Jesica's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 11 May 2025 21:02:17 -0700 60 Jesica's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy, #1)]]> 625603 416 Dan Abnett 184416294X Jesica 0 currently-reading 4.23 2006 Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy, #1)
author: Dan Abnett
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/05/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Duskbound 223087790
She was wrong.

Taken prisoner by the very shadows she was sworn to fight, Fia uncovers a devastating truth. The wraiths who brought destruction to the Isle's western border aren't monsters at all, but a race of people from a dying realm called the K¨¢lfar, and they believe Fia's growing powers are tied to their survival.

As war looms on two fronts, Fia must navigate a world of shadow magic and political upheaval. A disgraced K¨¢lfar lord builds an army in the south while tensions within S¨ªdhe reach a breaking point. And the Void that gave Fia her power is calling¡ªbut answering it means betraying everyone she left behind.

The Guard. Her friends. Laryk.

In a war where nothing is as it seems, choosing the wrong side could cost her everything, including the brooding commander whose darkness seems to recognize her own.]]> 596 Bree Grenwich Jesica 4 4.43 Duskbound
author: Bree Grenwich
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/11
date added: 2025/05/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Magic Can't Save Us: Eighteen Tales of Likely Failure]]> 216011398 176 Josh Denslow 1608012719 Jesica 0 to-read 4.62 Magic Can't Save Us: Eighteen Tales of Likely Failure
author: Josh Denslow
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.62
book published:
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date added: 2025/05/09
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]]> <![CDATA[Riftborne (Esprithean Trilogy, #1)]]> 216245662 He was striking in a cold-blooded kind of way, like his beauty was tinged with poison. Unassuming, alluring even.

I brought my eyes up to meet his.

"Fia Riftborne?" The words dripped from his lips like blood from a dagger.

Twenty years after a rebellion branded her an outcast, Fia Riftborne navigates a city rife with prejudice so deep, it's often deadly. But she harbors a secret, one that would paint an even larger target on her back. A hidden power within her is growing, threatening to destroy everything she's built for herself.

Enter the elusive Sidhe General, Laryk Ashford, who is building a unit of powerful wielders within the Guard to face a growing threat. Wraiths of darkness devour the Western border, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

When Fia's power erupts, and two daughters of Nobility are seemingly dead, General Ashford offers her a chilling choice: join the Sidhe Guard or face execution.

Because Fia might be the only hope for the Isle's survival.

Torn between surrendering to the chaos or becoming a weapon for those who took everything from her, Fia must confront her growing feelings for the General and face a dark truth that could shatter everything she's ever known.]]> 424 Bree Grenwich Jesica 4 4.00 2024 Riftborne (Esprithean Trilogy, #1)
author: Bree Grenwich
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/05
date added: 2025/05/05
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)]]> 58931805
Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Then, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with an apparent drug overdose. However, the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information, but before he could finish reading the letter, he was stabbed to death. Luckily one of Roger¡¯s friends and the newest resident to retire to this normally quiet village takes over¡ªnone other than Monsieur Hercule Poirot . . .

Not only beloved by generations of readers,? The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ?was one of Agatha Christie¡¯s own favorite works¡ªa brilliant whodunit that firmly established the author¡¯s reputation as the Queen of Mystery.]]> 304 Agatha Christie 006322108X Jesica 4 4.33 1926 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1926
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/01
date added: 2025/05/01
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]]> <![CDATA[Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1)]]> 201763206
When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series. ?

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional the Once and Forever Emperor. He¡¯s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale. ?

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

THIS IS A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO¡¯S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN¡­]]> 464 Sarah Rees Brennan Jesica 4
What I enjoyed about this book was that there were times that the characters made me laugh, and that is a huge plus in anything I read. I also loved some of the side characters so much [spoilers removed]]]> 4.12 2024 Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1)
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/26
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves:
review:
I am a huge fan of isekai manhwa and light novels, so I was happy to think that they were breaking into mainstream books. [spoilers removed]

What I enjoyed about this book was that there were times that the characters made me laugh, and that is a huge plus in anything I read. I also loved some of the side characters so much [spoilers removed]
]]> <![CDATA[Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)]]> 35519109
Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah¡ªits former owner (protector? friend?)¡ªsubmit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who¡¯s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?

And what will become of it when it¡¯s caught?]]> 163 Martha Wells Jesica 5 4.38 2018 Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)
author: Martha Wells
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/29
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)]]> 228177199 A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve...

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy¡¯s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn¡¯t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She¡¯s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D¡¯Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?]]> 400 Richard Osman 0593653246 Jesica 0 to-read 4.06 2024 We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)
author: Richard Osman
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/24
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]]> <![CDATA[The Black Hawks (Articles of Faith, #1)]]> 44088752 Dark, thrilling, and hilarious, The Black Hawks is an epic adventure perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch.

Life as a knight is not what Vedren Chel imagined. Bound by oath to a dead-end job in the service of a lazy step-uncle, Chel no longer dreams of glory ¨C he dreams of going home.

When invaders throw the kingdom into turmoil, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos: if he escorts a stranded prince to safety, Chel will be released from his oath.

All he has to do is drag the brat from one side of the country to the other, through war and wilderness, chased all the way by ruthless assassins.

With killers on your trail, you need killers watching your back. You need the Black Hawk Company ¨C mercenaries, fighters without equal, a squabbling, scrapping pack of rogues.

Prepare to join the Black Hawks.

]]> 429 David Wragg 0008331421 Jesica 0 to-read 3.73 2019 The Black Hawks (Articles of Faith, #1)
author: David Wragg
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read
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]]> Ghost Station 133286915 A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence.

Space exploration can be lonely and isolating.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS¡ªa space-based condition most famous for a case that resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. When she's assigned to a small exploration crew, she's eager to make a difference. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that crew is hiding something.

While Ophelia focuses on her new role, her crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizer's hasty departure than opening up to her.

That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia¡¯s worst nightmare starting¡ªa wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something more sinister?

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what¡¯s happening. But trust is hard to come by¡­ and the crew isn¡¯t the only one keeping secrets.]]> 381 S.A. Barnes Jesica 0 to-read 3.76 2024 Ghost Station
author: S.A. Barnes
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/08
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]]> <![CDATA[Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)]]> 56251250 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval, the first book in a new series about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox was raised in her beloved father¡¯s curiosity shop, where she grew up on legends about immortals, like the tragic Prince of Hearts. She knows his powers are mythic, his kiss is worth dying for, and that bargains with him rarely end well.

But when Evangeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, she becomes desperate enough to offer the Prince of Hearts whatever he wants in exchange for his help to stop the wedding. The prince only asks for three kisses. But after Evangeline¡¯s first promised kiss, she learns that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she¡¯s pledged. And he has plans for Evangeline that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy¡­]]> 416 Stephanie Garber 1250268389 Jesica 4 3.98 2021 Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/08
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[If Cats Disappeared from the World]]> 219209808
This timeless tale from Genki Kawamura (producer of the Japanese blockbuster animated movie Your Name) is a moving story of loss and reconciliation, and of one man¡¯s journey to discover what really matters most in life.

The young postman¡¯s days are numbered. Estranged from his family and living alone with only his cat, Cabbage, to keep him company, he was unprepared for the doctor¡¯s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can tackle his bucket list, the devil shows up to make him an offer: In exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, the postman will be granted one extra day of life. And so begins a very strange week that brings the young postman and his beloved cat to the brink of existence.

With each object that disappears, the postman reflects on the life he¡¯s lived, his joys and regrets, and the people he¡¯s loved and lost.]]> 176 Genki Kawamura 1250257689 Jesica 4 3.85 2012 If Cats Disappeared from the World
author: Genki Kawamura
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
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review:

]]> Episode Thirteen 61054281 From the macabre mind of Bram Stoker Award nominated author Craig DiLouie, Episode Thirteen is a heart pounding novel of horror and psychological suspense that takes a ghost hunting reality TV crew into a world they could never have imagined possible. A beautiful Russian doll of a story... Episode Thirteen hooks you, creeps you out, and then it overwhelms you. It's House of Leaves meets Haunting of Hill House, in all the best possible ways. -- Peter Clines, NYT bestselling author of The Broken Room Fade to Black is the newest hit ghost hunting reality TV show. Led by husband and wife team Matt and Claire Kirklin, it delivers weekly hauntings investigated by a dedicated team of ghost hunting experts. Episode Thirteen takes them to every ghost hunter's holy grail: the Paranormal Research Foundation. This brooding, derelict mansion holds secrets and clues about bizarre experiments that took place there in the 1970s. It's also famously haunted, and the team hopes their scientific techniques and high tech gear will prove it. But as the house begins to reveal itself to them, proof of an afterlife might not be everything Matt dreamed of. A story told in broken pieces, in tapes, journals, and correspondence, this is the story of Episode Thirteen -- and how everything went terribly, horribly wrong. An epistolary descent into a living nightmare . . . well-written and genuinely unsettling. Fans of paranormal documentaries, ghost-hunting shows, and found-footage horror will lose their minds over this one. - Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Kin For more from Craig DiLouie, check out: The Children of Red Peak Our War One of Us]]> 467 Craig DiLouie 0316443204 Jesica 3 3.60 2023 Episode Thirteen
author: Craig DiLouie
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves:
review:

]]> I Am Made of Death 212398691 From bestselling author Kelly Andrew comes the most electrifying dark romance of the decade...

