en-US Tue, 13 May 2025 07:36:32 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 22891993 Who doesn't want a little sweet talk?

Leif Lively is the hottest thing to happen to Magnolia Bend. But single mother Abigail Orgeron figures he's another heartbreaker and does her best to ignore the steamy glances he tosses her way. When he speaks, though, her resistance crumbles! His sweet words, humor and laid-back ways captivate buttoned-up Abigail.

For once, losing control feels so good, and this no-strings arrangement is getting serious. What will she do when Leif solves the family mystery that brought him to town and decides to leave? Because she's learning that the biggest love means taking the biggest risk…]]> 384 Liz Talley 0373608969 Joy 0 to-read 3.67 2015
author: Liz Talley
name: Joy
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 9636432
Not even the very persuasive Tyson Hart can change that. A contractor looking for a fresh start himself, Tyson is the type of guy who promises forever—and means it. But Dawn refuses to let those whiskey-colored eyes, that smooth voice and the broadest set of shoulders this side of Houston weaken her resolve. Her mind is made up. Now, if she could only convince her heart…]]> 256 Liz Talley 0373716753 Joy 4 romance
If you like Kristan Higgins and/or Jeannie Watt you will probably also like Liz Talley.]]> 3.98 2010
author: Liz Talley
name: Joy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/02/23
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: romance
review:
Two single parents of teenagers(!) find love when she hires him to renovate the senior center in a small Texas town. Much better than I made it sound!

If you like Kristan Higgins and/or Jeannie Watt you will probably also like Liz Talley.
]]> 9889445
They're so good together, Kate dares to peek beyond the end of her stay. But what are the odds for a guy with deep roots in the same soil a girl can't wash off fast enough? Seems more likely that when Kate heads for the bright lights, a little piece of her will be left behind.]]> 256 Liz Talley 037371680X Joy 4 romance 3.92 2011
author: Liz Talley
name: Joy
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2011/03/03
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: romance
review:
Our heroine's life in Vegas is great, but she's out of money and the IRS is knocking. So she must return to her hometown of Texas, face her poverty-stricken past as well as the wealthy biological father who has rejected her in the past--and, of course, fall for his hawt henchman, an ex-gang member now running a home for gang members who want to come clean. This was good; there was actually a point at which it managed to jerk tears from me.
]]> 8175325
So imagine her surprise when Jack suddenly appears in her hometown. And not only does he appear, but he seems intent on setting down roots�� here. Nellie doesn't know whether to jump for joy at getting another shot with him, or run and hide so he can't discover how unglamorous she truly is. The way he's chasing her, however, it seems the choice might not be hers!]]> 256 Liz Talley 0373716397 Joy 4 romance
If you like Kristan Higgins and/or Jeannie Watt you will probably also like Liz Talley.]]> 4.03 2010
author: Liz Talley
name: Joy
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/02/23
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: romance
review:
Geeky librarian gets a makeover and cuts loose in Vegas, including a fling with a handsome nightclub owner; when she returns to her Texas hometown, she discovers that her Vegas lover has followed her home and bought a horse farm right outside town. I loved the small-town characters and setting of this book, particularly the wise-cracking old women and the Bubba who is almost, but somehow not, a stereotype.

If you like Kristan Higgins and/or Jeannie Watt you will probably also like Liz Talley.
]]> 223238432
So it’s kind of a downer when a very hungover, mostly naked man about Ollie’s age answers the door and tells him old man Morris kicked the bucket.

Tyler Morris left town at sixteen as a pariah. Since then, he’s built a good life for himself as an EMT. But even in death, his father has to get in one final Ty can either return to his hometown and act as executor of the family fortune, or let it all go to a hate group.

Between an unexpected job offer and unexpected roommates, coming home doesn’t go the way Ty expects. But Ollie and Theo bring the cold, lonely mansion to life, and golden-boy Ollie provides good cover for the town’s scorn. The only problem is, Ty’s falling head over heels for the world’s sweetest and most stubbornly independent single dad, and if he wants to keep Ollie around, he’ll have to convince him to let Ty help.]]> 300 Ashlyn Kane 1641088044 Joy 3 m-m 4.09
author: Ashlyn Kane
name: Joy
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/10
date added: 2025/05/11
shelves: m-m
review:

]]> 201930181
Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team.  Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them. They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure.

Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to learning to understand �� and manipulate �� the Carryx themselves. With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers. Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination.  He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people. This is where his story begins.]]> 422 James S.A. Corey 031652557X Joy 4 science-fiction 4.11 2024
author: James S.A. Corey
name: Joy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/09
date added: 2025/05/09
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> 34311452
The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed--and more than half of the world's population was decimated.

Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river--or in the ones you know and love the most.

As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.

In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.

The end has come. The beginning comes next.]]> 419 Nora Roberts 1250122953 Joy 4 fantasy 3.98 2017
author: Nora Roberts
name: Joy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 43263398 The Rise of Magicks is the conclusing to the trilogy

After the sickness known as the Doom destroyed civilization, magick has become commonplace, and Fallon Swift has spent her young years learning its ways. Fallon cannot live in peace until she frees those who have been preyed upon by the government or the fanatical Purity Warriors, endlessly hunted or locked up in laboratories, brutalized for years on end. She is determined to save even those who have been complicit with this evil out of fear or weakness--if, indeed, they can be saved.

Strengthened by the bond she shares with her fellow warrior, Duncan, Fallon has already succeeded in rescuing countless shifters and elves and ordinary humans. Now she must help them heal--and rediscover the light and faith within themselves. For although from the time of her birth, she has been The One, she is still only one. And as she faces down an old nemesis, sets her sights on the enemy's stronghold, and pursues her destiny--to finally restore the mystical shield that once protected them all--she will need an army behind her...]]> 464 Nora Roberts 1250123038 Joy 0 to-read 4.07 2019
author: Nora Roberts
name: Joy
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 37638128
Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before—the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted—and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.

In a mysterious shelter in the forest, her training is about to begin under the guidance of Mallick, whose skills have been honed over centuries. She will learn the old ways of healing; study and spar; encounter faeries and elves and shifters; and find powers within herself she never imagined. And when the time is right, she will take up the sword, and fight. For until she grows into the woman she was born to be, the world outside will never be whole again.]]> 453 Nora Roberts 1250122996 Joy 0 to-read 4.21 2018
author: Nora Roberts
name: Joy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211004174
While his title may be gone, his duties are not. Celehar contends with a municipal cemetery with fifty years of secrets, the damage of a revethavar he’s terrified to remember, and a group of miners who are more than willing to trade Celehar’s life for a chance at what they feel they’re owed.

Celehar does not have to face these impossible tasks alone. Joining him are his mentee Velhiro Tomasaran, still finding her footing with the investigative nature of their job; Iäna Pel-Thenhior, his beloved opera director friend and avid supporter; and the valiant guard captain Hanu Olgarezh.

Amidst the backdrop of a murder and a brewing political uprising, Celehar must seek justice for those who cannot find it themselves under a tense political system. The repercussions of his quest are never as simple they seem, and Celehar’s own life and happiness hang in the balance.]]> 352 Katherine Addison 125081619X Joy 4 fantasy 4.30 2025
author: Katherine Addison
name: Joy
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/22
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 221288099 The Goblin Emperor, The Orb of Cairado offers an unlikely hero in historian Ulcetha Zhorvena.

Five years ago, Ulcetha was studying at the University of Cairado, working his way toward becoming a scholar first-class in the Department of History. Then a prize artifact disappeared and Ulcetha, deftly framed, was kicked out. Now he works for a crooked importer, using his knowledge of elven history to write provenances for the fake artifacts Salathgarad sells.

When the airship Wisdom of Choharo explodes, killing the emperor and three of his four sons, it takes with it Ulcetha's best friend, Mara Lilana. But Mara leaves behind a puzzle--the one thing Ulcetha can't resist. And the puzzle leads Ulcetha back to the Department of History... and maybe the chance to clear his name.]]> 120 Katherine Addison 1645242137 Joy 4 fantasy 4.08 2025
author: Katherine Addison
name: Joy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/19
date added: 2025/04/20
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 211413025 It’s Life and Death—and it’s about time they met.

Aster Slone has been looking for sweet Lady Death for a long time. If the fertility demigod doesn’t find his balancing partner of a death demigod, his powers will burn him up before he hits the age of thirty. Meanwhile, death demigods go to sleep and just never wake up. Finding Chandra Linton, using her nasty habit of accidentally sickening people around her, is a stroke of good fortune. Moving in as her neighbor might be enough to balance both their powers, but he’d really like a more personal relationship.

Chandra has been working remotely after her last place of business developed that “sick building�� thing, and it’s been easier on her health. In fact, in the last month, she’s even been feeling better. It’s probably not just the hot guy who moved in next door. When he begins a flirting campaign that includes telling her that she’s a demigod, she’s not sure whether to believe him on either count. She’s been burnt before.

When Life and Death come together, will it be cataclysmic or will it end them both?

When a Demigod Courts Death is a quirky paranormal romance novella that is perfect to read in a waiting room, during a commute, or on a lunch break. It has a HEA, no cheating, and a sexy-sweet heat level.

If you like demigods, flirty banter, neighbors hooking up, trips to the zoo, and a grumpy-sunshine relationship where she’s the grump, you’ll love When a Demigod Courts Death. It also has a trip to the zoo, in case you’re a fan of dates that turn awkward due to animals giving piggyback rides. If you like romances that break your heart before healing it, moments that make you laugh loud enough to scare your pet, and, of course, a happily ever after, you’ll love When a Demigod Courts Death, a paranormal rom-com novella, and the first book in the Dating a Demigod series.

