Jesslyn's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 02 May 2025 11:16:13 -0700 60 Jesslyn's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)]]> 18480329
When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited - not in love, but in a tentative alliance against their common enemy. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves.

But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters?

The New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy comes to a stunning conclusion as - from the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond - humans, chimaera, and seraphim strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.]]> 506 Laini Taylor 031628016X Jesslyn 4 4.17 2014 Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)
author: Laini Taylor
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/04/11
date added: 2025/05/02
shelves: pre-ordered, z2014-kindle-reads, cat-dystopian-fantasy, cat-ya-fantasy, not-on-audio, audio-book, cat-series-completed
review:
I wanted a bit more from the epilogue, but overall, I'm satisfied withthe ending.
]]> Shroud 230237860 On a planet shrouded in darkness, a stranded crew must fight for survival. But, the darkness may have plans of its own in this wildly original story from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke Award–winning author of Children of Time.

They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . .

New planets are fair game to asset strippers and interplanetary opportunists � and a commercial mission to a distant star system discovers a moon that is pitch black, but alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is anathema to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.

Under no circumstances should a human end up on Shroud’s inhospitable surface. Except a catastrophic accident sees Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne doing just that. Forced to stage an emergency landing, in a small, barely adequate vehicle, they are unable to contact their ship and are running out of time. What follows is a gruelling journey across land, sea and air. During this time, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s dominant species. It also begins to understand them . . .

Ěý±Ő±Ő> 453 Adrian Tchaikovsky Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.57 2025 Shroud
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> ł§±çłÜ˛ą°ů±đÂł 58243480
We think a lot of things. It was perhaps inevitable that some of them would turn out to be wrong.

When the great incursion occurred, no one was prepared. How could they have been? Of all the things physicists had predicted, "the fabric of reality might rip open and giant monsters could come pouring through" had not made the list. But somehow, on a fine morning in May, that was precisely what happened.

For sisters Susan and Katharine Black, the day of the incursion was the day they lost everything. Their home, their parents, their sense of normalcy...and each other, because when the rift opened, Susan was on one side and Katharine was on the other, and each sister was stranded in a separate form of reality. For Susan, it was science and study and the struggle to solve the mystery of the altered physics inside the zones transformed by the incursion. For Katharine, it was monsters and mayhem and the fight to stay alive in a world unlike the world of her birth.

The world has changed. The laws of physics have changed. The girls have changed. And the one universal truth of all states of changed matter is that nothing can be completely restored to what it was originally, no matter how much you might wish it could be.

Nothing goes back.]]> 144 Mira Grant 1645240533 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.82 2021 ł§±çłÜ˛ą°ů±đÂł
author: Mira Grant
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rendezvous with Rama (Rama, #1)]]> 112537 243 Arthur C. Clarke 1857231589 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.12 1973 Rendezvous with Rama (Rama, #1)
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Redheart (Leland Dragon Series)]]> 11097444 304 Jackie Gamber Jesslyn 0 currently-reading 3.71 2008 Redheart (Leland Dragon Series)
author: Jackie Gamber
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Silver and Lead (October Daye, #19)]]> 222376800 Seanan McGuire’s New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated October Daye series continues as Toby Daye is thrust once again into danger... and this time she has more than ever to protect.

Something is rotten in Faerie. In the aftermath of Titania's reality-warping enchantment, things are returning to what passes for normal in the Kingdom in the Mists―until it's discovered that the royal vaults have been looted, and several powerful magical artifacts are missing. None are things that can be safely left unsecured, and some have the potential to do almost as much damage as Titania did, and having them in the wrong hands could prove just as disastrous

At least the theft means that Sir October "Toby" Daye, Knight errant and Hero of the Realm, finally has an excuse to get out of the house. Sure, she's eight and a half months pregnant, but that doesn't mean she can’t take care of herself. But with the sea witch offering to stand godmother to Toby's child, maybe there are greater dangers ahead for Toby and her family than it appears....

Old enemies will resurface, new enemies will disguise themselves as friends, and Queen Windermere must try to keep her Hero on the case without getting herself gutted by the increasingly irritated local King of Cats. Sometimes, what's been lost can be the most dangerous threat of all.]]> 400 Seanan McGuire 1250375193 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.69 2025 Silver and Lead (October Daye, #19)
author: Seanan McGuire
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.69
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Books of Tarzan, Vol 1 (Tarzan, #1-5)]]> 4955917 1. Tarzan of the Apes
2. The Return of Tarzan
3. The Beasts of Tarzan
4. The Son of Tarzan
5. Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar
]]> 1049 Edgar Rice Burroughs Jesslyn 0 currently-reading 4.15 2008 The Books of Tarzan, Vol 1 (Tarzan, #1-5)
author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Long Live the Queen (The Immortal Empire, #3)]]> 17333781 The fantastic conclusion to the Immortal Empire series that started with the spectacular God Save the Queen.Xandra Vardan thought life would be simpler when she accepted the goblin crown and became their queen, but life has only become more complicated. Everyone -- vampires, werewolves, and humans -- wants the goblins on their side, because whoever has the goblins -- wins. With human zealots intent on ridding the world of anyone with plagued blood and supernatural politics taking Britain to the verge of civil war, Xandra's finding out that being queen isn't all it's cracked up to be, and if she doesn't do something fast, hers will be the shortest reign in history.]]> 352 Kate Locke 0316235482 Jesslyn 5 4.12 2013 Long Live the Queen (The Immortal Empire, #3)
author: Kate Locke
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: z2013-kindle-reads, audiobook-whispersync-companion, auto-buy-series, cat-series-completed, cat-steampunk
review:
Wow. A great finish to this trilogy. And like it is with all good books, I want MORE!
]]> <![CDATA[The Queen Is Dead (The Immortal Empire, #2)]]> 17406467 The sequel to Kate Locke's spectacular Immortal Empire series that began in God Save the Queen.Xandra Vardan is the newly crowned Goblin Queen of England. But her complicated life is by no means over. There are the political factions vying for her favor, and the all-too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who wants her head. Not to mention her werewolf boyfriend has demands of his own, and her mother is hell-bent on destroying the monarchy. Now she's the main suspect in a murder investigation -- and Xandra barely knows which way is up.What she does know is that nothing lasts forever -- and immortality isn't all its cracked up to be.]]> 353 Kate Locke 031621535X Jesslyn 5
This was one of those books where I kept nervously looking to see how far along I was because I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for the next one.

I have not been a fan of steampunk OR Victorian fantasy, but I guess I've never read it done right. It was a background to the story--not the story. I highly recommend this to any fan of Urban Fantasy.]]> 4.16 2013 The Queen Is Dead (The Immortal Empire, #2)
author: Kate Locke
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/09
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: z2013-kindle-reads, audio-book, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series, cat-series-not-a-cliffhanger, cat-series-ongoing, cat-steampunk, reviewed, cat-series-completed, re-read
review:
This was just as good as the first book in the series, if not better. Xandy is finding her place in the world and Kate Locke does NOT shy away from her monster. At all.....

This was one of those books where I kept nervously looking to see how far along I was because I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for the next one.

I have not been a fan of steampunk OR Victorian fantasy, but I guess I've never read it done right. It was a background to the story--not the story. I highly recommend this to any fan of Urban Fantasy.
]]> <![CDATA[God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire, #1)]]> 13075038 The first in an alternate fantasy series where vampires, werewolves, and goblins rule London. Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist. The undead matriarch presides over a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. It's a world where the nobility are infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key -- the prize -- in a very dangerous struggle.The fantastic start to The Immortal Empire series that continues with the spectacular undead books, The Queen is Dead and Long Live the Queen.]]> 360 Kate Locke Jesslyn 5
If you are looking for PNR or the detailed love scene, I'm not sure this is the book for you. There is a love interest, but that is not the end game to the story, and while Xandra has a healthy respect for sex, it no more rules her story than it does her mind.

This is a solid UF more along the lines of Kate Daniels than Cat & Bones. I am not sure that calling it UF is correct, it is more of an alternate, steampunky version of the world we live in and I'm not sure if there is an official name for it; it just feels like a UF to me.

Big pluses for me were that despite the fact that this is the 1st in (hopefully a nice long) series, there is no cliffhanger. Nice. This is a self-contained story and my what a good one it is.
------------
Oh my goodness. Reading the 1st 4 chapters (for free on Kindle) and pre-ordered at 39% in. Hopefully they are long chapters because this is GOOD. New take on vamps and other supes. The steampunk elements work well in a Great Britain setting.

I hope the writing and plot live up to the sample. If so, heLLO new favorite author!]]> 3.92 2012 God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire, #1)
author: Kate Locke
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/01
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: cat-series-ongoing, cat-steampunk, z2012-kindle-reads, auto-buy-series, z2013-kindle-reads, audiobook-whispersync-companion, cat-urban-fantasy, reviewed, re-read
review:
Update: I loved this book. I liked the direction that the author took with the character, but I can't really say why without some major, major spoilers, but those of you who like a good story won't be disappointed. One thing that I did enjoy is that the main character was surrounded by her 'people'. In a lot(most?) of UF the main character is so solitary they may as well have grown up in a test tube--despite years of life, there is no 'life' around them. Not here, Xandra's is full of siblings, mentors, long-term acquaintances, etc. It is as full and messy as real life and I appreciated that aspect.

If you are looking for PNR or the detailed love scene, I'm not sure this is the book for you. There is a love interest, but that is not the end game to the story, and while Xandra has a healthy respect for sex, it no more rules her story than it does her mind.

