en-US Sun, 13 Sep 2026 19:11:18 -0700 60 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 384457 Take one food writer named Cranky Agnes, add a hitman named Shane, mix them together with a Southern mob wedding, a missing necklace, two annoyed flamingos, and a dog named Rhett and you've got a recipe for a sexy, hilarious novel about the disastrous side of true love…

Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on.  Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window.  His name is Shane, no last name, just Shane, and he has his own problems:  he's got a big hit scheduled, a rival trying to take him out, and an ex-mobster uncle asking him to protect some little kid named Agnes.  When he finds out that Agnes isn't so little, his uncle has forgotten to mention a missing five million bucks he might have lost in Agnes's house, and his last hit was a miss, Shane's life isn't looking so good, either.  Then a bunch of lowlifes come looking for the money, a string of hit men show up for Agnes, and some wedding guests gather with intent to throw more than rice.  Agnes and Shane have their hands full with greed, florists, treachery, flamingos, mayhem, mothers of the bride, and--most dangerous of all--each other.  Agnes and the Hitman is the perfect combination of sugar and spice, sweet and salty--a novel of delicious proportions.]]> 421 Jennifer Crusie 0312363044 Johni 0 3.94 2007
author: Jennifer Crusie
name: Johni
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2026/09/13
date added: 2026/09/13
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]]> 60318890
As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink.

So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home?]]> 671 Fredrik Backman Johni 0 4.45 2021
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2026/09/05
date added: 2026/09/05
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]]> 255107854 The Handmaid's Tale meets Alchemised meets Katabasis—with Lucifer as a found-family matriarch and a slow burn that takes the whole book to earn.

________________________

Lena never learned to advocate for herself—and she dies without hearing the gunshot that kills her.

In a patriarchal Heaven, souls are auctioned at a claiming ceremony. Lena is bought for a small fortune by the highest figure in Heaven's political hierarchy, Vincent. While searching for the mother she lost, Lena connects with another angel — her future betrothed, Haris—too well. Their romance blooms, and Vincent's jealousy sends Lena straight to Hell.

Hell's queen, Lily—who goes by Lily, Lilith, Lilypad, and Lucifer—offers Lena a if she survives a brutal trial system, she will gain access to the living world in exchange for helping to dismantle Heaven's repression.

Now, the girl who died without a voice must use it to ask for the person she loves to follow her, on her terms, to her world.]]> 344 Elle Kaelee Johni 0 to-read 4.08
author: Elle Kaelee
name: Johni
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/31
shelves: to-read
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]]> 214151540 Delve into a new dark academia tale where people go missing and secrets lurk around every corner Veronica King, whose debut was hailed as "one enchanting package."

Agnes Jaeger's life is turned upside down when she must relocate to live with her estranged aunt, Sibyl, who, up until now, has only been a character in her mother's stories. Now living in a home filled with spider webs and books so old they might crumble, she is thrown into the wolves' den of upper society.

As a mid-semester transfer at Ore Tree's Silver Leaf Academy, Agnes must adjust to her new circumstances that unfortunately include vicious bullies and strict customs she doesn't understand. To make matters worse, her aunt is obsessed with a secret but refuses to share, her classmates are disappearing, and inexplicable incidents keep happening. Can the rumors of a cult be true?

What mysteries are hiding under the polished halls of her new school?]]> 264 Veronica King 1958607517 Johni 0 to-read 5.00
author: Veronica King
name: Johni
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/31
shelves: to-read
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]]> 244125464 In this high-stakes new epic fantasy series by debut author G.V. Hext, you’ll find deadly magic, fated love, and a witch who won’t stop until she burns the world to save what’s hers. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, The Witcher, and The Foxglove King.


On twenty-three-year-old Seraphina Wildrick’s first mission as a Keeper of the Artifacts, she finds a priceless relic that awakens the magic of death in her veins. There are no records of that darkness in her coven’s archives, and revealing the foreign magic to the elders would be sure death. So Sera locks it up… until she can’t any longer. 


On her sister’s trial day, Sera’s darkness escapes, opening a doorway to the underworld. When the coven’s greatest enemy kidnaps her sister, Sera is thrust into a mission to save her—accompanied by Alistair, the childhood crush who never returned her feelings. But from the moment they set foot outside the Citadel walls, a more insidious beast watches. A demon lord, the only other being she’s encountered with the same dark magic she wields, offers to help her—for a price. 


Tangled in a love triangle between the warlock she’s longed for her entire life and the demon of her destiny, Sera must learn to control her magic and find the doorways to the underworld or risk losing her beloved sister—the only family who understands her.]]> 521 G.V. Hext Johni 0 to-read 4.53
author: G.V. Hext
name: Johni
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/31
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]]> 244968949 "A folkloric tour de force." —School Library Journal (starred review)

In the mold of Arabian Nights, this groundbreaking YA anthology—featuring sixteen Muslim women writers—links together fantastical stories that a group of refugees tell one another within a riveting frame story.

