en-US Thu, 08 May 2025 11:45:30 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 202675767
But then, on a solo job in an abandoned section of the city, she encounters a monster of legend. An undine. A dangerous merman from an ancient civilization, long forgotten.

Arges has fought his entire life for his people. With deadly creatures under his control, he plans to eradicate Beta once and for all to protect his kind and their peaceful way of life. But when a human woman saves him, she unknowingly creates a bond between them, one he can’t ignore. Even though her flaming red hair haunts his dreams, he needs her for information on the undine’s enemies.

So he steals her. Keeps her. Feeds her. Only to realize their bond is far deeper than captor and captive. He cannot let her go—but he cannot keep her under the sea. In a battle to determine if love can survive a war beneath the waves, it will be their decision that changes the tides.]]> 381 Emma Hamm Laurel 0 to-read 4.00 2024
author: Emma Hamm
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> 75384035 They stole his crown, so he stole their daughter��

For years Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm.

Until his enemy’s daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge.

She’s innocent. He’s vicious. But he will take back what he lost, no matter the price.

Unless she steals his heart first.

Welcome to the passionate world of the Ever Kingdom where pirates, sirens, and fae collide with Vikings in a dark fantasy romance between a villain and the innocent princess who holds his heart.

*Please note: This series is set in the same world as the bestselling Broken Kingdoms series, but can be read independently, and readers are encouraged to read the list of triggers inside*]]> 408 L.J. Andrews Laurel 0 currently-reading 4.14 2023
author: L.J. Andrews
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 129915654 400 Jane Austen Laurel 3 4.38 1813
author: Jane Austen
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1813
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/08
date added: 2025/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 185965151
The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian’s. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.]]> 313 Beth Brower 1957492015 Laurel 0 currently-reading 4.77
author: Beth Brower
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.77
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/04
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 63008072
It's time to find your power.

Suddenly orphaned and alone, Rosie Frost is sent to the mysterious Bloodstone Island—home not only to a school for extraordinary teens, but also a sanctuary for endangered species. There, Rosie confronts a menacing deputy headmaster, a group of mean girls intent on destroying her, and shocking family secrets. She also discovers that history can come to life in ways she never could have imagined.��

When the island itself comes under threat, Rosie knows she must enter and win the Falcon Queen Games in a desperate bid to save it.��

But Rosie can't do it alone. She finds that believing in herself—and her friends—is the first step to finding the power she never knew she had.]]> 464 Geri Halliwell-Horner 0593623347 Laurel 0 to-read 3.95 2023
author: Geri Halliwell-Horner
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 63027990 There is bedlam, and there is delightful bedlam.
This afternoon touched on the second, much to my pleasure.

The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian’s. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.]]> 249 Beth Brower Laurel 5 4.79 2022
author: Beth Brower
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.79
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/01
date added: 2025/05/01
shelves:
review:

]]> 59041700 “What a lovely bible,�� Mrs. Tribly said.
“Isn’t it just?�� I replied, hoping she would not ask me to read a favorite verse aloud.
I do not believe the psalmist wrote,
Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest,
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 247 Beth Brower 0998063657 Laurel 5 4.77
author: Beth Brower
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.77
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
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review:

]]> 215217614 A beautiful con artist insinuates herself into a wealthy socialite’s life . . . with deadly consequences, in this serpentine thriller about identity and obsession, from actress, director and bestselling author Krysten Ritter.

��Liz Dawson weaves through a crowd with the ease of a tropical breeze, moving seamlessly through elite circles, sparking instant connections and making every new acquaintance feel like an intimate friend. She’s clever, smooth, and confident—qualities that make her a brilliant serial con artist.

Isabelle Beresford is strikingly beautiful, obscenely wealthy, and the new owner of Casa Esmerelda, a fabulous villa on the Mexican coast—attributes that make her the perfect mark. When she offers Liz a job handling the installation of a piece of art in her otherwise vacant home, Liz can’t resist the allure of a beach retreat. She longs for a reset, a chance to finally shed the grip of her addiction to the conning game.

But when Liz, with her lush dark hair and intense green eyes, is mistaken for Isabelle herself, Liz can’t help effortlessly slipping into the socialite’s identity. The transition is so easeful, it almost feels like fate. But just who is Isabelle Beresford really, and why does she seem to have abandoned this stunning life of hers?

As Liz insinuates herself deeper into the dazzling—and deceptive—world of the Punta Mita resort community, she draws closer to the dangers surrounding the real Isabelle. Dangers that may have already ensnared Liz, too. This might not be the con of her life—but the con that ends it.]]> 272 Krysten Ritter 0063334607 Laurel 4 3.74 2025
author: Krysten Ritter
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves:
review:

]]> 56553921
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 208 Beth Brower Laurel 5 4.75
author: Beth Brower
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/22
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 212378278
When renouned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she's expected to make a quick recovery, and Sona is excited to spend time with the worldly woman who shares her half-Indian identity, even if that's where their similarities end. Sona is enraptured by Mira's stories of her travels, and shocked by accounts of the many lovers she's left scattered through Europe. Over the course of a week, Mira befriends Sona, seeing in her something bigger than the small life she's living with her mother. Mira is released from the hospital just in time to attend a lavish engagement party where all of Bombay society. But the next day, Mira is readmitted to the hospital in worse condition than before, and when she dies under mysterious circumstances, Sona immediately falls under suspicion.

Before leaving the hospital in disgrace, Sona is given a note Mira left for her, along with her four favorite paintings. But how could she have known to leave a note if she didn't know she was going to die? The note sends Sona on a mission to deliver three of the paintings—the first to Petra, Mira's childhood friend and first love in Prague; the second to her art dealer Josephine in Paris; the third to her first painting tutor, Paolo, with whom both Mira and her mother had affairs. As Sona uncovers Mira's history, she learns that the charming facade she'd come to know was only one part of a complicated and sometimes cruel woman. But can she discover what really happened to Mira and exonerate herself?

Along the way, Sona also comes to terms with her own complex history and the English father who deserted her and her mother in India so many years ago. In the end, she'll discover that we are all made up of pieces, and only by seeing the world do we learn to see ourselves.]]> 352 Alka Joshi 077836853X Laurel 2
But for me, it’s the way that Sona spends the whole book crying about her birth father leaving them and how much that impacted her life, the lie of him having another family being a never ending source of pain, etc etc.. while ending the book by casually mentioning that Amit is the father of her baby, but since Edward never mentioned it, she has just let everyone assume he is the father.

Besides having no plot and unlikable characters, why would you spend 300+ pages hitting us over the head with themes about “finding the truth�� only to end with the FMC lying about the father of her baby? ]]> 3.68 2025
author: Alka Joshi
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves:
review:
I have so many complaints about this book.

But for me, it’s the way that Sona spends the whole book crying about her birth father leaving them and how much that impacted her life, the lie of him having another family being a never ending source of pain, etc etc.. while ending the book by casually mentioning that Amit is the father of her baby, but since Edward never mentioned it, she has just let everyone assume he is the father.

Besides having no plot and unlikable characters, why would you spend 300+ pages hitting us over the head with themes about “finding the truth�� only to end with the FMC lying about the father of her baby?
]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Laurel 5 currently-reading 4.57 2005
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/04/19
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 21787
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.]]> 429 William Goldman 0345418263 Laurel 0 to-read 4.27 1973
author: William Goldman
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 16160797 456 Robert Galbraith 0316206849 Laurel 4 3.88 2013
author: Robert Galbraith
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/16
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 55138117 "It has been a day ordained by the fates, for how else could one explain the wholly cursed chain of events?" The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London Neighbourhood of St. Crispian's. But Emma's plan for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House. Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.]]> 229 Beth Brower Laurel 4 4.65
author: Beth Brower
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.65
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/15
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves:
review:

]]> 48677941
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.
]]> 162 Beth Brower Laurel 5 4.59
author: Beth Brower
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.59
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 61975
To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise-and take back her stolen birthright.

But everything changes when she meets a Queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa's world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their Riders once protected the planet from Thread and the blood-red star, but there are very few of them left these days. Only the gigantic, golden Queen can breed new dragons. And the Queen is fading... dying...

Now brave Lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world...]]> 299 Anne McCaffrey 0345484266 Laurel 0 to-read 4.09 1968
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1968
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> 28541 Fifteen-year-old Menolly allies with magnificent dragons in the first book in the Harper Hall trilogy, set within science fiction legend Anne McCaffrey’s beloved and bestselling Dragonriders of Pern series.

For centuries, the world of Pern has faced a destructive force known as Thread. But the number of magnificent dragons who have protected this world and the men and women who ride them are dwindling.