This is a solid UF more along the lines of Kate Daniels than Cat & Bones. I am not sure that calling it UF is correct, it is more of an alternate, steampunky version of the world we live in and I'm not sure if there is an official name for it; it just feels like a UF to me.

Big pluses for me were that despite the fact that this is the 1st in (hopefully a nice long) series, there is no cliffhanger. Nice. This is a self-contained story and my what a good one it is.
------------
Oh my goodness. Reading the 1st 4 chapters (for free on Kindle) and pre-ordered at 39% in. Hopefully they are long chapters because this is GOOD. New take on vamps and other supes. The steampunk elements work well in a Great Britain setting.

I hope the writing and plot live up to the sample. If so, heLLO new favorite author!
]]> Black River Orchard 75352300 A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples� and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. And a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow’s secrets. Because it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.]]> 640 Chuck Wendig 0593158741 Jesslyn 0 2024-audiobooks 4.07 2023 Black River Orchard
author: Chuck Wendig
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: 2024-audiobooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Inheritance of Magic (Inheritance of Magic #1)]]> 78292528 The super-rich control everything—including magic—in this thrilling and brilliant, contemporary fantasy from the author of the Alex Verus novels.

The wealthy seem to exist in a different, glittering world from the rest of us. Almost as if by... magic.

Stephen Oakwood is a young man on the edge of this hidden world. He has talent and potential, but turning that potential into magical power takes money, opportunity, and training. All Stephen has is a minimum wage job and a cat.Ěý

But when a chance encounter with a member of House Ashford gets him noticed by the wrong people, Stephen is thrown in the deep end. For centuries, the vast corporations and aristocratic Houses of the magical world have grown impossibly rich and influential by hoarding their knowledge. To survive, Stephen will have to take his talent and build it up into something greater—for only then can he beat them at their own game.]]> 384 Benedict Jacka 0593549848 Jesslyn 5 4.00 2023 An Inheritance of Magic (Inheritance of Magic #1)
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/23
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: 2024-audiobooks, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series, auto
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Legacy of Orïsha, #3)]]> 68310983 🎧Listening Length = 10 hrs and 2 mins

Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award winner Cynthia Erivo narrates Tomi Adeyemi’s long-awaited conclusion to the #1 NYT Legacy of Orïsha series. Featuring gorgeous spray-painted and stenciled edges, dazzling metallic foil designs on the jacket and case, and an exclusive endpaper map that reveals new unexplored territories, Tomi Adeyemi’s #1 New York Times-bestselling Legacy of Orïsha series comes to an earth-shaking conclusion.

New allies rise.
The Blood Moon nears.
ZĂ©lie faces her final enemy.
The king who hunts her heart.

When Zelie seized the royal palace that fateful night, she thought her battles had come to an end. The monarchy had finally fallen. The maji had risen again. ZĂ©lie never expected to find herself locked in a cage and trapped on a foreign ship. Now warriors with iron skulls traffic her and her people across the seas, far from their homeland.

Then everything changes when Zélie meets King Baldyr, her true captor, the ruler of the Skulls, and the man who has ravaged entire civilizations to find her. Baldyr’s quest to harness Zélie’s strength sends Zélie, Amari, and Tzain searching for allies in unknown lands.

But as Baldyr closes in, catastrophe charges Orïsha’s shores. It will take everything Zélie has to face her final enemy and save her people before the Skulls annihilate them for good.

The Complete Legacy of OrĂŻsha Series:

Children of Blood and Bone (Book 1)
Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Book 2)
Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Book 3)]]> 358 Tomi Adeyemi 1432872575 Jesslyn 0 dnf, 2024-audiobooks 3.36 2024 Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Legacy of OrĂŻsha, #3)
author: Tomi Adeyemi
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: dnf, 2024-audiobooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Son of the Storm (The Nameless Republic, #1)]]> 50718369 From one of the most exciting new storytellers in epic fantasy, Son of the Storm is a sweeping tale of violent conquest and forgotten magic set in a world inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa.

"Everything I love in a fantasy novel. Damn good stuff!" —Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings

In the ancient city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—only he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy.

But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. And the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire.]]> 545 Suyi Davies Okungbowa 0316540390 Jesslyn 0 3.70 2021 Son of the Storm (The Nameless Republic, #1)
author: Suyi Davies Okungbowa
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: dnf, 2024-audiobooks, first-book-didn-t-go-further, may-try-again-later
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Half Wild (The Half Bad Trilogy, #2)]]> 20814989 "You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad."

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he's on the run--but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father.]]> 432 Sally Green 0670017132 Jesslyn 0 3.98 2015 Half Wild (The Half Bad Trilogy, #2)
author: Sally Green
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: z2016-kindle-reads, audiobook-great-narration, audiobook-whispersync-companion, cat-dark-fantasy, cat-alt-reality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Empire of Dreams (Fire and Thorns, #4)]]> 41951615 New York Times-bestselling author Rae Carson makes a triumphant return to the world of her award-winning Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy in this extraordinary stand-alone novel. With action, adventure, and a heroine set on destroying the patriarchal limits meant to keep her in her place, The Empire of Dreams once again proves that Rae Carson is a master of epic fantasy.

Even though Red Sparkle Stone is a foundling orphan with an odd name and a veiled past, she's about to be adopted into the royal family—by Empress Elisa herself. Sixteen-year-old Red can hardly believe her luck. Then, in a stunning political masterstroke, the empress's greatest rival blocks the adoption, and Red is left with no family and no future.

Grieving and lost, but determined to find her place, Red hatches a daring plan: she will prove herself as a recruit for the world's most elite fighting force, the legendary Royal Guard—something no woman has done before. But it's no coincidence that someone wanted her to fail as a princess, someone whose shadowy agenda puts everything she loves at risk. As danger closes in, it will be up to Red and her new friends—and maybe some new enemies—to save the empire. If they can survive recruitment year.]]> 432 Rae Carson 0062691929 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.14 2020 The Empire of Dreams (Fire and Thorns, #4)
author: Rae Carson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Lady of Resources (Magnificent Devices, #5)]]> 17458339
You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family ... or can you?

Now sixteen, the twins Lizzie and Maggie are educated young ladies who have not been called “the Mopsies� in years � except by their guardian, Lady Claire Trevelyan. With the happy prospect of choosing their own future, the girls can leave their dodgy past behind, and Lizzie can bury her deepest childhood memories where they can do no harm. Upon her graduation from school, Lizzie is awarded an enormous honor—but can she pay the price? Is she ready to be separated from Maggie and become the woman she believes she was meant to be—or will old habits tempt her into defiance and plunge her into disaster?

On a dare, Lizzie picks the wrong man's pocket and nearly loses her life. But these frightening events bear unexpected The dream Lizzie holds closest to her heart comes true in a most unexpected way. But this dream, too, comes with a price. Lizzie must decide whether her true family is the one she was born to � or the one she chose that long-ago day when the Lady of Devices steamed into their lives …]]> 256 Shelley Adina 1939087058 Jesslyn 0 3.99 2013 A Lady of Resources (Magnificent Devices, #5)
author: Shelley Adina
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2019/01/08
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Silver's Edge (Shadowlands, #1)]]> 11754548 477 Anne Kelleher 1426847300 Jesslyn 3 4.43 2004 Silver's Edge (Shadowlands, #1)
author: Anne Kelleher
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2010/12/12
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: z2010-kindle-reads, cat-epic-fantasy, cat-series-completed
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Marvellers (The Conjureverse #1)]]> 60550801 New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller!

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts, like brewing Indian spice elixirs and bartering with pesky Irish pixies.

Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn’t easy—some Marvellers mistrust her magic, which they deem “bad and unnatural.� But eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit, a girl who hates magic, and Jason, a boy with a fondness for magical creatures.

When a dangerous criminal known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror’s aid, tensions grow in the Marvellian world and Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family’s name and track down her mentor before it’s too late.]]> 408 Dhonielle Clayton 1250174953 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.15 2022 The Marvellers (The Conjureverse #1)
author: Dhonielle Clayton
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Broken Angel (House Phoenix, #1)]]> 7518711
When Gabriel Morgan's sister disappears somewhere in New York's underground, he'll do anything to save her. But finding her is only the beginning, because Marcus Slade won't let her go for less than ten million dollars - earned through Gabriel's blood.

Slade, one of five ruthless leaders of an organization identified only by a symbol, runs hookers and street fighters, and never gives up what's his. Including Gabriel's sister. To win her freedom, Gabriel is forced to undergo a brutal training program with Slade's top fighters in order to become one of them. He is branded, broken, given a new image, and a new name.

In the ring, Gabriel is known as Angel...and he does not lose. Because the price for losing is his sister's life.

