites 4.43 2014 Tucker's Way / For Tucker (Tucker 1 & 1.5)
author: David Johnson
name: Beth
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/10
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Black-Eyed Susans 23746004 For fans of Laura Lippman and Gillian Flynn comes an electrifying novel of stunning psychological suspense.

I am the star of screaming headlines and campfire ghost stories.
I am one of the four Black-Eyed Susans.
The lucky one.

As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving “Black-Eyed Susan,� the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessa’s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.

Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans—a summertime bloom—just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implications—that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at large—Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memories—and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.

What they don’t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.

Shocking, intense, and utterly original, Black-Eyed Susans is a dazzling psychological thriller, seamlessly weaving past and present in a searing tale of a young woman whose harrowing memories remain in a field of flowers—as a killer makes a chilling return to his garden.]]> 354 Julia Heaberlin 0804177996 Beth 4 favorites 3.76 2015 Black-Eyed Susans
author: Julia Heaberlin
name: Beth
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/02
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Wow just finished this. Still mulling over some things. Definitely unexpected. I feel as though I should have known a bit sooner who the killer was, but then perhaps that what makes it superior. It was believable yet not unobscured. The breadcrumbs of doubt throughout came together quite nicely so as not to blindside the reader with disbelief. The unreliable narrator who had suffered trauma and amnesia was a breath of fresh air from the last two "gone girl" like reads which featured alcoholics as narrators. I nearly feel as though I'd like to reread this knowing what I now know just to cement the picture that has been puzzle pieced together ever so slowly and methodically. I stand back for now and savor the horrifically beautiful story which was ever so craftily and cunningly depicted on the cover. Wonderfully told with imagery and slow but steady pacing, which for me, fit with the ptsd and mental fog slowly clearing over time for Tessie. My first wow book of 2018!
]]> Milk and honey 23513349 Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.

It is split into four chapters, with each chapter dealing with a different pain. Healing a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them -- because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.]]> 204 Rupi Kaur 1502784270 Beth 4 favorites 3.97 2014 Milk and honey
author: Rupi Kaur
name: Beth
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/26
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
I am unabashedly fond of poetry. Kaur has quite an ability to capture verbal snapshots as she struggles to reconcile trauma and what it means to love. Her words are raw, her illustrations vulnerable. This book will resonate with anyone who has known abuse and struggled with intimacy.
]]> <![CDATA[The Book of the Unnamed Midwife (The Road to Nowhere, #1)]]> 29806086 When she fell asleep, the world was doomed. When she awoke, it was dead.

In the wake of a fever that decimated the earth’s population—killing women and children and making childbirth deadly for the mother and infant—the midwife must pick her way through the bones of the world she once knew to find her place in this dangerous new one. Gone are the pillars of civilization. All that remains is power—and the strong who possess it.

A few women like her survived, though they are scarce. Even fewer are safe from the clans of men, who, driven by fear, seek to control those remaining. To preserve her freedom, she dons men’s clothing, goes by false names, and avoids as many people as possible. But as the world continues to grapple with its terrible circumstances, she’ll discover a role greater than chasing a pale imitation of independence.

After all, if humanity is to be reborn, someone must be its guide.]]> 291 Meg Elison 1503939111 Beth 4 favorites 4.13 2014 The Book of the Unnamed Midwife (The Road to Nowhere, #1)
author: Meg Elison
name: Beth
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/17
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
I do not read much sci-fi, but wow. This incredible woman is a force to be reckoned with. Her gender fluidity is intriguing, and one of the most enlightening quotes for me is "I like people. They come with the bodies they come with." Simple as that.
]]> Britt-Marie Was Here 27406704
When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?]]> 324 Fredrik Backman 1501142534 Beth 4 favorites
Britt-Marie, who appreciates routine, predictability, and cleanliness, finds herself in a new job, in a new town, and surrounded by new people. Cleaning is her constant. It is perhaps the one thing that continues to give her a sense of orderliness and control over her life and her circumstances. She knows from experience that people rarely thank you for cleaning up after them, but they often notice when you are no longer around to do so. She longs to be noticed, to be needed, and to make a bit of difference in the lives of those around her, no matter how small.

The people of Borg influence Britt-Marie in ways that she can't quite explain or express. In the end, she leaves Borg a different woman, a stronger woman, and neither she nor the city of Borg are quite the same again. She has left her mark on it as well as the hearts of its residents.]]> 4.05 2014 Britt-Marie Was Here
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Beth
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/16
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Britt-Marie cleans -- in much the same fashion as the people of Borg kick a ball -- "because she doesn't know how not to." She also doesn't seem to know how to contribute to a conversation at first without quoting her husband Kent, who has for the last forty years shaped her view of the world whilst she stayed at home caring for it, his children, and even his mother.

Britt-Marie, who appreciates routine, predictability, and cleanliness, finds herself in a new job, in a new town, and surrounded by new people. Cleaning is her constant. It is perhaps the one thing that continues to give her a sense of orderliness and control over her life and her circumstances. She knows from experience that people rarely thank you for cleaning up after them, but they often notice when you are no longer around to do so. She longs to be noticed, to be needed, and to make a bit of difference in the lives of those around her, no matter how small.

The people of Borg influence Britt-Marie in ways that she can't quite explain or express. In the end, she leaves Borg a different woman, a stronger woman, and neither she nor the city of Borg are quite the same again. She has left her mark on it as well as the hearts of its residents.
]]> Invisible (Invisible, #1) 18656055
Not even Emmy's ex-boyfriend, field agent Harrison "Books" Bookman, will believe her that hundreds of kidnappings, rapes, and murders are all connected. That is, until Emmy finds a piece of evidence he can't afford to ignore. More murders are reported by the day--and they're all inexplicable. No motives, no murder weapons, no suspects. Could one person really be responsible for these unthinkable crimes?

INVISIBLE is James Patterson's scariest, most chilling stand-alone thriller yet.]]> 399 James Patterson 0316405345 Beth 4 favorites 4.03 2014 Invisible (Invisible, #1)
author: James Patterson
name: Beth
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/04
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Bird Box (Bird Box, #1) 18498558 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062259653

Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.]]> 262 Josh Malerman Beth 4 favorites 4.02 2014 Bird Box (Bird Box, #1)
author: Josh Malerman
name: Beth
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/28
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Deadline 17333403
Soon, Dawson is covering the disappearance and presumed murder of former Marine Jeremy Wesson, the biological son of the pair of terrorists who remain on the FBI's Most Wanted list. As Dawson delves into the story, he finds himself developing feelings for Wesson's ex-wife, Amelia, and her two young sons. But when Amelia's nanny turns up dead, the case takes a stunning new turn, with Dawson himself becoming a suspect. Haunted by his own demons, Dawson takes up the chase for the notorious outlaws. . .and the secret, startling truth about himself.]]> 410 Sandra Brown 1455501514 Beth 4 favorites 4.06 2013 Deadline
author: Sandra Brown
name: Beth
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/12
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> A Man Called Ove 18774964
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.]]> 337 Fredrik Backman 1476738017 Beth 4 favorites 4.35 2012 A Man Called Ove
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Beth
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/16
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Zoo (Zoo, #1) 13353667
Total
For 36 years, James Patterson has written unputdownable, pulse-racing novels. Now, he has written a book that surpasses all of them. ZOO is the thriller he was born to write.

World
All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.