As fewer dragons ride the winds and destruction falls from the sky, Menolly has only one to sing, play, and weave the music that comes to her so easily—she wishes to become a Harper. But despite her great talents, her father believes that a young girl is unworthy of such a respected position and forbids her to pursue her dreams. So Menolly runs away, taking shelter in a cave by the sea. Miraculously, she happens upon nine fire lizards that could possibly save her world...and change her life forever.]]> 192 Anne McCaffrey 141692499X Laurel 0 to-read 4.23 1976
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> 276767 160 Ursula K. Le Guin Laurel 0 to-read 4.06 1972
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1972
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 52085140
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 125 Beth Brower 0998063614 Laurel 4 4.23 2019
author: Beth Brower
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 195532965
The last thing Ada Hart needs is a man to take care of her. Not anymore. After failing out of her interior design program and the disaster that was her short-lived marriage, Ada clawed her way up from her rock bottom. Now, the only person she trusts is herself, and that has gotten her further than ever before. She has her own business, and one of the largest ranches in Wyoming just hired her for the most important project of her career.

When Ada arrives in Meadowlark, she finds herself in a dive bar where she can’t seem to shake the eyes of a handsome cowboy. When she leads him to the back of the bar, he leaves her with a kiss that most people can only fantasize about. She almost regrets that she’ll never see him again��.��.��. except it turns out he’s her new boss.

Weston Ryder is a happy guy. Even happier now that the mystery woman from the bar is the interior designer for his dream project on his family’s ranch. He feels like he hit the jackpot. It’s too bad she wants absolutely nothing to do with him outside of work. Ada is convinced the pull she feels toward Wes will go away, but Wes can’t stop thinking about her. Even though walls are coming down around Rebel Blue, Ada’s walls are firmly in place.

Can they make it through this project without giving in? Or will they both put their dreams on the line for a chance at love?]]> 320 Lyla Sage 059373243X Laurel 3 3.90 2024
author: Lyla Sage
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves:
review:

]]> 32926258 From acclaimed author Ellen Marie Wiseman comes a vivid, daring novel about the devastating power of family secrets--beginning in the poignant, lurid world of a Depression-era traveling circus and coming full circle in the transformative 1950s.

On a summer evening in 1931, Lilly Blackwood glimpses circus lights from the grimy window of her attic bedroom. Lilly isn't allowed to explore the meadows around Blackwood Manor. She's never even ventured beyond her narrow room. Momma insists it's for Lilly's own protection, that people would be afraid if they saw her. But on this unforgettable night, Lilly is taken outside for the first time--and sold to the circus sideshow.

More than two decades later, nineteen-year-old Julia Blackwood has inherited her parents' estate and horse farm. For Julia, home was an unhappy place full of strict rules and forbidden rooms, and she hopes that returning might erase those painful memories. Instead, she becomes immersed in a mystery involving a hidden attic room and photos of circus scenes featuring a striking young girl.

At first, The Barlow Brothers' Circus is just another prison for Lilly. But in this rag-tag, sometimes brutal world, Lilly discovers strength, friendship, and a rare affinity for animals. Soon, thanks to elephants Pepper and JoJo and their handler, Cole, Lilly is no longer a sideshow spectacle but the circus's biggest attraction. . .until tragedy and cruelty collide. It will fall to Julia to learn the truth about Lilly's fate and her family's shocking betrayal, and find a way to make Blackwood Manor into a place of healing at last.

Moving between Julia and Lilly's stories, Ellen Marie Wiseman portrays two extraordinary, very different women in a novel that, while tender and heartbreaking, offers moments of joy and indomitable hope.]]> 356 Ellen Marie Wiseman 1617734497 Laurel 0 to-read 4.00 2017
author: Ellen Marie Wiseman
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> 123179008
For the first time in her life, Clementine “Emmy�� Ryder has no idea what she’s doing. She’s accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming; went to college; and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape.

Luke Brooks is Meadowlark’s most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy’s older brother’s best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It’s been years since he’s seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can’t take his eyes off her. Despite his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her.

Emmy’s got too much on her mind to think about romance. And Luke knows he should stay away from his best friend’s younger sister. But what if Luke is just what Emmy needs to get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?]]> 356 Lyla Sage Laurel 3 3.82 2023
author: Lyla Sage
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
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review:

]]> 61373532 Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. And he can’t keep his hands off of me.

Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes.

He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist?

But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.

Someone convinced him once that his best wasn’t good enough. But I’ve never felt more cherished than I do in his arms.

My contract may say this arrangement is only for two months.

But my heart says this is forever.
]]> 476 Elsie Silver Laurel 0 to-read 4.39 2022
author: Elsie Silver
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: to-read
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]]> 201627074 Two string players fight their attraction for each other as they compete for center stage in this spicy and emotional romance.

Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne are both musical prodigies, but each has had very different paths to success. Xander was born into classical music royalty, while Gwen had a natural ear for music that was nurtured by a kind shop owner.

After Gwen performs at his friend’s wedding, she’s mortified when she realizes Xander has no clue who she is—despite having worked together for a year at the Pops Orchestra. But she’s more furious that he arrogantly critiques her performance.

When Gwen is offered the role of First Chair of the orchestra, something Xander had secretly coveted for years, their existing hostility goes up a notch. But their respect for each other's music is undeniable, and their onstage chemistry off the scale. As they begin to explore their feelings for one another, suddenly they're box office dynamite and the fragile romance that's growing between them is in danger of being crushed beneath a publicity stunt...]]> 384 Julie Soto 1538740915 Laurel 5 4.05 2024
author: Julie Soto
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
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]]> 1430213
Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, Norris Marshall, a talented but penniless student at Boston Medical College, has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists”–those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Yet even this ghoulish commerce pales beside the shocking murder of a nurse found mutilated on the university hospital grounds. And when a distinguished doctor meets the same grisly fate, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect.

To prove his innocence, Norris must track down the only witness to have glimpsed the killer: Rose Connolly, a beautiful seamstress from the Boston slums who fears she may be the next victim. Joined by a sardonic, keenly intelligent young man named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Norris and Rose comb the city–from its grim cemeteries and autopsy suites to its glittering mansions and centers of Brahmin power–on the trail of a maniacal fiend who lurks where least expected . . . and who waits for his next lethal opportunity.]]> 370 Tess Gerritsen 0593057775 Laurel 2 4.04 2007
author: Tess Gerritsen
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
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]]> 219798599 Fear, Fury and Fire.

To Know is Not Enough.

Power flows through the ancient halls of Avalon University like a neverending flood. Admission to the elite institution enables students to hone their magic under the watchful eye of their icy headmaster.

Summer Tuatha De Daanan planned to slide through her tenure at Avalon, unnoticed and inconspicuous. She has no interest in learning more about her past or why someone applied to the school on her behalf. Her emotional walls keep everyone at bay, and her sharp tongue makes people give her a wide berth. Yet, despite her best attempts, her emotional armor begins to melt from her feral vampire roommate to the angelic senior who is never dissuaded by her feigning disinterest. Maybe this could be good for her, a new life. Yet, dark secrets lurk in the halls of Avalon, and soon those same halls are drenched in blood.

Summer finds herself as the obsession of the sadistic stalker with the Seven lessons to learn. With the help of her new friends, she races against the clock to solve the mystery, hoping to save lives and catch the killer before it's too late.]]> 1026 Jeanette Rose 196259906X Laurel 0 to-read 4.28
author: Jeanette Rose
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> 205213989 In the seventeenth century, witchfinders rule and paranoia thrives in a chilling novel about unrequited love, persecution, and betrayal by the bestselling author of The Road Beyond Ruin and Broken Angels.

In 1625, the Franconian village of Eisbach has been plagued by disease, famine, heinous crimes, and a merciless winter. Katarin Jaspers is the maidservant to the enigmatic Reverend Zacharias Engel, appointed by Rome to cure the village of suspected diabolism and save every God-fearing soul.

Zacharias soon finds his first witch, and the public burning of a local man could spell the end of misfortune. As a sense of peace settles over the village, Katarin finds herself increasingly infatuated with Zacharias, who is a disruption to her predictable existence and a balm for her cruel past. But peace for Katarin is short-lived. Margaretha Katz—the new midwife—is seen as a rival for the reverend’s attention. Fear and recrimination reach a fever pitch when a great tragedy sets the town fully on edge.