Contains violence, torture and more violence.]]> 232 S.W. Vaughn 161650109X Jesslyn 0 to-read, kindle-sample 3.88 2003 Broken Angel (House Phoenix, #1)
author: S.W. Vaughn
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read, kindle-sample
review:

]]> Alien: Echo 40776737 An original young adult novel of the Alien universeOlivia and her twin sister Viola have been dragged around the universe for as long as they can remember. Their parents, both xenobiologists, are always in high demand for their research into obscure alien biology.Just settled on a new colony world, they discover an alien threat unlike anything they’ve ever seen. And suddenly the sisters� world is ripped apart. On the run from terrifying aliens, Olivia’s knowledge of xenobiology and determination to protect her sister are her only weapons as the colony collapses into chaos. But then a shocking family secret bursts open—one that’s as horrifying to Olivia as the aliens surrounding them.The creatures infiltrate the rich wildlife on this untouched colony world—and quickly start adapting. Olivia’s going to have to adapt, too, if she’s going to survive...An Imprint Book“An electrifying adventure ... Olivia and Kora are smart, strong young women, and their romance, born in the midst of unspeakable horror, is believable. ... A worthy and terrifying addition to a classic sci-fi/horror franchise.� —Kirkus Reviews“Mira Grant blends gritty science fiction, complex characters, and nail-biting horror in Echo! A spellbinding novel of courage and terror.� —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times–bestselling author of Broken Lands and editor of Bug Hunt]]> 299 Mira Grant 1250306302 Jesslyn 0 3.77 2019 Alien: Echo
author: Mira Grant
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: 2019-pub-dates, put-aside-for-now
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dragon Haven (Rain Wilds Chronicles #2)]]> 8305126 526 Robin Hobb 0061993484 Jesslyn 4 4.28 2010 Dragon Haven (Rain Wilds Chronicles #2)
author: Robin Hobb
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2010/05/24
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: z2010-kindle-reads, reviewed, cat-epic-fantasy, cat-series-ongoing
review:
Wow, was this good! Much of the depressing hopelessness that I found in Ms Hobb's previous books was totally missing. My only complaint is that some of the storyline seems unfinished and two characters were not as likable as I may have wanted, I would love more tales of anyone of the characters in these books.
]]> <![CDATA[The Emperor's Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1)]]> 48909368
Multiple races care­fully navi­gate the City of Elantra under the Dragon Emperor’s wing. His Impe­rial Wolves are execu­tioners, the smallest group to serve in the Halls of Law. The popu­lace calls them assas­sins.

Every wolf candi­date must consent to a full exam­i­na­tion by the Tha’alani, one of the most feared and distrusted races in Elantra for their ability to read minds. Most candi­dates don’t finish their job inter­views.

Severn Handred, the newest poten­tial recruit, is deter­mined to face and pass this final test — even if by doing so he’s exposing secrets he has never shared.

When an inter­ro­ga­tion uncovers the connec­tions to a two-decade-old series of murders of the Tha’alani, the Wolves are commanded to hunt. Severn’s first job will be joining the chase. From the High Halls to the Tha’alani quarter, from the Oracles to the Emperor, secrets are uncov­ered, tensions are raised and justice just might be done…if Severn can survive.]]> 496 Michelle Sagara 148805648X Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.55 2020 The Emperor's Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1)
author: Michelle Sagara
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Natural Evil (Elder Races, #4.5)]]> 13421518
A Novella of the Elder Races



Claudia Hunter is on a road trip through the Nevada desert when she sees the body of a dog on the side of the highway. Pulling over to investigate, she quickly determines that the enormous animal is clinging to life. While working to save him with the help of the local vet, Claudia realizes there’s something about the creature that seems more. Other. Wyr. Which makes this case of animal cruelty attempted murder.

Too injured to shape shift, Luis Alvaraz is reluctant to tell Claudia what he knows about his attack, afraid it will only make her a target. But the sheriff is corrupt, and his attackers know Luis is alive and vulnerable. To make matters worse, a sandstorm is sweeping into town, and if they're going to survive the night, Luis will have to place all his trust in Claudia.



Take a gorgeous man temporarily stuck in the dog house, add a strong, take-no-prisoners woman, mix in encroaching enemies and a raging sandstorm and stir to combine. Enjoy with a freshly opened can of whoop-ass.]]> 102 Thea Harrison 1619211106 Jesslyn 0 3.74 2012 Natural Evil (Elder Races, #4.5)
author: Thea Harrison
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2012/03/25
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: z2012-kindle-reads, cat-pnr-fantasy, cat-series-ongoing, cat-urban-fantasy, put-aside-for-now
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Must Love Hellhounds (Sookie Stackhouse, #9.2; Guild Hunter, #0.5; Kate Daniels, #3.5; The Guardians, #5.5)]]> 8137939 From New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook come four paranormal tales of man’s worst friend...Follow paranormal bodyguards Clovache and Batanya into Lucifer’s realm, where they encounter his fearsome four-legged pets, in Charlaine Harris’s “The Britlingens Go to Hell.â€� Seek out a traitor in the midst of a guild of non-lethal vampire trackers, one that intends to eradicate the entire species of bloodsuckers, in Nalini Singh’s “Angelsâ€� Judgment.â€� Find out why the giant three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades has left the underworld for the real world—and whose scent he’s following—in Ilona Andrews’s “Magic Mourns.â€� Embark on a perilous search for the kidnapped niece of a powerful vampire alongside her blind—and damn sexy—companion and a hellhound in Meljean Brook’sĚý“Blind Spot.”]]> 249 Charlaine Harris 1101140070 Jesslyn 0 z2010-kindle-reads 3.84 2009 Must Love Hellhounds (Sookie Stackhouse, #9.2; Guild Hunter, #0.5; Kate Daniels, #3.5; The Guardians, #5.5)
author: Charlaine Harris
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at: 2010/06/19
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: z2010-kindle-reads
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death's Rival (Jane Yellowrock, #5)]]> 12889903
For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey.]]> 338 Faith Hunter 1101596546 Jesslyn 3
I loved the mystery, the growth of Beast, the new insights to Jane's past and the bit more to the history of the vamps. Jane? Not so much.

Merged review:

I am wondering what happened to the kick-ass, I don't care Jane? This one is turning into romantic mushy kitty. Who despite being in love, is considering falling into bed with someone else.

I loved the mystery, the growth of Beast, the new insights to Jane's past and the bit more to the history of the vamps. Jane? Not so much.]]> 4.31 2012 Death's Rival (Jane Yellowrock, #5)
author: Faith Hunter
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2012/10/08
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: z2012-kindle-reads, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series, cat-series-ongoing, cat-urban-fantasy
review:
I am wondering what happened to the kick-ass, I don't care Jane? This one is turning into romantic mushy kitty. Who despite being in love, is considering falling into bed with someone else.

I loved the mystery, the growth of Beast, the new insights to Jane's past and the bit more to the history of the vamps. Jane? Not so much.

Merged review:

I am wondering what happened to the kick-ass, I don't care Jane? This one is turning into romantic mushy kitty. Who despite being in love, is considering falling into bed with someone else.

I loved the mystery, the growth of Beast, the new insights to Jane's past and the bit more to the history of the vamps. Jane? Not so much.
]]> <![CDATA[The Theft of Sunlight (Dauntless Path, #2)]]> 54283423 I did not choose this fate. But I will not walk away from it.

Children have been disappearing from across Menaiya for longer than Amraeya ni Ansarim can remember. When her friend’s sister is snatched, Rae knows she can’t look away any longer—even if that means seeking answers from the royal court, where her country upbringing and clubfoot will only invite ridicule.

Yet the court holds its share of surprises. There she discovers an ally in the foreign princess, who recruits her as an attendant. Armed with the princess’s support, Rae seeks answers in the dark city streets, finding unexpected help in a rough-around-the-edges street thief with secrets of his own.

But treachery runs deep, and the more Rae uncovers, the more she endangers the kingdom itself.]]> 526 Intisar Khanani 0062835769 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.47 2021 The Theft of Sunlight (Dauntless Path, #2)
author: Intisar Khanani
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Deep 43438782 Octavia E. Butler meets Marvel’s Black Panther in The Deep, a story rich with Afrofuturism, folklore, and the power of memory, inspired by the Hugo Award–nominated song “The Deep� from Daveed Diggs’s rap group clipping.

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.

Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.

The Deep is “a tour de force reorientation of the storytelling gaze…a superb, multilayered work,� (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and a vividly original and uniquely affecting story inspired by a song produced by the rap group clipping.]]> 175 Rivers Solomon Jesslyn 0 I can't wait to get this....]]> 3.81 2019 The Deep
author: Rivers Solomon
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/11/15
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves:
review:
Holy sh*t! THE PREMISE!
I can't wait to get this....
]]> <![CDATA[The Scent of Shadows (Signs of the Zodiac, #1)]]> 8247428 should be dead.

Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset—a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow—seeking answers to whom or what she really is . . . and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure.

But the nightmare is just beginning—for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful shadows want her for their own . . .]]> 464 Vicki Pettersson 0062015303 Jesslyn 3 z2010-kindle-reads 3.47 2007 The Scent of Shadows (Signs of the Zodiac, #1)
author: Vicki Pettersson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2010/05/31
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: z2010-kindle-reads
review:

]]> Dragon Virus 19292493
They were wrong.


Every racial type. Almost every continent. No known cause. Human-created, maybe. Or just God, throwing the dice. Infecting us, warping us. Tied into our genetic code, from here on in. No known treatment. No idea where even to begin.