Following the death of his father, Thomas Walsh had to grow up quickly, taking on odd-jobs to keep food on the table and help pay his gravely ill mother's medical bills. When he's offered a highly paid position as an interpreter for an heiress who exclusively signs, Thomas -- the hearing child of a Deaf adult -- jumps at the opportunity.

But the job is not without its challenges. Thomas is expected to accompany Vivienne wherever she goes, but from the start, she seems determined to shake him. To make matters worse, her parents keep her on an extremely short leash. She is not to go anywhere without express permission. She is not to deviate from her routine.

She is, most importantly, not to be out after dark.

A selective-mute, Vivienne Farrow hasn't said a word in years -- not since going missing in Red Rock Canyon when she was four years old. No one knows quite what happened to her out in the dark. They only know that the sound of her voice is now as deadly as a poison. Anyone who hears her speak suffers a horrible death.

Ever since that fatal family vacation, Vivienne has been desperately searching for a way to regain control of both her voice and her body. Because the face staring out of the mirror isn't hers. It's something with teeth.

Thankfully, Vivienne has a plan. She's finally found someone who claims to be able to perform a surgical exorcism. She just needs to find a way to get rid of Thomas first. But Thomas can't afford to walk away, nor is he willing to abandon the mysterious girl he's quickly falling for, no matter what dark powers threaten to swallow them both whole.]]> 368 Kelly Andrew 1546104488 Jesica 0 to-read 3.96 2025 I Am Made of Death
author: Kelly Andrew
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)]]> 36153880 Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas?

Sci-fi¡¯s favorite antisocial A.I. is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is.

And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.]]> 150 Martha Wells 1250185432 Jesica 5 4.40 2018 Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)
author: Martha Wells
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves:
review:

]]> For Whom the Belle Tolls 222946916 They told her to go to Hell.
She¡¯ll go on her own terms.

Lily is less than thrilled about her arrival to the Afterlife, but what awaits her is more fantastical than she ever could have imagined. Deities wait in line at the coffee shop. Fae flit between realms. Souls find ways to make death a beginning.
As Lily explores everything the Afterlife has to offer, she finds herself drawn to a place most people would rather avoid at all Hell.
What she discovers there subverts everything she¡¯s ever learned, and Lily realizes the demons working at the gate to guide souls need help¡ªbadly. Armed with years of customer service experience and pent-up sarcasm, Lily carves out a place for herself among the demons, confronting, sassing, and aiding the spectrum of humanity to redefine justice and redemption.
A chance meeting with Bel, a demon general with a distractingly sexy voice, sparks an immediate and deeply healing friendship. However, the undeniable heat between them simmers, and it¡¯s only a matter of time before it combusts.
Meanwhile, something stirs beyond the boundaries of their world, threatening to destroy everything they¡¯ve ever known and everything that could be¡­ unless they fight like Hell to stop it.]]> 695 Jaysea Lynn Jesica 4 4.81 2025 For Whom the Belle Tolls
author: Jaysea Lynn
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.81
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History]]> 218569867 Humanity¡¯s earliest efforts at recording and drawing meaning from history reveal how lives millennia ago were not so different from our own.

Mesopotamia saw the first cities, devised the original writing system, sowed the early seeds of agriculture, and developed myths, medicine, and astronomy that all went on to influence societies around the world. However, the significance of this ancient civilization goes far beyond its technological inventions: These were the people who began the human tradition of recording their own histories.

With each chapter focusing on a new artifact, historian Moudhy Al-Rashid takes us on a personal tour of ancient life: the brick that was the basis of Mesopotamian architecture; the classroom tablets that shed light on the timeless anxieties of student life; the stone obelisk that spoke to the vast socioeconomic gulfs. Ancient Mesopotamians wanted a witness to their lives, and thousands of years later, Al-Rashid shares their stories.]]> 336 Moudhy Al-Rashid 1324036427 Jesica 0 to-read 4.07 2025 Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History
author: Moudhy Al-Rashid
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Soldier's Song: The World War II Diary of Sergeant Jack Anderson]]> 210683876
Years after his death, his grandson, Jason Grom felt like his grandfather¡¯s story needed to be shared with others, first to ensure the first hand account of soldiers like Jack Anderson could be passed on to future generations and second, to honor a man who he and so many others adored for his gentle spirit, welcoming demeanor, and a voice and musical talent that made for memorable sing-a-longs and beautiful music that lives on in so many people¡¯s hearts to this day.]]> 218 Jason Grom Jesica 0 to-read 5.00 A Soldier's Song: The World War II Diary of Sergeant Jack Anderson
author: Jason Grom
name: Jesica
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Naples 1944: The Devil's Paradise at War]]> 211004129 Award-winning author Keith Lowe's newest critical deep-dive into the history of Naples during WWII.

Keith Lowe has chronicled the end of WWII in Europe in his award-winning book Savage Continent and the war¡¯s aftermath in the sequel, The Fear and the Freedom. In Naples 1944, he brings readers another masterful chronicle of the terrible and often unexpected consequences of war. Even before the fall of Mussolini, Naples was a place of great contrasts filled with palaces and slums, beloved cuisine and widespread hunger. After the Allied liberation, these contrasts made the city instantly notorious. Compared to the starving population, Allied soldiers were staggeringly wealthy. For a packet of cigarettes, even the lowest ranks could buy themselves a watch, a new suit or a woman for the night. As the biggest port in Allied hands, Naples quickly became the center of Italy¡¯s black market and has remained so ever since. Within just a few months the Camorra began to re-establish itself. Behind the chaos and the corruption, there was always the threat of violence. Army guns were looted and traded. Gangs of street kids fought running battles with the military police. Public buildings, booby-trapped by departing Germans, began to explode, seemingly spontaneously.

Then in March 1944 - like an omen - Vesuvius erupted. Naples was the first major European city to be liberated by the Allies. What they found there would set a template for the whole of the rest of Europe in the years to come. Keith Lowe¡¯s Naples 1944 is a page-turning book about a city on the brink of chaos and glimpse into the dark heart of postwar Italy.]]> 464 Keith Lowe 1250235057 Jesica 4
Naples 1944 is a look at the factors that accumulated during WWII that shaped the post war identity of this southern city of Italy. From internal forces such as the rise of fascism, the takeover of the Nazi regime, the liberation by the Allies, and natural disasters; Naples was a city at the heart of the Southern European experience during WWII that doesn¡¯t get a lot of light shed on it within this genre of books.

Keith Lowe does a wonderful job of breaking out the different factors stated above and how they all worked together by different chapter and headers within each chapter. The reader can tell he is very passionate about the people of Naples and getting their story out regarding one of the most devastating times in history. The book credits many sources for further reading and reader review throughout its pages without feeling bogged down. Which I find can be an issue with many history books.

His narrative is gripping and a different aspect from the ¡°allies as saviors¡± that a lot of the Western society is fed through media. The book doesn¡¯t pull its punches when it comes to citing all the failures of the liberating armies and the consequences of those failures, be they short term or long term.

The only winge I had with this book is the layout of the different parts. I felt that with how long and comprehensive Part 1 was with discussing all the different difficulties that came after liberation, the next parts were just a reiteration with a bit more substance. Therefore, it felt less like a thesis and more like a comprehensive overview.

Overall, a solid 4.5. I would recommend this to anyone interested in War time History regarding WWII and wants a different perspective than just Northern Europe¡¯s experience during WWII and of the cost of victory and liberation.]]> 4.17 2025 Naples 1944: The Devil's Paradise at War
author: Keith Lowe
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves:
review:
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for a review.

Naples 1944 is a look at the factors that accumulated during WWII that shaped the post war identity of this southern city of Italy. From internal forces such as the rise of fascism, the takeover of the Nazi regime, the liberation by the Allies, and natural disasters; Naples was a city at the heart of the Southern European experience during WWII that doesn¡¯t get a lot of light shed on it within this genre of books.

Keith Lowe does a wonderful job of breaking out the different factors stated above and how they all worked together by different chapter and headers within each chapter. The reader can tell he is very passionate about the people of Naples and getting their story out regarding one of the most devastating times in history. The book credits many sources for further reading and reader review throughout its pages without feeling bogged down. Which I find can be an issue with many history books.

His narrative is gripping and a different aspect from the ¡°allies as saviors¡± that a lot of the Western society is fed through media. The book doesn¡¯t pull its punches when it comes to citing all the failures of the liberating armies and the consequences of those failures, be they short term or long term.

The only winge I had with this book is the layout of the different parts. I felt that with how long and comprehensive Part 1 was with discussing all the different difficulties that came after liberation, the next parts were just a reiteration with a bit more substance. Therefore, it felt less like a thesis and more like a comprehensive overview.