With the walls of winter closing in around Eisbach once again, rumours flourish and villagers turn on each other. Now, no one is safe from the pyre.]]> 311 Gemma Liviero 166252062X Laurel 3 3.87 2024
author: Gemma Liviero
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/13
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]]> 41571753 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

Jessica tells of growing up in 1980s Texas where she was sexually abused by the daughter of a family friend, and of unsuccessfully auditioning for the Mickey Mouse Club at age 13 with Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling before going on to sign a record deal with Columbia and marrying 98 Degrees member Nick Lachey.

Along the way, she details the struggles in her life, such as the pressure to support her family as a teenager, divorcing Lachey, enduring what she describes as an emotionally abusive relationship with musician John Mayer, being body-shamed in an overly appearance-centered industry, and going through bouts of heavy drinking. But Simpson ends on a positive note, discussing her billion-dollar apparel line and marriage with professional football star Eric Johnson, with whom she has three children.]]> 416 Jessica Simpson Laurel 0 4.08 2020
author: Jessica Simpson
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
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]]> 9542439 502 Philippa Gregory 184737459X Laurel 4 4.04 2011
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
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]]> 23848300
Like most 18th century Venetians, Adriana d'Amato adores music-except her strict merchant father has forbidden her to cultivate her gift for the violin. But she refuses to let that stop her from living her dreams and begins sneaking out of her family's palazzo under the cover of night to take violin lessons from virtuoso violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, what begins as secret lessons swiftly evolves into a passionate, consuming love affair.

Adriana's father is intent on seeing her married to a wealthy, prominent member of Venice's patrician class-and a handsome, charming suitor, whom she knows she could love, only complicates matters-but Vivaldi is a priest, making their relationship forbidden in the eyes of the Church and of society. They both know their affair will end upon Adriana's marriage, but she cannot anticipate the events that will force Vivaldi to choose between her and his music. The repercussions of his choice-and of Adriana's own choices-will haunt both of their lives in ways they never imagined.

Spanning more than 30 years of Adriana's life, Alyssa Palombo's The Violinist of Venice is a story of passion, music, ambition, and finding the strength to both fall in love and to carry on when it ends.]]> 448 Alyssa Palombo 1250071496 Laurel 0 to-read 4.00 2015
author: Alyssa Palombo
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/26
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]]> 228256271 A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride.

Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.

As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.

But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…]]> 432 Ali Hazelwood 0593955013 Laurel 0 to-read 4.36 2025
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
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]]> 58650445
In a world where no entities exist but the Stars, cruel and merciless gods that watch over the world, Elara has been cursed by fate. A prophecy that promises she will fall for a Star, and it will kill them both.

But when one descends to wreak havoc on Elara's Kingdom, she is forced to flee into the arms of her enemy in the neighbouring country.

As she learns more about her own magic, and the depth of the Stars' deceit, she also finds herself learning more about the country she is forced to take refuge in, and the enemy prince forced to train her into a weapon.

Something dark brews within her, a power made of night and shadows that begs to be broken free.]]> 619 Imani Erriu Laurel 4 3.97 2022
author: Imani Erriu
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/07
date added: 2025/02/24
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]]> 7235533 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of The Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.]]> 1007 Brandon Sanderson 0765326353 Laurel 5 4.66 2010
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/23
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]]> 215048836 “I’m a disciplined man, Jane. I can stay here for as long as you need before the lesson sinks in that you don’t run from me while in my charge." -- Soren.

He's a Mercenary with powers that allow him feel the hearts / desires / fears of others.
She's his target, and must guard her identity at all costs.

My village is aflame, and a deadly legend becomes my captor.

I’m to appear before the most elite faction of mercenaries and warlords, commanded to answer for a crime they refuse to explain. Even if my only guess for why they want me is wrong, they cannot have me. I’ve sworn to never return to Skull’s Row, home to thieves and killers; the graveyard of my childhood.

He plans to unbury every memory until my soul is stripped bare: Soren, my captor, is strangely fascinated by me. By what I hide. Of the scars I have.

I’m unwillingly drawn to him. To his brutality. He harbors the same viciousness that coats my veins. He even seems persistent in taking me for himself��

He’ll either be my reckoning, or my undoing.

This Dark Fantasy Romance is a Duet full of foul language, sensual scenes, and improper bastards.

DUAL POV �� his/her
Duet with a Guaranteed HEA

Content Warning 18+: This series contains explicit scenes (3.5 chili peppers), depictions of war, battle violence, abduction, graphic depiction of violence, drugging, and overall a very crude world.]]> 410 Charlotte Mallory Laurel 0 to-read 3.96
author: Charlotte Mallory
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/20
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]]> 223120575
Reid McCoy has worked hard for fifteen years to become a shareholder in the North West Company and is on the brink of realizing that goal. Taking Charlotte into the interior will not only put her life at risk, but it could also jeopardize his dreams. Honor bound to repay his debt, his only option is to have Charlotte dress as a man and enter as his assistant clerk.

With Charlotte’s guardian close on their trail and a personal rival willing to do anything to keep Reid from becoming a shareholder, they will embark on an epic journey that will test not only their strength and endurance, but their hearts, as well.

Christy Award winner and bestselling author Gabrielle Meyer presents a new and thrilling historical adventure series set in the heart of the North American wilderness.]]> 392 Gabrielle Meyer Laurel 0 to-read 4.46 2025
author: Gabrielle Meyer
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
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]]> 60217777 The stakes are even higher in this epic, romantic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crimson Moth duology.

A WITCH...
Rune Winters is on the run. Ever since the boy she loved, Gideon Sharpe, revealed who she was and delivered her into enemy hands, everyone wants her dead. If Rune hopes to survive, she must ally herself with the cruel and dangerous Cressida Roseblood, who’s planning to take back the Republic and reinstate a Reign of Witches—something Cressida needs Rune to accomplish.

A WITCH HUNTER...
Apparently it wasn’t enough for Rune to deceive Gideon; she’s now betrayed him by allying herself with the witch who made his life a living hell. Gideon won’t allow the Republic to fall to the witches and be plunged back into the nightmares of the past. In order to protect this new world he fought for, every last witch must die—especially Rune Winters.

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE...
When Rune makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse, the two must pair up to accomplish dangerous goals. The more they’re forced into each other’s company, the more Gideon realizes the feelings he had for Rune aren’t as dead and buried as he thought. Now he’s faced with a terrible choice: sacrifice the girl he loves to stop a monster taking back power, or let Rune live and watch the world he fought so hard for burn.

In Kristen Ciccarelli's Rebel Witch, the exciting conclusion to The Crimson Moth duology, love has never been so deadly.]]> 464 Kristen Ciccarelli Laurel 5 4.22 2025
author: Kristen Ciccarelli
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/14
date added: 2025/02/14
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]]> 127305713
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe �� a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution �� who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

Kristen Ciccarelli’s The Crimson Moth is the thrilling start to a romantic fantasy duology where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch�� is falling in love.]]> 406 Kristen Ciccarelli 1250866901 Laurel 5 4.16 2024
author: Kristen Ciccarelli
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
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]]> 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 Laurel 3 4.25 2025
author: Allison Saft
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
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]]> 223262140 From the no. 1 international bestselling author of Better than the Movies, childhood sweethearts reunite in a hockey-loving town where romance is about to heat up the ice. For fans of Hannah Grace. *Pre-order now!*

From play dates on the playground to sneaking into movie theatres, Dani and Alec were inseparable as kids. Until Dani moved away. Years later, Dani is back in Minnesota, and exited to reconnect with the nerdy and comforting Alec. But teenage Alec is NOTHING like the boy she remembers. He's the hockey STAR in a town where hockey players are worshipped as gods �� and he loves it.��

When��one thing leads to another and Dani and Alec find themselves thrown together and playing the role of boyfriend and girlfriend, “complicated�� becomes an understatement. In this Minnesota town, hockey may rule, but romance is about to take its place.

A swoony, boy-next-door fake dating romance from the��New York Times��bestseller, Lynn Painter.

���ձ�> Lynn Painter 1398537888 Laurel 0 to-read 4.74 2025
author: Lynn Painter
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.74
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
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]]> 58283080 friends? Bizarre. But he likes her too much to risk a fling, so platonic pals it is.

Now, Hannah's in town for work, crashing in Fox's spare bedroom. She knows he's a notorious ladies' man, but they're definitely just friends. In fact, she's nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a few tips from Westport's resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworker's eye... yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wants him instead. As the line between friendship and flirtation begins to blur, Hannah can't deny she loves everything about Fox, but she refuses to be another notch on his bedpost.

Living with his best friend should have been easy. Except now she's walking around in a towel, sleeping right across the hall, and Fox is fantasizing about waking up next to her for the rest of his life and... and... man overboard! He's fallen for her, hook, line, and sinker. Helping her flirt with another guy is pure torture, but maybe if Fox can tackle his inner demons and show Hannah he's all in, she'll choose him instead?