When a Demigod Courts Death was originally published in the anthology, Magic Spark, Enchanted #1. That anthology is no longer available.]]> 94 Wendy Sparrow Joy 3 fantasy 3.67
author: Wendy Sparrow
name: Joy
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 195275306
She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

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

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.]]> 465 Sarah Rees Brennan 0356522075 Joy 4 fantasy 3.92 2024
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: Joy
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/16
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 18599721 384 Miranda Neville 0062243330 Joy 3 historical-fiction, romance 3.30
author: Miranda Neville
name: Joy
average rating: 3.30
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2017/10/18
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: historical-fiction, romance
review:

]]> 228356408
Yes, he’s been left to run the family coffee shop all on his own, he’s up to his eyeballs in mortgages and loans, and his fixer-upper dream house is falling down around his ears. Big deal. He can handle it.

Just like he can handle being secretly in love with Kevin Wallis, Chipping Fairford’s favourite handyman, best known for once finding a dead body in a storage tub under a client’s bedroom floor.

Only it turns out that while Kevin might come across as a total cinnamon roll with his gentle brown eyes and his sweet, calm nature, he really is…not.

He’s not straight—not when it comes to Charlie, anyway—the things he keeps doing to Charlie are definitely not sweet, and he’s not holding back from letting Charlie know what he wants.

Not a problem. Charlie can handle that, too.

Charlie can handle anything.

Right up until Kevin decides to bust out his sledgehammer, work his handyman magic on Charlie’s dream house, and…well.

There’s a reason the local newspaper called him the Chipping Fairford Corpse Finder.


Not That Ridiculous is a 98k-word romantic comedy about a grumpy and overworked coffee shop owner and the sunshine handyman who wants to fix everything. Yes, there are some random dead guys in the mix, but that’s background noise. Who even cares? It’s incidental at best. There’s kissing and first times and way more interesting stuff going on. This is a romance!

Book Three in the Not That series.]]> 388 Isabel Murray Joy 3 m-m 4.32 2025
author: Isabel Murray
name: Joy
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/11
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: m-m
review:

]]> 141308117
Instead, he gets scooped by his ex-English teacher, gets yelled at by his editor, and is starting to think that he’d be better off sticking to his actual career of being a personal trainer.

Meanwhile, Detective Chief Inspector Liam Nash, the straight, married man who has never shown even a tiny bit of interest in Jasper?

Turns out Liam is not straight, he’s not married anymore, he is definitely not a fan of Jasper showing up at his crime scenes…and he can not seem to stop kissing Jasper.

After years of thinking that his dreams of love and happily ever after were impossible, it’s starting to look like maybe, just maybe, Jasper was wrong.

Wouldn’t be the first time.


Not That Impossible is a 75k-word romantic comedy about a wannabe journalist who might not wannabe anymore, and a grump of a detective who is finally getting over himself and going after what he really wants (it’s Jasper). There are also a couple of dead guys somewhere in the mix, but not all mysteries get solved. Besides, who even cares about that with all the kissing and stuff going on? This is a romance!]]> 306 Isabel Murray Joy 3 m-m 3.85 2023
author: Isabel Murray
name: Joy
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: m-m
review:

]]> 60763856
Hard pass.

Ray’s just a thirtysomething graphic designer with a broken heart who doesn’t much like his life right now.

And he’s already having nightmares about the whole thing, come on. He’d rather not think about it. (Also, the police were kinda mean, and now everyone thinks he’s a serial killer.)

Luckily for Ray, the last man in the world he should be interested in has distraction on his mind, and it seems like all Ray can think about is Adam Blake. Adam is everywhere Ray turns. He is too young for Ray, too cool for him, too beautiful for him…and for some bewildering reason, Adam is always there for him when Ray needs him the most.

But Ray’s not falling for it. He’s not falling for Adam. Definitely not. Because Ray and Adam have a complicated history, and starting something would be a terrible idea.


Not That Complicated is a 74k-word romantic comedy that just so happens to also have some dead guys in it. There are very few details on the correct investigative procedure—not that Ray wants to know—and you can forget about any big reveal to wrap up the case. Ray is tangentially involved in the whole gross business at best, and that suits him fine. This is a romance. Which means there is flirting, awkwardness, some surprising discoveries in the bedroom, awkwardness, misunderstandings, more awkwardness, and the kind of love that changes your life forever.

Wait. No. Ray is not falling in love��

Right?]]> 296 Isabel Murray Joy 3 m-m 4.10 2022
author: Isabel Murray
name: Joy
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: m-m
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 Joy 4 science-fiction 4.09 1968
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Joy
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1968
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> 17334153 Charm, wit, and nerves of steel have helped Marcus Lithgow gamble his way across the Continent. But when his heart is at stake, all bets are off for this most perfect rogue...

It's been years since Marcus set foot in England—why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding . . . the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus feel like he's the one hanging by a thread?

Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind hearts rather than her impressive dowry?

She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realized she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules.]]> 372 Miranda Neville 006219951X Joy 0 to-read 3.55 2013
author: Miranda Neville
name: Joy
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 200935101
Jacob's mind is a wasteland; his body isn't far behind, and he's escaped the Mad God's minions. His savior isn't just a woman but an angel—more than that, a potential, invaluable in a war he barely remembers fighting. His memory unreliable and his instincts hair-trigger murderous, he has no problem violently protecting Willow or taking her on the run.

Chased by nightmarish monsters, forced into unwilling alliance, Will and Jacob have no-one to trust but each other.
But then the Sons of Ymre find them, and the real danger begins��Praise for Sons of Erik��

"Lilith Saintcrow is a master at world building. And her imagination is endless. I can't wait to see what's next."��Cheryl B, ŷ������ reviewer

"This writer cannot write a bad book. Her unique writing style literally has me tasting her words and slavering for more. This book better be a series—that's all I'm saying."��Craig Bethel, Amazon reviewer

About the Lilith Saintcrow lives in Vancouver, Washington, with her children, dogs, cat, a library for wayward texts, and assorted other strays.]]> 336 Lilith Saintcrow 1610262468 Joy 4 paranormal
Nonstop monster fighting fun.]]> 4.06
author: Lilith Saintcrow
name: Joy
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: paranormal
review:


Nonstop monster fighting fun.
]]> 214331246 When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 387 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 Joy 0 to-read 4.59 2025
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Joy
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220341389 John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest disease.

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, John Green met Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone while traveling with Partners in Health. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal and dynamic advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, treatable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing 1.5 million people every year.

In Everything is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.]]> 208 John Green 0525556575 Joy 0 to-read 4.50 2025
author: John Green
name: Joy
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 207297940 Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson’s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?]]> 352 Rebecca Robinson 1668052482 Joy 4 fantasy 4.00 2024
author: Rebecca Robinson
name: Joy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: fantasy
review:
So this is romantasy. I kind of dig it.
]]> 213454093 From the author of The Lies Among Us comes a magical tale about mothers and daughters, choices and consequences, and the real meaning of home when every place feels like a cage.

Ten months. That’s the longest Elisa has stayed anyplace, constantly propelled by her fear that if she puts down roots, a family curse will turn her into a tree.

But she’s grown tired of flitting from town to town and in and out of relationships. When she discovers a small town in Massachusetts where mysterious forces make it impossible for the residents to leave, she hopes she can change her fate.

As Elisa learns about the town’s history, she understands more about the women in her family, who seem doomed to never get what they want. Now she believes she’s stuck, too—is that a patch of bark on her arm? But her neighbor’s collection of pet birds sings secrets that Elisa can almost understand—secrets she must unravel in order to be truly alive.]]> 335 Sarah Beth Durst 1662524102 Joy 4 fantasy 4.04 2025
author: Sarah Beth Durst
name: Joy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 210202493 A sweet and sexy hockey romance about two ex-teammates and former best friends with benefits who are about to discover whether you can ever really have a second chance, from the USA TODAY bestselling author of Heated Rivalry and The Long Game.

After moving back to his hometown ten years ago, Riley Tuck thought he had left his major league hockey career—and his broken heart—far behind. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, it brings ex-teammate and former best friend with benefits Adam Sheppard back into his life.

Coming to the small town of Avery River, Nova Scotia, might have been a mistake. Adam’s not sure he’ll ever win back Riley’s trust after the way they left things—and the attention he’s getting as a huge hockey star isn’t exactly helping. Yet the chemistry that crackles between them is undeniable, even now.

As Adam helps Riley navigate his grief, long-buried feelings start to resurface. But they’ll have to square off with their complicated past if they’re going to have a real shot at a new beginning.]]> 336 Rachel Reid 1335015329 Joy 3 m-m 4.05 2025
author: Rachel Reid
name: Joy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: m-m
review:

]]> 202932688 In a thrilling alternate-universe Seattle, empaths are disappearing—and it’s up to grumpy Reece and his mysterious protector, Grayson, to investigate.

Empath hunter Evan Grayson is the Dead Man, transformed by a dark past into a perfect weapon against corrupted empaths. Nothing can distract him from stopping these superhuman killers—until he’s mired in a new battle, fighting a forbidden attraction to an empath on the verge of corruption.