Overall, a solid 4.5. I would recommend this to anyone interested in War time History regarding WWII and wants a different perspective than just Northern Europe¡¯s experience during WWII and of the cost of victory and liberation.
]]> <![CDATA[The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel (Raven Cycle Graphic Novels, #1)]]> 221473209 The first book in Maggie Stiefvater's?#1 NYT bestselling series The Raven Cycle, now gorgeously illustrated as a graphic novel!

Blue Sargent comes from a family of psychics. Only, she has never had the same clairvoyant abilities they had and has always felt too ordinary within the magic that surrounded her. Enter Gansey, a rich student from Aglionby, the town¡¯s all-boys private school teeming with wealth, privilege, and trouble. Blue's always made it a point to stay away from its students, the Raven Boys.

But when Gansey asks her to join him and three other Raven Boys on his quest to find a long-forgotten Welsh king rumored to be sleeping beneath the mountains of their quiet Virginia town, Blue doesn¡¯t hesitate. She jumps at the chance to finally be a part of something real and full of magic, a world she was born into yet one that always stood just out of reach. Soon enough, she¡¯s swept into a strange and shifting world woven into theirs, one far more dangerous than anything they could have dreamt up.

Now reimagined as a stunning full-color graphic novel adapted by Stephanie Williams and illustrated by Sas Milledge, The Raven Boys unravels a thrilling plot around a cast of characters impossible to forget.]]> 256 Stephanie Williams 0593621182 Jesica 0 to-read 4.38 2025 The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel (Raven Cycle Graphic Novels, #1)
author: Stephanie Williams
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I¡¯ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time, Vol. 3 (manga)]]> 205941183
¥Ü¥¹¥¯¥é¥¹¤ÎÇ¿Á¦¤ÊħÎ郎°Ïì褷¡¢ŒgÁ¦Õߤǹ¹³É¤µ¤ì¤¿¥ë©`¥Õ¥§¥¹¤Î¥Ñ©`¥Æ¥£©`¤¬‰²Ã𤹤ë¤Ê¤É¡¢ÐÂ¥À¥ó¥¸¥ç¥ó¡¶°×„¤ÎËþ¡·¤Ç¤ÏÓè²â²»ÄܤÎÊÂ̬¤¬¶à°k¡£¤ä¤à¤Ê¤¯¡¶°×Òø¤Î„‡¡·¤Ïһʱ³·ÍˤòÑ¡’k¤¹¤ë¡£½á¹ûµÄ¤Ë¡¢¥¢¥ê¥Ê¤Ï¥Ñ©`¥Æ¥£©`¤òÍâ¤ì¤ÆÔª¤ÎÊܸ¶‹ÝÒµÎñ¤Ë‘ø¤ë¤³¤È¤Ë¤Ê¤Ã¤¿¤Î¤À¤¬¡¢¤Ê¤¼¤«±ËÅ®¤ÎÐĤÏÇç¤ì¤Ê¤¯¤Æ¡­¡­¡£Ò»·½¡¢¥ë©`¥Õ¥§¥¹¤òÇ°ÎÀÒۤȤ·¤Æ¼Ó¤¨¤¿¡¶°×Òø¤Î„‡¡·¤ÏÔÙ¤Ó¡¶°×„¤ÎËþ¡·¹¥ÂÔ¤ËÌô¤à¤Î¤À¤¬¡¢¤Ä¤¤¤Ë±Ë¤é¤ÎÇ°¤ËÉñÓò¥¹¥­¥ë¤òʹ¤¦ÈËÐͤÎħÎ郎×ˤò¼û¤»¤¿!!±Õ±Õ> 198 Mato Kousaka Jesica 4 4.51 2023 I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I¡¯ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time, Vol. 3 (manga)
author: Mato Kousaka
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I¡¯ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time, Vol. 4 (manga)]]> 219457989 Mato Kousaka Jesica 4 4.38 I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I¡¯ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time, Vol. 4 (manga)
author: Mato Kousaka
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Queen (Lost Queen, 1)]]> 218460320 A heroine like no other, ancient magic unleashed, a fated epic battle--the first book in an enchanting YA fantasy duology inspired by Vietnamese lore, weaving magic, sisterhood, and self-discovery.

Jolie Lam, a high school sophomore in San Jose, is known for two her bizarre freakout at last year¡¯s swim meet and her fortuneteller grandfather with visions of dragons and earthquakes. Friendless and ostracized, Jolie's life takes a dramatic turn for the better when she saves the school's it-girl, Huong Pham, during a haunting vision of her own. Taken under Huong's wing, Jolie's world transforms, in more ways than one.

As Jolie and Huong's bond deepens, they unlock long lost telepathic abilities, fluency in Vietnamese, and eerie premonitions. This leads them to a shocking they are the reincarnates of legendary queens and goddesses, the Trung Sisters. While a thrilling discovery, it also sets them on a perilous journey.

The girls must navigate dreams and portals to piece together their past lives and reclaim their immortal elements before their ancient enemies strike again. But all is not what it seems, and Jolie must determine friend from foe, truth from lie, and ultimately?right from wrong in this battle for all she loves and the fate of the world.]]> 368 Aimee Phan 0593697332 Jesica 3 3.63 2025 The Lost Queen (Lost Queen, 1)
author: Aimee Phan
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)]]> 217313011
In Daretana¡¯s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead¡ªkilled, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire¡¯s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it¡¯s a death both terrifying and impossible.

Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana¡¯s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior¡ªbut as the case unfolds and he watches Ana¡¯s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire¡¯s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he¡¯s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra¡ªand wonders how long he¡¯ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

By an ¡°endlessly inventive¡± (Vulture) author with a ¡°wicked sense of humor¡± (NPR), The Tainted Cup mixes the charms of detective fiction with brilliant world-building to deliver a fiendishly clever mystery that¡¯s at once instantly recognizable and thrillingly new.]]> 432 Robert Jackson Bennett 1984820710 Jesica 0 to-read 4.32 2024 The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (The Tithenai Chronicles, #1)]]> 58724793
Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he¡¯s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different plans: for Vel to marry his former intended¡¯s brother instead.

Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.

With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love¨Das both will learn¨Dis quite another.

Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.]]> 544 Foz Meadows 1250829135 Jesica 4 4.02 2022 A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (The Tithenai Chronicles, #1)
author: Foz Meadows
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings]]> 33441
Every winter he and Clay Demolocus, his partner in the Maui Whale Research Foundation, ply the warm waters between the islands of Maui and Lanai, recording the eerily beautiful songs of the humpbacks and returning to their lab for electronic analysis. The trouble is, Nate¡¯s beginning to wonder if he hasn¡¯t spent just a little too much time in the sun. Either that, or he¡¯s losing his mind. Because today, as he was shooting an I.D. photo of a humpback tail fluke, Nate could¡¯ve sworn he saw the words ¡°Bite Me¡± scrawled across the whale¡¯s tail. . .]]> 324 Christopher Moore 006056668X Jesica 4 3.76 2003 Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
author: Christopher Moore
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wings of Starlight (Disney Fairies)]]> 212808316 Brimming with magic and romance, a young fairy queen must form an unlikely alliance or risk an unspeakable danger destroying all she holds dear in this standalone YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft.

It¡¯s been centuries since a warm-season fairy in Pixie Hollow has crossed into the Winter Woods, and while most fear the legends of monsters lurking in the frozen lands, Clarion, can¡¯t help being intrigued by Winter¡¯s stoic beauty. But under the watchful eyes of the current monarch and the court's seasonal ministers, Clarion has little time to dwell on daydreams while the days to her coronation dwindle away.

That is, until reports of a monster crossing from Winter into Spring make their way to the palace. Clarion sees defeating this threat as an opportunity to prove that she is worthy of her new role. But instead of finding a monster at the edge of Winter, she finds Milori, a young guardian of the Winter Woods. Together, they form an unlikely bond as they race to save their lands.

But as their alliance warms to something more, they will discover there is a reason a warm-season fairy and a winter fairy must not be together. And the cost could be just as deadly as the monsters that prowl the Winter Woods.

Discover the origin of the sweeping, star-crossed romance between the queen of Pixie Hollow and the lord of the Winter Woods.]]> 400 Allison Saft 1368098452 Jesica 0 to-read 4.25 2025 Wings of Starlight (Disney Fairies)
author: Allison Saft
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Grimm Curiosities 205967557 In Victorian England, a young woman inherits her father¡¯s curiosity shop and all its ghostly secrets in a bewitching novel by the author of Salt & Broom.

It¡¯s 1851 in old York. Lizzy Grimm struggles to save her late father¡¯s charmingly creepy yet floundering antique shop, Grimm Curiosities. Then, during a particularly snowy December in this most haunted city in England, things turn¡­curiouser.

Lizzy meets Antony Carlisle, whose sister suffers from the same perplexing affliction as Lizzy¡¯s mother¡ªboth stricken silent and unresponsive after speaking with ghosts. Working closely together to fathom what power has transformed their loved ones and why, Lizzy and Antony discover an important her father¡¯s treasured set of rare books on ancient folktales, enchantments, and yuletide myths. Books that a persistent collector is awfully keen to purchase. Books Lizzy can¡¯t bear to sell.