In the follow-up to It Happened One Summer, Tessa Bailey delivers another deliciously fun rom-com about a former player who accidentally falls for his best friend while trying to help her land a different man...]]> 353 Tessa Bailey 0063045699 Laurel 4 3.87 2022
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/07
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]]> 205644861
'Iwa Young’s life is high in the Maui rainforest. As a field biologist, she’s happiest in company with trees and birds and waterfalls. When a developer arrives with plans for a so-called "eco resort" in the middle of a forest full of endangered species, 'Iwa puts all her energy into the fight to protect it. But a chance encounter threatens to distract her. His name is Dane Parsons, and he’s a big-wave surfer from California. 'Iwa has a few unbreakable rules, and at the top of her list: never date a surfer.

Dane Parsons is part of an underground group of big-wave riders, and his connection to the ocean runs deep. When he meets 'Iwa, he can’t get her out of his mind. But 'Iwa wants nothing to do with Dane until he offers to help protect her beloved forest and waterfall. Always on the hunt for the ultimate ride, Dane suddenly glimpses something even greater, but just out of reach.

In this thunderous love story, we travel deep into the Maui rainforest and hop across the globe from Hawai'i to California to Portugal, chasing waves the size of nine-story buildings—where the unthinkable is always just one breath away.]]> 352 Sara Ackerman 0778369560 Laurel 0 to-read 3.65
author: Sara Ackerman
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.65
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> 214974588
In the present day, author and researcher Shea Radclyffe escapes to the lighthouse outside a historic mining town in Michigan, seeking clarity about her failing marriage. Instantly drawn to the lighthouse's landlord, Shea contends with the vengeful legend of Annabel's ghost and a superstitious community that has buried the secrets surrounding a decade-old murder. As the secrets harbored around Annabel's lighthouse unravel, Shea must navigate a fight of torn loyalty, self-discovery, and the haunting forces of love and a vengeance that should have drowned a century before.

An acclaimed "expert in her element" (Booklist), Jaime Jo Wright once again delivers a bone-chilling dual-time suspense novel that will leave readers turning the pages all night long.]]> 352 Jaime Jo Wright 0764243799 Laurel 0 to-read 4.47 2025
author: Jaime Jo Wright
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> 208894884
Columnist Anna Appleby has left her love life behind after a painful divorce. Who needs a man when she has two kids, a cat, and uncontested control of the TV remote? Besides, she’d rather be single than subject herself to the hell of online dating. But her office rival is vying for her column, and no column means no stable source of income. In a desperate attempt to keep her job, Anna finds herself pitching a unique angle: seven dates, all found offline, chosen by her children.

From awkward encounters to unexpected connections, Anna gamely begins to put herself out there, asking out waiters, the mailman, and even her celebrity crush. But when a romantic connection appears where she least expected it, will she be brave enough to take another chance on love?]]> 368 Sophie Cousens 0593718909 Laurel 5 4.10 2024
author: Sophie Cousens
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
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]]> 58416952 At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in this new fantasy series by internationally bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.

AUDI. VIDE. TACE.

The Catenan Republic �� the Hierarchy �� may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.

I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus �� what they call Will �� to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.

But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.

And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.

To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.

And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.]]> 639 James Islington 1982141190 Laurel 0 to-read 4.60 2023
author: James Islington
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> 211399784 To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER �� An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice

“P������ Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones & The Six, this novel is as brilliantly choreographed as a gold medal performance and will keep you guessing until its last page.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of By Any Other Name

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.

Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story�� through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.]]> 448 Layne Fargo 0593732049 Laurel 4 4.16 2025
author: Layne Fargo
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
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]]> 43908671 Fearless Parenting (Nov) 240 Charisma Media Company 162999619X Laurel 4 4.39
author: Charisma Media Company
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/24
date added: 2025/01/24
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]]> 211025454 From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back.

Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. But after an unbearable tragedy strikes, Charlotte knows her future will never be the same.

New York City, 1978: Eighteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for iconic former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.�� Though Annie soon realizes she’ll have her work cut out for her, scrambling to meet Diana’s capricious demands and exacting standards.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art, wants little to do with the upcoming gala. She’s consumed with her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.

That is, until the night of the gala. When one of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing . . . and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening.

As Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they’re to have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.]]> 352 Fiona Davis 0593474279 Laurel 3 This is a book that I would recommend as a library book, rather than a purchased book.

It was fine, but a little slow for me. I’m really glad I listened to this one on audio, because I didn’t mind the pacing as much as I might have if I was reading a physical copy.

I was hoping for a little more Egypt or even more context of the era(s) that the story took place, but overall it was an interesting read. ]]> 3.91 2025
author: Fiona Davis
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/18
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves:
review:
3.5 ��
This is a book that I would recommend as a library book, rather than a purchased book.

It was fine, but a little slow for me. I’m really glad I listened to this one on audio, because I didn’t mind the pacing as much as I might have if I was reading a physical copy.

I was hoping for a little more Egypt or even more context of the era(s) that the story took place, but overall it was an interesting read.
]]> 207670238
“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.��

Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.

In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile, undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.

According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?

To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.]]> 976 SenLinYu Laurel 0 to-read 4.74 2025
author: SenLinYu
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.74
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> 208430658 Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.

An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.

What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.

Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?

A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)]]> 430 M.L. Wang 0593873351 Laurel 4 4.39 2023
author: M.L. Wang
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:
So.. this was actually *not* the fun little dark academia I had anticipated..
]]> 57945316 From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?]]> 544 R.F. Kuang 0063021420 Laurel 0 to-read 4.17 2022
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/11
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]]> 60321521 The “beautifully complex�� (Woman’s Day) classic that made Kristin Harmel a superstar follows a woman who must travel from Cape Cod to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother that could change everything. Updated with a new author’s note and recipes for this 10th anniversary edition!

At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen.

Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie is drifting away in a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in WWII Paris. Armed with a scrawled list of names, Hope heads to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery.

What follows is “an immersive and evocative tale of generations struggling to survive�� (Publishers Weekly) as Hope pieces together her grandmother’s past bit by bit. Uncovering horrific tales of the Holocaust, she realizes the astonishing will of her grandmother to endure in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she’ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake.

“Kristin Harmel is a powerful and dazzling voice in historical fiction.�� —Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling author of Surviving Savannah]]> 400 Kristin Harmel 1982198435 Laurel 2 4.27 2012
author: Kristin Harmel
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/11
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]]> 52382796
Powerful and engrossing, capturing both the rich pageantry and stark realities of life in feudal Japan, Shōgun is a critically acclaimed powerhouse of a book. Heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat action melds seamlessly with intricate historical detail and raw human emotion. Endlessly compelling, this sweeping saga captivated the world to become not only one of the best-selling novels of all time but also one of the highest-rated television miniseries, as well as inspiring a nationwide surge of interest in the culture of Japan. Shakespearean in both scope and depth, Shōgun is, as the New York Times put it, "...not only something you read--you live it." Provocative, absorbing, and endlessly fascinating, there is only one: Shōgun.]]> 1152 James Clavell 1982603844 Laurel 0 to-read 4.42 1975
author: James Clavell
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
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]]> 123471760 When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.

Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.

With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.

Spark of the Everflame is the first book in The Kindred's Curse Saga, a four-book fantasy romance series. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers epic is perfect for lovers of magic, dragons, angst, and banter and will appeal to fans of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, Gild, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.]]> 438 Penn Cole Laurel 3 4.19 2023
author: Penn Cole
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
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]]> 61297825 2336 Anonymous 1433579421 Laurel 0 currently-reading 5.00
author: Anonymous
name: Laurel
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> 30746868 ��
FEATURES �� The features the Christian Standard Bible® (CSB) text. Translated by more than 100 scholars from 17 denominations, the CSB features an optimal blend of accuracy and readability that’s faithful for serious study and written with heart-stirring clarity.

Discover more She Reads Truth Bibles in the]]> 2226 Anonymous 1433648199 Laurel 5 4.93 2017
author: Anonymous
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.93
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
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]]> 205181098 This is the story of Hazel, a young healer navigating a ruthless court to save the life of the king, grappling with a pantheon of gods with questionable agendas as she fights for agency and true love in her own life as the goddaughter of none other than Death himself.

All gifts come with a price.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for�� what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love?]]> 512 Erin A. Craig 0593482581 Laurel 3 4.07 2024
author: Erin A. Craig
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/29
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]]> 203579150 Family secrets come to light as a young woman fights to save herself, and others, in a Nazi-run baby factory—a real-life Handmaid's Tale—during World War II.