For pacifist Reece Davies, every day is a struggle to keep his darker side in check. It’s only his complicated relationship with Evan that keeps him grounded—a relationship that, despite his growing feelings, must stay at arm’s length. But when an empath’s murder on the East Coast points to a treacherous plot back west, with Reece as the next potential target, Evan races across the country to be by his side.

Together, they search for missing empaths, their proximity heightening the chemistry they must resist. But corruption isn’t the only danger they face as sinister forces close in from the shadows, sights set on empath and empath hunter alike…]]> 384 Allie Therin 1335621962 Joy 4 fantasy 4.42
author: Allie Therin
name: Joy
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/14
date added: 2025/03/14
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 162398313
The streets of the city seem safe and clean. Everyone is friendly, and the doughnuts are to die for.

Charlie and Tom have an unexpected encounter with the past in a piano bar, but it’s OK. They’ve got the Atlantic Ocean between them and the troubles of the last year. It’s all behind them.

Until they get asked for help in an unexplained death.

What could possibly go wrong?]]> 204 Ripley Hayes Joy 4 m-m, mystery 4.43
author: Ripley Hayes
name: Joy
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: m-m, mystery
review:

]]> 59427493
Continuing the story of the captured Trojan women as they set sail for Mycenae with the victorious Greeks, this new novel centres on the fate of Cassandra -- daughter of King Priam, priestess of Apollo, and a prophet condemned never to be heeded. (When she refuses to have sex with Apollo, after he has kissed her, granting her the gift of true prophecy, he spits in her mouth to make sure she will never be believed.)

Psychologically complex and dangerously driven, Cassandra's arrival in Mycenae will set in motion a bloody train of events, drawing in King Agamemnon, his wife Clytemnestra and daughter Electra. Agamemnon's triumphant return from Troy is far from the celebration he imagined, and the fate of the Trojan women as uncertain as they had feared.]]> 320 Pat Barker 0241568269 Joy 4 historical-fiction, horror 3.98 2024
author: Pat Barker
name: Joy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: historical-fiction, horror
review:

]]> 17393102
Dragon blood and scales, dragon liver and eyes and teeth.

All required ingredients for medicines with near-miraculous healing powers. The legendary blue dragon Tintaglia is dying of wounds inflicted by hunters sent by the Duke of Chalced, who meanwhile preserves his dwindling life by consuming the blood of the dragon's poet Selden Vestrit.

If Tintaglia perishes, her ancestral memories will die with her. And the dragons in the ancient city of Kelsingra will lose the secret knowledge they need to survive.

Their keepers immerse themselves in the dangerously addictive memory-stone records of the city in the hope of recovering the Elderling magic that once allowed humans and dragons to co-exist. In doing so they risk losing their own identities, even their lives.

And danger threatens from beyond the city, too. For war is coming: war between dragonkind and those who would destroy them.]]> 535 Robin Hobb 0007444133 Joy 0 to-read 4.20 2013
author: Robin Hobb
name: Joy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211004908 Practical Magic meets Gone Girl in Ava Morgyn's next dark, spellbinding novel about a woman who is more than a witch - she's a hunter. Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things - plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become�� concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story. But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger - it’s a birthright. Piers comes from a long line of poison eaters - Bane Witches �� women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men. Piers sets out to earn her place in her family’s gritty but distinguished legacy, all while working at her Aunt Myrtle’s cafe and perpetuating a flirtation with the local, well-meaning sheriff to allay his suspicions on the body count she’s been leaving in her wake. But soon she catches the attention of someone else, a serial killer operating in the area. And that only means one thing - it’s time to feed. In Ava Morgyn’s dark, thrilling novel, The Bane Witch, a very little poison can do a world of good.]]> 384 Ava Morgyn 1250835453 Joy 0 to-read 4.02 2025
author: Ava Morgyn
name: Joy
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219655843 Don’t miss the conclusion to this spin-off series from Allie Therin’s acclaimed Magic in Manhattan universe!

Love redeemed them, but the past isn’t done with them yet.

New York, 1925

For jaded Lord Fine—Wesley, to the friends he’s surprised he now has—falling into his lover Sebastian’s world of magic and intrigue has changed everything. But when a plot to destroy magic is linked to Wesley’s own aristocratic world, he’s determined to root it out—especially when it threatens newly vulnerable Sebastian.

Sebastian will never regret sacrificing his magic to save Wesley’s life, even if life without magic is challenging and sometimes dangerous. But now he faces the biggest danger infiltrating Wesley’s viscount circles to find a villain, without magic to protect them, because Sebastian’s magic is gone forever…isn’t it?

Joined by old friends, Wesley and Sebastian follow the clues from New York’s speakeasies, across the ocean to England, and finally to a duke’s country estate. Always one step behind, they must race against time to stop those responsible and end the threat to the world, and magic, once and for all.

Roaring Twenties Magic

Book 1: Proper Scoundrels
Book 2: Once a Rogue
Book 3: Viscounts & Villainy]]> 327 Allie Therin 0369749863 Joy 0 to-read 4.50 2025
author: Allie Therin
name: Joy
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217388276 I feared this was the best of times; I hoped it could not get any worse.

The fairies stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faerie Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead.

It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition.

Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.]]> 416 H.G. Parry 1250334187 Joy 0 to-read 4.20 2025
author: H.G. Parry
name: Joy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217388109 Status is hereditary, class is bestowed, trust must be earned.

When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen―once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall―is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.

When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.

The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?

The Witch Roads is the latest epic novel by fan favorite, Kate Elliott.]]> 448 Kate Elliott 1250338611 Joy 0 to-read 4.23 2025
author: Kate Elliott
name: Joy
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218678151 From the author of Consort of Fire and Queen of Dreams comes a scorching romantasy novel full of courtly intrigue and erotic crackle riding the swells of immortal love.

Aleksi, the charming and charismatic god of love, is dying. But nothing can stop the Lover from completing his final quest: a dangerous diplomatic visit to a former adversary.

Setting sail for a mystical kingdom of ice, Aleksi is joined by Einar the Kraken, infamous pirate lord, and Naia, a sweet young water nymph. Intoxicated by the pair's electric connection, Aleksi vows to enjoy his last days by playing matchmaker, pushing away his own desires for the sake of theirs. But he's unexpectedly caught up in a raging game of seduction.

As the trio navigates turbulent seas and the political perils of the Ice Queen's court, dark secrets reveal clues to one's tragic past and another's epic destiny. Aleksi's powers spin out of control while love and lust run wild. And when enemies emerge from the shadows, the Lover is forced to make a choice. Will he give away his heart to save all that he holds dear?]]> 320 Kit Rocha 1662523610 Joy 0 to-read 3.85 2025
author: Kit Rocha
name: Joy
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217388316
Together in one volume for the first time:

Emilie and the Hollow World
Running away from home, and stowing away on the wrong ship, Emilie embarks on a fantastic adventure.

Emilie learns that the crew hopes to use an experimental engine to journey to the interior of the planet, but when the ship becomes damaged on arrival, and evidence points to sabotage they encounter the treacherous Lord Ivers, along with a strange new race.

Can Emilie and her new-found friends possibly reach the surface world again?

Emilie and the Sky World
When Emilie arrives in Silk Harbor, Professor Abindon, an old colleague of her friend Lady Marlende, warns them of something strange and potentially deadly in the sky, a disruption in an upper air aether current. On further investigation they realize it’s a ship from another aetheric plane.

How to determine if it’s a friendly explorer, or something far more sinister�� Nothing less than a journey into the dangerous air currents will do.

Join Emilie and she navigates the strange landscapes of the upper air, and the deadly menace that inhabits the Sky World.]]> 416 Martha Wells 1250873142 Joy 0 to-read 3.84 2025
author: Martha Wells
name: Joy
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218153843 From the internationally bestselling author of Tigana, All the Seas of the World, and A Brightness Long Ago comes a majestic new novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France.

Thierry Villar is a well-known--even notorious-- tavern poet, familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power. He is an unlikely person, despite his quickness, to be caught up in the deadly contests of ambitious royals, assassins, and invading armies.

But he is indeed drawn into all these things on a savagely cold night in his beloved city of Orane. And so Thierry must use all the intelligence and charm he can muster as political struggles merge with a decades-long war to bring his country to the brink of destruction.

As he does, he meets his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman and is drawn to more than one unsettling person with a connection to the world beyond this one. He also crosses paths with an extraordinary young woman driven by voices within to try to heal the ailing king--and help his forces in war. A wide and varied set of people from all walks of life take their places in the rich tapestry of this story.

A new masterwork from the internationally bestselling author of All the Seas of the World, A Brightness Long Ago, and Tigana, Written on the Dark is an elegant tour de force about power and ambition playing out amid the intense human need for art and beauty, and memories to be left behind.]]> 320 Guy Gavriel Kay 0593953983 Joy 0 to-read 4.33 2025
author: Guy Gavriel Kay
name: Joy
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216488999 A Deadly Education meets Rivers of London in this captivating contemporary fantasy from Sunday Times bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

Dr. Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.

Walden is good at her job �� no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. But it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from, is herself . . .]]> 368 Emily Tesh 0356525643 Joy 0 to-read 4.25 2025
author: Emily Tesh
name: Joy
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 221436696 NEW ENTRY IN THE BEST-SELLING LIADEN UNIVERSE® SERIES

A world divided cannot stand.

A people divided cannot thrive.

The Oracle has Seen the end of Civilization, and the end of the Haosa, too. Reactions to this are—mixed.

On the one hand, foresight is a notoriously erratic Gift. On the other, can Civilization—or the Haosa—afford to assume that the prophecy is an error?