Every bewitching passage and illustration opens a doorway to something ancient and dangerously inviting. Keys to a mystery Lizzy and Antony are compelled to solve¡ªeven if doing so means unleashing one of this bright holiday¡¯s darkest myths.]]> 297 Sharon Lynn Fisher 1662515707 Jesica 4
Though the story had a subplot of that revolved around yuletide folklore and spirits set during Christmas time in York, England. I loved the ideas that the author was coming up with around the folklore and how it was portrayed in the story. I just really wished it would have been heavier on the paranormal part as I feel that it would have brought this book to 5 stars if it was expanded on instead of being used to bring the ML and FL together and to keep the book going forward.

Which were the main crux of my issue with the book lies. I would consider this a Historical romance with a dash of paranormal and folk lore. It was, at its center a romance between a poor shop girl and a Lord's son. I was expecting more gothic fantasy and got more of a Regency romance which really isn't what I was expecting and definitely not what I was wanting. If the reader is interested in those types of books or expecting those books, then this would be right up their ginnel.

The book was easy to read and didn¡¯t have any flowy prose which was a nice change to many other books. The dual POV was kept to a minimum which raises its star rating in my mind as well. It was a fun read and I am glad I gave it a chance.

I would recommend reading this around yule time to get the best out of the atmosphere, and if you liked her other book Salt and Broom to give this one a try as well.
]]> 4.20 2024 Grimm Curiosities
author: Sharon Lynn Fisher
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves:
review:
Eliza "Lizzy" Grimm inherited a shop and everything in it from her eccentric father after he passed. Little did she know that it was going to be a beginning of the worst part of her life, but then lead to the best (as far as the story goes),

Though the story had a subplot of that revolved around yuletide folklore and spirits set during Christmas time in York, England. I loved the ideas that the author was coming up with around the folklore and how it was portrayed in the story. I just really wished it would have been heavier on the paranormal part as I feel that it would have brought this book to 5 stars if it was expanded on instead of being used to bring the ML and FL together and to keep the book going forward.

Which were the main crux of my issue with the book lies. I would consider this a Historical romance with a dash of paranormal and folk lore. It was, at its center a romance between a poor shop girl and a Lord's son. I was expecting more gothic fantasy and got more of a Regency romance which really isn't what I was expecting and definitely not what I was wanting. If the reader is interested in those types of books or expecting those books, then this would be right up their ginnel.

The book was easy to read and didn¡¯t have any flowy prose which was a nice change to many other books. The dual POV was kept to a minimum which raises its star rating in my mind as well. It was a fun read and I am glad I gave it a chance.

I would recommend reading this around yule time to get the best out of the atmosphere, and if you liked her other book Salt and Broom to give this one a try as well.

]]> <![CDATA[Bloodsucking Fiends (A Love Story, #1)]]> 59022853
Making the transition from the nine-to-five grind to an eternity of nocturnal prowlings is going to take some doing, however, and that's where C. Thomas Flood fits in. A would-be Kerouac from Incontinence, Indiana, Tommy (to his friends) is biding his time night-clerking and frozen-turkey bowling in a San Francisco Safeway. But all that changes when a beautiful undead redhead walks through the door...and proceeds to rock Tommy's life -- and afterlife -- in ways he never thought possible.]]> 306 Christopher Moore Jesica 3 4.02 1995 Bloodsucking Fiends (A Love Story, #1)
author: Christopher Moore
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Water Moon 211479192 A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical journey when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike and enchanting fantasy novel.

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones¡ªthose who are lost¡ªwill find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop¡¯s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop¡¯s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana¡¯s father and the stolen choice¡ªby way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds.

But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own¡ªand risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.]]> 384 Samantha Sotto Yambao 0593724992 Jesica 0 to-read 3.78 2025 Water Moon
author: Samantha Sotto Yambao
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)]]> 186074
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 075640407X Jesica 0 to-read 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Floating World (The Floating World, #1)]]> 215149209 From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.

Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime¡ªa chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.

Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light¡ªa power she has kept hidden since childhood¡ªand kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.

Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from¡ªand from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn't realize she's the girl that he¡ªand a hundred other swords-for-hire¡ªis looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts¡ªand destinies¡ªare far more entwined than either of them could have imagined...]]> 368 Axie Oh 1250853087 Jesica 0 to-read 4.11 2025 The Floating World (The Floating World, #1)
author: Axie Oh
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail]]> 25365636
In the desert of Southern California Carrot faces many challenges, both physical and emotional: pain, injury, blisters, aching cold and searing heat, dehydration, exhaustion, loneliness. In the wilderness she happens upon and becomes close with an eclectic group of strangers- people she wouldn't have chanced to meet in the ¡°regular world¡± but who are brought together, here on the trail, by their one common goal: make it to Canada before the snow flies.]]> 371 Carrot Quinn Jesica 4 4.10 2015 Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail
author: Carrot Quinn
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lighthouse at the End of the World]]> 213701203

Captain Decker Donald is perfectly content in his isolated misery, until he receives news that his friend and former colleague has vanished. Decker intends to get to the bottom of his friend¡¯s disappearance, and more importantly, keep the light on.


Harriet was looking forward to being posted alongside her father, but he was gone before she arrived, and there is something wrong in the tower.


Stenner Braunn commands the Daylight Crew. Their ship is headed east, with nothing but ancient ruins to guide their way. He has doubts about their journey, but his job is to kill, not to think. Especially with the Night Crew watching.


Something is pulling at their strings, dragging them toward the Lighthouse at the End of the World.]]> 346 Leumas Llewtnac Jesica 0 to-read 4.85 2024 The Lighthouse at the End of the World
author: Leumas Llewtnac
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.85
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Magical Girl Retires 197448796 A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga.

Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul¡¯s Mapo Bridge.

But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a girl dressed all in white¡ªher guardian angel. Ah Roa is a clairvoyant magical girl on a mission to find the greatest magical girl of all time. And our protagonist just may be that special someone.

But the young woman¡¯s initial excitement turns to frustration when she learns being a magical girl in real life is much different than how it¡¯s portrayed in stories. It isn¡¯t just destiny¡ªit¡¯s work. Magical girls go to job fairs, join trade unions, attend classes. And for this magical girl there are no special powers and no great perks, and despite being magical, she still battles with low self-esteem. Her magic wand . . . is a credit card¡ªwhich she must use to defeat a terrifying threat that isn¡¯t a monster or an intergalactic war. It¡¯s global climate change. Because magical girls need to think about sustainability, too.

Park Seolyeon reimagines classic fantasy tropes in a novel that explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it¡¯s ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls¡ªthat fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game.

Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur.]]> 160 Park Seolyeon 0063373262 Jesica 0 to-read 3.57 2022 A Magical Girl Retires
author: Park Seolyeon
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Want to End This Love Game, Vol. 1]]> 176443555
Let the games begin! Since childhood, Yukiya Asagi and Miku Sakura have played the Love Game, where they try to fluster each other with a simple ¡°I love you.¡± But after falling in love for real and refusing to admit it, neither of them can afford to lose this battle!

After leaving behind his image as a quiet nerd, Yukiya¡¯s ready to break hearts and take names with the ultimate high school glow-up. Well, he¡¯s really just got one girl in his sights¡ªhis best friend, Miku! Using her favorite shojo manga as his weapon, he¡¯s ready to pin her to the wall and gaze at her with a perfect smolder. Will his moves get her heart racing?]]> 200 Yuki Domoto 1974742768 Jesica 0 to-read 3.73 I Want to End This Love Game, Vol. 1
author: Yuki Domoto
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.73
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Emperor and the Endless Palace]]> 146145975 ¡°What if I told you that the feeling we call love is actually the feeling of metaphysical recognition, when your soul remembers someone from a previous life?¡±

In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor¡ªbut quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue.

In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead.

And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they¡¯ve met before.

Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them.

As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love¡ªa power that transcends time itself¡­but one that might consume them both.

An unpredictable roller coaster of a debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace is a genre-bending romantasy that challenges everything we think we know about true love.]]> 312 Justinian Huang 0778305236 Jesica 0 to-read 3.48 2024 The Emperor and the Endless Palace
author: Justinian Huang
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Heavenbreaker 133938782
Bravery isn't what you do. It's what you endure.

The duke of the powerful House Hauteclare is the first to die. With my dagger in his back.

He didn¡¯t see it coming. Didn¡¯t anticipate the bastard daughter who was supposed to die with her mother¡ªon his order. He should have left us with the rest of the Station¡¯s starving, commoner rubbish.

Now there¡¯s nothing left. Just icy-white rage and a need to make House Hauteclare pay. Every damn one of them.

Even if it means riding Heavenbreaker¡ªone of the few enormous machines left over from the War¡ªand jousting against the fiercest nobles in the system.

Each win means another one of my enemies dies. And here, in the cold terror of space, the machine and I move as one, intent on destroying each adversary¡ªeven if it¡¯s someone I care about. Even if it¡¯s someone I¡¯m falling for.

Only I¡¯m not alone. Not anymore.

Because there¡¯s something in the machine with me. Something horrifying. Something¡­more.