Everything was about to change.
-------------------------

Six connected stories, charting the end � beginning � of everything we know, everything we fear, everything we hope for�.]]> 86 Laura Anne Gilman 1611381789 Jesslyn 0 to-read 2.96 2011 Dragon Virus
author: Laura Anne Gilman
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 2.96
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood's Pride (Shattered Kingdoms, #1)]]> 18798723
Now, two decades after the invasion, a rebellion gathers strength in the dark corridors of the city. A small faction of Shadari have hired the Mongrel, an infamous mercenary, to aid their fledgling uprising—but with her own shadowy ties to the region, she is a frighteningly volatile ally. Has she really come to lead a revolution, or for a more sinister purpose all her own?]]> 529 Evie Manieri 1429959959 Jesslyn 5 3.11 2012 Blood's Pride (Shattered Kingdoms, #1)
author: Evie Manieri
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.11
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2013/06/26
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: z2013-kindle-reads, auto-buy-series, cat-epic-fantasy, cat-series-not-a-cliffhanger, cat-series-ongoing
review:

]]> Arcanum 19448866 784 Simon Morden 0316220094 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.73 2013 Arcanum
author: Simon Morden
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cress: Chapters 1-5 18665229
Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker � unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.
]]> 52 Marissa Meyer 1466858419 Jesslyn 0 dnf 4.54 2013 Cress: Chapters 1-5
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sevenfold Spell (Accidental Enchantments, #1)]]> 8502650 Have you ever wondered what happens to the other people in the fairy tale?Things look grim for Talia and her mother. By royal proclamation, the constables and those annoying "good" fairies have taken away their livelihood by confiscating their spinning wheel. Something to do with a curse on the princess, they said.Not every young lady has a fairy godmother rushing to her rescue.Without the promise of an income from spinning, Talia's prospects for marriage disappear, and she and her mother face destitution. Past caring about breaking an arbitrary and cruel law, rebellious Talia determines to build a new spinning wheel, the only one in the nation--which plays right into the evil fairy's diabolical plan. Talia discovers that finding a happy ending requires sacrifice. But is it a sacrifice she's willing to make?]]> 97 Tia Nevitt 1426890605 Jesslyn 0 z2011-kindle-reads, dnf 3.46 2010 The Sevenfold Spell (Accidental Enchantments, #1)
author: Tia Nevitt
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2011/03/28
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: z2011-kindle-reads, dnf
review:

]]> Servant Mage 55810656 Kate Elliott's Servant Mage is a fun secondary world fantasy from one of the best writers working in the genre.

They choose their laws to secure their power.

Fellion is a Lamplighter, able to provide illumination through magic. A group of rebel Monarchists free her from indentured servitude and take her on a journey to rescue trapped compatriots from an underground complex of mines.

Along the way they get caught up in a conspiracy to kill the latest royal child and wipe out the Monarchist movement for good.

But Fellian has more than just her Lamplighting skills up her sleeve…]]> 169 Kate Elliott 1250769043 Jesslyn 0 currently-reading 3.80 2022 Servant Mage
author: Kate Elliott
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Glass Magician 43412502 A gilded menagerie rules a Gilded Age: Bears and Bulls are not only real, but dominate humanity in The Glass Magician, an amazing historical fantasy by Caroline Stevermer

What if you could turn into the animal of your heart anytime you want?

With such power, you’d enter the cream of New York society, guaranteed a rich life among the Vanderbilts and Astors, movers and shakers who all have the magical talent and own the nation on the cusp of a new century.
You could. If you were a Trader.

Pity you’re not.

Thalia is a Solitaire, one of the masses who don’t have the animalistic magic. But that is not to say that she doesn’t have talent of another kind—she is a rising stage magician who uses her very human skills to dazzle audiences with amazing feats of prestidigitation. Until one night when a trick goes horribly awry…and Thalia makes a discovery that changes her entire world. And sets her on a path that could bring her riches.

Or kill her.

]]> 288 Caroline Stevermer 1466820837 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.51 2020 The Glass Magician
author: Caroline Stevermer
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Only a Monster (Monsters, #1) 53183779 In every story there is a hero and a monster.

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother's eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

Then a Good Samaritan attempt gone wrong sends Joan spinning through time, and her life quickly begins to unravel.
Her family aren't just they're monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers.And Nick isn't just a cute he's a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She'll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero.]]> 368 Vanessa Len 1529380073 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.91 2022 Only a Monster (Monsters, #1)
author: Vanessa Len
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire, #1)]]> 22699128
The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy -- a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice.

Five dragonets are collected to fulfill the prophecy, raised in a hidden cave and enlisted, against their will, to end the terrible war.

But not every dragonet wants a destiny. And when the select five escape their underground captors to look for their original homes, what has been unleashed on the dragon world may be far more than the revolutionary planners intended . . .]]> 286 Tui T. Sutherland 0545443172 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.49 2012 The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire, #1)
author: Tui T. Sutherland
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Shadowplay (Shadowmarch, #2) 10296742 784 Tad Williams 1101218649 Jesslyn 3 4.18 2007 Shadowplay (Shadowmarch, #2)
author: Tad Williams
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2011/01/14
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: z2011-kindle-reads, cat-epic-fantasy, cat-series-completed
review:
While I enjoyed the book, it definitely had a 'middle' book feel. Much was revealed to the reader (if not the characters) and I'm already trying to predict certain outcomes. One thing that I'm liking is that the bad guys aren't evil incarnate. We don't get to know them as well as our heroes in this story, but what we do see is not one dimensional.
]]> <![CDATA[Bewitched & Betrayed (Raine Benares, #4)]]> 8416836 New from the national bestselling author of The Trouble with Demons

Raine Benares is a seeker. She finds lost things and missing people- usually alive. But now she's been bonded with the Saghred, a soul- stealing stone of unlimited power, and must hunt down its escapees. Especially since one of them is also hunting her...


]]> 382 Lisa Shearin 1101187050 Jesslyn 3 I would also like to see some more satellite character development and not just descriptions.
Okay--this sounds like a harsh commentary on the book, but in general its a fast read with lots of action and it was well written.]]> 4.10 2010 Bewitched & Betrayed (Raine Benares, #4)
author: Lisa Shearin
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2010/05/20
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: z2010-kindle-reads, reviewed, cat-series-ongoing, cat-pnr-fantasy
review:
I liked this book, but was able to put it down for days at a time; it just didn't keep me like the previous installments. I think part was due to the fact that I felt the author chickened out of the 'darker' relationship between Raines and Tam in favor of the 'good guy' Mychael, by making him more mysterious and with some shade to his past. That was just a cop-out in my opinion.
I would also like to see some more satellite character development and not just descriptions.
Okay--this sounds like a harsh commentary on the book, but in general its a fast read with lots of action and it was well written.
]]> <![CDATA[Wicked Like a Wildfire (Hibiscus Daughter, #1)]]> 32051569 “Lush. Delicious. Bewildering. And darkly magical. Popovic has created a world that you tumble into from the very first words and wish you could stay in forever.� —Evelyn Skye, author of The Crown's Game

�Wicked Like a Wildfire was like devouring a succulent fairy fruit—it will rob your time, settle into your dreams, and leave you starving for more.� —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen

Fans of Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo will be bewitched by Lana Popovic's debut YA fantasy novel about a bargain that binds the fates—and hearts—of twin sisters to a force larger than life.

All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleamâ€� to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love.Ěý

But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

Wicked Like a Wildfire is the first in a two-book series. Readers will be rapt with anticipation for the sequel.]]> 411 Lana Popović 0062436856 Jesslyn 4 3.53 2017 Wicked Like a Wildfire (Hibiscus Daughter, #1)
author: Lana Popović
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/11/30
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Burn Out (Burn Out, #1) 17620859
Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone--her brilliant scientist father murdered, her mother and sister burned to death. She dreams of living on a planet with oceans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, the oceans dried out ages ago, the only plants are giant cacti with deadly spines, and her pet, Trigger, is a gun--one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in.

When family friend, Markus, arrives with mercenaries to take the weapons by force, Tora's fury turns to fear when government ships descend in an attempt to kill them all. She forges an unlikely alliance with Markus and his rag-tag group of raiders, including a smart but quiet soldier named James. Tora must quickly figure out who she can trust, as she must choose between saving herself by giving up the guns or honoring her father's request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.]]> 272 Kristi Helvig 1606844806 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.68 2014 Burn Out (Burn Out, #1)
author: Kristi Helvig
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sword-Bound 19108168
Thus challenged by his own flesh-and-blood to reclaim his legendary status, Tiger, accompanied by Del and his son, embarks on a journey northwards that will test his sword skill and resolve, and lead him and Del into danger from an old enemy. Though Tiger had forsaken his magic years before, he now faces the choice to reclaim it, and to wield it, in order to save those he loves.]]> 352 Jennifer Roberson 1101625813 Jesslyn 0 to-read, cat-overpriced 4.47 2013 Sword-Bound
author: Jennifer Roberson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read, cat-overpriced
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)]]> 15810910
Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.

The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.]]> 513 Django Wexler 0451465105 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.03 2013 The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)
author: Django Wexler
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Iron Crowned (Dark Swan, #3) 10591066 Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land's queen, she's fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear. . .

Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown's ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation--one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril. . .

Praise for Richelle Mead's Storm Born. . .

"My kind of book--great characters, dark worlds, and just the right touch of humor. A great read." --Patricia Briggs, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author]]> 385 Richelle Mead 1420122525 Jesslyn 2
It was nice to see a little more from Eugenie interacting with Jasmine, but other than that, we didn't see much more character/relationship development. There was one relationship that I won't go into so I don't spoil it-it has no great bearing on anything else in the book.

The other relationships in the book are what left me with mixed feelings. Somebody tell me, does Eugenie have all the maturity of a 12 year old, or what? Snap reverse decisions, no coherent thought processes, selfish and petulant foot stomping revenge impulses. Ugh. That was in relationships, but her actions elsewhere in the book seem as shallow. ĚýForgetting to get healed before a major AND dangerous mission?Ěý

I'm not one to really care about the sex in a book, but every sex scene seemed to be a list to me. "he did this, so I did that and then I came" list. Since I'm not one to care, I'll leave further comment to others.