And if the Oracle has Seen truly—is it possible to alter the future?

While well-meaning people struggle to implement change that might, at least, mitigate a disaster, others are looking toward the profit they can make from the end of the world.

In the meantime, the Tree-and-Dragon Trade Team has concluded its whole port inventory, and is about to propose Colemeno as a trade-hub and anchor to a brand-new route. Padi yos’Galan is preparing to step into new roles, personally, and in trade.

And the lives of two small children may be the thread that binds the future—or unravels it.

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

Praise for the Liaden Universe

“I love the Liaden Universe books for their complex weaving of cultures and manners and the dangers of space travel. I was fascinated by Ribbon Dance’s focus on the careful work of establishing trade with a long-isolated world where psi powers are common. At play are the differences between offworld procedures and the traditions and suspicions of the planetary society. And an elderly, politely demanding norbear.�� —Kathryn Sullivan, Talking to Trees

“Time spent with the Tree and Dragon is always a joy. Ribbon Dance is a marvelous tale, a feast for Liaden fans. And everyone should be a Liaden fan.�� ��#1 New York Times Best Seller Patricia Briggs

“Space Opera as finely crafted as a Tree-and-Dragon trade deal. Lee and Miller always deliver the goods.�� —Jack Campbell, author of In Our Stars and Implacable

“Breathtaking, innovative, and absolutely charming!�� —Lawrence M. Schoen, award-winning author of The Elephants�� Graveyard

“A brilliant entry in the Liaden series, with romance, intrigue, new friends and old, and a new world to test Clan Korval!�� —Ryk Spoor, author of Choosing the Players and the Demons of the Past trilogy

“Starts fast and runs hot and true. Perhaps Lee & Miller’s strongest work to date. Space opera the way it should be.�� —James D. Macdonald, coauthor of The Price of the Stars

“Deftly written, with politics, passion and power winding together to create an incredibly satisfying story that spans generations, cultures, and worlds. What a treat. Sure to satisfy long-time readers and newcomers alike!�� —C.E. Murphy, author of The Walker Papers series

Maine-based writers Sharon Lee and Steve Miller teamed up in the late 1980s to bring the world the story of Kinzel, an inept wizard with a love of cats, a thirst for justice, and a staff of true power. Since then, the husband and wife have written dozens of short stories and more than two dozen novels, most set in their star-spanning Liaden Universe®.]]> Sharon Lee 1964856051 Joy 0 to-read 4.58 2025
author: Sharon Lee
name: Joy
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211004115
Recalled from Lone Pine to investigate claims of murder by magic against her mentor--legendary Warden Bardun Jacques--Aelis takes to the streets of the grand city of Lascenise, and plumbs the deepest secrets of the Lyceum to clear his name. Certain of her success, she doesn't count on thieves, subterranean labyrinths, or the assassins that dog her steps from the moment she leaves her tower.

Behind all of it lurks a ring of unknown wizards who can seemingly reach anyone with their magic. Without knowing who she can trust, Aelis must gather what allies she can to unravel the web of intrigue, murder, smuggling, and theft originating in the halls of magic power. With an old friend from her college days, a war-haunted gnome thief-catcher, and the advice of her imprisoned advisor, Aelis races to save lives and expose a conspiracy that seeks to change the face of the world.]]> 368 Daniel M. Ford 1250815711 Joy 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Daniel M. Ford
name: Joy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 215808040 This cozy horror novel set in modern-day Toronto includes phenomenal characters, fantastic writing, and a queer romance—the perfect balance of dark and delightful

This stand-alone novel from the bestselling author of the Peacekeeper novels mixes the creepy with the charming for plenty of snarky, queer fun—for fans of T. Kingfisher, Grady Hendrix, and Darcy Coates

Generations ago, the founders of the idyllic town of Lake Argen made a deal with a dark force. In exchange for their service, the town will stay prosperous and successful, and keep outsiders out. And for generations, it’s worked out great. Until a visitor goes missing, and his wealthy family sends a private investigator to find him, and everything abruptly goes sideways.

Now, Cassidy Prewitt, town baker and part-time servant of the dark force (it’s a family business) has to contend with a rising army of darkness, a very frustrated town, and a very cute PI who she might just be falling for…and who might just be falling for her. And if they can survive their own home-grown apocalypse, they might even just find happiness together.

Queer, cozy, and with a touch of eldritch horror mixed in just for fun, this is a charming love story about a small-town baker, a quick-witted PI, and, yes, an ancient evil.]]> 336 Tanya Huff 0756419662 Joy 0 to-read 3.69 2025
author: Tanya Huff
name: Joy
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 213618143 The brilliant detective Ana Dolabra may have finally met her match in the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach, an impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—abducted from his quarters while the door and windows remained locked from the inside, in a building whose entrances and exits are all under constant guard.

To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial investigator, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.

Before long, Ana’s discovered that they’re not investigating a disappearance, but a murder—and that the killing was just the first chess move by an adversary who seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and who can predict every one of Ana’s moves as though they can see the future.

Worse still, the killer seems to be targeting the high-security compound known as the Shroud. Here, the Empire's greatest minds dissect fallen Titans to harness the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the destruction would be terrible indeed—and the Empire itself will grind to a halt, robbed of the magic that allows its wheels of power to turn.

Din has seen Ana solve impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and Ana seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, he fears that his superior has finally met an enemy she can’t defeat.]]> 465 Robert Jackson Bennett 0593723821 Joy 0 to-read 4.54 2025
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Joy
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216971219 A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.

Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.

Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something a mysterious staircase to nowhere.

One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.

Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods. . . .]]> 388 Chuck Wendig 0593156560 Joy 0 to-read 3.77 2025
author: Chuck Wendig
name: Joy
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 223606270
Point of Hearts, Astreiant’s pleasure district, is being disrupted by an influx of scheming nobles who have descended upon the city for an aristocratic wedding. Mysterious carts smuggling something unknown through the night time streets and civil unrest are creating suspicion and turmoil.

Adjunct Point Nicolas Rathe and his lover, Philip Eslingen, captain in the City Guard, are keeping an eye on an aristocrat under self-imposed house arrest when Rathe is injured during a riot. Pursued by false accusations, Eslingen takes him on the run to Point of Knives while they try to unravel a plot against the queen and her government that could destroy the city they love.

Can they count on alliances from their pasts to keep them safe long enough to solve the mystery?]]> 240 Melissa Scott Joy 0 to-read 4.42 2025
author: Melissa Scott
name: Joy
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 205212842
But Dora is a vampire, in a city teeming with creatures of the night.

As Jack dives deeper, he discovers that both cases are linked to vepratoga—a dangerous new drug spreading through Los Angeles. Twice as Dead is brimming with vampires, wizards, zombies and zombie dealers, the Central Avenue jazz scene, an exclusive after-hours club, adultery, a New England ghost who prefers Southern California’s warmer clime, corrupt cops and politicians, spying rats, and a smart-mouthed talking cat.

When Jack’s home is burned to the ground, the strands of his investigations culminate in a showdown at a tire factory, where even the reliefs on the walls are not what they seem. In this unique noirish urban fantasy set in postwar Los Angeles, Jack finds more adventure, danger, and romance than he ever imagined—and learns that success may come at too high a price.]]> 300 Harry Turtledove 1647101239 Joy 0 to-read 3.89 2025
author: Harry Turtledove
name: Joy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214161668 Seanan McGuire’s New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated InCryptid series continues with a whirlwind adventure....

After four generations of caring for the Price family, Mary Dunlavy has more than earned a break from the ongoing war with the Covenant of St. George. Instead, what she's getting is a new employer, in the form of the anima mundi, Earth's living soul made manifest, and a new assignment: to hunt down the Covenant agents on the East Coast and make them stop imprisoning America's ghosts.

All in a day's work for a phantom nanny, even one who'd really rather be teaching her youngest charges how to read.

One ghost can't take on the entire Covenant without backup, which is how she winds up on a road trip with the still-mourning Elsie and the slowly collapsing Arthur, both of whom are reeling in their own way from the loss of their mother. New allies and new enemies await in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the path of the haunting leads.

With the anima mundi demanding results and Mary's newfound freedom at stake, it's down to Mary to make sure that everyone gets out of this adventure alive.

It's been a long afterlife, but Mary Dunlavy's not ready to be exorcised quite yet.]]> 432 Seanan McGuire 1250375118 Joy 0 to-read 4.11 2025
author: Seanan McGuire
name: Joy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214151304 Emma Donoghue, the “soul-stirring�� (Oprah Daily) nationally bestselling author of Room, returns with a sweeping historical novel about an infamous 1895 disaster at the Paris Montparnasse train station.

Based on an 1895 disaster that went down in history when it was captured in a series of surreal, extraordinary photographs, The Paris Express is a propulsive novel set on a train packed with a fascinating cast of characters who hail from as close as Brittany and as far as Russia, Ireland, Algeria, Pennsylvania, and Cambodia. Members of parliament hurry back to Paris to vote; a medical student suspects a girl may be dying; a secretary tries to convince her boss of the potential of moving pictures; two of the train’s crew build a life away from their wives; a young anarchist makes a terrifying plan, and much more.

From an author whose “writing is superb alchemy�� (Audrey Niffenegger, New York Times bestselling author), The Paris Express is an evocative masterpiece that effortlessly captures the politics, glamour, chaos, and speed that marked the end of the 19th century.]]> 288 Emma Donoghue 1668082799 Joy 0 to-read 3.27 2025
author: Emma Donoghue
name: Joy
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211004175
A mind is a terrible thing to erase...