And it won¡¯t be stopped.]]> 448 Sara Wolf 1649375700 Jesica 0 to-read 3.66 2024 Heavenbreaker
author: Sara Wolf
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sins on Their Bones (The Cursed Crown #1)]]> 123284957
But stopping Alexey is not so easy as plotting to kill an ordinary man. Through a perversion of the Ludayzim religion that he terms the Holy Science, Alexey has died and resurrected himself in an immortal, indestructible body¡ªand now claims he is guided by the voice of God Himself. Able to summon forth creatures from the realm of demons, he seeks to build an army, turning Novo-Svitsevo into the greatest empire that history has ever seen.

Dimitri is determined not to let Alexey corrupt his country, but saving Novo-Svitsevo and its people will mean forfeiting the soul of the husband he can¡¯t bring himself to forsake¡ªor the spymaster he¡¯s come to love.]]> 448 Laura R. Samotin 1039007562 Jesica 0 to-read 3.80 2024 The Sins on Their Bones (The Cursed Crown #1)
author: Laura R. Samotin
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Kingdom of Sweets 123176586 Bestselling author of the Queen of the Tearling series, Erika Johansen, journeys to a new kingdom in this brilliant stand-alone novel¡ªa darkly magical take on The Nutcracker where two sisters, cursed from birth, are forever changed one memorable Christmas. . . .

Light and dark¡ªthis is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favorite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister¡¯s shadow. But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has brought the Nutcracker, an enchanted present that offers entry into a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also full of gifts . . . and dreadful bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical, and decide to which world she truly belongs.]]> 354 Erika Johansen 1524742759 Jesica 0 to-read 3.21 2023 The Kingdom of Sweets
author: Erika Johansen
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Summer Queen (The Buried and the Bound, #2)]]> 111674073
As a new coven, Aziza, Leo, and Tristan faced evil and triumphed. All that¡¯s left is to put their lives back together, a process complicated by the fallout from painful secrets, the emotional and physical scars they now carry, and the mysteries that still haunt them.

But with the approach of the solstice comes the arrival of strange new visitors to Blackthorn: the Summer Court, a nomadic community of Fair Folk from deep in Elphame. They¡¯ve journeyed to the border between the human world and fairyland, far from their usual caravan route, to take back something that belongs to them¡ªsomething Leo¡¯s not willing to lose.

Refusing to give up without a fight, he makes a risky deal with the Summer Court¡¯s princess and regent. The challenge she proposes sends Coven Blackthorn into the farthest, wildest reaches of Elphame.

But when you play games with the Fair Folk, even winning has a cost.]]> 408 Rochelle Hassan 1250822254 Jesica 0 to-read 4.32 2024 The Summer Queen (The Buried and the Bound, #2)
author: Rochelle Hassan
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The City of Stardust 145624782 A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family's curse in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy debut.

For centuries, generations of Everlys have seen their brightest and best disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick ¨C and never forgives a debt.

Violet Everly was a child when her mother left on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. When Marianne never returns, Penelope issues an ultimatum: Violet has ten years to find her mother, or she will take her place. Violet is the last of the Everly line, the last to suffer. Unless she can break it first.

To do so, she must descend into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. She must also contend with Penelope¡¯s quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted ¨C and yet whose knowledge of a world beyond her own is too valuable to avoid.

Tied to a very literal deadline, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began.]]> 352 Georgia Summers 0316561487 Jesica 0 to-read 3.27 2024 The City of Stardust
author: Georgia Summers
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Vampires of El Norte 63892214 Vampires and vaqueros face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.

As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters¡ªher home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead.

Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.

Believing Nena dead, N¨¦stor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind.

When the United States attacks Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and N¨¦stor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion¡ªand Nena¡¯s rage at N¨¦stor for seemingly abandoning her long ago¡ªis quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.

And unless Nena and N¨¦stor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.]]> 371 Isabel Ca?as 0593436725 Jesica 0 to-read 3.87 2023 Vampires of El Norte
author: Isabel Ca?as
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> Your Blood, My Bones 63106126 A seductively twisted romance about loyalty, fate, the lengths we go to hide the darkest parts of ourselves . . . and the people who love those parts most of all.

Wyatt Westlock has one plan for the farmhouse she's just inherited -- to burn it to the ground. But during her final walkthrough of her childhood home, she makes a shocking discovery in the basement -- Peter, the boy she once considered her best friend, strung up in chains and left for dead.

Unbeknownst to Wyatt, Peter has suffered hundreds of ritualistic deaths on her family's property. Semi-immortal, Peter never remains dead for long, but he can't really live, either. Not while he's bound to the farm, locked in a cycle of grisly deaths and painful rebirths. There's only one way for him to break free. He needs to end the Westlock line.

He needs to kill Wyatt.

With Wyatt's parents gone, the spells protecting the property have begun to unravel, and dark, ancient forces gather in the nearby forest. The only way for Wyatt to repair the wards is to work with Peter -- the one person who knows how to harness her volatile magic. But how can she trust a boy who's sworn an oath to destroy her? When the past turns up to haunt them in the most unexpected way, they are forced to rely on one another to survive, or else tear each other apart.]]> 368 Kelly Andrew 1338885081 Jesica 0 to-read 3.85 2024 Your Blood, My Bones
author: Kelly Andrew
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> Song of the Six Realms 172979755 Judy I. Lin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Magic Steeped in Poison, weaves a dreamy gothic romance worthy of the heavens in Song of the Six Realms.

Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn¡¯t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.

With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. The young man is strangely kind and awkward for nobility, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he¡¯ll set her free of her indenture.

But the Duke¡¯s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he¡¯s not just some country noble: He¡¯s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.

The Duke needs Xue¡¯s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war¡­ but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.]]> 376 Judy I. Lin 1250871611 Jesica 0 to-read 3.53 2024 Song of the Six Realms
author: Judy I. Lin
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia, #2)]]> 198902263 This new hardcover edition of the bestselling The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King features new case art, a detailed map, and a never-before-seen bonus chapter!

From the New York Times bestselling author Carissa Broadbent, comes The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King, the gutting second installment of the Crowns of Nyaxia series, full of heartbreak, redemption, blood intrigue and heart-pounding action.

Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She¡¯s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

Raihn¡¯s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.

When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom¨Cand gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she¡¯ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father¡¯s greatest secrets.

But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power¨Cand the devastating love that could be her downfall.]]> 591 Carissa Broadbent 1250343151 Jesica 0 to-read 4.11 2023 The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia, #2)
author: Carissa Broadbent
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World]]> 75500672 A stunning account of a colossal wildfire that collided with a city and a panoramic exploration of the rapidly changing?relationship between fire and humankind

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada¡¯s oil industry and America¡¯s biggest foreign supplier, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster melted vehicles, turned entire neighborhoods into firebombs, and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon. Through the lens of this apocalyptic conflagration¡ªthe wildfire equivalent of Hurricane Katrina¡ªJohn Vaillant warns that this was not a unique event but a shocking preview of what we must prepare for in a hotter, more flammable world.

Fire has been a partner in our evolution for millennia,?shaping culture, civilization, and, very likely, our brains. Fire has enabled us to cook our food, defend and heat our homes, and power the machines that drive our titanic economy. Yet this volatile energy source has always threatened to elude our control, and in our new age of intensifying climate change, we are seeing its destructive power unleashed in previously unimaginable ways.

With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, Vaillant takes us on a?riveting journey?through the intertwined histories of North America¡¯s oil industry and the birth of climate science, to the?unprecedented devastation that modern forest fires wreak, and into lives forever changed by these disasters.?His urgent work is a book for¡ªand from¡ªour new century of fire, which has only just begun.]]> 432 John Vaillant 0525434240 Jesica 0 to-read 4.33 2023 Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World
author: John Vaillant
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World]]> 61966364 A stunning account of a colossal wildfire that collided with a city and a panoramic exploration of the rapidly changing?relationship between fire and humankind

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada¡¯s oil industry and America¡¯s biggest foreign supplier, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster melted vehicles, turned entire neighborhoods into firebombs, and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon. Through the lens of this apocalyptic conflagration¡ªthe wildfire equivalent of Hurricane Katrina¡ªJohn Vaillant warns that this was not a unique event but a shocking preview of what we must prepare for in a hotter, more flammable world.

Fire has been a partner in our evolution for millennia,?shaping culture, civilization, and, very likely, our brains. Fire has enabled us to cook our food, defend and heat our homes, and power the machines that drive our titanic economy. Yet this volatile energy source has always threatened to elude our control, and in our new age of intensifying climate change, we are seeing its destructive power unleashed in previously unimaginable ways.

With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, Vaillant takes us on a?riveting journey?through the intertwined histories of North America¡¯s oil industry and the birth of climate science, to the?unprecedented devastation that modern forest fires wreak, and into lives forever changed by these disasters.?His urgent work is a book for¡ªand from¡ªour new century of fire, which has only just begun.]]> 432 John Vaillant 1524732850 Jesica 0 to-read 4.31 2023 Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World
author: John Vaillant
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
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]]> FLIPSIDE (JACK OF ALL) 61324265
Burke, a veteran of the squid invasion, is facing a new enemy: age. All he wants is to get through the remainder of his days without any trouble, but the world is unforgiving and peace is a distant memory.