In a sleepy German village, Allina Strauss’s life seems idyllic: she works at her uncle’s bookshop, makes strudel with her aunt, and spends weekends with her friends and fiancé. But it's 1939, Adolf Hitler is Chancellor, and Allina’s family hides a terrifying secret—her birth mother was Jewish, making her a Mischling.

One fateful night after losing everyone she loves, Allina is forced into service as a nurse at a state-run baby factory called Hochland Home. There, she becomes both witness and participant to the horrors of Heinrich Himmler’s ruthless eugenics program.

The Sunflower House is a meticulously-researched debut historical novel that uncovers the notorious Lebensborn Program of Nazi Germany. Women of “pure�� blood stayed in Lebensborn homes for the sole purpose of perpetuating the Aryan population, giving birth to thousands of babies who were adopted out to “good�� Nazi families. Allina must keep her Jewish identity a secret in order to survive, but when she discovers the neglect occurring within the home, she’s determined not only to save herself, but also the children in her care.

A tale of one woman’s determination to resist and survive, The Sunflower House is also a love story. When Allina meets Karl, a high-ranking SS officer with secrets of his own, the two must decide how much they are willing to share with each other—and how much they can stand to risk as they join forces to save as many children as they can. The threads of this poignant and heartrending novel weave a tale of loss and love, friendship and betrayal, and the secrets we bury in order to save ourselves.]]> 336 Adriana Allegri 1250326524 Laurel 0 to-read 4.37 2024
author: Adriana Allegri
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/26
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]]> 24586590
But when the boy disappears, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true.

And so begins a frantic search for the boy and the truth. What they uncover deep in the forest sets off a sequence of events that leads to murder, leads to an old crime, leads to an old betrayal. Leads right to the door of an old poet.

And now it is now, writes Ruth Zardo. And the dark thing is here.

A monster once visited Three Pines. And put down deep roots. And now, Ruth knows, it is back.

Armand Gamache, the former head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, must face the possibility that, in not believing the boy, he himself played a terrible part in what happens next.]]> 376 Louise Penny 1250022088 Laurel 3 4.17 2015
author: Louise Penny
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
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]]> 171759
Christmastide, 1363-and, at an abbey in York, two pilgrims die mysteriously dead of an herbal remedy. Suspicious, the Archbishop sends for Owen Archer, a Welshman with the charm of the devil, who's lost one eye to the wars in France and must make a new career as an honest spy.

Masquerading as an apprentice to Apothecary Nicholas Wilton, whose shop dispensed the fatal potion, Owen's dark curls, leather eyepatch and gold earring intrigue Wilton's wife. But is this lovely woman a murderess? and what links the Wiltons to bumbling Brother Wulfstan, ascetic Archdeacon Anselm and his weaselly agent Potter Digby, and the ragged midwife Magda the Riverwoman? Answers as slippery as the frozen cobblestones draw Owen into a dangerous drama of old scandals and tragedies, obsession and unholy love...

The Apothecary Rose marks the arrival of a bold and quick-witted detective in this expertly detailed, engrossing tale of medieval life-and death.
Once the king's captain of archers, now he must penetrate a poisoner's secrets...

Christmastide, 1363-and, at an abbey in York, two pilgrims die mysteriously dead of an herbal remedy. Suspicious, the Archbishop sends for Owen Archer, a Welshman with the charm of the devil, who's lost one eye to the wars in France and must make a new career as an honest spy.

Masquerading as an apprentice to Apothecary Nicholas Wilton, whose shop dispensed the fatal potion, Owen's dark curls, leather eyepatch and gold earring intrigue Wilton's wife. But is this lovely woman a murderess? and what links the Wiltons to bumbling Brother Wulfstan, ascetic Archdeacon Anselm and his weaselly agent Potter Digby, and the ragged midwife Magda the Riverwoman? Answers as slippery as the frozen cobblestones draw Owen into a dangerous drama of old scandals and tragedies, obsession and unholy love...

The Apothecary Rose marks the arrival of a bold and quick-witted detective in this expertly detailed, engrossing tale of medieval life-and death.]]> 319 Candace Robb 0312953607 Laurel 0 to-read 3.90 1993
author: Candace Robb
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1993
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/21
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review:

]]> 203578712 A gripping new novel inspired by a real place and events from the author’s family, Trouble Island is the standalone suspense debut from historical mystery writer Sharon Short.

Many miles from anywhere in the middle of Lake Erie, Trouble Island serves as a stop-off for gangsters as they run between America and Canada. The remote isle is also the permanent home to two women: Aurelia Escalante, who serves as a maid to Rosita, lady of the mansion and wife to the notorious prohibition gangster, Eddie McGee. In the freezing winter of 1932, the women anticipate the arrival of Eddie and his strange coterie: his right-hand man, a doctor, a cousin, a famous actor, and a rival gangster who Rosita believes murdered their only son.

Aurelia wants nothing more than to escape Trouble Island, but she is hiding a secret of her own. She is in fact not a maid, but a gangster’s wife in hiding, as she runs from the murder she committed five years ago. Her friend Rosita took her in under this guise, but it has become clear that Rosita wants to keep Aurelia right where she is.

Shortly after the group of criminals, celebrities, and scoundrels arrive, Rosita suddenly disappears. Aurelia plans her getaway, going to the shore to retrieve her box of hidden treasures, but instead finds Rosita’s body in the water. Someone has made sure Aurelia was the one to find her. An ice storm makes unexpected landfall, cutting Trouble Island off from both mainlands, and with more than one murderer among them.

Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history.]]> 336 Sharon Short 1250292840 Laurel 0 to-read 3.42 2024
author: Sharon Short
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/21
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]]> 208503336
Harriet Hunt is completely alone. Her father disappeared months ago, leaving her to wander the halls of Sunnyside house, dwelling on a past she'd rather keep buried. She doesn't often venture beyond her front gate, instead relishing the feel of dirt under her fingernails and of soft moss beneath her feet. Consequently, she's been deemed a little too peculiar for popular Victorian society. This solitary life suits her fine, though �� because, in her garden, magic awaits.

Harriet's garden is special. It's a wild place full of twisting ivy, vibrant plums, and a quiet power that buzzes like bees. Caring for this place, and keeping it from running rampant through the streets of her London suburb, is Harriet's purpose.

When suspicion for her father's disappearance falls on her, she marries a seemingly charming man, the first to see past her peculiarities, in order to protect herself. It's soon clear, however, that her new husband might be worse than her father and that she's integral to a dark plot created by the men around her. To free herself and discover the truth, she must learn to channel the power of her strange, magical garden.

At once enchantingly mesmerizing and fiercely feminist, perfect for fans of The Magician's Daughter and The Once and Future Witches, the vibrant world-building and sinister undertones of The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt make for the perfect modern fairytale about women taking control of their lives—with a little help from the magic within them.]]> 309 Chelsea Iversen 1728275814 Laurel 0 to-read 3.51 2024
author: Chelsea Iversen
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> 50391615 Lionel seeks to hurt us, the Nymphs seek to hurt the entire Fae race, and between all of it, we just have to try and survive each day as it comes.
I'm afraid of everything falling apart, but it looks like it already has.
]]> 886 Caroline Peckham Laurel 5 4.31 2020
author: Caroline Peckham
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/19
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]]> 53403588 In the great walled city of Isara, political turmoil ignites a rebellion one hundred years in the making. But when a legionnaire falls in love with a Magistrate's daughter, their love will threaten the fate of the city and the will of the gods.

Luca Matius has one purpose—to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city's Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.

Maris Casoeria was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel's inner workings, and she knows what her future holds—a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.

As a secret comes to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. As their fates diverge, they learn they are at the center of a story the gods are writing. And even if they can find their way back to each other, there may be nothing left.]]> 400 Adrienne Young Laurel 0 to-read 4.57 2025
author: Adrienne Young
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/17
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]]> 34150794
New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor has joined with Heather Webb to create this unforgettably romantic novel of the Great War.

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently��

Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…]]> 384 Hazel Gaynor 006256269X Laurel 3 4.13 2017
author: Hazel Gaynor
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/12
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]]> 90202302 “The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.�� —Xaden Riorson

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

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

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

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

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.]]> 623 Rebecca Yarros 1649374178 Laurel 0 4.33 2023
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2023/11/10
date added: 2024/12/09
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]]> 61431922 Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile�� humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die]]> 517 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 Laurel 4
That being said, this series still hasn’t reached five star status for me yet. Violet is not my favorite FMC necessarily, but Xaden is TOP tier, so I continue to stay invested. ]]> 4.56 2023
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves:
review:
Reread update: This was even more fun the second time through. I have said it once before and I’ll say it again�� Tairn and Andarna MAKE this book. I loved being back at Basgiath and I’m excited to jump into Iron Flame again, even though it was more of a slog for me the first time around.