Destruction
With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.]]> 395 James Patterson 1846058295 Beth 4 favorites
“Zoo� was, arguably, an extreme example of the hive mind but had interesting implications concerning the potential power of communication, unity, and a good old-fashioned uprising as well as the power of the oppressor in preventing such communication and revolution through means of division and disinformation. What happens when you can no longer keep the “enemy� in cages? What happens when the animals realize that they never belonged in zoos or cages to begin with? What happens when they refuse to go on living as imprisoned spectacles and decide to take back their rightful place in this world wherein they were meant to live in the wild and roam free?

It becomes almost impossible to ignore the bark of an animal or perceived enemy that’s both willing and able to bite back. The history of humankind comes with baggage that is sometimes difficult to unpack or even explain, especially when humans have acted like or been treated like animals, but dealing with the baggage of our ancestors is important if we ever hope to rectify the imbalances and someday maintain a balance of equitable power among all of humanity.

I am beginning to think that I may not read enough science fiction as it so often raises valid questions concerning what makes us human and what separates us from animals or extraterrestrials.]]> 3.48 2012 Zoo (Zoo, #1)
author: James Patterson
name: Beth
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/22
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Nine years ago, my partner and I listened to Patterson’s “Zoo� together on audiobook because we wanted to watch the upcoming television series that was being released the same year. To my recollection, it was a science fiction book about the effects of technology on Mother Nature and her inhabitants. Animals, not previously known to communicate through pheromones and other nonverbal means, were beginning to unite all over the world and carry out coordinated attacks on humans, who were now considered the apex predator and, therefore, biggest threat to the survival of the animals and their ecosystem. It was a gory, horrific train wreck of a story that brought “man versus nature� to an unignorable level, and we just couldn’t stop listening.

“Zoo� was, arguably, an extreme example of the hive mind but had interesting implications concerning the potential power of communication, unity, and a good old-fashioned uprising as well as the power of the oppressor in preventing such communication and revolution through means of division and disinformation. What happens when you can no longer keep the “enemy� in cages? What happens when the animals realize that they never belonged in zoos or cages to begin with? What happens when they refuse to go on living as imprisoned spectacles and decide to take back their rightful place in this world wherein they were meant to live in the wild and roam free?

It becomes almost impossible to ignore the bark of an animal or perceived enemy that’s both willing and able to bite back. The history of humankind comes with baggage that is sometimes difficult to unpack or even explain, especially when humans have acted like or been treated like animals, but dealing with the baggage of our ancestors is important if we ever hope to rectify the imbalances and someday maintain a balance of equitable power among all of humanity.

I am beginning to think that I may not read enough science fiction as it so often raises valid questions concerning what makes us human and what separates us from animals or extraterrestrials.
]]> Low Pressure 13507011
Now, 18 years later, Bellamy has written a novel based on Susan's murder. It's her first book, and it's an instant sensation. But because the novel is based on the most traumatic event of her life, she's published it under a pseudonym to protect herself and her family.

But when a sleazy reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on a real crime, Bellamy's identity - and dark family secrets -- are exposed. Suddenly, she finds herself embroiled in a personal conflict and at the mercy of her sister's killer, who for almost two decades has gotten away with murder...and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.]]> 13 Sandra Brown Beth 4 favorites 3.86 2012 Low Pressure
author: Sandra Brown
name: Beth
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/16
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
I struggled, as other readers to get through this one, but Sandra Brown rarely lets me down. It took two thirds of the book for me to finally identify with the main character and begin to care about her. It should have happened sooner but her motives were murky. I don't believe this tops my list of faves along with Mean Streak and Lethal; however, I did find the plot unpredictable and yet entirely believable like the romance. I often complain about the happily ever after part believing that unfortunate circumstances do not inevitably lead to enduring romances. Perhaps it was the history between main characters that made it all the more plausible that they should seek refuge together, face the past, and look ahead to a brighter future. I still feel that the pace was slow and Bellamy's memory loss a bit prohibitive to my emotional investment in the story, but once I finished, I found it an intricate and worthwhile read.
]]> Save Me 9296438
Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in her daughter Melly's school in order to keep an eye on Amanda, a mean girl who's been bullying her daughter. Her fears come true when the bullying begins, sending Melly to the bathroom in tears. Just as Rose is about to follow after her daughter, a massive explosion goes off in the kitchen, sending the room into chaos.

Rose finds herself faced with the horrifying decision of whether or not to run to the bathroom to rescue her daughter or usher Amanda to safety. She believes she has accomplished both, only to discover that Amanda, for an unknown reason, ran back into the school once out of Rose's sight. In an instance, Rose goes from hero to villain as the small community blames Amanda's injuries on her. In the days that follow, Rose's life starts to fall to pieces, Amanda's mother decides to sue, her marriage is put to the test, and worse, when her daughter returns to school, the bullying only intensifies. Rose must take matters into her own hands and get down to the truth of what really happened that fateful day in order to save herself, her marriage and her family.

In the way that Look Again had readers questioning everything they thought they knew about family, Save Me will have readers wondering just how far they would go to save the ones they love. Lisa Scottoline is writing about real issues that resonate with real women, and the results are emotional, heartbreaking and honest.]]> 373 Lisa Scottoline 031238078X Beth 4 favorites
Unlike some others, I thought the story had a nice pace, complex plot, and believable characters. I do think that the story could have ended shortly after the climax without much complaint from readers, but Scottoline wanted to leave no loose ends and to ensure us that many of the characters had changed enough for us to believe that things could and would be different for them in the future, a future that seemed much brighter than it did in the beginning of the book. ]]> 3.66 2011 Save Me
author: Lisa Scottoline
name: Beth
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/17
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
I enjoyed this story more than Every Fifteen Minutes. I agree somewhat with the complaints about the husband and his priorities, but the story is not about him. It is about a mother protecting her children as best she can and coming to terms with things beyond her control. Sometimes we need our spouse's support and other times we choose to do things on our own because no one can change our circumstances but us. Instead of hiding, she bravely faces reality because she cannot expect more of her daughter and less of herself.

Unlike some others, I thought the story had a nice pace, complex plot, and believable characters. I do think that the story could have ended shortly after the climax without much complaint from readers, but Scottoline wanted to leave no loose ends and to ensure us that many of the characters had changed enough for us to believe that things could and would be different for them in the future, a future that seemed much brighter than it did in the beginning of the book.
]]> Safe Haven 7812659 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a captivating love story filled with suspense and mystery.

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

]]> 340 Nicholas Sparks 044654759X Beth 4 favorites
Safe Haven, however, has renewed my faith in Sparks and has surpassed any expectations I might have had for his novels if only because none of the characters I grew to love and care about died before the story ended. The plot and pacing felt natural, echoing life's ups and downs. There is an undercurrent of grief, pain, and loss, which is to be expected of Sparks' stories, but despite everything, we are not left feeling overwhelmed, but rather, are reminded that in the midst of grief, there are people who make the pain bearable and restore our faith in humanity. It is these moments that make life worth living, worth seizing.

Sparks' writing is better than I remember and his characters even more real than I recall. In the emotional wake of this story, I am left feeling vulnerable, hopeful, and satisfied. Safe Haven was unquestionably worth the read and might just be my new Sparks' favorite.]]> 4.20 2010 Safe Haven
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Beth
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/13
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Sparks used to be my favorite author in high school. My first year of college, I remember standing in line for two hours with a stack of books for him to sign. More than a decade later, I no longer buy his books the moment they hit the shelves, and looking back, I somehow doubt that I would think them as wonderful as I remember them to be. Nonetheless, The Notebook & The Rescue are still among my favorites, and I still recommend them from time to time.