Arvin, Burke¡¯s neighbour and friend, is losing himself. Once a powerful wizard, he has become a danger to those he cares about most.

Charlie, a girl born after the squid invasion, knows only loss and fear. Her mother and best friend were killed, and every time the lights go out, she hopes she¡¯s not next. But hope is as dead as her mother.

The squid are evolving. Where light was once a death sentence, it now serves as a mere obstacle in their relentless pursuit of food and corpses.]]> 404 Leumas Llewtnac 1734713089 Jesica 0 to-read 4.33 2022 FLIPSIDE (JACK OF ALL)
author: Leumas Llewtnac
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3)]]> 61030535
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 ¨C 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.]]> 480 Adrian Tchaikovsky 0316466409 Jesica 0 to-read 3.99 2022 Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3)
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe]]> 127280424
It is a moment shrouded in horror and mystery. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849, at just forty, in a painful, utterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror. What was the cause of his untimely death, and what happened to him during the three missing days before he was found, delirious and ¡°in great distress¡± on the streets of Baltimore, wearing ill-fitting clothes that were not his own?

Mystery and horror. Poe, who remains one of the most iconic of American writers, died under haunting circumstances that reflect the two literary genres he took to new heights. Over the years, there has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of death, from rabies and syphilis to suicide, alcoholism, and even murder. But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth, hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his chilling masterpieces. By debunking the myths of how he lived, we come closer to understanding the real Poe¨Dand uncovering the truth behind his mysterious death, as a new theory emerges that could prove the cause of Poe¡¯s death was haunting him all his life.

In a compelling dual-timeline narrative alternating between Poe¡¯s increasingly desperate last months and his brief but impactful life, Mark Dawidziak sheds new light on the enigmatic master of macabre.]]> 304 Mark Dawidziak 1250792517 Jesica 0 to-read 3.74 2023 A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe
author: Mark Dawidziak
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Frugal Wizard¡¯s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects, #2)]]> 60531410 399 Brandon Sanderson 1938570332 Jesica 0 to-read 3.74 2023 The Frugal Wizard¡¯s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> Tress of the Emerald Sea 60531406 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?]]> 443 Brandon Sanderson Jesica 0 to-read 4.35 2023 Tress of the Emerald Sea
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Killers of a Certain Age (Killers of a Certain Age, #1)]]> 60149532 Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon.

They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman--and a killer--of a certain age.]]> 368 Deanna Raybourn Jesica 0 to-read 3.82 2022 Killers of a Certain Age (Killers of a Certain Age, #1)
author: Deanna Raybourn
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Heart of the Sun Warrior (The Celestial Kingdom, #2)]]> 60461898
Forced to flee her home once more, Xingyin and her companions venture to unexplored lands of the Immortal Realm, encountering legendary creatures and shrewd monarchs, beloved friends and bitter adversaries. With alliances shifting quicker than the tides, Xingyin has to overcome past grudges and enmities to forge a new path forward, seeking aid where she never imagined she would. As an unspeakable terror sweeps across the realm, Xingyin must uncover the truth of her heart and claw her way through devastation--to rise against this evil before it destroys everything she holds dear, and the worlds she has grown to love... even if doing so demands the greatest price of all.

The stunning sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess delves deeper into beloved Chinese mythology, concluding the epic story of Xingyin--the daughter of Chang'e and the mortal archer, Houyi--as she battles a grave new threat to the realm, in this powerful tale of love, sacrifice, and hope.]]> 466 Sue Lynn Tan 0063031361 Jesica 0 to-read 4.00 2022 Heart of the Sun Warrior (The Celestial Kingdom, #2)
author: Sue Lynn Tan
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> Foxglove (Belladonna, #2) 58651856
The captivating sequel to the Gothic-infused Belladonna, in which Signa and Death face a supernatural foe determined to tear them apart.

A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He's hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago...and now he's determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.

Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate's past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate's unexpected games¡ªall with their destinies hanging in the balance.

Dangerous, suspenseful, and seductive, this sequel to Signa and Death's story is as utterly romantic as it is perfectly deadly.]]> 465 Adalyn Grace 0316565253 Jesica 0 to-read 4.12 2023 Foxglove (Belladonna, #2)
author: Adalyn Grace
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)]]> 195791015 A Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Finalist
A Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Best Horror Choice Award Nominee

A gripping and atmospheric reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe¡¯s ¡°The Fall of the House of Usher¡± from Hugo, Locus, & Nebula award-winning author T. Kingfisher

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.]]> 165 T. Kingfisher 1250830818 Jesica 0 to-read 3.90 2022 What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[A Study in Drowning (A Study in Drowning, #1)]]> 75302266 Angharad¡ªEmrys Myrddin¡¯s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him¡ªis the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin¡¯s family announces a contest to redesign the late author¡¯s estate, Effy feels certain it¡¯s her destiny.

But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston H¨¦loury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin¡¯s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them¡ªand the truth may bring them both to ruin.]]> 378 Ava Reid 0063211505 Jesica 0 to-read 3.73 2023 A Study in Drowning (A Study in Drowning, #1)
author: Ava Reid
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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]]> Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 12 56817469 326 Touya Mikanagi 1975323157 Jesica 0 to-read 4.31 2021 Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 12
author: Touya Mikanagi
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea, #1)]]> 59406549 Why save the world when you can have tea?

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it¡ªand she can¡¯t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city's most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

From the New York Times¡ªbestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance and revenge, led by an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.]]> 338 Hafsah Faizal 0374389403 Jesica 0 to-read 3.49 2024 A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea, #1)
author: Hafsah Faizal
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> Midnight in Everwood 55918521
When Drosselmeier constructs an elaborate set for Marietta¡¯s final ballet performance, she discovers it carries a magic all of its own. On the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, she is transported to a snowy forest, where she encounters danger at every turn: ice giants, shadow goblins and the shrieking mist all lurk amidst the firs and frozen waterfalls and ice cliffs. After being rescued by the butterscotch-eyed captain of the king¡¯s guard, she is escorted to the frozen sugar palace. At once, Marietta is enchanted by this glittering world of glamorous gowns, gingerbread houses, miniature reindeer and the most delicious confectionary.

But all is not as it seems and Marietta is soon trapped in the sumptuous palace by the sadistic King Gelum, who claims her as his own. She is confined to a gilded prison with his other pets; Dellara, whose words are as sharp as her teeth, and Pirlipata, a princess from another land. Marietta must forge an alliance with the two women to carve a way free from this sugar-coated but treacherous world and back home to follow her dreams. Yet in a hedonistic world brimming with rebellion and a forbidden romance that risks everything, such a path will never be easy.]]> 339 M.A. Kuzniar 0008450668 Jesica 0 to-read 3.53 2021 Midnight in Everwood
author: M.A. Kuzniar
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance, #3)]]> 55858638 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 of the world.

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 on the horizon. And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously got out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.]]> 407 Naomi Novik 0593158369 Jesica 0 to-read 4.08 2022 The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance, #3)
author: Naomi Novik
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 11 55661345 326 Touya Mikanagi 1975317017 Jesica 0 to-read 4.27 2021 Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 11
author: Touya Mikanagi
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
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]]> The Final Girl Support Group 55829194 In horror movies, the final girls are the ones left standing?when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives¡­but what happens after?

Like his bestselling novel The Southern Book Club¡¯s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady Hendrix¡¯s latest is a fast-paced, frightening, and wickedly humorous thriller. From?chain?saws to summer camp slayers, The Final Girl Support Group pays tribute to and slyly subverts our most popular horror films¡ªmovies like The Texas?Chainsaw Massacre, A?Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream.

Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre. For more than a decade, she¡¯s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, working to put their lives back together. Then one woman misses a meeting, and their worst fears are realized¡ªsomeone knows about the group and is determined to rip their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about final girls is that no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.]]> 352 Grady Hendrix 059320123X Jesica 0 to-read 3.49 2021 The Final Girl Support Group
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night]]> 54900051
But de Gerlache¡¯s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters. De Gerlache sailed on, and soon the Belgica was stuck fast in the icy hold of the Bellingshausen Sea. When the sun set on the magnificent polar landscape one last time, the ship¡¯s occupants were condemned to months of endless night. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness and besieged by monotony, they descended into madness.

In Madhouse at the End of the Earth, Julian Sancton unfolds an epic story of adventure and horror for the ages. As the Belgica¡¯s men teetered on the brink, de Gerlache relied increasingly on two young officers whose friendship had blossomed in the expedition¡¯s lone American, Dr. Frederick Cook¡ªhalf genius, half con man¡ªwhose later infamy would overshadow his brilliance on the Belgica; and the ship¡¯s first mate, soon-to-be legendary Roald Amundsen, even in his youth the storybook picture of a sailor. Together, they would plan a last-ditch, nearly certain-to-fail escape from the ice¡ªone that would either etch their names in history or doom them to a terrible fate at the ocean¡¯s bottom.