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…]]> 112 Olivia Waite 1250342244 Joy 0 to-read 3.72 2025
author: Olivia Waite
name: Joy
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211004841 A timely and timeless reimagining of the story of Dionysus, Greek God of ecstasy and madness, revelry and ruin, for readers of The Song of Achilles and Elektra.

Raised in a Greek legion, Phaidros has been taught to fight for the homeland he’s never seen and to follow his commander’s orders at all costs. But when he rescues a baby from a fire at Thebes’s palace, his commander’s orders cease to make sense: Phaidros is forced to abandon the blue-eyed boy at a temple, and to keep the baby’s existence a secret.

Years later, after a strange encounter that led to the death of his battalion, Phaidros has become a training master for young soldiers. He struggles with panic attacks and flashbacks, and he is not the only one: all around him, his fellow veterans are losing their minds.

Phaidros’s risk of madness is not his only problem: his life has become entangled with Thebes’s young crown prince, who wishes to escape the marriage his mother, the Queen, has chosen for him. When the prince vanishes, Phaidros is drawn into the search for him—a search that leads him to a blue-eyed witch named Dionysus, whose guidance is as wise as the events that surround him are strange. In Dionysus’s company, Phaidros witnesses sudden outbursts of riots and unrest, and everywhere Dionysus goes, rumors follow about a new god, one sired by Zeus but lost in a fire.

In The Hymn to Dionysus, bestselling author Natasha Pulley transports us to an ancient empire on the edge of ruin to tell an utterly captivating story about a man needing a god to remind him how to be a human.]]> 416 Natasha Pulley 1639732365 Joy 0 to-read 4.14 2025
author: Natasha Pulley
name: Joy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211004190
It's a whole new moooooon.

One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle, from new moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse, we follow multiple characters -- schoolkids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians -- as they confront the strange new world they live in, and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives.]]> 326 John Scalzi 0765389096 Joy 0 to-read 3.84 2025
author: John Scalzi
name: Joy
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214151316
Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them...or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.]]> 656 Tracy Deonn 1665951907 Joy 0 to-read 4.36 2025
author: Tracy Deonn
name: Joy
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222791070 New Rome perches upon the shores of the Thamis River, and in its depths a teeming mass of humanity lives under the iron fist of an Empire which never fell to Vandals or Christianity. Under the cover of coalsmoke fog, secret societies bloom—thieves and murderers, lords and bullyboys.

For years Gemma Dove has planned revenge against the man who murdered her parents; so too has Avery Black sworn vengeance against the Priory. Now that their paths have crossed, they might bring down a monster and deal the blasphemers of the Nailed God a stinging blow.

Under soot-stained skies and flickering gaslamps, from the crowded poor-schools and gin-soaked tenements to the glittering whirl of Society, plans, treachery, and counter-betrayal are afoot. If Avery can convince Gemma of his trustworthiness, the duo might stand a chance. But if any suspect who Miss Dove truly is, not even the gods might save her��

Praise for the
"Lilith Saintcrow is a master at world building. And her imagination is endless. I can't wait to see what's next."—Cheryl B, ŷ������ reviewer of Sons of Erik

"Saintcrow writes stories that are almost always nonstop action from beginning to end. Her women are kick-ass strong, her men ruggedly handsome and dedicated to the women they serve. It isn't a bad combination at all."—CJ Reading of The Watcher Series.

About the Lilith Saintcrow lives in Vancouver, Washington, with her children, dogs, cat, a library for wayward texts, and assorted other strays.]]> 431 Lilith Saintcrow 1610262611 Joy 0 to-read 4.88 2025
author: Lilith Saintcrow
name: Joy
average rating: 4.88
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222098559
In Inventing the Renaissance, acclaimed historian Ada Palmer provides a fresh perspective on what makes this epoch so captivating. Her witty and irreverent journey through the fantasies historians have constructed about the period show how its legend derives more from later centuries' mythmaking than from the often grim reality of the period itself. She examines its defining figures and the enduring legacy of Niccolò Machiavelli, the rediscovery of the classics, the rise of the Medici and fall of the Borgias, the astonishing artistic achievements of Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Cellini, the impact of the Inquisition and the expansion of secular Humanism. Palmer also explores the ties between culture and books, for example, could cost as much as grand houses, so the period's innovative thinkers could only thrive with the help of the super-rich. She offers fifteen provocative and entertaining character portraits of Renaissance men and women, some famous, some obscure, whose intersecting lives show how the real Renaissance was more unexpected, more international and, above all, more desperate than its golden reputation suggests.

Drawing on her popular blogs and writing with her characteristic energy and wit, Palmer presents the Renaissance as we have never seen it before. Colloquial, funny and brilliant, you would never expect a work of deep scholarship to make you alternately laugh and cry.]]> 911 Ada Palmer 103591011X Joy 0 to-read 4.20 2025
author: Ada Palmer
name: Joy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220326861
THE RUNNER
Just behind the front lines of a war they call “civil,�� the shifter called Coyote is tough, fast, ugly—and known for taking jobs nobody else will.

THE JOB
Marge’s sister is locked in a prison camp civilians shouldn’t know about, deep in enemy territory. Rescuing her will take a plan made of weapons-grade insanity.

THE TRICK
To get in, all Coyote has to do is get caught.

THE PAYOFF
None, unless the satisfaction of killing an old enemy counts. And maybe a few small bounties from murdering fascist clones��

RUN, COYOTE. RUN.]]> 130 Lilith Saintcrow Joy 0 to-read 3.75 2025
author: Lilith Saintcrow
name: Joy
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 24526778
As she makes her way back to the revolution, her journey takes her to Venice, where she learns a dangerous secret �� one that could change the face of the war between humans and immortals. Before she can return to London, she must help the Domino Programme unravel the sinister Operation Ventriloquist.

And it soon becomes clear that the one person who could recover her memories �� Arcturus Mesarthim �� might also hold the key to saving Italy.

Lyrical and action-packed, The Dark Mirror drives the Bone Season series forward, showing Samantha Shannon at the height of her powers.]]> 576 Samantha Shannon 140887945X Joy 0 to-read 4.61 2025
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Joy
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211003749 In a Gaslamp-lit world where hags and ogres lurk in thick pine forests, three magical queens form an uneasy alliance to protect their lands from invasion…and love turns their world upside down.

Queen Saskia is the wicked sorceress everyone fears. After successfully wrestling the throne from her evil uncle, she only wants one thing: to keep her people safe from the empire next door. For that, she needs to spend more time in her laboratory experimenting with her spells. She definitely doesn’t have time to bring order to her chaotic library of magic.

When a mysterious dark wizard arrives at her castle, Saskia hires him as her new librarian on the spot. “Fabian�� is sweet and a little nerdy, and his requests seem a little strange �� what in the name of Divine Elva is a fountain pen? �� but he’s getting the job done. And if he writes her flirtatious poetry and his innocent touch makes her skin singe, well��

Little does Saskia know that the "wizard" she’s falling for is actually an Imperial archduke in disguise, with no magical training whatsoever. On the run, with perilous secrets on his trail and a fast growing yearning for the wicked sorceress, he's in danger from her enemies and her newfound allies, too. When his identity is finally revealed, will their love save or doom each other?]]> 304 Stephanie Burgis 1250359597 Joy 0 to-read 3.80 2025
author: Stephanie Burgis
name: Joy
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 195019453 TOMMASO
The furniture district is my personal hell. I don’t know my ass from an ottoman. But when a hot designer comes to my rescue, I realize my problems are bigger than the house I’m trying to furnish.
A scorching kiss over fabric samples makes me question all my choices. But is it too late to change my entire life to get more of them?

CARTER
I need this gig, but my cocky new client leaves out a couple crucial details:
He doesn’t mention that he's a famous hockey player. And he doesn’t own up to the way he’s always trying to undress me with his dark, broody eyes.
The man throws out more mixed signals than a broken traffic light. I've never been more sexually frustrated in my entire life. I need to back away before I do something stupid, like lose my heart.
Oops. Too late.]]> 346 Sarina Bowen 1950155625 Joy 4 m-m 4.07 2023
author: Sarina Bowen
name: Joy
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: m-m
review:

]]> 203956661 Eleanore of Avignon is the story of a woman who is unwilling to bend to the limitations her society places upon her when she becomes the unlikely apprentice to the pope’s physician at the most challenging and dangerous moment in medieval European history.

Provence, 1347. Eleanore (Elea) Blanchet is a midwife and budding herbalist with remarkable skills. But as she knows all too well from her late mother’s fate, she must be careful to stay within her station. So, she quietly accepts her role tending to the pregnant women in her home city of Avignon; spending time with her father and beloved twin sister, Margot; and escaping to the surrounding woods to forage for herbs when she can. At the very least, she is determined to preserve the little freedom she does have by staying unwed—unlike Margot, who is about to marry a man with painful connections to their mother’s death.

Then, in a chance encounter, Elea meets Guy de Chauliac, “Guigo,�� the enigmatic personal physician to the powerful Pope Clement, who, against all odds, agrees to take her on as his apprentice. Under his tutelage, a whole new world opens to Elea—a world of status, wealth, and fascinating medical cases—but just as she starts to settle into her new position, the much-feared plague hits Europe, making Elea and Guigo's work more urgent than ever. And as if that weren’t enough, the disgraced Queen Joanna of Naples arrives in Avignon to stand trial for her husband’s murder—and she is pregnant and in need of a midwife, a role only Elea can fill.