Safe Haven, however, has renewed my faith in Sparks and has surpassed any expectations I might have had for his novels if only because none of the characters I grew to love and care about died before the story ended. The plot and pacing felt natural, echoing life's ups and downs. There is an undercurrent of grief, pain, and loss, which is to be expected of Sparks' stories, but despite everything, we are not left feeling overwhelmed, but rather, are reminded that in the midst of grief, there are people who make the pain bearable and restore our faith in humanity. It is these moments that make life worth living, worth seizing.

Sparks' writing is better than I remember and his characters even more real than I recall. In the emotional wake of this story, I am left feeling vulnerable, hopeful, and satisfied. Safe Haven was unquestionably worth the read and might just be my new Sparks' favorite.
]]> <![CDATA[Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, #1)]]> 6115138 321 Linda Castillo 0312374976 Beth 4 favorites 4.02 2009 Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, #1)
author: Linda Castillo
name: Beth
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/09
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)]]> 2767052
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

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 Beth 4 favorites 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Beth
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2014/04/24
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Katniss Everdeen is instantly endearing as she volunteers to take her sister's place in the annual "games." Through her eyes, we see with horror & disgust the desensitization to violence. Katniss is certain that she will die but equally determined not to play by their rules. The Hunger Games is still at the top of my list for Dystopian Fiction.
]]> Set This House in Order 71847
While Andy deals with the outside world, more than a hundred other souls share an imaginary house inside Andy's head, struggling to maintain an orderly coexistence: Aaron, the father figure; Adam, the mischievous teenager; Jake, the frightened little boy; Aunt Sam, the artist; Seferis, the defender; and Gideon, who wants to get rid of Andy and the others and run things on his own.

Andy's new coworker, Penny Driver, is also a multiple personality, a fact that Penny is only partially aware of. When several of Penny's other souls ask Andy for help, Andy reluctantly agrees, setting in motion a chain of events that threatens to destroy the stability of the house. Now Andy and Penny must work together to uncover a terrible secret that Andy has been keeping . . . from himself.]]> 496 Matt Ruff 006095485X Beth 4 favorites 4.31 2003 Set This House in Order
author: Matt Ruff
name: Beth
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/25
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
The two main characters have multiple personality disorder. Consequently, it was a bit of a slow read, but complex, speculative, and fascinating. The author reveals throughout the story snippets of abuse but does not allow it to emotionally overtake the plot and purpose of the novel. I am not entirely sure who to recommend this amazing book to. I found it heartwarming, frightening, startling, and awe-inspiring. Andy's "world" and the characters who inhabit it are hauntingly memorable.
]]> Speak 39280444
"Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say."

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication.

In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.

Speak was a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature.]]> 224 Laurie Halse Anderson 0374311250 Beth 4 favorites
***Spoiler Alert***

Both attended a party. Both consumed alcohol. Both girls said no. Both were physically silenced by their assailants. Both walked home, destroyed evidence, and crawled into bed without saying a word to their parents. Both froze though Maya arguably fought then fled before retreating inside of herself and trying to pause or rewind her life. Maya hides from the world for a week. Melinda hides for the better part of the school year.

Neither book goes into grave detail about the assaults. I was able to read them and recognize familiar coping skills without being triggered. The same cannot be said of the movie. It was very closely interpreted. I cried and had to remind myself to breathe. Kristen Stewart and Steve Zahn were amazing.

Speak is a young adult novel and very much about Melinda’a personal journey of healing, forgiving herself, and finding her voice. Beartown is about Maya’s healing, but it is also very much about the fallout of one teenager’s decision and how it affects nearly the entire town. ]]> 4.13 1999 Speak
author: Laurie Halse Anderson
name: Beth
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/14
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Having just finished Backman’s Beartown, I decided that now might be as good a time as any to finally read Speak. Melinda’s character and circumstances surrounding the assault mirror that of Maya’s in Beartown.

***Spoiler Alert***

Both attended a party. Both consumed alcohol. Both girls said no. Both were physically silenced by their assailants. Both walked home, destroyed evidence, and crawled into bed without saying a word to their parents. Both froze though Maya arguably fought then fled before retreating inside of herself and trying to pause or rewind her life. Maya hides from the world for a week. Melinda hides for the better part of the school year.

Neither book goes into grave detail about the assaults. I was able to read them and recognize familiar coping skills without being triggered. The same cannot be said of the movie. It was very closely interpreted. I cried and had to remind myself to breathe. Kristen Stewart and Steve Zahn were amazing.

Speak is a young adult novel and very much about Melinda’a personal journey of healing, forgiving herself, and finding her voice. Beartown is about Maya’s healing, but it is also very much about the fallout of one teenager’s decision and how it affects nearly the entire town.
]]> Rebecca 12873 Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...

Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Her future looks bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Max de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding housekeeper, Mrs Danvers...

Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the Other Woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.]]> 428 Daphne du Maurier 1844080382 Beth 4 favorites 4.19 1938 Rebecca
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: Beth
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1938
rating: 4
read at: 1999/01/01
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Sharp Objects 18045891
Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 10: 0307341550 (ISBN 13: 9780307341556)]]> 254 Gillian Flynn 0297851535 Beth 4 favorites 4.05 2006 Sharp Objects
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Beth
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2019/10/13
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Disturbing. Haunting. Yet darkly satisfying.
]]> <![CDATA[Best Day Ever (Family Secrets, #1)]]> 34007977 I glance at my wife as she climbs into the passenger seat, and I am bursting with confidence. Today will be everything I’ve promised her…and more�

Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he's promised today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them and doubts start to arise. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really?

Forcing us to ask ourselves just how well we know those who are closest to us, Best Day Ever crackles with dark energy, spinning ever tighter toward its shocking conclusion. In the bestselling, page-turning vein of The Couple Next Door and The Dinner, Kaira Rouda weaves a gripping, tautly suspenseful tale of deception and betrayal dark enough to destroy a marriage…or a life.]]> 384 Kaira Rouda 1525811401 Beth 4 favorites
I have been in relationships with narcissists in the past and had no idea going into this book that the narrator is a malignant narcissist. Red flags were popping up left and right. If you can get past the offensive nature of his thoughts and quiet the feminist within, Best Day Ever is an insightful read. The story spans only the course of one day and yet increasingly reveals the cracks in their marriage and the life they have built together.

At the risk of spoiling the ending just a tad, I would like to say that I am extremely pleased that Rouda chose to switch perspectives/narrators during the epilogue, which may have provided unnecessary insight after the climax. I, however, found that it enriched the story and deepened the pleasure I found in the culmination of events. #bestdenouementever haha]]> 3.65 2017 Best Day Ever (Family Secrets, #1)
author: Kaira Rouda
name: Beth
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/10
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
This is the second book in a row that was not quite what I anticipated and, again, I am pleasantly surprised. Some have compared this to Kepnes� You and, while I do agree that fans of You will appreciate and enjoy this novel, I would like to point out that Joe’s character actually believes that he is doing everything selflessly out of love. Paul, however, is under no such illusion. Everything he does is for his own benefit. Both narrators are unreliable and, dare I say, delusional.

I have been in relationships with narcissists in the past and had no idea going into this book that the narrator is a malignant narcissist. Red flags were popping up left and right. If you can get past the offensive nature of his thoughts and quiet the feminist within, Best Day Ever is an insightful read. The story spans only the course of one day and yet increasingly reveals the cracks in their marriage and the life they have built together.