Ultimately, Eugenie's actions and demeanor in this book made the whole thing fall flat for me. I wanted to give it a three because it's not a bad book. It's well written and the story advances. Unfortunately, the main character is flatter than the other characters, which ruined it for me.]]> 4.04 2011 Iron Crowned (Dark Swan, #3)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2011/02/26
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: z2011-kindle-reads, kindle-lendable, reviewed, cat-series-ongoing, cat-urban-fantasy
review:
I wanted to like Iron Crowned more than I did, but it left me with mixed feelings overall. ĚýThe storyline from the previous books progressed a respectable amount, but there wasn't as much in character development.

It was nice to see a little more from Eugenie interacting with Jasmine, but other than that, we didn't see much more character/relationship development. There was one relationship that I won't go into so I don't spoil it-it has no great bearing on anything else in the book.

The other relationships in the book are what left me with mixed feelings. Somebody tell me, does Eugenie have all the maturity of a 12 year old, or what? Snap reverse decisions, no coherent thought processes, selfish and petulant foot stomping revenge impulses. Ugh. That was in relationships, but her actions elsewhere in the book seem as shallow. ĚýForgetting to get healed before a major AND dangerous mission?Ěý

I'm not one to really care about the sex in a book, but every sex scene seemed to be a list to me. "he did this, so I did that and then I came" list. Since I'm not one to care, I'll leave further comment to others.

Ultimately, Eugenie's actions and demeanor in this book made the whole thing fall flat for me. I wanted to give it a three because it's not a bad book. It's well written and the story advances. Unfortunately, the main character is flatter than the other characters, which ruined it for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad: Book One of the Puppetman Quartet]]> 24366296
Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad -- book four of the original Wild Cards series now in trade paperback—featuring two brand-new stories

The action-packed alternate fantasy returns for a new generation, featuring fiction from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, Michael Cassutt, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Lewis Shiner, and more—plus two completely new stories from Kevin Andrew Murphy and bestselling author Carrie Vaughn. Forty years after the Wild Card Virus’s release, the World Health Organization decides it’s time to take a delegation of Aces, Jokers, politicians, and journalists on a fact-finding mission to learn how other countries are dealing with the virus that reshaped humanity. Leading the team is Gregg Hartmann, a senator with presidential aspirations and a dangerous ace up his sleeve. Joining him is a menagerie of some of the series� best and most popular Wild Cards, including Dr. Tachyon, aces Peregrine and Golden Boy, and jokers Chrysalis, Troll, and Father Squid. From the jungles of Haiti and Peru to the tumultuous political climate of Egypt, from a monastery in Japan to the streets of the most glamorous cities of Europe, the Wild Cards are in for an eye-opening trip. While some are worshiped as actual gods, those possessing the most extreme mutations are treated with a contempt that's all too familiar to the delegates from Jokertown. New alliances will be formed, new enemies will be made, and some actions will fulfill centuries-old prophecies that make ripples throughout the future of the Wild Cards universe.

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

]]> 528 George R.R. Martin 1466824360 Jesslyn 0 to-read, pre-ordered 3.89 1988 Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad: Book One of the Puppetman Quartet
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1988
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: to-read, pre-ordered
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]]> <![CDATA[Royal Airs (Elemental Blessings, #2)]]> 13578466
Josetta is a princess of one of the Five Families. But she is far from the throne, so she is free to spend her days working in the poorest sections of the city.

Rafe Adova, an outcast since he was born, lives the life of a career gambler in those slums. He has no ambition other than cheating at the card tables—until the night he decides to help a girl named Corene, who looks like she's stumbled into the wrong bar. She, too, is a princess—sister to Josetta, who finds her with Rafe. He fascinates her.

Josetta has never encountered anyone like him—someone seemingly devoid of elemental blessings. He is drawn to her, though he thinks they are unlikely to ever meet again—but their connection grows strong when she nurses him back to health after he is assaulted by foreign mercenaries.

And when they learn the reason he's being hunted, they know that the truth about his history could endanger not only their love but also their very lives...]]> 416 Sharon Shinn 1101589760 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.87 2013 Royal Airs (Elemental Blessings, #2)
author: Sharon Shinn
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Never Deal with Dragons (Never Deal with Dragons, #1)]]> 17798617
Myrna would love to show Trian the door, but he's been sent by North America's reigning dragon lord for help negotiating a truce with a powerful rival to avert war. Myrna agrees to help, even though she'll be stuck with Trian as a partner.

As the two work together, Myrna finds Trian to be surprisingly supportive—and still irresistibly attractive. Though her brain tells her not to forget his betrayal, her body feels differently. When they learn the enemy dragon lord is planning something no one could have imagined, Myrna has to learn who she can trust before she loses not only her heart, but her life.]]> 209 Lorenda Christensen 1426895860 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.52 2013 Never Deal with Dragons (Never Deal with Dragons, #1)
author: Lorenda Christensen
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mortal Coils (The Mortal Coils Series Book 1)]]> 19796769
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.]]> 672 Eric S. Nylund 1429982373 Jesslyn 5 4.29 2009 Mortal Coils (The Mortal Coils Series Book 1)
author: Eric S. Nylund
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: cat-epic-fantasy, cat-series-ongoing
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Green Man's Heir (Green Man, #1)]]> 39322199 368 Juliet E. McKenna 190803968X Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.92 2018 The Green Man's Heir (Green Man, #1)
author: Juliet E. McKenna
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> An Academy for Liars 203956639 A student will find that the hardest lessons sometimes come outside the classroom in this stunning dark academia novel from the acclaimed author of The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger.

Lennon Carter’s life is falling apart.

Then she gets a mysterious phone call inviting her to take the entrance exam for Drayton College, a school of magic hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah. Lennon has been chosen because—like everyone else at the school—she has the innate gift of persuasion, the ability to wield her will like a weapon, using it to control others and, in rare cases, matter itself.

After passing the test, Lennon begins to learn how to master her devastating and unsettling power. But despite persuasion’s heavy toll on her body and mind, she is wholly captivated by her studies, by Drayton’s lush, moss-draped campus, and by her brilliant classmates. But even more captivating is her charismatic adviser, Dante, who both intimidates and enthralls her.

As Lennon continues in her studies her control grows, and she starts to uncover more about the secret world she has entered into, including the disquieting history of Drayton College, and the way her mentor’s tragic and violent past intertwines with it. She is increasingly disturbed by what she learns. For it seems that the ultimate test is to embrace absolute power without succumbing to corruption . . . and it's a test she's terrified she is going to fail.]]> 464 Alexis Henderson 0593638301 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.44 2024 An Academy for Liars
author: Alexis Henderson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/22
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]]> <![CDATA[Junkyard Roadhouse (Junkyard Cats #4)]]> 213860604 JUNKYARD ROADHOUSE - novella 4

Shining Smith stands on the brink of achieving her goals, and yet now she could lose everything.

The presidents of four motorcycle clubs are coming to claim blood sacrifice and to ink her with motorcycle club tats. Her new roadhouse and its charter have to meet their approval or the roadhouse has no future, and neither does Shining.

An injured kid shows up at Smith’s Junk and Scrap, but collapses before he can speak.

A note arrives containing a warning and a plea for help, addressed by someone who knows Shining’s most intimate secrets—her history, her plans, and the names of her friends. The sender claims his daughter has been kidnapped by Shining’s enemies. To keep her secrets, he wants Shining to get his daughter back.

In order to rescue the hostage and keep her junkyard, her roadhouse, her people, and the cats alive, Shining Smith will have to suffer, fight, and bargain her way out of danger. All without accidently transitioning anyone—creating an accidental thrall—no matter how much her nanobots want her to.

Lock and load. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.]]> 147 Faith Hunter 1622681797 Jesslyn 5 4.52 2024 Junkyard Roadhouse (Junkyard Cats #4)
author: Faith Hunter
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2024
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/08/22
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]]> <![CDATA[A Curse of Krakens (The Seven Kennings, #3)]]> 52577048 From the New York Times bestselling creator of The Iron Druid Chronicles comes the final book in the epic fantasy trilogy that began with A Plague of Giants, about a war that broke a continent—and opened the door to a new world.Seeker and SowerPen Yas ben Min’s cousin was one of the legendary heroes of the wars against the giants until her untimely death. Pen has grown up in her famous cousin’s shadow, but when she’s given a quest to plant the seed of the magical Fourth Tree, she has a chance to step into the light—and usher in a new age for her country.Fighter and FriendAbhi’s life—and the world—changed when he discovered a lost the power to speak to animals. After fighting so many battles, he’s weary and longs for home and his love, Tamhan. But before he can return, there is one last mission that only Abhi can to speak to the colossal creatures who wait beneath the waves—the krakens.Sailor and ExplorerKoesha and her shipmates have already made an impossible journey by navigating the Northern Yawn, at the end of which she secured an unusual cloak. But when that cloak turns out to be the key to unlocking the mystery of the Seventh Kenning, Koesha has to risk everything on another life-threatening journey and hope that she can steer her crew to safety.Don’t miss any of Kevin Hearne’s action-packed Seven Kennings seriesA PLAGUE OF GIANTS A BLIGHT OF BLACKWINGS A CURSE OF KRAKENS]]> 512 Kevin Hearne Jesslyn 4 to-read 4.27 2023 A Curse of Krakens (The Seven Kennings, #3)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Fate's Edge (The Edge, #3) 11600952
Audrey Callahan has a unique talent: no door is closed to her; and � thanks to her Edge family, a motley crew of grifters and layabouts � she's a consummate conwoman. But she's severed all ties with her past, finally gotten a legitimate job in The Broken, and Audrey couldn’t be happier. But now her dad has swindled her into one last job...