As the Black Death spreads like wildfire, leaving half the city dead in its wake—and as the queen's childbirth approaches—Elea finds herself battling what seems to be an unwinnable war. All the while, the people of Avignon are becoming more and more desperate for a scapegoat, and a group of religious heretics launch a witch hunt, one that could cost her everything.]]> 320 Elizabeth DeLozier 0593475038 Joy 4 historical-fiction 4.28 2024
author: Elizabeth DeLozier
name: Joy
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/18
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> 53240409
Soon infamous for her escape attempts, Cecelia drifts through the reality of slavery �� until she encounters frontiersman Sam Fisk, who rescues her from a slave auction in New Orleans.

In spite of her mistrust, Cecelia senses an opportunity for freedom, and travels with Sam to Texas, where he has a homestead. In this new territory, where the law is an instrument for the cruel and the wealthy, they begin an unlikely life together, unaware that their fates are intertwined with those of Sam’s former army mates �� some of whom harbor dangerous dreams of their own.

A novel about the remarkable people living on the edge of freedom and slavery, All God’s Children brings to life the paradoxes of the American frontier �� a place of liberty and bondage, wild equality, and cruel injustice.

This novel will take its place among the great stories that recount the country’s fight for freedom �� one that makes us want to keep on with the struggle.]]> 400 Aaron Gwyn 1609456181 Joy 4 historical-fiction 4.05 2020
author: Aaron Gwyn
name: Joy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> 207611551 A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this warm and wonderful debut fantasy, perfect for readers of Travis Baldree and Sangu Mandanna.

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells "small" fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences��

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.]]> 336 Julie Leong 0593815912 Joy 4 fantasy 3.81 2024
author: Julie Leong
name: Joy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 217193511
Jethro Hale is the last player Coach Clay Powers wants to see on his roster, but the G.M. pulls a fast one. And it's not like he can even explain why. Nobody knows about their love affair fifteen years ago.

Cue the all-star awkwardness, the painful memories and the reawakening of deep feelings on both sides.

Unfortunately, their attraction still burns brightly. But it can never be. A player and a coach? The scandal would overshadow the team’s banner year.

If only they could resist each other��

If you love grumpy heroes, high stakes hockey, struggling single parents and smoldering kisses, grab your copy of The Last Guy on Earth. ]]> Sarina Bowen Joy 4 m-m 4.11 2025
author: Sarina Bowen
name: Joy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: m-m
review:

]]> 55959466 From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.

America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington’s cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story.

It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie.

������Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with little-known stories about the experiences of Black Americans. From the African Americans who arrived before 1619 to the unenslavable bandit who inspired America’s first police force, this long overdue corrective provides a revealing look into our past that is as urgent as it is necessary. For too long, we have refused to acknowledge that American history is white history. Not this one. This history is Black AF.���ձ�> 432 Michael Harriot 0358439167 Joy 0 currently-reading, history 4.59 2023
author: Michael Harriot
name: Joy
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: currently-reading, history
review:

]]> 207567816 From the author of The Magician's Daughter comes The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, a mythic, magical tale full of secret scholarship, faerie curses, and the deadliest spells of all—the ones that friends cast on each other.

All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it.

Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England's secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed.

But when Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself enmeshed in the seductive world of the country's magical aristocrats. The summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and old secrets are unearthed.

Years later, when the faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know it.]]> 464 H.G. Parry 0316383902 Joy 4 fantasy 4.15 2024
author: H.G. Parry
name: Joy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 5206073 Beowulf, Sir Gawain is the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse, who rudely interrupts King Arthur's Round Table festivities one Yuletide, challenging the knights to a wager. Simon Armitrage, one of Britain's leading poets, has produced an inventive and groundbreaking translation that "[helps] liberate Gawain from academia" (Sunday Telegraph).]]> 208 Simon Armitage 0393334155 Joy 4 poetry 4.05 1375
author: Simon Armitage
name: Joy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1375
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/15
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: poetry
review:

]]> 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 Joy 3 fantasy 4.19 2020
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Joy
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: fantasy
review:
3.5 stars surprise vampire book. Still probably going to read the next book.
]]> 55655125 A deeply moving and insightful collection of personal essays from #1 bestselling author John Green, adapted from his critically acclaimed podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed.

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet--from the QWERTY keyboard and Staphylococcus aureus to the Taco Bell breakfast menu--on a five-star scale. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection that includes both beloved essays and all-new pieces exclusive to the book.]]> 432 John Green 0593412427 Joy 0 to-read 4.31 2021
author: John Green
name: Joy
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61273859
With rumors of the end times swirling, philosopher and astronomer John Dee travels to Prague in an effort to prevent one of Catherine de Medici’s seductive ladies-in-waiting from luring the Holy Roman Emperor into a crusade against England.

To convince the famously occult-loving Emperor to join his side, Dee entices him with the esoteric Book of Secrets, a volume that, if decoded, could provide the chance to control the levers of heaven and earth. But Dee faces enemies at every turn, including a female codebreaker who could be the undoing of Dee and the British Empire.]]> 400 Oliver Clements 1982197463 Joy 4 historical-fiction 3.71 2023
author: Oliver Clements
name: Joy
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> 16054217 The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.]]> 561 Deborah Harkness 0670025593 Joy 4 fantasy 4.15 2014
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Joy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/05
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Joy 0 to-read 4.14 2012
author: Hugh Howey
name: Joy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199798108
While working on a powerful new weapon for England, the country’s first secret agent John Dee finds himself threatened from all sides. First, his secret plans are stolen, then his son is kidnapped by a vengeful enemy from his past. At the same time, Dee’s wife, Jane, is sent by Queen Elizabeth I to console her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, whom court advisors are determined to try for treason.

But Jane suspects her assignment is much more than a visit from a sympathetic cousin. Is it possible that Elizabeth sent her to speed Mary to her death without the public trial that she knows will forever define the limits of royal power? Together, John and Jane begin to feel genuine sympathy for the Scottish queen and work to finish his invention, protect their son, and save Mary from the scaffold. But can they do that while still remaining loyal to the English crown?]]> 416 Oliver Clements 198219748X Joy 0 to-read 3.78
author: Oliver Clements
name: Joy
average rating: 3.78
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57103764
As she travels through Waltham Forest, Queen Elizabeth I is ambushed by masked gunmen who leave her carriage riddled with holes before disappearing into the night. The Queen’s Private Secretary, Sir Francis Walsingham, is tasked with finding the perpetrators, about whom they know precious little. But someone alerted the gunman to the route of the Queen’s carriage, and Walsingham knows that the assassins will not stop until she’s dead.

While Queen Elizabeth’s Privy Council debates how to best secure the throne in the wake of the attack and Catholic Spain’s further intrusion into the Low Countries, the queen herself searches for the ultimate weapon to protect her country and throne: Greek fire, the recipe of which disappeared with the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. She orders her friend John Dee—scientist, philosopher, and spy—to rediscover this vital secret, despite his misgivings. For he understands that in a world fraught with coded messages, ruthless adversaries, and deadly plot, his mission to secure his nation’s future may prove impossible, unless he deploys the most effective weapon of all: intelligence.]]> 416 Oliver Clements Joy 4 historical-fiction 3.91 2021
author: Oliver Clements
name: Joy
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> 50890793 In this first novel of the exhilarating Agents of the Crown series, a man who will become the original MI6 agent protects England and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I from Spain’s nefarious plan to crush the Age of the Enlightenment.

After centuries locked in an endless cycle of poverty, persecution, and barbarity, Europe has finally emerged into the Age of Enlightenment. Scientists, philosophers, scholars, and poets alike believe this to be a new era of reason and hope for all. But the forces of darkness haven’t completely dissipated, as Spain hunts and butchers any who dare to defy its ironclad Catholic orthodoxy.

Only one nation can fight the black shadow that threatens this new age, and that is Britain, now ruled by a brilliant young Queen Elizabeth I. But although she may be brave and headstrong, Elizabeth knows she cannot win this war simply by force of arms. After her armies have been slashed in half, her treasury is on its knees. Elizabeth needs a new kind of weapon forged to fight a new kind of war, in which stealth and secrecy, not bloodshed, are the means.

In this tense situation, Her Majesty’s Secret Service is born with the charismatic John Dee at its head. A scholar, a soldier, and an alchemist, Dee is loyal only to the truth and to his Queen. And for her, the woman he’s forbidden from loving, he is prepared to risk his life.
]]> 304 Oliver Clements 1501154699 Joy 4 historical-fiction 3.27 2020
author: Oliver Clements
name: Joy
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> 222576
With the final battle between the Light and the Dark soon approaching, Will sets out on a quest to call for aid. Hidden within the Welsh hills is a magical harp that he must use to wake the Sleepers - six noble riders who have slept for centuries.

But an illness has robbed Will of nearly all his knowledge of the Old Ones, and he is left only with a broken riddle to guide him in his task. As Will travels blindly through the hills, his journey will bring him face-to-face with the most powerful Lord of the Dark - the Grey King. The King holds the harp and Sleepers within his lands, and there has yet to be a force strong enough to tear them from his grasp...]]> 165 Susan Cooper 1416949674 Joy 5 fantasy 4.16 1975
author: Susan Cooper
name: Joy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/04
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: fantasy
review:
I had forgotten how abrupt the ending is. Holds up!
]]> 123288408
En su adolescencia, David Aristarkhov fue un prodigio psíquico sometido al yugo de un padre aficionado al ocultismo. Ahora, años después de su muerte, David está a punto de cumplir los treinta y disfruta de la vida ajetreada que se ha labrado no solo como fiscal de la ciudad de Boston, sino también como médium de una sociedad secreta.