At the risk of spoiling the ending just a tad, I would like to say that I am extremely pleased that Rouda chose to switch perspectives/narrators during the epilogue, which may have provided unnecessary insight after the climax. I, however, found that it enriched the story and deepened the pleasure I found in the culmination of events. #bestdenouementever haha
]]> The Guardian 15925 224 Nicholas Sparks 0446696110 Beth 4 favorites 4.16 2003 The Guardian
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Beth
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
This book was one of the first Sparks� novels I read that bridged the gap between romance and thriller. I also loved that it’s not just a love story or typical love triangle. It’s primarily about the love between a woman and her best friend, Singer, a Great Dane that her husband had left her when he passed. The emotional support of one’s animal is palpable and effective as Julie moves through her grief to a place where love might once again be possible. I’d recommend this for both dog lovers and fans of romantic suspense.
]]> When She Woke 11045709 When She Woke is a fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, who embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.

Bellwether Prize Winner Hillary Jordan's provocative new novel is the fiercely imagined story of a woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed -- their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crime -- and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.]]> 344 Hillary Jordan 1565126297 Beth 4 favorites
Meet Hannah. She has been labeled a murderer because she had an illegal abortion and must now undergo treatments for her skin color for the next seven years. People see her red flesh and cross to the other side of the street for their own safety. Meanwhile the father of her child, a married minister, goes about his life as if nothing had happened. All the shame and consequences of their affair fall on Hannah.

This thoughtful dystopian novel shines a light on religious, personal, and societal shame. Although, with the recent repeal of Roe v. Wade, it’s not as unimaginable a story as I wish it were. It is very much “The Scarlet Letter� meets “The Handmaid’s Tale.�

“One by one, she conjured all the boxes she'd been put into: The good girl box and the good Christian box...the mistress box...the bad daughter and fallen woman boxes...She saw with a painful blaze of clarity that every one of these boxes had been of her own making, either by consent or lack of resistance. She had no right to bitterness; she had put herself in them. And she would get herself out, she vowed. And once she was out, she'd never willingly climb into another box again.� Page 268. ]]> 3.67 2011 When She Woke
author: Hillary Jordan
name: Beth
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2018/09/27
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Fast forward to a time when jails have long been overcrowded and the government has found a way to punish “criminals� and enforce a sentence without having to house them. Offenders instead are “chromed� for their crimes and forced back into society, wearing their shame on the skin.

Meet Hannah. She has been labeled a murderer because she had an illegal abortion and must now undergo treatments for her skin color for the next seven years. People see her red flesh and cross to the other side of the street for their own safety. Meanwhile the father of her child, a married minister, goes about his life as if nothing had happened. All the shame and consequences of their affair fall on Hannah.

This thoughtful dystopian novel shines a light on religious, personal, and societal shame. Although, with the recent repeal of Roe v. Wade, it’s not as unimaginable a story as I wish it were. It is very much “The Scarlet Letter� meets “The Handmaid’s Tale.�

“One by one, she conjured all the boxes she'd been put into: The good girl box and the good Christian box...the mistress box...the bad daughter and fallen woman boxes...She saw with a painful blaze of clarity that every one of these boxes had been of her own making, either by consent or lack of resistance. She had no right to bitterness; she had put herself in them. And she would get herself out, she vowed. And once she was out, she'd never willingly climb into another box again.� Page 268.
]]> A Long Fatal Love Chase 620790
Two years before Little Women, serialized in a magazine under the alias A.M. Barnard in 1866, this was buried among the author's papers over a century.]]> 356 Louisa May Alcott 0440223016 Beth 4 favorites 3.68 1995 A Long Fatal Love Chase
author: Louisa May Alcott
name: Beth
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Finally published a century after it was written, this gothic romance will delight fans of the Brontë sisters and Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca.� It’s almost Poesque in its forbidden darkness and inevitable denouement.
]]> Mean Streak 20454672 From #1 New York Times best-selling author Sandra Brown comes a heart-pounding story of survival, that takes the age-old question, "Does the end justify the means?" and turns it on its head.

Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of "instant divorce," Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won't even tell her his name. She's determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can't turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law. Wrong becomes right at the hands of the man who strikes fear, but also sparks passion.

As her husband's deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer from those who wish her dead - and from heartbreak.

Combining the nail-biting suspense and potent storytelling that has made Sandra Brown one of the world's best loved authors, MEAN STREAK is a wildly compelling novel about love, deceit, and the choices we must make in order to survive.]]> 409 Sandra Brown 1455581127 Beth 5 favorites 4.06 2014 Mean Streak
author: Sandra Brown
name: Beth
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/01/27
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites
review:
Emory is a pediatrician and marathon runner. She goes away for a weekend to train and finds herself unconscious at the mercy of a stranger who claims that he cannot take her down the mountain until the snowstorm passes. While dealing with a head injury, she must also deal with feelings of unease and distrust. Did this man really stumble upon her and take her back to his cabin as he claimed? Or had he been the one to incapacitate her?
]]> <![CDATA[My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry]]> 23604559 A charming, warmhearted novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller A Man Called Ove.

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

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

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry is told with the same comic accuracy and beating heart as Fredrik Backman’s bestselling debut novel, A Man Called Ove. It is a story about life and death and one of the most important human rights: the right to be different.]]> 372 Fredrik Backman 1501115065 Beth 5 favorites 4.04 2013 My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Beth
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2017/02/05
date added: 2024/06/13
shelves: favorites
review:
Elsa’s grandmother passes on the story of her life through fairytales. In time, she comes to understand that the people in her grandmother’s stories are actually the very people who live in her building. I cannot even begin to express how much I love this little girl, and am wondering if I have ever read another book told from the point of view of a child, similar in age to my own.
]]> Finding Daisies 61234739 Finding Daisies takes the reader through the life stages of a girl who endures untold trauma and ultimately overcomes it. From pre-birth to motherhood, Jessica Jocelyn imparts the reader with an inside look of navigating the tumultuous process of healing from the mother and father wounds. Steeped in sheer poignancy and glimmers of hope, this isn’t merely a poetic narrative of growth; it’s a story of being more rooted in oneself and becoming one’s own parent. Above all, this heartfelt, beautifully-illustrated poetry collection serves as a homage to the generational trauma breakers whose perseverance halted a toxic cycle and instigated a new one of transformative catharsis.

TWs reference to physical, emotional, sexual, and domestic abusemother/father woundself-affliction]]> 163 Jessica Jocelyn Beth 0 to-read 4.24 Finding Daisies
author: Jessica Jocelyn
name: Beth
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Swarm 68146 The Swarm.

Whales begin sinking ships. Toxic, eyeless crabs poison Long Island's water supply. The North Sea shelf collapses, killing thousands in Europe. Around the world, countries are beginning to feel the effects of the ocean's revenge as the seas and their inhabi-tants begin a violent revolution against mankind. In this riveting novel, full of twists, turns, and cliffhangers, a team of scientists discovers a strange, intelligent life force called the Yrr that takes form in marine animals, using them to wreak havoc on humanity for our ecological abuses. Soon a struggle between good and evil is in full swing, with both human and suboceanic forces battling for control of the waters. At stake is the survival of the Earth's fragile ecology -- and ultimately, the survival of the human race itself.