What do you get when you take the best thief, grifter and gambler make him into a secret agent? You get Kaldar Mar. Judge Dobe probably put it best, “I guess you’re familiar with the law. You hit it over the head, set its house on fire, and got its sister pregnant.� Deeply scarred by his aunt’s death, Kaldar has some scores to settle � and his new assignment might let him do just that. A priceless object has been stolen and Kaldar must retrieve it at any cost. Piece of cake…until Audrey shows up after the same item.

So what happens when a former thief finds herself matching wits with a jack of all trades? One thing is certain: Neither one will ever be the same.]]> 385 Ilona Andrews Jesslyn 5 4.32 2011 Fate's Edge (The Edge, #3)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2012/08/10
date added: 2024/08/09
shelves: auto-buy-author, z2012-kindle-reads, auto-buy-series, cat-series-ongoing
review:

]]> Steel's Edge (The Edge, #4) 12119496 The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is a fairy tale—and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny�

Charlotte de Ney is as noble as they come, a blueblood straight out of the Weird. But even though she possesses rare magical healing abilities, her life has brought her nothing but pain. After her marriage crumbles, she flees to the Edge to build a new home for herself. Until Richard Mar is brought to her for treatment, and Charlotte’s life is turned upside down once again.

Richard is a swordsman without peer, future head of his large and rambunctious Edger clan—and he’s on a clandestine quest to wipe out slavers trafficking humans in the Weird. So when his presence leads his very dangerous enemies to Charlotte, she vows to help Richard destroy them. The slavers� operation, however, goes deeper than Richard knows, and even working together, Charlotte and Richard may not survive...]]> 388 Ilona Andrews 1937007820 Jesslyn 4 4.16 2012 Steel's Edge (The Edge, #4)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/18
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: z2012-kindle-reads, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series, cat-series-ongoing
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark, #0.5)]]> 6388558
She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen the jewel which commands her, giving him absolute power over her. While he possesses it, he can make her do anything, and he plans to in order for her to experience firsthand the agonizing, unending lust she'd purposely subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Wroth realizes he wants more from her and frees her, will she come.

Note: First published in the 2006 anthology, Playing Easy to Get.]]> 163 Kresley Cole Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.04 2006 The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark, #0.5)
author: Kresley Cole
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 12983100 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee Jesslyn 4 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/12/20
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: z2013-kindle-reads, audiobook-whispersync-companion, audiobook-discounted, cat-dystopian-fantasy, cat-series-ongoing, cat-ya-fantasy, cat-series-not-a-cliffhanger
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Chrystallia and the Source of Light]]> 19291487
With their house about to be foreclosed on, thirteen-year-old Maggie is hurt and angry at being so helpless; she doesn’t believe in anything she can’t touch or see. Her nine-year-old brother, Jesse, lives in hope; he believes in the need to believe.
On a quest to find the Wizard of Iz beyond the Lands of Magma and the shadow forests of Fossilia, Jesse and Maggie must evade the evil Red and Orange Sapphire princes, the formidable King Beryl the Bloo, and the wrath of the powerful Holy Clear in order to find the source of light and the truth about themselves so they can find their way home.
With the help of the wise and beautiful Princess Amethyst and an unlikely band of crystal creatures, Maggie and Jesse learn that the things that scare them most can waken them to their greatest treasures.]]> 301 Paul Michael Glaser 1608322343 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.43 2011 Chrystallia and the Source of Light
author: Paul Michael Glaser
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Human Rites (Her Majesty's Royal Coven, #3)]]> 214648400 Pre-order now!]]> 0 Juno Dawson 0008478627 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.36 2025 Human Rites (Her Majesty's Royal Coven, #3)
author: Juno Dawson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/25
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]]> <![CDATA[Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)]]> 85302 here.

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization--- the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on the earth... the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.]]> 569 Dan Brown 0671027360 Jesslyn 0 3.75 2000 Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)
author: Dan Brown
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/31
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]]> Blood Scion (Blood Scion #1) 58329290 This is what they deserve. They wanted me to be a monster. I will be the worst monster they ever created.

Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.

Under the Lucis� brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.

Sloane rises through the ranks and gains strength but, in doing so, risks something greater: losing herself entirely, and becoming the very monster that she ahbors.

Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, this deeply felt and emotionally charged debut from Deborah Falaye, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and Daughter of Smoke and Bone that will utterly thrill and capture readers.]]> 432 Deborah Falaye 0062954040 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.85 2022 Blood Scion (Blood Scion #1)
author: Deborah Falaye
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/03/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Most Boring Book Ever 207974153 48 Brandon Sanderson 1250843669 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.91 2024 The Most Boring Book Ever
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/02/29
shelves: to-read
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]]> Virals (Virals, #1) 7800188
As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot--if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends--they're a pack. They are Virals.]]> 454 Kathy Reichs 1595143424 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.95 2010 Virals (Virals, #1)
author: Kathy Reichs
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Folded Sky 179012648
Praise for Elizabeth Bear

'Like the best of speculative fiction, Bear has created a fascinating and complete universe
that blends high-tech gadgetry with Old World adventure and political collusion' Publishers Weekly

'This is certainly the best science fiction novel I've read in 2019 so far and I look forward to see how Bear develops the characters and her impressively rich universe' (POPULAR SCIENCE)

'Elizabeth Bear is just as comfortable writing steampunk and fantasy as she is hard science fiction, and Ancestral Night, first half of a duology, brims with heady concepts and sleek far-future hardware. There is a mordant wit at work' (FINANCIAL TIMES)

'Awesome, awe-inspiring space opera. Fittingly, it shifts from weighty themes to lighter humour with dexterity, grace and crackling dialogue' (Daily Mail)

'Bear has constructed a fascinating, absorbing universe populated with compelling and intelligent characters who conform to neither clichés nor stereotypes. It's sci-fi of the top order' (popmatters.com)]]> 0 Elizabeth Bear 1473233569 Jesslyn 0 to-read 0.0 The Folded Sky
author: Elizabeth Bear
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)]]> 18158562
Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should--and should not--marry.

Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously,ĚýcrazilyĚý°ůľ±ł¦łó.±Ő±Ő> 546 Kevin Kwan 0385536984 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.99 2013 Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)
author: Kevin Kwan
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[City of Last Chances (The Tyrant Philosophers, #1)]]> 60147395
There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.
What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?
Despite the city's refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood � that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.

Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.

Ilmar,
City of Long Shadows.
City of Bad Decisions.
City of Last Chances.]]> 500 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1801108420 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.85 2022 City of Last Chances (The Tyrant Philosophers, #1)
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> VenCo 60877589
Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money.

Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon links her to VenCo’s network of witches throughout North America. Generations of witches have been waiting for centuries for the seven spoons to come together, igniting a new era, and restoring women to their rightful power.

But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He’s Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.

To find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where the final showdown will determine whether VenCo will usher in a new beginning…or remain underground forever.]]> 400 Cherie Dimaline 0063054892 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.75 2023 VenCo
author: Cherie Dimaline
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sword Catcher (The Chronicles of Castellane, #1)]]> 36679274
Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces.

As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?]]> 624 Cassandra Clare 0525619992 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.79 2023 Sword Catcher (The Chronicles of Castellane, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Familiar 133286777 From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 387 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.74 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Ferryman 61282437 New York Times bestselling author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia--where the truth isn't what it seems.

Founded by a mysterious genius, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera's lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process--and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he's been dreaming--which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group--known as "Arrivalists"--who may be fomenting revolution.

Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized--and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.]]> 538 Justin Cronin 052561947X Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.86 2023 The Ferryman
author: Justin Cronin
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1)]]> 48727813 Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist

"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister

She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.

To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything

“I refuse to be nothing…�

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness�

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future her brother's abandoned greatness.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 416 Shelley Parker-Chan 1250621798 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.87 2021 She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1)
author: Shelley Parker-Chan
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy, #2)]]> 169485073 This highly anticipated follow-up to The Will of the Many—one of 2023’s most lauded and bestselling fantasy novels—follows Vis as he grapples with a dangerous secret that could change the course of history across alternate dimensions.


OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM.

The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. Still hail me as Catenicus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am.

But with all that has happened—with what I fear is coming—I am not sure it matters anymore.

I am no longer one. I won the Iudicium, and lost everything—and now, impossibly, the ancient device beyond the Labyrinth has replicated me across three separate worlds. A different version of myself in each of Obiteum, Luceum, and Res. Three different bodies, three different lives. I have to hide; fight; play politics. I have to train; trust; lie. I have to kill; heal; prove myself again, and again, and again.

I am loved, and hated, and entirely alone.

Above all, though, I need to find answers before it’s too late. To understand the nature of what has happened to me, and why.

I need to find a way to stop the coming Cataclysm, because if all I have learned is true, I may be the only one who can.]]> James Islington Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.69 2025 The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy, #2)
author: James Islington
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.69
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)]]> 8130423 In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth - a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.]]> 361 Rick Riordan Jesslyn 0 4.44 2008 The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/16
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]]> Raybearer (Raybearer, #1) 49655321
Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself? With extraordinary world-building and breathtaking prose, Raybearer is the story of loyalty, fate, and the lengths we’re willing to go for the ones we love.]]> 428 Jordan Ifueko 1683357191 Jesslyn 3 4.45 2020 Raybearer (Raybearer, #1)
author: Jordan Ifueko
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/09/26
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review:
I sucked this one down quickly and hope for a sequel
]]> Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) 90202302 “The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.� —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders� capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.]]> 623 Rebecca Yarros 1649374178 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.33 2023 Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Mountain in the Sea 59808603 Humankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future.

Rumors begin to spread of a species of hyperintelligent, dangerous octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. Marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them.