Drawing on the diaries and journals of the Belgica¡¯s crew and with exclusive access to the ship¡¯s logbook, Sancton brings novelistic flair to a story of human extremes, one so remarkable that even today NASA studies it for research on isolation for future missions to Mars. Equal parts maritime thriller and gothic horror, Madhouse at the End of the Earth is an unforgettable journey into the deep.]]> 354 Julian Sancton 1984824333 Jesica 0 to-read 4.24 2021 Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night
author: Julian Sancton
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2021
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]]> Dreams Lie Beneath 54557816 Perfect for readers of The Hazel Wood and The Night Circus, this lush and layered story about magic and the captivating power of dreams is delivered with acclaimed author Rebecca Ross¡¯s signature exquisite style.

A curse plagues the realm of Azenor¡ªduring each new moon, magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, who serve as territory wardens, stand between people and their worst dreams.

Clementine Madigan is ready to take over as the warden of her small town, but when two magicians challenge her, she is unwittingly drawn into a century-old conflict. She seeks revenge, but as she secretly gets closer to Phelan, one of the handsome young magicians, secrets begin to rise. Clementine must unite with her rival to fight the realm¡¯s curse, which seems to be haunting her every turn.]]> 496 Rebecca Ross 0063015951 Jesica 0 to-read 4.08 2021 Dreams Lie Beneath
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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]]> Dead Silence 57693184 Titanic meets The Shining in S.A. Barnes¡¯ Dead Silence, a SF horror novel in which a woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn't yet ended.

A GHOST SHIP.
A SALVAGE CREW.
UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed¡ªmade obsolete¡ªwhen her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn¡¯t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.]]> 343 S.A. Barnes 1250819997 Jesica 0 to-read 3.76 2022 Dead Silence
author: S.A. Barnes
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Dragon's Promise (Six Crimson Cranes, #2)]]> 53457102 A journey to the kingdom of dragons, a star-crossed love, and a cursed pearl with the power to mend the world or break it...

Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon's pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood.

The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori's aid one minute, and betraying her the next¡ªthreatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love, Takkan. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she's fought so hard to win.]]> 482 Elizabeth Lim 1529356784 Jesica 0 to-read 3.78 2022 The Dragon's Promise (Six Crimson Cranes, #2)
author: Elizabeth Lim
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 8 (Karneval Omnibus, #8)]]> 35099046 358 Touya Mikanagi 0316472344 Jesica 0 to-read 4.24 2017 Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 8 (Karneval Omnibus, #8)
author: Touya Mikanagi
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Because I Was A Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages]]> 34608062 Because I Was a Girl is an inspiring collection of true stories by women and girls about the obstacles, challenges, and opportunities they've faced¡­because of their gender. Edited by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz, the book is the perfect gift for girls of all ages.

The collection includes writings from an impressive array of girls and women who are trailblazers in their fields, including bestselling authors Victoria Aveyard, Libba Bray, and Margaret Stohl; industry pioneers like Dolores Huerta, Trish McEvoy, and Holly Knight; renowned chef Katie Button; aerospace and mechanical engineer Emily Calandrelli; and many more.

Because I Was a Girl features powerful stories from:

Elizabeth Acevedo
Katrina Adams
Victoria Aveyard
Bonnie Bartlett
Brenda Bowen
Libba Bray
Katie Button
Emily Calandrelli
Babette Davis
Williabell Jones Davis
Melissa de la Cruz
Abby Falik
Jena Friedman
Joan Hanawi
Jane Hawley
Tina Hay
Jody Houser
Dolores Huerta
Zareen Jaffery
Anjanette Johnston
Mattie Johnston
Holly Knight
Jill Lorie
Zoey Luna
Trish McEvoy
Loretta Miranda
Gloria Molina
Susan Morrison
Anna Ponder
Margaret Semrud-Clikeman
Rebecca Soffer
Cheri Steinkellner
Margaret Stohl
Noor Tagouri
Tillie Walden
Quvenzhane Wallis
Francesca Zambello
Lenore Zion]]> 240 Melissa de la Cruz 1250154464 Jesica 0 to-read 3.91 2017 Because I Was A Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages
author: Melissa de la Cruz
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #1)]]> 34523174
Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they¡¯re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life¡¯s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.]]> 448 Mira Grant 0316379409 Jesica 0 to-read 3.94 2017 Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #1)
author: Mira Grant
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy, #2)]]> 34050917 The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden¡¯s enchanting first novel, introduced readers to an irresistible heroine. Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family¡¯s wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Vasilisa¡¯s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko¡ªFrost, the winter demon from the stories¡ªand together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost¡¯s aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch.

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

But after she prevails in a skirmish with bandits, everything changes. The Grand Prince of Moscow anoints her a hero for her exploits, and she is reunited with her beloved sister and brother, who are now part of the Grand Prince¡¯s inner circle. She dares not reveal to the court that she is a girl, for if her deception were discovered it would have terrible consequences for herself and her family. Before she can untangle herself from Moscow¡¯s intrigues¡ªand as Frost provides counsel that may or may not be trustworthy¡ªshe will also confront an even graver threat lying in wait for all of Moscow itself.]]> 360 Katherine Arden 1101885963 Jesica 0 to-read 4.34 2017 The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy, #2)
author: Katherine Arden
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 7 (Karneval Omnibus, #7)]]> 32856020 But back at Chronom¨¦ Academy, Kafka launches an attack, sending a swarm of Varuga to lay siege to the prestigious school. And when Tsubame attempts to protect her friends...she ends up a hostage herself! With Gareki back on board the 2nd Ship, who will come to her rescue?!]]> 358 Touya Mikanagi 0316547808 Jesica 0 to-read 4.25 2017 Karneval Omnibus, Vol. 7 (Karneval Omnibus, #7)
author: Touya Mikanagi
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Greywaren (Dreamer Trilogy, #3)]]> 31373240
Niall and M¨®r escaped their homeland for a new start, and lost themselves in what they found.

Declan has grown up as the responsible son, the responsible brother--only to find there is no way for him to keep his family safe.

Ronan has always lived on the edge between dreams and waking... but now that edge is gone, and he is falling.

Matthew has been the happy child, the brightest beam. But rebellion beckons, because it all feels like an illusion now.

This world was not made for such a family--a family with the power to make a world and break it. If they cannot save each other or themselves, we are all doomed.]]> 336 Maggie Stiefvater 1338188410 Jesica 0 to-read 4.28 2022 Greywaren (Dreamer Trilogy, #3)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> All the Crooked Saints 30025336 From bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater, a gripping tale of darkness, miracles, and family. Saints. Miracles. Family. Romance. Death. Redemption.

Here is a thing everyone wants: A miracle.

Here is a thing everyone fears: What it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.]]> 313 Maggie Stiefvater 0545930804 Jesica 0 to-read 3.82 2017 All the Crooked Saints
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
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]]> <![CDATA[Red Queen (The Chronicles of Alice, #2)]]> 27246122 ?
The land outside of the Old City was supposed to be green, lush, hopeful. A place where Alice could finally rest, no longer the plaything of the Rabbit, the pawn of Cheshire, or the prey of the Jabberwocky. But the verdant fields are nothing but ash¡ªand hope is nowhere to be found.
?
Still, Alice and Hatcher are on a mission to find his daughter, a quest they will not forsake even as it takes them deep into the clutches of the mad White Queen and her goblin or into the realm of the twisted and cruel Black King.
?
The pieces are set and the game has already begun. Each move brings Alice closer to her destiny. But, to win, she will need to harness her newfound abilities and ally herself with someone even more powerful¡ªthe mysterious and vengeful Red Queen...]]> 291 Christina Henry 042526680X Jesica 0 to-read 3.81 2016 Red Queen (The Chronicles of Alice, #2)
author: Christina Henry
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America¡¯s Shining Women]]> 31409135 The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive¡ªuntil they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

]]> 479 Kate Moore 149264935X Jesica 0 to-read 4.12 2016 The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America¡¯s Shining Women
author: Kate Moore
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1)]]> 44778083
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.]]> 803 Sarah J. Maas 1635574048 Jesica 0 to-read 4.43 2020 House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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]]> My Best Friend's Exorcism 41015038 337 Grady Hendrix Jesica 0 to-read 3.94 2016 My Best Friend's Exorcism
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)]]> 25499718
WHO WILL INHERIT THIS NEW EARTH?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age¡ªa world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?]]> 608 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1447273281 Jesica 0 to-read 4.29 2015 Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)]]> 25489134
After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

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

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

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.]]> 319 Katherine Arden 1101885939 Jesica 0 to-read 4.07 2017 The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)
author: Katherine Arden
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)]]> 24434446 A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll...

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

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn¡¯t remember why she¡¯s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood¡­

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

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

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.]]> 304 Christina Henry 1101618183 Jesica 0 to-read 3.95 2015 Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)
author: Christina Henry
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)]]> 23437156 Alternate cover of ISBN 9781627792127

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price¡ªand no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can¡¯t pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can¡¯t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz¡¯s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction¡ªif they don¡¯t kill each other first.]]> 480 Leigh Bardugo 1627792120 Jesica 0 to-read 4.47 2015 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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]]> Uprooted 22544764 ¡°Our Dragon doesn¡¯t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that¡¯s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he¡¯s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we¡¯re grateful, but not that grateful.¡±

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows¡ªeveryone knows¡ªthat the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn¡¯t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.]]> 438 Naomi Novik 0804179034 Jesica 0 to-read 4.02 2015 Uprooted
author: Naomi Novik
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident]]> 20706708
What happened that night on Dead Mountain?