The apocalyptic catastrophes of The Day After Tomorrow meet the watery menace of The Abyss in this gripping, scientifically realistic, and utterly imaginative thriller. With 1.5 million copies sold in Germany -- where it has been on the bestseller list without fail since its debut -- and the author's skillfully executed blend of compelling story, vivid characters, and eerie locales, Frank Schatzing's The Swarm will keep you in tense anticipation until the last suspenseful page is turned.
(front flap)]]> 881 Frank Schätzing 0060813261 Beth 0 to-read 4.09 2004 The Swarm
author: Frank Schätzing
name: Beth
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Freedom from the Known 143877 124 J. Krishnamurti 0060648082 Beth 0 to-read 4.29 1969 Freedom from the Known
author: J. Krishnamurti
name: Beth
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Watchers (The Watchers, #1)]]> 58321103
Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans—and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.

Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers? Why are these creatures keeping them imprisoned? And, most importantly, how can she escape?]]> 310 A.M. Shine 1801102120 Beth 0 to-read 3.82 2021 The Watchers (The Watchers, #1)
author: A.M. Shine
name: Beth
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Girl Who Was Taken 55995639 A chilling thriller where nothing is at it seems and each reveal is more shocking than the last…right up to the jaw-dropping final twist.

Two abducted girls—one who returns, one who doesn't.

The night they go missing, high school seniors Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are at a beach party in their small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. Police launch a massive search, but hope is almost lost--until Megan escapes from a bunker deep in the woods...A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has made Megan a celebrity. It's a triumphant story, except for one inconvenient thing, Nicole is still missing.

Nicole's older sister, Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day soon Nicole's body will be found and her sister's fate determined. Instead, the first clue comes from another body--that of a young man connected to Nicole's past. Livia reaches out to Megan to learn more about that fateful night. Other girls have disappeared, and she's increasingly sure the cases are connected.

Megan knows more than she revealed in her book. Flashes of memory are pointing to something more monstrous than she described. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you've been looking for...]]> 416 Charlie Donlea 1496736982 Beth 0 to-read 4.09 2017 The Girl Who Was Taken
author: Charlie Donlea
name: Beth
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Birth of the Moon 1919323 32 Coby Hol 0735812497 Beth 4 3.70 2000 The Birth of the Moon
author: Coby Hol
name: Beth
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Frida's Office Day (I Can Read!)]]> 1599253 64 Thomas P. Lewis 0060238437 Beth 3 3.50 1989 Frida's Office Day (I Can Read!)
author: Thomas P. Lewis
name: Beth
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Snow Friends 437891 26 M. Christina Butler 1561484857 Beth 4 4.02 2005 Snow Friends
author: M. Christina Butler
name: Beth
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?']]> 2025742 32 0744507960 Beth 5 4.18 1988 Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?'
author: Barbara Waddell Martin and Firth
name: Beth
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Bear Sees Colors 17220234
Can you find colors just like Bear?

Karma Wilson’s playful text and Jane Chapman’s adorable illustrations creatively introduce colors to the youngest Bear fans, who will delight in discovering a rainbow of fun.]]> 32 Karma Wilson 1442465360 Beth 3 4.09 2014 Bear Sees Colors
author: Karma Wilson
name: Beth
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat]]> 2820288 John Archambault 0785792627 Beth 3 3.48 1994 A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat
author: John Archambault
name: Beth
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> The Silence 22748082
Deaf for many years, Ally knows how to live in silence. Now, it is her family's only chance of survival. To leave their home, to shun others, to find a remote haven where they can sit out the plague. But will it ever end? And what kind of world will be left?]]> 363 Tim Lebbon 1781168814 Beth 0 to-read 3.78 2015 The Silence
author: Tim Lebbon
name: Beth
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Tell Me Lies 32735369 Tell Me Lies is about that one person who still haunts you—the other one. The wrong one. The one you couldn’t let go of. The one you’ll never forget.

Lucy Albright is far from her Long Island upbringing when she arrives on the campus of her small California college, and happy to be hundreds of miles from her mother, whom she’s never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years. Quickly grasping at her fresh start, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer—new friends, wild parties, stimulating classes. And then she meets Stephen DeMarco. Charming. Attractive. Complicated. Devastating.

Confident and cocksure, Stephen sees something in Lucy that no one else has, and she’s quickly seduced by this vision of herself, and the sense of possibility that his attention brings her. Meanwhile, Stephen is determined to forget an incident buried in his past that, if exposed, could ruin him, and his single-minded drive for success extends to winning, and keeping, Lucy’s heart.

Alternating between Lucy’s and Stephen’s voices, Tell Me Lies follows their connection through college and post-college life in New York City. Deep down, Lucy knows she has to acknowledge the truth about Stephen. But before she can free herself from this addicting entanglement, she must confront and heal her relationship with her mother—or risk losing herself in a delusion about what it truly means to love.

With the psychological insight and biting wit of Luckiest Girl Alive, and the yearning ambitions and desires of Sweetbitter, this keenly intelligent and staggeringly resonant novel chronicles the exhilaration and dilemmas of young adulthood, and the difficulty of letting go, even when you know you should.]]> 352 Carola Lovering Beth 0 to-read 3.46 2018 Tell Me Lies
author: Carola Lovering
name: Beth
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Waverider (Amulet #9) 150824570 256 Kazu Kibuishi 0545828694 Beth 0 to-read 4.06 2024 Waverider (Amulet #9)
author: Kazu Kibuishi
name: Beth
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Anatomy of Being 17729031 The Anatomy of Being is youthful and fragmented, a journey inward from the perspective of the hopes and pains of adolescence. Broken up into four chapters, she holds your hand and takes you inward with her, from skin to flesh, to flesh to bones, from bones to all that lies within. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, The Anatomy of Being marks a very distinct time in a young girl's life, and aches and aches to be heard and devoured.

2013 ŷ Choice Awards Poetry Finalist]]> 102 Shinji Moon 1300631759 Beth 0 to-read 4.26 2013 The Anatomy of Being
author: Shinji Moon
name: Beth
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> wild spirit, soft heart 53116061 442 butterflies rising 0578643545 Beth 0 to-read 4.36 wild spirit, soft heart
author: butterflies rising
name: Beth
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Magical World of Roald Dahl - Gobblefunk Dictionary]]> 162976917 0 Roald Dahl Beth 0 to-read 2.00 The Magical World of Roald Dahl - Gobblefunk Dictionary
author: Roald Dahl
name: Beth
average rating: 2.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary 28580791 All the words that Roald Dahl invented are here, like 'biffsquiggled' and 'whizzpopping, ' to remind you what means what. You'll also find out where words came from, rhyming words, synonyms and lots of alternative words for words that are overused.
Oxford Children's Dictionaries are perfect for supporting literacy and learning and this is the world's first Roald Dahl Dictionary from the word experts at Oxford University Press. With real citations from Roald Dahl's children's books and illustrations by Quentin Blake, the Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary will inspire and encourage young writers and readers.
]]> 288 Susan Rennie 0192736450 Beth 0 to-read 4.44 Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary
author: Susan Rennie
name: Beth
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> Berlin Syndrome 11464936
One afternoon, near the tourist trap of Checkpoint Charlie, Clare meets Andi. He's a native Berliner and English teacher; she's an architectural photographer who has taken leave from her job in Australia to travel through Eastern Europe. There is an instant attraction, and when Andi invites her to stay, Clare thinks she may finally have found somewhere to call home.

But as the days pass and the walls of Andi's apartment close in, Clare begins to wonder if it's really love that Andi is after � or something more sinister.