Pero el poder tiene un precio y el diablo ha acudido a él para cobrarse su parte de un pacto ancestral. David tiene los días contados y la muerte llama a su puerta.

Por eso, se ve obligado a pedir ayuda a regañadientes a la única persona en la que ha confiado en la Rhys, su exnovio y rival en la Sociedad, la hermandad secreta a la que ambos pertenecen. Sin embargo, para llegar hasta él, primero tiene que ganarse a su mujer, Moira. Empujados a los brazos del otro y con las emociones que antaño enterraron de nuevo a flor de piel, el trío se ve envuelto en una carrera a contrarreloj para comprender lo que cada uno siente por los otros dos antes de que el diablo se lleve a David para siempre��

Evocación es el primer libro de la nueva y hechizante saga de S. T. Gibson, best seller de The Sunday Times y autora de Un legado de sangre.]]> 301 S.T. Gibson 191520268X Joy 4 fantasy, horror, lgbt 3.60 2024
author: S.T. Gibson
name: Joy
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: fantasy, horror, lgbt
review:

]]> 195592635
Jasper Wilder is an activist, not a spy, but he’ll become one if that’s what it takes to stop Ravel Corporation from reviving the research project that devastated his home planet.

His plan is simple enough: Break into the secure facility. Steal the research data. Find a weakness and sabotage the project. But all that goes out the airlock when he meets Havoc, a passionate but politically naive labor organizer trying to reform Ravel from within.

Havoc could help Jasper, but instead, he’s fighting for a lost cause. Jasper knows that if he sticks with his own plan, Havoc will likely take the blame—and Ravel doesn’t treat activists kindly.

With an elite security operative closing in, and time running out to sabotage the deadly project before it launches, Jasper needs to find a way to team up with Havoc�� before his mission hurts the person he’s coming to care about.

Full of adventure and suspense, LGBTQ+ characters, found family, a sentient spaceship with anxiety issues, and hijinks galore, Warped State is sure to delight fans of Ann Leckie, Becky Chambers, and Martha Wells.]]> 438 Jo Miles Joy 4 science-fiction 4.01
author: Jo Miles
name: Joy
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> 199826249 Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics.

He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic.

That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic.

Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.

Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.]]> 416 Maiga Doocy 0356523993 Joy 4 fantasy 4.31 2024
author: Maiga Doocy
name: Joy
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 285224
Captured and brought to the Archmage's castle, Aralorn faces slow death by torture unless faithful Wolf can find her in a labrynth of power and shadows.]]> 199 Patricia Briggs 0441520995 Joy 4 fantasy 3.89 1993
author: Patricia Briggs
name: Joy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: fantasy
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 Joy 4 fantasy 3.78 2024
author: Meg Shaffer
name: Joy
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 220956880 There are worse things than death��

It’s 1917, the height of the Great War, and Josef Shapel has one tell the people at home the truth about the slaughter. That’s why he’s smuggled a camera to the front line, risking charges of treason to photograph the carnage.

But everything changes when he meets handsome and charismatic Captain Winchester.

Although the charming officer isn’t his usual type, Josef finds Winchester impossible to resist. But the captain is not what he seems, and after spending one glorious night together Josef discovers he’s been betrayed...

Months later, back in London, their paths cross again and Josef finds himself pulled into a dark and secret world. A world he can scarcely believe is real; a world that’s bringing the horrors of no man’s land into the streets of London.

With both his life and heart at risk, Josef must rethink everything he knows to fight for his home—and for a future with the man who blew his world apart.]]> 319 Sally Malcolm Joy 3 4.01 2024
author: Sally Malcolm
name: Joy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: historical-fiction, horror, m-m
review:
Kind of reads like a Call of Chthulu campaign
]]> 216660638 Teleportation makes everything possible.
It allows Taylor Kendall to live in Chicago, work in Houston, and take a part-time job tutoring the teenaged son of the richest man in America. But the more time she spends in Duncan Phillips' lavish home, the more uneasy she becomes. She adores Quentin, who is suffering from a fatal degenerative disease. She's strongly attracted to Bram Cortez, who heads up security for the household. But she's growing increasingly afraid of Duncan Phillips, who makes it clear he has no interest in his dying son—and far too much interest in Taylor.
When Duncan Phillips turns up dead, Taylor's on the short list of suspects who could have killed him. Sure, she was in Atlanta on the night of the murder. But Atlanta is only a few minutes away by teleport . . .]]> 378 Sharon Shinn Joy 0 to-read 4.11 2024
author: Sharon Shinn
name: Joy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 215344970 A promise broken. Her future torn up. But she still has a job to do.

Betrayed by her blood family, all Hallie's plans for her future are in ruins. She has no time to lick her wounds as Special Investigator Girard wants her help looking for some members of the elite who have gone missing in Hallie's territory.

Furious and hurt at the destruction of her plans, the last thing Hallie wants to do is look for spoiled rich kids. But then she and Girard start finding bodies and a simple hunt for missing persons turns into a deadly game with a ruthless and deadly opponent. Hallie and Girard will have to work together if they are going to survive to have any future at all.

If you like your fantasy mixed with a bit of mystery, a bit of magic and a heroine who can hold her own, you will love this new series by Vanessa Nelson.

A Broken Contract continues Hallie's story which started in A Usual Suspect. Pre-order your copy now to continue Hallie's story when A Broken Contract is released.

Pre-order your copy of A Usual Suspect now to start Hallie's story when it releases.]]> 334 Vanessa Nelson Joy 0 to-read 4.52 2024
author: Vanessa Nelson
name: Joy
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 203579245
The Sentinels have rallied under the leadership of Adequin Rake, and Cavalon Mercer has uncovered the horrifying genetic solution his grandfather is about to unleash on the unsuspecting outer colonies.

Both Rake and Cavalon race against time to save the universe once again. They'll need every resource, every ally who might answer the call.

It may not be enough.]]> 512 J.S. Dewes 1250851254 Joy 0 to-read 4.02 2024
author: J.S. Dewes
name: Joy
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 202325471
Siyon Velo has given magic back to the Mundane. But with it, monsters of myth have awoken and begun to cause chaos in Bezim and, of course, Siyon is left to take the blame. Hunted high and low, Siyon struggles against the rising tide of mystery, magic and mayhem threatening the city that's turned its back on him.

In the Flower District, Lady Sable has unleashed chaos. But in the Avenues, Anahid is desperate to keep her sordid secrets hidden just a little longer. Or at least until Zagiri can make her introduction to high society. With scandal stalking the sisters and the threat of a rising revolution on their hands, the best–or worst�� they can do may not be enough to save their city...

In the end, the Alchemist must rise, or Bezim will burn.]]> 424 Davinia Evans 035651871X Joy 0 to-read 4.05 2024
author: Davinia Evans
name: Joy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 212375023 From the author of Boyfriend Material comes the absurdist adventure of two friends determined to avoid marriage to unsuitable people as they race through Regency England to marry each other instead.

Sir Horley Comewithers isn’t particularly interested in getting married, especially when his match is a perfectly respectable young woman. Sir Horley is, after all, extravagantly gay. But he’s resigned to a fate there’s no point resisting—until a dear friend does it for him.

Arabella Tarleton has no interest in romance, but even she can see that Sir Horley’s nuptials are destined to end in a lifetime of misery. Well, not on her watch. And what are friends for, if not abducting you on your wedding night in an overdramatic attempt to save you from a terrible mistake?

Their journey to Gretna Green is a hodgepodge of colorful run-ins and near misses with questionable innkeepers, amateur highwaymen, overattentive writers, and scorned fiancées. Then again a bumpy road is better than an unhappy destination.

But when it comes to marriage, Belle and Sir Horley are about to discover that it’s not what you do or how you do it but the people who you choose to do it with that matter most.]]> 430 Alexis Hall 1662509421 Joy 0 to-read 4.12 2024
author: Alexis Hall
name: Joy
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 215806092 The sixth and penultimate novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire

Ambitious universe-building combines with intimate character portraits for storytelling on a truly epic scale—for fans of Orson Scott Card, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Patrick Rothfuss and Jack Campbell

The end is nigh.

It has been nearly two hundred years since Hadrian Marlowe assaulted the person of the Emperor and walked away from war. From his Empire. His duty. From the will and service of the eldritch being known only as the Quiet. The galaxy lies in the grip of a terrible plague, and worse, the Cielcin have overrun the realms of men.

A messenger has come to Jadd, bearing a summons from the Sollan Emperor for the one-time hero. A summons, a pardon, and a plea. HAPSIS, the Emperor’s secret first-contact intelligence organization, has located one of the dreadful Watchers, the immense, powerful beings worshipped by the Pale Cielcin.

Called out of retirement and exile, the old hero—accompanied by his daughter, Cassandra—must race across the galaxy and against time to accomplish one last, impossible

To kill a god.]]> 706 Christopher Ruocchio 0756419948 Joy 0 to-read 4.61 2024
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Joy
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 703
For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threatens to destroy his small, safe corner of America - and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother.]]> 391 Philip Roth 1400079497 Joy 3 3.79 2004
author: Philip Roth
name: Joy
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: historical-fiction, science-fiction
review:

]]> 211004023 A spine-tingling thriller by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about a 10-year-old girl with an impossible power, her father, and an unlikely stranger, who come together to confront the dangerous forces that want her at all costs. A strange story of family, love, comets, and bacon. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things.