That being said, this series still hasn’t reached five star status for me yet. Violet is not my favorite FMC necessarily, but Xaden is TOP tier, so I continue to stay invested.
]]> 53146871
With a secret binding them to Darius and Orion, they must find a way to all work together for the greater good. But some things are easier said than done...]]> 724 Caroline Peckham Laurel 5 4.27 2020
author: Caroline Peckham
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/23
date added: 2024/11/23
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]]> 203164400 In this elegant gothic horror tale set in post-revolutionary Russia, two formerly aristocratic sisters race to uncover their family’s long-buried secrets in a house haunted by a past dangerous—and deadly—to remember.

It is the summer of 1921, and a group of Bolsheviks have taken over Irina and Lili Goliteva’s ancestral home in Moscow, a stately mansion falling into disrepair and decay. The remaining members of their family are ordered to move into the cramped attic, while the officials take over an entire wing of grand rooms downstairs. The sisters understand it is the way of things and know they must forget their noble upbringing to make their way in this new Soviet Russia. But the house begins to whisper of a traumatic past not as dead as they thought.

Eager to escape it and their unwelcome new landlords, Irina and Lili find jobs with the recently arrived American Relief Administration, meant to ease the post-revolutionary famine in Russia. For the sisters, the ARA provides much-needed food and employment, as well as a chance for sensible Irina to help those less fortunate and artistic Lili to express herself for a good cause. It might just lead them to love, too.

But at home, the spirits of their deceased family awaken, desperate to impart what really happened to them during the Revolution. Soon one of the officials living in the house is found dead. Was his death caused by something supernatural, or by someone all too human? And are Irina and Lili and their family next? Only unearthing the frightening secrets of Moscow House will reveal all. But this means the sisters must dig deep into a past no one in Russia except the dead are allowed to remember.]]> 384 Olesya Salnikova Gilmore 0593547004 Laurel 0 to-read 3.37 2024
author: Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
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review:

]]> 29284467
Triggers: Exchanging Parent's Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses examines common parenting issues that cause us to explode inappropriately at our children. Moving beyond simple parenting tips on how to change your child's behavior, authors Amber Lia and Wendy Speake offer biblical insight and practical tools to equip and encourage you on the journey away from anger-filled reactions toward gentle, biblical responses.]]> 267 Amber Lia 0692620753 Laurel 0 to-read 4.38
author: Amber Lia
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/16
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]]> 210454061 A sharp Christian voice makes a bold when politics are driven by empathy rather than truth, innocent people pay the price.We are told that empathy is the highest virtue—the key to being a good person. Is that true? Or has “empathy,�� like so many other words of our day�� “tolerance,�� “justice,�� “acceptance”—been hijacked by bad actors who exploit compassion for their own political ends?��In Toxic Empathy, Allie Beth Stuckey argues that empathy has become a tool of manipulation by left-wing activists who bully people into believing that they must adopt progressive positions to be loving. She explores the five most heated issues through which toxic empathy is abortion, gender, sexuality, immigration, and social justice. Progressives use catchy mantras to present their perspective as empathetic, like “abortion is healthcare,�� “love is love,�� or “no human being is illegal,�� but in each case, they ignore the other side of the moral equation. For example, abortion is presented as compassionate for the woman, but what about the human life the procedure kills?This book isn’t about killing empathy; it’s about submitting our empathy to God’s definitions of love, goodness, and justice. Stuckey exposes the��logical pitfalls and moral consequences of toxic empathy, equipping Christians with research-backed, Biblical truths to dismantle the progressive lies that have permeated our culture�� and our church.]]> 224 Allie Beth Stuckey 0593541944 Laurel 0 4.33 2024
author: Allie Beth Stuckey
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/14
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]]> 214143805 Enigma, a twisted Hades and Persephone meets scorching dark academia romance—a tale of love and obsession between two rivals.

There are secrets she must uncover.

There are secrets he must keep.

Salem Salazar is fascinated with death. The black sheep of her scandal-ridden, wealthy family, she arrives at Mortimer University as a legacy on the hunt for answers about what happened to her perfect, older sister. There, she discovers that her sister is far from the only girl to have gone missing at Mortimer. Salem will do anything to discover what dark forces are killing Mortimer's students...even if it means using herself as bait.

And Cazimir van der Waal has caught her scent. The mysterious artist and teaching assistant has a dark past, a hidden agenda, and a ravenous appetite for a beautiful, golden-eyed girl who seems determined to risk her life.

Where she is ice, he is fire. Where she is organization, he is chaos. Where she is precision, he is passion. Together they are explosive--their fates linked as secret societies and death stalk them both.

Enigma is a sensual, epic love story for those who also crave the frightful, the puzzling, the suspenseful, the dangerous and the dark.

Welcome to Mortimer.

Enigma
*Dark academia romance
*Steamy suspense
*Rivals to lovers
*Secret societies
*Forbidden love

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 463 RuNyx 1250334241 Laurel 0 to-read 3.95 2025
author: RuNyx
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
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]]> 49551172 The answer to your question will be revealed on the Lunar Eclipse. But when finding the truth, don't let the shadows take you.

The week of The Reckoning has begun. And senior students have been tasked with making the freshmen's lives pure hell as they prepare to take their fateful assessment.

With the Lunar Eclipse on the horizon, Tory and Darcy have more to worry about than just passing their exams. A dark plot is unfolding and the shadows are drawing closer...]]> 561 Caroline Peckham Laurel 5 4.33 2019
author: Caroline Peckham
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/05
date added: 2024/11/05
shelves:
review:

]]> 219684304 Horror Romance meets science fiction in this dark and delicious gothic psychological thriller by NYT bestseller Karina Halle, perfect for fans of Gothikana, Ninth House, and Mexican Gothic.



Aspiring mycologist Sydney Denik is getting a second chance. When a dream opportunity presents itself with a prestigious foundation doing promising Alzheimer’s research, Sydney leaves the shambles of her old life to join a dozen other grad students at an isolated lodge hidden away in a remote, fog-shrouded inlet on Vancouver Island.


But the Madrona Foundation harbors more than brilliant minds. Everyone around her is hiding a terrible secret—including the resident psychologist she’s falling in love with. A student disappears, and no one but Sydney seems to care. Ghosts walk the halls. Snow falls in the middle of summer. Dead animals move like the living. The more Sydney uncovers about the foundation, the more she begins to question her own sanity. And if Sydney isn’t going mad, then the horrors in the surrounding forest are real, and the Madrona Foundation may be the biggest monster of all.


NOTE: This will be a live release on Amazon for paperback, ebook and hardcover on October 23rd 2024. The paperback and ebook cover is different from the case-laminate and dustjacket hardcovers. This is a standalone novel. Check content warnings inside the book or author's IG closer to publication.]]> Karina Halle Laurel 0 to-read 3.96 2024
author: Karina Halle
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/03
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]]> 30734412 A king by day. Shadow by night��

The Great Betrayal changed everything for the Allied Realm. Long ago, the kingdom’s noble houses rose up against the goddess... and for their treachery, the firstborn of each noble family was cursed.

One with perilous beauty.
One with destructive knowledge.
One with insatiable bloodlust.

But the royal house Mortara received the worst affliction of all. For while the king exists during the day, he fades into nothingness at night...until his twenty-first birthday, when he will be lost to the shadows forever.

Now an acolyte has arrived at court. Like all the second-born children of the Allied Realm, she’s destined to serve the goddess and become a Seer...only Cerise Solon has no gift of foretelling. In fact, she has no magical gift at all.

Instead, she’s surrounded by courtiers and priests—smiling sycophants whose hearts are filled with secrets and lies. And at the center of it all sits His Majesty Kian Hannibal Mortara, with his haunting eyes, sharp tongue, and an unerring ability to send her pulse skittering at the worst possible moments.

Falling for him is unthinkable. Because the king is the last of his line, and as the specter of his twenty-first birthday—and the full force of his curse—approaches, the kingdom holds its breath.

But there’s only one way to save a dying king... and it lies with the one person who’s hiding the biggest secret of all. Cerise.]]> 512 Melissa Landers 0857506668 Laurel 0 to-read 3.65 2024
author: Melissa Landers
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> 51966347 They tried to break us.
They almost did.
But we're not going anywhere.


The Celestial Heirs think the stars are on their side. But they don't know what's coming.��Fighting them one on one isn't an option so we have to be stealthy. Remaining under the radar won't be easy, but if we pull it off, they'll never suspect our involvement when their lives start falling apart.