This closely observed and gripping psychological thriller shifts between Andi's and Clare's perspectives, revealing the power of obsession, the fluidity of truth, and the kaleidoscopic nature of human relationships. Berlin Syndrome is a startling debut from a talented new writer.

Watch the book trailer here: ]]> 256 Melanie Joosten 1921844140 Beth 0 to-read 3.38 2012 Berlin Syndrome
author: Melanie Joosten
name: Beth
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Alias Grace 72579
An up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories?

Captivating and disturbing, Alias Grace showcases best-selling, Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood at the peak of her powers.]]> 468 Margaret Atwood 0385475713 Beth 0 to-read 4.08 1996 Alias Grace
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Beth
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/15
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]]> <![CDATA[Alejandra Pizarnik. Poesia Completa]]> 136785186 Extracción de la piedra de locura: “Tengo amor a tus poemas: querría que hicieras muchos y que tus poemas difundieran por todas partes el amor y el terror�.]]> 0 Alejandra Pizarnik Beth 0 to-read 3.00 2000 Alejandra Pizarnik. Poesia Completa
author: Alejandra Pizarnik
name: Beth
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> Dear Child 49247137
She says her name is Lena. Lena, who disappeared without a trace 14 years prior. She fits the profile. She has the distinctive scar. But her family swears that she isn’t their Lena.

The little girl who escaped the woods with her knows things she isn’t sharing, and Lena’s devastated father is trying to piece together details that don’t quite fit. Lena is desperate to begin again, but something tells her that her tormentor still wants to get back what belongs to him…and that she may not be able to truly escape until the whole truth about what happened in the woods finally emerges.

Twisty, suspenseful, and psychologically clever, Romy Hausmann's Dear Child is a captivating thriller with all the ingredients of a breakout hit."]]> 368 Romy Hausmann 1250768535 Beth 0 to-read 4.02 2019 Dear Child
author: Romy Hausmann
name: Beth
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Road 6288
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,� are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.]]> 241 Cormac McCarthy 0307265439 Beth 0 to-read 3.99 2006 The Road
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Beth
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/14
shelves: to-read
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]]> Pines (Wayward Pines, #1) 15096164
WHY CAN'T HE MAKE CONTACT WITH HIS FAMILY IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE BELIEVE HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS? AND WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE ELECTRIFIED FENCES ENCIRCLING THE TOWN? ARE THEY KEEPING THE RESIDENTS IN? OR SOMETHING ELSE OUT?

Each step toward the truth takes Ethan further from the world he knows, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.....]]> 307 Blake Crouch 1612183956 Beth 0 currently-reading 3.94 2012 Pines (Wayward Pines, #1)
author: Blake Crouch
name: Beth
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion]]> 2585333
No doubt about it, fish is a cook’s dream. Fast. Low in fat, versatile, and healthful, it’s even brain food. No other fish cookbook contains such a comprehensive selection of approachable, contemporary recipes. It’s written by a pair of experts: a nationally known three-star seafood chef whose true passion is teaching home cooks, and an award-winning writer and sought-after food authority. Arranged for the cook’s complete convenience, Fish without a Doubt encompasses chapters on all the techniques of fish cookery—from poaching to grilling to sautéing—as well as on all the most popular seafood dishes—from appetizers, to soups and salads, to burgers and pasta.

The recipes range from updated versions of classics (Trout Almondine, Linguine with Clams, Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes) to the latest favorites (Steamed Black Bass with Sizzling Ginger,Tuna Burgers with Cucumber Relish, Thai-Style Mussels). It includes slews of quickies for weeknight specials (Broiled Fillets with Butter and Herbs) and centerpieces for splashier occasions (A Big Poached Char). Featuring only seafood that is not overfished, Fish without a Doubt provides the latest information for the eco-conscious cook about our last wild frontier.]]> 448 Rick Moonen 061853119X Beth 0 to-read 3.96 2008 Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion
author: Rick Moonen
name: Beth
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hollowed Heart 56970142 29 Vera West Beth 0 to-read 5.00 Hollowed Heart
author: Vera West
name: Beth
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/04/29
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Carrying 38402135 From National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Ada Limón comes The Carrying—her most powerful collection yet.

Vulnerable, tender, acute, these are serious poems, brave poems, exploring with honesty the ambiguous moment between the rapture of youth and the grace of acceptance. A daughter tends to aging parents. A woman struggles with infertility—“What if, instead of carrying / a child, I am supposed to carry grief?”—and a body seized by pain and vertigo as well as ecstasy. A nation convulses: “Every song of this country / has an unsung third stanza, something brutal.� And still Limón shows us, as ever, the persistence of hunger, love, and joy, the dizzying fullness of our too-short lives. “Fine then, / I’ll take it,� she writes. “I’ll take it all.�

In Bright Dead Things, Limón showed us a heart “giant with power, heavy with blood”—“the huge beating genius machine / that thinks, no, it knows, / it’s going to come in first.� In her follow-up collection, that heart is on full display—even as The Carrying continues further and deeper into the bloodstream, following the hard-won truth of what it means to live in an imperfect world.]]> 120 Ada Limon 1571315128 Beth 0 to-read 4.39 2018 The Carrying
author: Ada Limon
name: Beth
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/04/15
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]]> The Last Thing He Told Me 54981009
As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a U.S. marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.]]> 307 Laura Dave 1501171348 Beth 0 to-read 3.78 2021 The Last Thing He Told Me
author: Laura Dave
name: Beth
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/04/07
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]]> <![CDATA[She Just Wants to Forget (Volume 2) (What She Felt)]]> 40816572 She Just Wants to Forgetis the second title in the "What She Felt" series.

She Just Wants to Forgetis the follow up to the New York Times bestsellingpoetry collectionShe Felt Like Feeling Nothing by r.h. Sin.]]> 208 R.H. Sin 1449497543 Beth 0 to-read 3.89 2019 She Just Wants to Forget (Volume 2) (What She Felt)
author: R.H. Sin
name: Beth
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[She Felt Like Feeling Nothing (Volume 1) (What She Felt)]]> 36456129 Whiskey, Words, and a Shovelseries comes thispoetic reminder of women's strength.

There are moments when the heart no longer wishes to feel because everything it's felt up until then has brought it nothing but anguish.InShe Felt Like Feeling Nothing,r.h. Sinpursues themes of self-discovery and retrospection.With this book,the poet intends to create a safe space where women can rest their weary hearts and focus on themselves.]]> 144 R.H. Sin 1449494250 Beth 3 3.78 2018 She Felt Like Feeling Nothing (Volume 1) (What She Felt)
author: R.H. Sin
name: Beth
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/03/29
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]]> Little Fires Everywhere 51704136 Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned--from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren--an enigmatic artist and single mother--who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town--and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood--and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

Named a Best Book of the Year by: People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, ŷ, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and many more...

Perfect for book clubs! Visit celesteng.com for discussion guides and more. ]]> 368 Celeste Ng 0143135163 Beth 0 currently-reading 4.06 2017 Little Fires Everywhere
author: Celeste Ng
name: Beth
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/28
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> <![CDATA[I hope this reaches her in time]]> 36633385 72 R.H. Sin 1979772304 Beth 3 3.78 2017 I hope this reaches her in time
author: R.H. Sin
name: Beth
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2017
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/03/24
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]]> Forgiving The Unforgivable 26796131 235 Sherry Johnson 1482608685 Beth 0 to-read 4.48 2013 Forgiving The Unforgivable
author: Sherry Johnson
name: Beth
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Some Choose Darkness (Rory Moore/Lane Phillips, #1)]]> 41735371 A taut, gripping novel about the deadly secrets hiding in plain sight...