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, off from the world. Dr. Nguyen joins DIANIMA’s team on the islands: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android.

The octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence. The stakes are high: there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of the octopuses� advancements, and as Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves.

But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. And what they might do about it.

A near-future thriller about the nature of consciousness, Ray Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea is a dazzling literary debut and a mind-blowing dive into the treasure and wreckage of humankind’s legacy.]]> 456 Ray Nayler 0374605955 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.87 2022 The Mountain in the Sea
author: Ray Nayler
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mask of Mirrors (Rook & Rose, #1)]]> 53343033 The Mask of Mirrors is the unmissable start to the Rook & Rose trilogy, a dazzling and darkly magical fantasy adventure by Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, writing together as M. A. Carrick.

Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars.

Ren is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of NadeĹľra with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house, securing her fortune and her sister's future.

But as she's drawn into the elite world of House Traementis, she realizes her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the City of Dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled…with Ren at their heart.]]> 688 M.A. Carrick 0316539694 Jesslyn 0 currently-reading 4.13 2021 The Mask of Mirrors (Rook & Rose, #1)
author: M.A. Carrick
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Uncanny Times (Huntsmen, #1) 60691226 Huntsmen, according to the Church, were damned, their blood unclean, unholy. Yet for Rosemary and Aaron Harker the Church was less important than being ready to stand against the Uncanny as not being prepared could lead to being dead.

The year is 1913. America—and the world—trembles on the edge of a modern age. Political and social unrest shift the foundations; technology is beginning to make its mark.

But in the shadows, things from the past still move. Things inhuman, uncanny.

And the Uncanny are no friend to humanity.

But when Aaron and Rosemary Harker go to investigate the suspicious death of a distant relative, what they discover could turn their world upside down—and change the Huntsmen forever]]> 384 Laura Anne Gilman 1534415939 Jesslyn 0 currently-reading 4.31 2022 Uncanny Times (Huntsmen, #1)
author: Laura Anne Gilman
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Deadly Curiosities (Deadly Curiosities, #1)]]> 18775220
Welcome to Trifles & Folly, a store with a secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide’s psychic gift lets her know the history and magic of an object by touching it. Cassidy and her friends—including Weaver witch Teag and her vampire business partner Sorren—save the world from vengeful ghosts, dark magic, hidden monsters, and things that go bump in the night.

When a trip to a haunted hotel unearths a statue steeped in malevolent power, and a string of murders leads to the abandoned old Navy yard, Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren discover a diabolical plot to unleash a supernatural onslaught on their city.

It’s time for Cassidy and her team to handle the “deadly curiosities� before it’s too late.]]> 456 Gail Z. Martin 1781082332 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.54 2014 Deadly Curiosities (Deadly Curiosities, #1)
author: Gail Z. Martin
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Blade of Dream (Kithamar, #2) 65137056 Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories endure. This is Garreth’s.

Garreth Left is heir to one of Kithamar’s most prominent merchant families. The path of his life was paved long before he was born. Learn the family trade, marry to secure wealthy in-laws, and inherit the business when the time is right. But to Garreth, a life chosen for him is no life at all.

In one night, a chance meeting with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. He falls in love with a woman whose name he doesn’t even know, and he will do anything to find her again. His search leads him down corridors and alleys that are best left unexplored, where ancient gods hide in the shadows, and every deal made has a dangerous edge.

The path that Garreth chooses will change the course of not only those he loves, but the entire future of Kithamar’s citizens.

In Kithamar, every story matters―and the fate of the city is woven from them all.]]> 465 Daniel Abraham 031642188X Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.42 2023 Blade of Dream (Kithamar, #2)
author: Daniel Abraham
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Magic Claims (Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years, #2; Kate Daniels, #10.6)]]> 109554429 A new town, new friends, new challenges�. And a new heart-stopping adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Ilona Andrews. Kate, Curran, and Conlan may have left Atlanta for Wilmington, but the usual magic mayhem has also hitched a ride!

Kate and Curran have just settled into their new home and their 'low prolife,' when a local businessman approaches them with an offer they can’t refuse. A mysterious evil has spawned in the nearby forest and is holding a defenseless town hostage. The â€due dateâ€� is rapidly approaching.

It’s exactly the kind of fight the Lennarts can’t resist, not for the prize the town offers, but for the people who will surely die if they ignore it. If they succeed, they’ll be rescuing an entire community and can build a strong new base for their family and the Wilmington Pack. If they fail...well, fail is a four-letter word.

Nothing comes without a price. Now Kate must decide if she has what it takes to pay it.]]> 240 Ilona Andrews Jesslyn 5 4.69 2023 Magic Claims (Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years, #2; Kate Daniels, #10.6)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.69
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/15
date added: 2023/06/15
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]]> <![CDATA[By a Silver Thread (DFZ Changeling #1)]]> 123245185 A new DFZ series

In the world’s most magical metropolis where spirits run noodle shops and cash-strapped dragons stage photo-ops for tourists, people still think fairies are nothing but stories, and that’s exactly how the fairies like it. It’s a lot easier to feast on humanity’s dreams when no one believes you exist. But while this arrangement works splendidly for most fair folk, Lola isn’t one of the lucky ones.

She’s a changeling, a fairy monster made just human enough to dupe unsuspecting parents while fairies steal their real child. The magic that sustains her was never meant to last past the initial theft, leaving Lola without a future. But thanks to Victor Conrath, a very powerful--and very illegal--blood mage, she was given the means to cheat death.

For a price.

Now the only changeling ever to make it to adulthood, Lola has served the blood mage faithfully, if reluctantly, for twenty years. Her unique ability to slip through wards and change her shape to look like anyone has helped make Victor a legend in the DFZ’s illegal-magic underground. It’s not a great life, but at least the work is stable� until her master vanishes without a trace.

With only a handful left of the pills that keep her human, Lola must find Victor before she turns back into the fairy monster she was always meant to be. But with a whole SWAT team of federal paladins hunting her as a blood-mage accomplice, an Urban Legend on a silent black motorcycle who won’t leave her alone, and a mysterious fairy king with the power to make the entire city dream, Lola’s chances of getting out of this alive are as slender as a silver thread.

BY A SILVER THREAD is a fast-paced Urban Fantasy featuring cunning fae, a kind heroine, and a magic so destructive that using it even once will stain your soul forever. Buckle up for a wild ride through a near-future, magical Detroit where urban legends ride the streets, fairy queens have mansions uptown, and the City is an actual deity you don't want to cross. Welcome to the DFZ! ]]> 392 Rachel Aaron Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.09 2023 By a Silver Thread (DFZ Changeling #1)
author: Rachel Aaron
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/26
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review:

]]> Tress of the Emerald Sea 60531406 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?]]> 443 Brandon Sanderson Jesslyn 4 4.35 2023 Tress of the Emerald Sea
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/10
date added: 2023/04/26
shelves: audio-book, audio-not-synced, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects, #2)]]> 60531410 399 Brandon Sanderson 1938570332 Jesslyn 5 3.74 2023 The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/26
date added: 2023/04/26
shelves: audiobook-great-narration, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series, audio-book, audio-not-synced
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3)]]> 60850767
Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.

Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology � and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself.

Children of Memory by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky is a far-reaching space opera spanning generations, species and galaxies.]]> 486 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1529087201 Jesslyn 4 3.97 2022 Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3)
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/08
date added: 2023/04/08
shelves: audiobook-great-narration, audiobook-whispersync-companion, auto-buy-series
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Battle of Medicine Rocks (The Crystal Calamity #2)]]> 75458818 Magic in the Great Sioux War!

When Mary Good Crow came out of the crystal into the arms of her sister, the last thing she wanted was another fight. But war is coming to the Great Plains. With crystal on their side, the Lakota are poised to annihilate the town of Medicine Rocks, forcing Mary to choose between the friends she’s found and the family she’s always longed for.

When Rel Reiner accepted her father’s dark bargain to save Josie and the others, the last thing she expected was to survive. But there’s more to the Reiner’s magic than ghosts and bones. Magic Rel will have to embrace if she ever wants to walk in her own skin again.

When Josie Price left the crystal mines one step ahead of death, the last thing she intended to do was quit. But the wolves in town are circling, and with the crystal going crazy and the cavalry riding to war, just finding a way to protect her people might cost her everything she came to Montana to build.

Three women divided by a war none of them wants. But Josie, Mary, and Rel have always been strongest together, and with the world’s magical future on the line, “together� might be the only way anyone survives.]]> 388 Rachel Aaron 1952367085 Jesslyn 0 currently-reading 4.20 2023 The Battle of Medicine Rocks (The Crystal Calamity #2)
author: Rachel Aaron
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In the Shadow of Lightning (Glass Immortals #1)]]> 48613351 From Brian McClellan, author of The Powder Mage trilogy, comes the first novel in the Glass Immortals series, In the Shadow of Lightning, an epic fantasy where magic is a finite resource—and it’s running out.

"Excellent worldbuilding and a truly epic narrative combine into Brian's finest work to date. Heartily recommended to anyone who wants a new favorite fantasy series to read."—Brandon Sanderson

Demir Grappo is an outcast—he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her the very power that keeps civilization turning, godglass, is running out.

Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it.

"Powerful rival families, murderous conspiracies, epic battles, larger-than-life characters, and magic."—Fonda Lee, author of The Green Bone Saga

"Engaging, fast-paced and epic."—James Islington, author of In The Shadow of What Was Lost

"Clever, fun, and by turns beautifully bloody, In the Shadow of Lightning hits like a bolt through a stained glass window."—Megan E. O'Keefe, author of Chaos Vector

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 576 Brian McClellan 1250755700 Jesslyn 0 4.51 2022 In the Shadow of Lightning (Glass Immortals #1)
author: Brian McClellan
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/08
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]]> Upgrade 60280135 “You are the next step in human evolution.�

What if you were capable of more?