Besides, they've already taken us to the brink of hell, what more can they really do?]]> 475 Caroline Peckham Laurel 5 4.20 2019
author: Caroline Peckham
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/28
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]]> 75665914
What if one little wish changed everything?

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

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

To reverse the spell and get back to her old life, Gemma must convince her once-best-friend-now-near-stranger to kiss her. But as she carries out her plans, she finds herself falling for him—hard. Soon, Gemma begins to wonder whether she even wants to go back to the way things once were. What if Dax was The One all along?]]> 352 Kate Robb 0593596536 Laurel 4 3.78 2023
author: Kate Robb
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/23
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 201750794
They aren’t the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Tables, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.

But Arthur’s death has revealed Britain’s fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords are laying siege to Camelot, and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they’ll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain’s dark past.]]> 673 Lev Grossman 0735224048 Laurel 0 to-read 3.93 2024
author: Lev Grossman
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/23
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]]> 51805751 ALASKAN CRIME, AMERICAN JUSTICE
��
Raised in the swamplands of Florida, U.S. Marshal Arliss Cutter is a born tracker. After enlisting in the military, fighting in the Middle East, and working three field positions for Marshal Services, Cutter is sent to the icy wastelands of southeast Alaska. Three people have disappeared on Prince of Wales Island.
��
Two are crew members of the reality TV show, Alaska Adventure Jobs. The other is a Tlingit Indian girl who had the misfortune of witnessing their murders. Cutter’s job is to find the bodies, examine the crew’s footage for clues, and track down the men who killed them. Easier said than done. Especially when the whole town is hiding secrets, the trail leads to a dead end—and the hunter becomes the prey . . .
���ձ�> 207 Marc Cameron 0786038950 Laurel 0 to-read 4.20 2019
author: Marc Cameron
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51193518 320 Johanna Wittenberg Laurel 2 4.14
author: Johanna Wittenberg
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/21
date added: 2024/10/21
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review:

]]> 220160377 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw comes a haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family’s love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year.

Seventeen year-old Lark Goode wants only one to escape her small town of Cutwater and the history of her family name. It’s a history that began during the Dutch tulip mania of 1636, when Lark’s ancestor stole the last remaining tulip bulbs and fled to America. But when the tulips bloomed on American soil, madness sprouted from their snowy white petals.

The madness was love.

Now, generations later, the Goodes remain cursed—the unnatural flowers outside their home causing locals to fall helplessly in love with anyone carrying Goode blood in their veins. While her brother embraces the strange power, Lark wants nothing more than to be free from it.

But when she meets a boy who seems unaffected by the family curse, Lark finds herself falling headlong into a feeling she’s spent her whole life trying to avoid. Yet, all curses and magic come with a price, and the town of Cutwater soon sinks into a dangerous sickness tied to Lark and the ill-fated tulips.

To save the town, Lark will need to sacrifice everything—even true love—to break the spell. Because in the Goode family, love has a way of destroying everything.]]> 304 Shea Ernshaw 166590027X Laurel 0 to-read 3.61 2025
author: Shea Ernshaw
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/19
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]]> 205064706 A mother must fight for her daughter’s life in this fierce and haunting tale of witchcraft and revenge from the author of A Haunting in the Arctic.

Clem gets a call that is every mother’s worst nightmare. Her nineteen-year-old daughter Erin is unconscious in the hospital after a hiking trip with her friends on the remote Orkney Islands that met a horrifying end, leaving her boyfriend dead and her best friend missing. When Erin wakes, she doesn’t recognize her mother. And she doesn’t answer to her name, but insists she is someone named Nyx.

Clem travels the site of her daughter’s accident, determined to find out what happened to her. The answer may lie in a dark secret in the history of the Orkneys: a woman wrongly accused of witchcraft and murder four centuries ago. Clem begins to wonder if Erin’s strange behavior is a symptom of a broken mind, or the effects of an ancient curse?]]> 365 C.J. Cooke 059381696X Laurel 1 3.74 2024
author: C.J. Cooke
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/10/15
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> 46261182 This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN B07SV21LFY

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

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

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

Air. Fire. Water. Earth.

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

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

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

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

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

Today's horoscope: totally screwed.]]> 436 Caroline Peckham Laurel 2 3.81 2019
author: Caroline Peckham
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/14
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves:
review:

]]> 123443274
"Salt and broom, make this room
Safe and tight, against the night."

Trunks packed with potions and cures, Jane Aire sets out on a crisp, clear morning in October to face the greatest challenge of her sheltered girls��-school existence. A shadow lies over Thornfield Hall and its reclusive master, Edward Rochester. And he’s hired her only as a last resort. Jane stumbles again and again as she tries to establish a rapport with her prickly new employer, but he becomes the least of her worries as a mysterious force seems to work against her. The threats mount around both Jane and Rochester—who’s becoming more intriguing and appealing to her by the day. Jane begins to fear her herb healing and protective charms may not be enough to save the man she’s growing to love from a threat darker and more dangerous than either of them imagined.]]> 282 Sharon Lynn Fisher 1662515685 Laurel 0 to-read 4.12 2023
author: Sharon Lynn Fisher
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211117747
When the veil of secrecy is lifted, revelations emerge, threatening to fracture their already fragile bonds. Ancient prophecies intertwine with their destinies, weaving a complex web of fate and forbidden desires.

As Mira holds tight to the image of the brother she once knew, fated connections leave Koa grappling with the weight of his own secrets. In this spellbinding Mayan-inspired urban fantasy romance, the Canek siblings are thrust into a reality where the boundaries between light and shadow blur. Will they unravel the mysteries that bind them, or will they succumb to the darkness that lurks within?

For other books by Nelle Nikole [dystopian fantasy romance]: /book/show/1...

For other books by Mikayla D. Hornedo [fantasy romance]: /book/show/1...]]> 0 Nelle Nikole Laurel 0 to-read 4.33 2024
author: Nelle Nikole
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/11
shelves: to-read
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]]> 54319549 A Betrayal��

Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice...

Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret��

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.]]> 637 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457106 Laurel 5 4.32 2020
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/11
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]]> 52831200 A Maiden��

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty��

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom��

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.]]> 622 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457017 Laurel 5 4.19 2020
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/28
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]]> 55858413
As fall turns to winter, more strange activities plague the town. They point to a tribe of devilish and mystical creatures who promise to fulfill the residents�� deepest desires, however grand and impossible, for just a small favor. But their true intentions are much more sinister, and Ellerie finds herself in a race against time before all of Amity Falls, her family, and the boy she loves go up in flames.

Small Favors is a beautifully creepy gothic tale loosely based on the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin.]]> 400 Erin A. Craig 0593306767 Laurel 5 4.06 2021
author: Erin A. Craig
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/04
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:

]]> 210966754 The dragons are lost.
The elements are at war. Enlisting isn’t optional.
And I’m falling for a man who wants me dead.

I’m a wielder of hearts and summoner of corruption. Heir to nothing and born to a fool in the wrong damn month.

But I’m also one of only two Fae in this divided land of hellions who might be starting to see through the lies we’ve swallowed for so long.

In the year we turn twenty-one, conscripts from across the warring nations of air, fire, earth and water are sent to Never Keep �� the only place in our besieged continent where our magic can be Awakened.

But something is wrong inside Never Keep. Something which might extend far beyond the reaches of this desolate fortress. Within the gothic walls of this frigid castle in the snow, we’re left to hold our own against the brutal Fae from the opposing lands.

The Reapers are merciless. The Royals are lying. The Werewolves run rampant and Vampires roam the wastelands in bloodthirsty covens. But even though death lurks in every shadow of the Keep, it’s the least of my worries.

I’m delving into secrets the stars don’t want me uncovering, making alliances with Fae born to be my enemy, falling for a sinner while promising my heart to a different heathen and somewhere amid it all, I’m supposed to win a war.

I thought the only thing I had to do was survive my magical instruction.

Turns out, fate doesn’t favour the wicked.]]> 636 Caroline Peckham Laurel 0 to-read 4.07 2024
author: Caroline Peckham
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/23
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]]> 216879594 The New York Times bestselling Front Desk series continues!

Jason Yao has one goal-to become a true, modern chef. He's not entirely sure what that means yet, but he knows it means being a better version of who he used to be (that is, someone who was in the principal's office three times a week and swiped cash from his dad's motels to buy video games). Jason has a much better grip on his temper now that Mia Tang is in his life. But it still hovers, right beneath the surface, threatening to come out-especially when he returns from Chinatown and tells his parents about his new relationship with Mia ... and his parents say he's not allowed to have a girlfriend.