The truth is easy to miss, even when it’s right in front of us. As a forensic reconstructionist, Rory Moore sheds light on cold-case homicides by piecing together crime scene details others fail to see. Cleaning out her late father’s law office a week after his burial, she receives a call that plunges her into a decades-old case come to life once more.

In the summer of 1979, five Chicago women went missing.The predator, nicknamed The Thief, left no bodies and no clues behind—until police received a package from a mysterious woman named Angela Mitchell, whose unorthodox investigation skills appear to have led to his identity. But before police could question her, Angela disappeared.Forty years later, The Thief is about to be paroled for Angela’s murder—the only crime the DA could pin on him.As a former client of her father’s, Rory becomes reluctantly involved with the killer—though he continues to insist he didn’t murder Angela. Now he wants Rory to do what her father once promised: prove that Angela is, in fact, still alive.

As Rory begins reconstructing Angela’s last days, another killer emerges from the shadows, replicating those long-ago murders. With every startling discovery she makes, Rory becomes more deeply entangled in the enigma of Angela Mitchell—and in The Thief’s tormented mind. Drawing connections between past and present is the only way to stop the nightmare, but even Rory can’t be prepared for the full, terrifying truth that is emerging...]]> 304 Charlie Donlea Beth 3 4.21 2019 Some Choose Darkness (Rory Moore/Lane Phillips, #1)
author: Charlie Donlea
name: Beth
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2019
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/03/13
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]]> Breaking Free 34217597 In this searing memoir of survival in the spirit of Stolen Innocence, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it.

Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey. No one in this radical splinter sect of the Mormon Church was more powerful or terrifying than its leader Warren Jeffs—Rachel’s father.

Living outside mainstream Mormonism and federal law, Jeffs arranged marriages between under-age girls and middle-aged and elderly members of his congregation. In 2006, he gained international notoriety when the FBI placed him on its Ten Most Wanted List. Though he is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault, Jeffs� iron grip on the church remains firm, and his edicts to his followers increasingly restrictive and bizarre.

In Breaking Free, Rachel blows the lid off this taciturn community made famous by John Krakauer’s bestselling Under the Banner of Heaven to offer a harrowing look at her life with Warren Jeffs, and the years of physical and emotional abuse she suffered. Sexually assaulted, compelled into an arranged polygamous marriage, locked away in "houses of hiding" as punishment for perceived transgressions, and physically separated from her children, Rachel, Jeffs� first plural daughter by his second of more than fifty wives, eventually found the courage to leave the church in 2015. But Breaking Free is not only her story—Rachel’s experiences illuminate those of her family and the countless others who remain trapped in the strange world she left behind.

A shocking and mesmerizing memoir of faith, abuse, courage, and freedom, Breaking Free is an expose of religious extremism and a beacon of hope for anyone trying to overcome personal obstacles.]]> 400 Rachel Jeffs 0062692828 Beth 0 to-read 4.06 2017 Breaking Free
author: Rachel Jeffs
name: Beth
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Codename Villanelle / No Tomorrow / Die for Me (Killing Eve #1-3)]]> 54905463
Killing Eve The Complete Trilogy Series 3 Books Collection Box Set by Luke

Die For
On the run together, Eve Polastri and the psychopathic Villanelle take refuge in the underworld of St Petersburg. But the Twelve are closing in, as are the Russian security services. As the chess-game intensifies, and the grip of winter tightens, the couple are drawn into a nightmare realm of conspiracy and murder.

No
In a hotel room in Venice, where she's just completed a routine assassination, Villanelle receives a late-night call.Eve Polastri has discovered that a senior MI5 officer is in the pay of the Twelve, and is about to debrief him. As Eve interrogates her subject, desperately trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, Villanelle moves in for the kill.

Codename
She is the perfect assassin.A Russian orphan, saved from the death penalty for the brutal revenge she took on her gangster father's killers.Ruthlessly trained. Given a new life. New names, new faces - whichever fits.Her paymasters call themselves The Twelve. But she knows nothing of them. Konstantin is the man who saved her, and the one she answers to.She is Villanelle. Without conscience. Without guilt. Without weakness.]]> 0 Luke Jennings 9124025194 Beth 0 to-read 3.85 Codename Villanelle / No Tomorrow / Die for Me (Killing Eve #1-3)
author: Luke Jennings
name: Beth
average rating: 3.85
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/27
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]]> <![CDATA[The Little Book of Lost Words: Collywobbles, Snollygosters, and 86 Other Surprisingly Useful Terms Worth Resurrecting]]> 43289086
This collection features scores of unique words from history that deal with surprisingly modern issues like sleeping in and procrastination--proving that some things never change! The Little Book of Lost Words presents each term that's ready to be brought back into modern-day use, complete with definition, hilarious sample sentence, and cheeky historical art. You'll learn new words for the cozy room where you like to Netflix and chill ( snuggery ), for a dishonest politician ( snollygoster ), and for a young person who sleeps through the day and doesn't work ( dewdropper ). If you like Lost in Translation , Shakespeare Insult Generator , Drunk History , and Roald Dahl--and you delight in the way words like blatteroon and flapdoodle roll off the tongue--then you're the word lover this book was written for. Want to know what a fizgig or groke is? Read this book!]]> 192 Joe Gillard 0399582673 Beth 0 to-read 4.06 The Little Book of Lost Words: Collywobbles, Snollygosters, and 86 Other Surprisingly Useful Terms Worth Resurrecting
author: Joe Gillard
name: Beth
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence]]> 18623293
From the title page of the Kindle edition:
Unabridged from the 1811 edition with a foreword by Robert Cromie. Compiled originally by Captain Grose. And now considerably altered and enlarged, with the modern changes and improvements, by a member of the Whip Club. Assisted by Hell-Fire Dick, and James Gordon, Esqrs. of Cambridge; and William Soames, Esq. of the Hon. Society of Newman's Hotel.]]> 251 Francis Grose Beth 0 to-read 3.77 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence
author: Francis Grose
name: Beth
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1811
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/04
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]]> Women Talking 40046077
While the men of the colony are off in the city, attempting to raise enough money to bail out the rapists and bring them home, these women—all illiterate, without any knowledge of the world outside their community and unable even to speak the language of the country they live in—have very little time to make a choice: Should they stay in the only world they’ve ever known or should they dare to escape?

Based on real events and told through the “minutes� of the women’s all-female symposium, Toews’s masterful novel uses wry, politically engaged humor to relate this tale of women claiming their own power to decide.]]> 216 Miriam Toews 1635572584 Beth 0 to-read 3.61 2018 Women Talking
author: Miriam Toews
name: Beth
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/21
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Time to Heal: Poems for Those Who Feel Broken and Lost]]> 64720872
From the bestselling author of Healing Is a Gift and Healing Words comes a new, inspirational poetry book about love, mental health, healing, and growth.

Time to Heal is an empowering poetry book that explores the profound themes of love, toxic relationships, self-sabotage, heartbreak, trauma, loss, depression, healing, growth, inner strength, hope, and change.

Written for those who feel heartbroken and lost, this powerful poetry collection is a reminder to never lose hope and strive to change for the better. Featuring more than one hundred thirty uplifting poems and black-and-white illustrations, Time to Heal is a great companion when you need:
to change and grow
to embrace self-love and personal transformation
to choose hope and perseverance
to let go of your past and overcome self-sabotage
to heal your emotional wounds and find inner peace
to reclaim your power and rise again.
Dive into this uplifting poetry collection today, and you will find a roadmap to enlightenment, inner peace, and hope.