Your concentration was better, you could multitask quicker, read faster, memorize more, sleep deeper.

For Logan Ramsay, it’s happening. He’s beginning to see the world around him, even those he loves the most, in whole new ways.

He knows that it’s not natural, that his genes have been hacked. He has been targeted for an upgrade.

Logan’s family legacy is one he has been trying to escape for decades and it has left him vulnerable to attack. But with a terrifying plan in place to replicate his upgrade throughout the world’s population, he may be the only person capable of stopping what has already been set in motion.

To win this war against humanity Logan will now have to become something other than himself . . .

Intricately plotted and epic in scope, Upgrade asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity � and our boundless potential. Are you ready for the impossible?]]> 341 Blake Crouch Jesslyn 4 3.98 2022 Upgrade
author: Blake Crouch
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/02/08
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]]> Fairy Tale 60188762
Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.� And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.]]> 607 Stephen King Jesslyn 5 4.38 2022 Fairy Tale
author: Stephen King
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 5
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date added: 2023/02/08
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]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3)]]> 59743336 Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

The one thing you never talk about while you’re in the Scholomance is what you’ll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it’s all we dream about: the hideously slim chance we’ll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I’m out, we’re all out—and I didn’t even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother’s prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn’t kill enclavers, I saved them. Me and Orion and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: We saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves everywhere.

Ha, only joking! Actually, it’s gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war. And the first thing I’ve got to do now, having miraculously gotten out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.]]> 411 Naomi Novik Jesslyn 5 4.40 2022 The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3)
author: Naomi Novik
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2022
rating: 5
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date added: 2023/02/08
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]]> <![CDATA[The World We Make (Great Cities #2)]]> 60522559
AllĚýis not well in the city that never sleeps.ĚýEven thoughĚýthe avatars of New York CityĚýhaveĚýtemporarily managed to stop the Woman in White from invading—and destroying the entire universe in the process—the mysterious capital "E" Enemy has more subtle powers at her disposal. A new candidate for mayor wielding the populist rhetoric ofĚýgentrification, xenophobia, and "law and order"Ěýmay have what it takes to change the very nature of New York itself and take it down from the inside.Ěý

In order to defeat him, and the Enemy who holds his purse strings,Ěýthe avatars will have to join together with the other Great Cities of the world in order to bring her down for good and protect their world from complete destruction.

N.K. Jemisin’s Great Cities Duology, which began withĚý The City We Became Ěýand concludes withĚý The World We Make , is a masterpiece of speculative fiction from one of the most importantĚýwriters of her generation.
The Great Cities Duology
The City We Became
The World We Make]]> 369 N.K. Jemisin 0316509914 Jesslyn 5 4.27 2022 The World We Make (Great Cities #2)
author: N.K. Jemisin
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)]]> 59557369 Felicia, Lizbeth’s younger half-sister is attacked by her estranged aristocratic Mexican family of wizards who want to use her as a pawn, what no one expected, even Felicia, is that she may be the most powerful witch in a generation in this startling sequel to the USA TODAY bestseller, The Russian Cage.]]> 300 Charlaine Harris 1982182512 Jesslyn 4 audiobook-great-narration 4.32 2022 The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)
author: Charlaine Harris
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/02/08
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]]> Wayward (Wanderers, #2) 55583491 1085 Chuck Wendig 0593158784 Jesslyn 5 4.32 2022 Wayward (Wanderers, #2)
author: Chuck Wendig
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/08
date added: 2023/02/08
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sweep of the Heart (Innkeeper Chronicles, #5)]]> 62801889
Life is busier than ever for Innkeeper, Dina DeMille and Sean Evans. But it’s about to get even more chaotic when Sean's werewolf mentor is kidnapped. To find him, they must host an intergalactic spouse-search for one of the most powerful rulers in the Galaxy. Dina is never one to back down from a challenge. That is, if she can manage her temperamental Red Cleaver chef; the consequences of her favorite Galactic ex-tyrant's dark history; the tangled politics of an interstellar nation, and oh, yes, keep the wedding candidates from a dozen alien species from killing each other. Not to mention the Costco lady.

They say love is a battlefield; but Dina and Sean are determined to limit the casualties!]]> 456 Ilona Andrews 1641972394 Jesslyn 5 4.53 2022 Sweep of the Heart (Innkeeper Chronicles, #5)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/08
date added: 2023/02/08
shelves: audiobook-great-narration, audiobook-whispersync-companion, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series
review:

]]> Belladonna (Belladonna, #1) 58939182 A girl confronts Death—and her own deathly powers—in this Gothic-infused, romantic young adult fantasy.
Ěý
Nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow, orphaned as a baby, has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her last remaining relatives are the Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at the glittering and gloomy estate of Thorn Grove. Thorn Grove’s patriarch, Elijah, mourns his late wife, Lillian, through wild parties and drink, while eldest son Percy grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and daughter Blythe suffers from the same mysterious illness that killed her mother. And when Lillian’s spirit confronts Signa and claims she was poisoned, Signa realizes that Blythe could be next to die.
Ěý
Signa’s best chance of uncovering the culprit and solving Lillian’s murder is an alliance with Death himself—the very man she hates most. And Death, that fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side, shows her that their connection may be more powerful than she ever dared imagine.]]> 417 Adalyn Grace 0316158453 Jesslyn 0 to-read, not-on-audio 4.02 2022 Belladonna (Belladonna, #1)
author: Adalyn Grace
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/02
shelves: to-read, not-on-audio
review:

]]> Fairy Tale 60177373 Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.� And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.]]> 607 Stephen King 1668002175 Jesslyn 4 4.05 2022 Fairy Tale
author: Stephen King
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/11/30
shelves:
review:

]]> Hotel Magnifique 58670318 Decadent and darkly enchanting, this lavish YA fantasy debut follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.

All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.

The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.

With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.]]> 400 Emily J. Taylor 0593404521 Jesslyn 0 to-read 3.95 2022 Hotel Magnifique
author: Emily J. Taylor
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The World We Make (Great Cities, #2)]]> 60399181 Four-time Hugo Award-winning andĚýNew York TimesĚýbestselling author N.K. Jemisin craftsĚýa glorious taleĚýof identity,Ěýresistance, magic andĚýmyth.

AllĚýis not well in the city that never sleeps.ĚýEven thoughĚýthe avatars of New York CityĚýhaveĚýtemporarily managed to stop the Woman in White from invading—and destroying the entire universe in the process—the mysterious capital "E" Enemy has more subtle powers at her disposal. A new candidate for mayor wielding the populist rhetoric ofĚýgentrification, xenophobia, and "law and order"Ěýmay have what it takes to change the very nature of New York itself and take it down from the inside.Ěý

In order to defeat him, and the Enemy who holds his purse strings,Ěýthe avatars will have to join together with the other Great Cities of the world in order to bring her down for good and protect their world from complete destruction.

N.K. Jemisin’s Great Cities Duology, which began withĚýThe City We BecameĚýand concludes withĚýThe World We Make, is a masterpiece of speculative fiction from one of the most importantĚýwriters of her generation.
]]> 357 N.K. Jemisin 035651269X Jesslyn 5 4.05 2022 The World We Make (Great Cities, #2)
author: N.K. Jemisin
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/11/16
date added: 2022/11/16
shelves: audiobook-great-narration, audiobook-whispersync-companion, audio-book, auto-buy-author, auto-buy-series, cat-alt-reality
review:
Do yourself a favor and get the audio version. Robin Miles BLEW me away!
]]> <![CDATA[Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns, #1)]]> 43358884 From the New York Times bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens comes an imaginative fantasy about an apprentice at a magical library who must battle a powerful sorcerer to save her kingdom.

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.]]> 457 Margaret Rogerson Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.16 2019 Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns, #1)
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sword-Bearer (Tiger and Del Book 8)]]> 61633665
Sword-Bearer marks a return to the vivid world of Jennifer Roberson’s highly popular Sword-Dancer saga, featuring iconic characters Tiger—the South’s most famous and gifted sword-dancer—and Del, a Northern-born woman and expert sword-singer.

Tiger and Del have settled into semi-retirement to raise their daughter, establishing a school for those who wish to become sword-dancers, part of a highly ritualized rite in which specially trained sword-fighters are hired to settle feuds among rich and powerful desert princes. Death-dances are few and far between; the goal is simply to win within the confines of “the circle.�

But Tiger is an outcast, a man who attained the highest level of achievement at the training school he attended faster than anyone before him, only to voluntarily break all oaths in order to save Del. By doing so, he made himself a target of men formerly his colleagues, now sworn enemies. He is constantly challenged to death-dances where rules, and oaths, no longer apply.

Now, with the world around them falling victim to a malignant Northern-born magic, Tiger gathers Del and his adult son, Neesha, to end the magic threatening the world—and discovers, along the journey, yet another element of magecraft within himself. Yet even as Tiger learns more about his gifts, Del comes face to face with the daughter she left behind so many years before.

Fans of Roberson’s bestselling series should enjoy this wildest of rides alongside the Sandtiger and Delilah.]]> 324 Jennifer Roberson 0756409500 Jesslyn 0 to-read 4.66 2022 Sword-Bearer (Tiger and Del Book 8)
author: Jennifer Roberson
name: Jesslyn
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/10/27
shelves: to-read
review:

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