In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the mountain climbing incident¡ªunexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes¡ªhave led to decades of speculation over the true stories and what really happened.

Dead The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident delves into the untold story through unprecedented access to the hikers' own journals and photographs, rarely seen government records, dozens of interviews, and author Donnie Eichar's retracing of the hikers' fateful journey in the Russian winter.

An instant historical nonfiction bestseller upon its release, this is the dramatic real story of what happened on Dead Mountain.

GRIPPING AND This is a fascinating portrait of young adventurers in the Soviet era, and a skillful interweaving of the hikers' narrative, the investigators' efforts, and the author's investigations. Library Journal hailed "the drama and poignancy of Eichar's solid depiction of this truly eerie and enduring mystery."

FOR FANS OF UNSOLVED Unsolved true crimes and historical mysteries never cease to capture our imaginations. The Dyatlov Pass incident was little known outside of Russia until film producer and director Donnie Eichar brought the decades-old mystery to light in a book that reads like a mystery.

FASCINATING This well-researched volume includes black-and-white photographs from the cameras that belonged to the hikers, which were recovered after their deaths, along with explanatory graphics breaking down some of the theories surrounding the mysterious incident.

Perfect ]]> 288 Donnie Eichar 1452140030 Jesica 5
This is not a book that can tell one exactly what happened to these hikers, because there still is no proven causation of their deaths. However, if you would like a different take on they mystery of their deaths other than a military experiment gone wrong or the supernatural this is an interesting read to consider.]]> 4.13 2013 Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
author: Donnie Eichar
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2021/10/02
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves:
review:
I truly enjoyed this book. The author Donnie Eichar tells the story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident of February 1959 and gives the reader his interpretation of what came to pass to the 9 hikers and their traumatic deaths based on his chosen hypothesis of Infrasound.

This is not a book that can tell one exactly what happened to these hikers, because there still is no proven causation of their deaths. However, if you would like a different take on they mystery of their deaths other than a military experiment gone wrong or the supernatural this is an interesting read to consider.
]]> <![CDATA[Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail]]> 27131381


??????????? Driven by a painful marriage, Grandma Gatewood not only hiked the trail alone, she was the first person¡ªman or woman¡ªto walk it twice and three times. At age seventy-one, she hiked the 2,000-mile Oregon Trail. Gatewood became a hiking celebrity, and appeared on TV with Groucho Marx and Art Linkletter. The public attention she brought to the trail was unprecedented. Her vocal criticism of the lousy, difficult stretches led to bolstered maintenance, and very likely saved the trail from extinction.



??????????? Author Ben Montgomery interviewed surviving family members and hikers Gatewood met along the trail, unearthed historic newspaper and magazine articles, and was given full access to Gatewood¡¯s own diaries, trail journals, and correspondence. Grandma Gatewood¡¯s Walk shines a fresh light on one of America¡¯s most celebrated hikers.?]]> 288 Ben Montgomery 1613734999 Jesica 0 to-read 4.32 2014 Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail
author: Ben Montgomery
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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]]> S. 17860739 One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire.

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

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

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

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

S. , conceived by filmmaker J. J. Abrams and written by award-winning novelist Doug Dorst, is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a book and enmeshing themselves in a deadly struggle between forces they don¡¯t understand. It is also Abrams and Dorst¡¯s love letter to the written word.
]]> 469 J.J. Abrams 0316201642 Jesica 0 to-read 3.86 2013 S.
author: J.J. Abrams
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)]]> 16429619
On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive¡ªand unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her.?Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets¡ªeven as she finds herself falling in love.

The Kiss of Deception?is the first audiobook in?Mary E. Pearson's Remnant Chronicles]]> 492 Mary E. Pearson Jesica 0 to-read 3.92 2014 The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)
author: Mary E. Pearson
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England]]> 63068377 The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?]]> 366 Brandon Sanderson 1250899672 Jesica 0 to-read 3.75 2023 The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Warm Hands of Ghosts 154462576 New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, she receives word of Freddie¡¯s death in combat, along with his personal effects¡ªbut something doesn¡¯t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something¡ªor someone¡ªelse?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two men form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.

As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura¡¯s and Freddie¡¯s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging¡ªor better left behind entirely.]]> 325 Katherine Arden 0593128257 Jesica 0 to-read 3.96 2024 The Warm Hands of Ghosts
author: Katherine Arden
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
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]]> Thistlefoot 60018639
Thistlefoot, as the house is called, has arrived from the Yagas' ancestral home in Russia--but not alone. A sinister figure known only as the Longshadow Man has tracked it to American shores, bearing with him violent secrets from the past: fiery memories that have hidden in Isaac and Bellatine's blood for generations. As the Yaga siblings embark with Thistlefoot on a final cross-country tour of their family's traveling theater show, the Longshadow Man follows in relentless pursuit, seeding destruction in his wake. Ultimately, time, magic, and legacy must collide--erupting in a powerful conflagration to determine who gets to remember the past and craft a new future.

An enchanted adventure illuminated by Jewish myth and adorned with lyrical prose as tantalizing and sweet as briar berries, Thistlefoot is an immersive modern fantasy saga by a bold new talent.]]> 448 GennaRose Nethercott 059346883X Jesica 0 to-read 3.92 2022 Thistlefoot
author: GennaRose Nethercott
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
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]]> <![CDATA[The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2)]]> 55559887 A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik¡¯s groundbreaking crossover series.

At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year¡ªand the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules . . .]]> 388 Naomi Novik 0593128869 Jesica 5 4.20 2021 The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2)
author: Naomi Novik
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 5
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date added: 2025/01/01
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I was truly enraptured by book 2 of The Scholomance and by the end I was crying.
]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1)]]> 61294937 Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman¡¯s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory¡ªand write her own legend.

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean¡¯s most notorious pirates, she¡¯s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she¡¯s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she¡¯s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade¡¯s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family¡¯s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God¡¯s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there¡¯s more to this job, and the girl¡¯s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there¡¯s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power¡­and the price might be your very soul.]]> 483 Shannon Chakraborty Jesica 0 to-read 4.25 2023 The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1)
author: Shannon Chakraborty
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
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]]> Tress of the Emerald Sea 63068384 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings us deeper into the Cosmere universe with a rollicking, riveting tale that will appeal to fans of 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?]]> 369 Brandon Sanderson 1250899656 Jesica 0 to-read 4.27 2023 Tress of the Emerald Sea
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
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]]> <![CDATA[Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)]]> 60657589
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.]]> 336 Heather Fawcett 059350013X Jesica 0 to-read 3.98 2023 Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)
author: Heather Fawcett
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
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]]> <![CDATA[Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel, #1)]]> 50702014 Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year¡­

Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind¡­

From the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far side of despair.]]> 366 T. Kingfisher Jesica 4 4.08 2020 Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel, #1)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1)]]> 51603444 What would you change if you could travel back in time?

 Down a small alleyway in the heart of Tokyo, there¡¯s an underground caf¨¦ that¡¯s been serving carefully brewed coffee for over a hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers its customers something else besides coffee¡ªthe chance to travel back in time.

The rules, however, are far from simple: you must sit in one particular seat, and you can¡¯t venture outside the caf¨¦, nor can you change the present. And, most important, you only have the time it takes to drink a hot cup of coffee¡ªor risk getting stuck forever.

Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the caf¨¦ in the hopes of traveling to another time: a heartbroken lover looking for closure, a nurse with a mysterious letter from her husband, a waitress hoping to say one last goodbye and a mother whose child she may never get the chance to know.

Heartwarming, wistful and delightfully quirky, Before the Coffee Gets Cold explores the intersecting lives of four women who come together in one extraordinary caf¨¦, where the service may not be quick, but the opportunities are endless.]]> 227 Toshikazu Kawaguchi 1488077215 Jesica 3 3.80 2015 Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1)
author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
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]]> <![CDATA[The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet]]> 55145261 A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.

Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.]]> 304 John Green 0525555218 Jesica 0 to-read 4.37 2021 The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
author: John Green
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/27
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]]> <![CDATA[A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot, #2)]]> 40864030
They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.

Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter?

They're going to need to ask it a lot.]]> 152 Becky Chambers Jesica 4 4.40 2022 A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot, #2)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Jesica
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/14
date added: 2024/12/14
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]]> The Listeners 56988057
January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society¡¯s troubles.

Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel¡¯s aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff¡ªmany of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines¡ªto offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.

Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotel¡¯s walls, listening for the diplomats¡¯ secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that June¡¯s balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.

June has never met a guest she couldn¡¯t delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallon¡¯s polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.]]> 400 Maggie Stiefvater 0593655508 Jesica 0 to-read 3.99 2025 The Listeners
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Jesica
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
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]]>