This beautiful, heartfelt poetry collection makes an incredible gift for anyone seeking healing and inspiration.]]> 234 Alexandra Vasiliu 8361494057 Beth 0 to-read 3.53 Time to Heal: Poems for Those Who Feel Broken and Lost
author: Alexandra Vasiliu
name: Beth
average rating: 3.53
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/19
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]]> <![CDATA[Healing Words: A Poetry Collection for Broken Hearts]]> 51169283 Let go of what is holding you back and focus on healing and growth. From the bestselling author of Dare to Let Go and Healing Is a Gift comes a powerful book about healing, heartbreak, and personal transformation.Healing Words is an empowering book that captures the essence of what it means to heal a broken heart, overcome trauma, anxiety, and depression, find inner strength and self-acceptance, and grow with clarity and wisdom.Written for women and men of all ages, this uplifting poetry book is thoughtfully structured into three crashing, crawling, and rising. Each chapter invites readers to dive deeper into a journey of self-awareness, vulnerability, healing, courage, compassion, change, and growth. Every healing poem guides you to embrace personal transformation, become intentional, and achieve your life goals.In Healing Words, you will How to get over heartbreakHow to turn trauma into healingHow to be kind to yourself and find self-compassionHow to let go of harmful memories, a painful past, and a toxic relationshipHow to stop self-sabotage and any destructive habit How to turn depression into hope and determinationHow to overcome fears and anxiety How to find inner strength and willpower How to make great choices and develop good habitsHow to cultivate a positive mindsetHow to set and maintain healthy boundaries How to improve your mental and emotional wellbeingHow to find new sources of joy while pushing through life’s obstaclesHow to focus on personal growth and positive changesAnd so much more!With this motivational poetry book as your guide, you will embark on a journey of self-discovery, healing, change, and growth.Filled with heartfelt poems, empathetic words, personal stories, encouraging affirmations, and practical advice, this uplifting book feels like a friend holding your hand along the entire healing journey. No matter what you have been through or how many storms you have survived, this encouraging book serves as a gentle �It is never too late to start healing your thoughts and heart’s wounds. You can always live in a beautiful and meaningful way.”]> 92 Alexandra Vasiliu Beth 0 to-read 3.48 Healing Words: A Poetry Collection for Broken Hearts
author: Alexandra Vasiliu
name: Beth
average rating: 3.48
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/19
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]]> <![CDATA[Be My Moon: A Poetry Collection For Romantic Souls]]> 56395583 Embrace the magic of love, and rekindle the spark in your love relationship. From the bestselling author of Healing Is a Gift and Dare to Let Go comes Be My Moon, a highly anticipated poetry collection that celebrates love, longing, hope, and all the raw and intense emotions that build a healthy love relationship.Hidden inside everyone’s heart lies the magical a unique voice of love, an untamed beauty, and a powerful magnet for happiness. Be My Moon is a magnificent poetry book that invites you on a meaningful journey of love, clarity, hope, happiness, longing, self-discovery, growth, luminous healing, and harmony.Open this touching book, and you will enjoy: Entrancing poems about love, fulfilling relationships, happiness, clarity, growth, grace, and our celestial neighbor –the moonBeautiful and meaningful words about love, self-awareness, inner beauty, longing, emotional needs, desires, inner peace, hope, harmony, raw emotions, and happinessInspiring reflections about the mystery of the moon and the beauty of feminine energyPowerful affirmations that will change your perspective on dating, love, relationships, togetherness, and lifeAmazing artwork about our most magical friend of the night –the moonAnd so much more!Beautifully and well-written, Be My Moon is a must-read for both women and men and especially for those who loveRomantic soulsDaydreamersStargazersMoon lovers.A perfect gift BirthdaysEngagement daysWeddingsValentine’s DayMother’s Day and Father’s DayChristmas, Easter, and other holidaysAny other special occasion all year long.Look for more love poetry in Alexandra Vasiliu’s other the Heart’s Eyes.“Meet mewhere the falling stars live.Wait for me thereday after day,night after night.�--- from Be My Moon]]> 124 Alexandra Vasiliu Beth 0 to-read 3.40 Be My Moon: A Poetry Collection For Romantic Souls
author: Alexandra Vasiliu
name: Beth
average rating: 3.40
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/19
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Widow 59029305
The day my husband, Michael, stepped in front of a lorry after being questioned by the police, my world fell apart. He was devoted to me and our six-year-old daughter. But they’d connected him to the disappearance of a young mother from our tiny village.

Now I stand at Michael’s funeral, clutching my little girl’s hand, with tears in my eyes as I insist to all our friends that he died an innocent man. Yet the questions have started, and nothing I say will stop them digging for the truth.

But none of them can read the secrets in my heart, or know about the phone I found hidden in his toolbox�

I’m determined that my daughter will not remember her father as a monster. I will erase any hint of wrongdoing in this house whatever the cost.

Because to keep my daughter safe, the last thing I need is for people to start looking at me…]]> 382 K.L. Slater 1800199120 Beth 3 3.96 2021 The Widow
author: K.L. Slater
name: Beth
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/01/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them]]> 39934 New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters to discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart - to take pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breathtaking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; she is deeply moved by the brilliant characterization in George Eliot's Middlemarch. She looks to John Le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue and to Flannery O'Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail. And, most important, Prose cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which all literature is crafted.]]> 302 Francine Prose 0060777052 Beth 0 to-read 3.76 2006 Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
author: Francine Prose
name: Beth
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/08
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]]> <![CDATA[Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis]]> 472443 69 Wendy Cope 0571137474 Beth 0 to-read 3.89 1986 Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis
author: Wendy Cope
name: Beth
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/22
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]]> <![CDATA[No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days]]> 20706680 200 Chris Baty 1452124779 Beth 4 3.98 2004 No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days
author: Chris Baty
name: Beth
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/01
date added: 2022/12/01
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]]> <![CDATA[The No Plot? No Problem! Novel-Writing Kit]]> 587192 48-page booklet
31 Daily Noveling Briefsrecommended allowances of writing advice and activities for every day of the noveling month
Guided, month long, displayable log for keeping track of progress
Motivational materials, pep-talking letters, and commitment coupons
The Mighty Badge of the Triumphant Wordsmith]]> 48 Chris Baty 0811854833 Beth 0 3.96 2006 The No Plot? No Problem! Novel-Writing Kit
author: Chris Baty
name: Beth
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2022/11/25
date added: 2022/11/25
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake, #5)]]> 48763358
A car submerged in a remote pond. The bodies of two girls strapped into their seats. The mystery of their mother, vanished without a trace, leads Gwen Proctor and Kezia Claremont into dangerous territory.

On the surface, Gwen’s life is good—two children approaching adulthood, a committed partner, and a harrowing past dead and gone. But that past is attracting the attention of someone invisible…and unstoppable. Trouble’s just beginning. So is the body count in this backwoods Tennessee town.

As threats mount and Gwen’s hunted by an enemy who pulls all the strings, Kezia has her back. But working to solve these vicious and unreasonable crimes will expose them both to a killer they can’t for the life of them see coming.]]> 335 Rachel Caine 154209366X Beth 0 4.29 2021 Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake, #5)
author: Rachel Caine
name: Beth
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2022/11/09
date added: 2022/11/09
shelves:
review:

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