As Jason fights to pursue his own path and be the chef he knows he can be, he'll have to find the courage to stay calm, speak up, and share his heart. Luckily he has Mia, who is brave enough to face anything ... even Jason's parents!]]> 240 Kelly Yang 1546138668 Laurel 0 to-read 5.00 2025
author: Kelly Yang
name: Laurel
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: to-read
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]]> 203579107 It's never too late for new beginnings.

On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs—an active senior community in southern Florida—she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy—and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.

As a teenager growing up in 1920’s Brooklyn, Augusta’s role model was her father, Solomon Stern, the trusted owner of the local pharmacy and the neighborhood expert on every ailment. But when Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, Augusta can’t help but be drawn to Esther’s curious methods. As a healer herself, Esther offers Solomon’s customers her own advice—unconventional remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions.

As Augusta prepares for pharmacy college, she is torn between loyalty to her father and fascination with her great aunt, all while navigating a budding but complicated relationship with Irving. Desperate for clarity, she impulsively uses Esther’s most potent elixir with disastrous consequences. Disillusioned and alone, Augusta vows to reject Esther’s enchantments forever.

Sixty years later, confronted with Irving, Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and how did her plan go so spectacularly wrong? Did Irving ever truly love her or was he simply playing a part? And can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it’s too late?]]> 320 Lynda Cohen Loigman 1250278104 Laurel 3 4.06 2024
author: Lynda Cohen Loigman
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/19
date added: 2024/09/19
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review:

]]> 214025340 In the summer of 2022, podcaster and author Carlos Whittaker spent seven weeks entirely screen free, splitting his time between a monastery, an Amish farm, and home with his family. Blending the inspiring story of this experiment with practical guidance, Whittaker reveals how you can reset your relationship with screens and step into a life of real connection.

Not many people have the opportunity to spend weeks entirely devoid of phone and computer screens, but Whittaker's radical, screen-free experiment yields hope and wisdom to everyone who has felt the loneliness, low-key despair, and paradoxical disconnectedness that accompanies the always-on, always-plugged-in nature of modern life.

Readers who take this journey with Whittaker will

learn how to cut through the divisive, polarizing effects of social media and build real community, even with people who are very different from them;rediscover the joy of noticing and savoring the beauty of the world beyond their phone screens;remember how experiencing boredom, solitude, and even getting lost (all but eradicated by smartphones) can bring opportunities for new discoveries about themselves and the world around them; andreset their relationship with screens and social media forever.��

Blending wisdom from the past, practices of intentionality and community, and Whittaker's engaging communication style that has led to the explosive growth of his social media presence over the past few years, this book is a compelling story, a guide for resetting your life in a tech-saturated world, and an invitation into the connection and community that feels so elusive today.]]> 240 Carlos Whittaker 1400246466 Laurel 5 4.40
author: Carlos Whittaker
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/16
date added: 2024/09/16
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]]> 65214641
What happened to Lára?

Iceland, 1956. Fourteen-year-old Lára decides to spend the summer working for a couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavík. In early August, the girl disappears without a trace. Time passes, and the mystery becomes Iceland‘s most infamous unsolved case. What happened to the young girl? Is she still alive? Did she leave the island, or did something happen to her there?

Thirty years later, as the city of Reykjavík celebrates its 200th anniversary, journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation into Lára's case. But as he draws closer to discovering the secret, and with the eyes of Reykjavík upon him, it soon becomes clear that Lára's disappearance is a mystery that someone will stop at nothing to keep unsolved . . .]]> 355 Ragnar Jónasson 1250907349 Laurel 0 to-read 3.64 2022
author: Ragnar Jónasson
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/15
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]]> 34066798 The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers—Now a Paramount+ with Showtime series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.]]> 462 Amor Towles Laurel 5 4.28 2016
author: Amor Towles
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/12
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]]> 218534614 Shea Ernshaw Laurel 0 to-read 3.33 2026
author: Shea Ernshaw
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199927030 The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons�� investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.]]> 352 Meg Shaffer 0593598873 Laurel 4 3.78 2024
author: Meg Shaffer
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/29
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves:
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]]> 199798014
Lee left Craw Valley at eighteen without a backward glance. She wanted no part of the generations of her family who tapped into the power of the land to heal and help their community. But when she abandons her new life in California and has nowhere else to go, Lee returns to Craw Valley with her children in tow to live with her grandmother, Belva.

Lee vows to stay far away from Belva’s world of magic, but when the target of one of her grandmother’s spells is discovered dead, Lee fears that Belva’s magic may have summoned something dark.

As she and her family search for answers, Lee travels down a rabbit hole of strange phenomena and family secrets that force her to reckon with herself and rediscover her power in order to protect her family and the town she couldn’t leave behind.]]> 320 Alli Dyer 166804577X Laurel 0 to-read 3.60 2024
author: Alli Dyer
name: Laurel
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/29
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]]> 39832183 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE ON NETFLIX - A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

"I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers." January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb...

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.]]> 291 Mary Ann Shaffer 1984801813 Laurel 0 to-read 4.27 2008
author: Mary Ann Shaffer
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 75607709 Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love--the Greek tale of Hades and Persephone gets a romantic modern update in the gorgeously illustrated, Eisner Award-winning Lore Olympus, including behind-the-scenes content!

An ingenious take on the Greek Pantheon, Lore Olympus is a modern update on the story of Hades and Persephone. Follow the propulsive love story of two Greek gods, told with lavish artwork and contemporary sensibilities.

This full-color edition of Smythe's original Eisner Award-winning webcomic Lore Olympus features exclusive behind-the-scenes content and brings Greek mythology into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 103-126 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.]]> 400 Rachel Smythe 0593599063 Laurel 4 4.46 2023
author: Rachel Smythe
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/25
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves:
review:

]]> 62698816 Witness what the gods do after dark in the fourth volume of a stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the best-known stories in Greek mythology, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes content from creator Rachel Smythe.

"I don't always get to do as I please."

The rumor mill of Olympus is constantly churning, but Persephone and Hades are all anyone can talk about. With the constant gossip creating intense pressure on the pair, they decide to slow down their budding romance and focus on sorting out their own issues first.

But that's easier said than done.

Hades struggles to find support in his personal life, with Zeus trivializing his feelings and Minthe resorting to abusive patterns in their relationship. And while Hades tries to create healthier boundaries where he can--like finally putting a stop to his sporadic, revenge-fueled hookups with Hera--he still feels lonely and adrift.

Persephone feels equally ostracized as her classmates shun her for her connection to Hades, and she can find no refuge at home, with Apollo constantly dropping by unannounced and pushing his unwelcome advances. And on top of it all, the wrathful god of war, Ares, has returned to Olympus to dredge up his sordid history with the goddess of spring, threatening to surface Persephone's dark and mysterious past and ruin her tenuous position in the land of the gods.

Despite agreeing to take it slow, Persephone and Hades find themselves inextricably drawn toward each other once more amid the chaos. The pull of fate cannot be denied.

This edition of Rachel Smythe's original Eisner-nominated webcomic Lore Olympus features exclusive behind-the-scenes content and brings the Greek pantheon into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 76-102 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus. ]]> 416 Rachel Smythe 059360007X Laurel 5 4.49 2023
author: Rachel Smythe
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/23
date added: 2024/08/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 60149524 Witness what the gods do after dark in the third volume of a stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the best-known stories in Greek mythology, featuring a brand-new, exclusive short story from creator Rachel Smythe.

"It is natural for a King to be curious about his future Queen. . . ."

All of Olympus--and the Underworld--are talking about the God of the Dead and the sprightly daughter of Demeter. But despite the rumors of their romance, Hades and Persephone have plenty to navigate on their own.

Since coming to Olympus, Persephone has struggled to be the perfect maiden goddess. Her attraction to Hades has only complicated the intense burden of the gods' expectations. And after Apollo's assault, Persephone fears she can no longer bury the intense feelings of hurt and love that she's worked so hard to hide.

As Persephone contemplates her future, Hades struggles with his past, falling back into toxic habits in Minthe's easy embrace. With all the mounting pressure and expectations--of their family, friends, and enemies--both Hades and Persephone tell themselves to deny their deepest desires, but the pull between them is too tempting, too magnetic. It's fate.

This full-color edition of Smythe's original Eisner-nominated webcomic Lore Olympus brings Greek mythology into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 50-75 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.]]> 384 Rachel Smythe 0593160312 Laurel 5 4.47 2022
author: Rachel Smythe
name: Laurel
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/22
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves:
review:

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