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It's not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears.

Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 1250890438 Joy 3 science-fiction 4.10 2018
author: T.J. Klune
name: Joy
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> 59801788
Three men vow to leave the world behind them. They set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them. What they find is the extraordinary island now known as Skellig Michael. Haven has Emma Donoghue’s trademark world-building and psychological intensity—but this story is like nothing she has ever written before.]]> 272 Emma Donoghue 0316413933 Joy 3 historical-fiction 3.37 2022
author: Emma Donoghue
name: Joy
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> 32618152
Browsing antiques shops in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait �� supposedly of Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better�� The woman is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 as an unwanted orphan and presumed dead after going missing as a child.

The painting is more than just a beautiful object from Alison’s past �� it holds the key to her future, unlocking the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance, and the enigma of Alison’s son.

But Alison’s quest soon takes a dark and foreboding turn, as a meeting place called the Phantom Tree harbours secrets in its shadows��

*

Readers love Nicola

‘Alluring and hypnotising�� I was hooked from page one.��

‘A haunting and mesmerising story.��

‘Atmospheric and filled with tension and danger.��

‘Full of dark twists and spooky turns. Brilliantly written, unguessable and page-turning.��

‘Spellbinding, with a narrative that left me bewitched. Not to be missed!��

‘A fabulous read. I was completely enthralled, and kept guessing throughout.’]]> 384 Nicola Cornick 1474050697 Joy 4 fantasy, historical-fiction 4.04 2016
author: Nicola Cornick
name: Joy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction
review:

]]> 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 Joy 0 to-read 4.42 1975
author: James Clavell
name: Joy
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 203747795
1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile. Ginevra has a gift—harnessing the hidden powers of gemstones, she can heal the sick. But when word spread of her unusual abilities, she was condemned as a witch and banished. Now the same men who expelled Ginevra are begging for her return. Ginevra obliges, assuming the city’s leaders are finally ready to accept her unorthodox cures amid a pandemic. But upon arrival, she is tasked with a much different she must use her collection of jewels to track down a ruthless thief who is ransacking Florence’s churches for priceless relics—the city’s only hope for protection. If she succeeds, she’ll be a recognized physician and never accused of witchcraft again. But as her investigation progresses, Ginevra discovers she’s merely a pawn in a much larger scheme than the one she’s been hired to solve. And the dangerous men behind this conspiracy won’t think twice about killing a stone witch to get what they want…]]> 368 Anna Rasche 0778310450 Joy 4 fantasy, historical-fiction 3.61 2024
author: Anna Rasche
name: Joy
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction
review:

]]> 123286519
In the middle of the second century AD, Rome was at its prosperous and powerful apex. The emperor Marcus Aurelius reigned over a vast territory that stretched from Britain to Egypt. The Roman-made peace, or Pax Romana, seemed to be permanent. Then, apparently out of nowhere, a sudden sickness struck the legions and laid waste to cities, including Rome itself. This fast-spreading disease, known now as the Antonine plague, may have been history’s first pandemic. Soon after its arrival, the Empire began its downward trajectory toward decline and fall. In Pox Romana, historian Colin Elliott offers a comprehensive, wide-ranging account of this pivotal moment in Roman history.

Did a single disease―its origins and diagnosis still a mystery―bring Rome to its knees? Carefully examining all the available evidence, Elliott shows that Rome’s problems were more insidious. Years before the pandemic, the thin veneer of Roman peace and prosperity had begun to the economy was sluggish, the military found itself bogged down in the Balkans and the Middle East, food insecurity led to riots and mass migration, and persecution of Christians intensified. The pandemic exposed the crumbling foundations of a doomed Empire. Arguing that the disease was both cause and effect of Rome’s fall, Elliott describes the plague’s “preexisting conditions�� (Rome’s multiple economic, social, and environmental susceptibilities); recounts the history of the outbreak itself through the experiences of physician, victim, and political operator; and explores post-pandemic crises. The pandemic’s most transformative power, Elliott suggests, may have been its lingering presence as a threat both real and perceived.]]> 328 Colin Elliott 069121915X Joy 4 history 3.64 2024
author: Colin Elliott
name: Joy
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves: history
review:

]]> 57094295 A visionary technothriller about climate change.

Neal Stephenson's sweeping, prescient new novel transports readers to a near-future world where the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics.

One man has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as "elemental." But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?

Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?]]> 708 Neal Stephenson 0063028050 Joy 4 science-fiction 3.68 2021
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Joy
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> 63240903 A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, epic tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal�� or to burn everything in its path.

In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great celestial peacekeeper of the three systems, a terrible secret lies buried.

As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique �� and dangerous.

When Freida meets Joshua, a mortal boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a Disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to break ranks with the gods and help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future��

With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives �� if he doesn't destroy her first.]]> 448 Alaya Dawn Johnson 1338290622 Joy 0 to-read 3.14 2023
author: Alaya Dawn Johnson
name: Joy
average rating: 3.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 124019742
But Len Bronstein is no rabbi—he’s a Brooklyn art teacher who steals a large quantity of clay from his school, gets extremely stoned, and manages to bring his creation to life despite knowing little about Judaism and even less about golems. Unable to communicate with his nine-foot-six, four hundred–pound, Yiddish-speaking guest, Len enlists a bodega clerk and ex-Hasid named Miri Apfelbaum to translate.

Eventually, the golem learns English by binge-watching Curb Your Enthusiasm after ingesting a massive amount of LSD and reveals that he is a creature with an ancestral memory; he recalls every previous iteration of himself, proving to be a repository of Jewish history and trauma. He demands to know what crisis has prompted his re-creation and whom he must destroy. When Miri shows him a video of white nationalists marching and chanting “Jews will not replace us,�� the answer becomes clear.

The Golem of Brooklyn is an epic romp through Jewish history and the American present that wrestles with the deepest questions of our humanity—the conflicts between faith and skepticism, tribalism and interdependence, and vengeance and healing.]]> 272 Adam Mansbach 059372982X Joy 4 fantasy 3.97 2023
author: Adam Mansbach
name: Joy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: fantasy
review:
Sooo funny but also makes a few points on the way. Kind of reminds me a bit of some Carl Hiassen books
]]> 201182779 Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, must stop a disaster of world-shattering proportions in this exhilarating entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

In the supernatural realms, there are creatures who belong to winter. I am not one of them. But like the coyote I can become at will, I am adaptable.

My name is Mercy Thompson Hauptman, and my mate, Adam, is the werewolf who leads the Columbia Basin Pack, the pack charged with keeping the people who live and work in the Tri-Cities of Washington State safe. It’s a hard job, and it doesn’t leave much room for side quests. Which is why when I needed to travel to Montana to help my brother, I intended to go by myself.

But I’m not alone anymore.

Together, Adam and I find ourselves trapped with strangers in a lodge in the heart of the wilderness, in the teeth of a storm of legendary power, only to discover my brother’s issues are a tiny part of a problem much bigger than we could have imagined. Arcane and ancient magics are at work that could, unless we are very careful, bring about the end of the world. . . .]]> 416 Patricia Briggs 0593439007 Joy 4 4.36 2024
author: Patricia Briggs
name: Joy
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 204309713
What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?]]> 372 Freya Marske 1250341620 Joy 4 fantasy, m-m 3.92 2024
author: Freya Marske
name: Joy
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/05
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: fantasy, m-m
review:

]]> 203801352 In this magical tale of self-discovery from New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn, a young widow taps into the power that will change the world—if the man’s world she lives in doesn’t destroy her and her newfound friends first.

In the summer of 1880, the death of Beth Stanley’s husband puts her life’s work in jeopardy. The magic of Arcane Taxonomy dictates that every natural thing in the world, from weather to animals, can be labeled, and doing so grants the practitioner some of that subject’s unique power. But only men are permitted to train in this philosophy. Losing her husband means that Beth loses the name they put on her work—and any influence she might have wielded.

Brandon West and Anton Torrance are campaigning for their expedition to the South Pole, a mission that some believe could make a taxonomist all-powerful by tapping into the earth’s magnetic forces. Their late friend Harry Stanley’s knowledge and connections would have been instrumental, but when they attempt to take custody of his work, they find that it was never his at all.

Tied together by this secret and its implications, Beth, Bran, and Anton must find a way for Beth to use her talent for the good of the world, before she’s discovered by those who would lay claim to her rare potential—and her very freedom.]]> 391 Carrie Vaughn 1662519028 Joy 4 4.14 2024
author: Carrie Vaughn
name: Joy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/10
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, lgbt
review:

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

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

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

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 387 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Joy 5 fantasy, historical-fiction 3.74 2024
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Joy
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/19
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction
review:
Pretty much everything I like in a book.
]]> 805384 228 Loretta Chase 0380708361 Joy 4 historical-fiction, romance 3.51 1988
author: Loretta Chase
name: Joy
average rating: 3.51
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/15
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: historical-fiction, romance
review:

]]> 20814989 "You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad."

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he's on the run--but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father.]]> 432 Sally Green 0670017132 Joy 4 fantasy 3.98 2015
author: Sally Green
name: Joy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/04/30
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]>