On her way across the desert, fleeing the soldiers who have destroyed all she knows, one refugee meets another. And another and another. As they travel together, on a journey in search of safety, they take turns telling one another stories—stories woven in the imagination; tales with echoes of the reality they face now. Tales of young people stolen away by jinn and tales of siblings rescuing one another; tales of lands encroached on by settlers and abandoned by rain; tales of magic found in caves, deserts, mountains, lakes, and, above all, in people, community, and faith. With a frame story written by Nafiza Azad and Intisar Khanani interwoven with stories from fifteen additional authors of various backgrounds, drawing on the mythologies and legends of their cultures, this extraordinary collection will appeal to lovers of fantasy and to those looking for books that center refugees and diverse narratives.


Stories contributed by:
Hanna Alkaf
Sara Sharaf Beg
Loretta Chefchaouni
Heba Helmy
Zeyneb Holdridge
Ausma Zehanat Khan
Diana Ma
Ardo Omer
Haneen Oriqat
Sarah Mughal Rana
Farah Naz Rishi
Laila Sabreen
Zeba Shahnaz
Ream Shukairy
Zaynah Qutubuddin]]> 496 Nafiza Azad 1536241547 Johni 0 to-read 4.29 2026
author: Nafiza Azad
name: Johni
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2026
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/31
shelves: to-read
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]]> 246278721 Their match was meant to serve the Empire. Instead, it may destroy it.

Sabine Almarien has survived on cleverness and careful obscurity. But when a mark said to bind her to a magically perfect match appears on her skin, the Empire forces her into the Season: a cruel marriage mart where blood vows determine magical power.

Worse, that supposedly perfect match is Lord Death himself.

Azrian Vaelros—the Emperor's ruthless enforcer—has buried one wife already. He has no interest in another blood vow, least of all with a maddening woman who despises everything he represents.

But the Emperor gives him no choice.

To survive the Season, Sabine and Azrian strike a careful bargain: fake a courtship to satisfy imperial scrutiny, while quietly searching for a way out of their arranged marriage. But when other marked couples turn up dead, the two of them are drawn into a shared investigation that binds them closer than either intended. Each truth pulls them deeper into each other's orbit... and into a conspiracy at the heart of the Empire itself.

As their blood vow approaches, they'll have to choose: become the perfect weapon the Empire demands, or forge something far more dangerous.

If Bridgerton were doused in magic and murder mystery, To Break a Vow is perfect for fans of tension-filled slow burn enemies to lovers romantasy. It will appeal to readers who loved The Crimson Moth duology by Kristen Ciccarelli, Belladonna by Adalyn Grace, and Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco.]]> 441 Ella Laurenti Johni 0 to-read 4.16
author: Ella Laurenti
name: Johni
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/31
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]]> 247905419 In this achingly romantic dark academia fantasy a young woman must embrace Dark Magic and an alliance with a deadly Wielder to fight a powerful threat cloaked in shadow.

After the war, ex-healer Mira Winters swore she’d never touch magic again. And yet here she is attending the newly reopened Ivercrest University, enrolled in the wrong magic department, paired up with the absolute wrong partner—the infuriating Aidric Dawson.

Instead of learning how to make a potion strong enough to heal her incurable scar, Mira attends demonology lessons, casts deadly spells…and is accidentally dragged into a murder investigation on campus—one with devastating ripples that bleed into the magical world far beyond the university.

Even more devastating? Aidric Dawson. Rumored to have been a high-ranking soldier during the war, the lethal Wielder is arrogant, aristocratic, and shrouded in secrets…but with his own wounds from the war, he may also be the only one who truly understands Mira.

A labyrinth of clues pulls Mira and Aidric deep into a sinister plot hiding in the shadows of magical society, threatening war once more. Can the two enemies work together without losing their hearts—or their lives—in the process?]]> 528 Wanda Hellmund Johni 0 to-read 4.20 2026
author: Wanda Hellmund
name: Johni
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2026
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/31
shelves: to-read
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]]> 243065719 A Hollywood fake-relationship romance goes to Nashville—for fans of Elissa Sussman and Ava Wilder.

Up-and-coming actress Ana Barlow is about to go on location to film a Greek-god epic at Nashville’s replica of the Parthenon…when a viral photo with her married co-star threatens to tank her career. So she comes up with a She’ll pretend to date her leading man’s stunt double Levi and let everyone believe he was the one in the photo. New city, new fake relationship—what could go wrong?]]> 222 Mallory Thomas Johni 0 to-read 3.22
author: Mallory Thomas
name: Johni
average rating: 3.22
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/31
shelves: to-read
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]]> 232497556 The time has come! Book seven in the bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series is here!

They call it Faction Wars.

The ninth floor.

Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal... It all makes for great fun and even greater television.

After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.

Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.

As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.

For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.

If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.

This is it.
This is what they’ve been fighting toward.
This is war.

This inevitable ruin.]]> 870 Matt Dinniman Johni 0 4.61 2024
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2026/08/07
date added: 2026/08/07
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]]> 245181168
Nobody knows who you are.

No name. No jersey number. No six brothers who'd been famous longer than I could legally drive, and no one stopping me on the sidewalk to ask if I was actually related to the Chris Kingman.

So when I find Clover stuck in a tree with her cat, I keep the helmet on.

I crack Mandalorian jokes, rescue her and her cat, and feel like an absolute genius when I ask for her number and she gives it to me.

I am, in fact, an idiot. She's the new Dance and Cheer coach for the Cincinnati Tigers. The team where I happen to be the starting quarterback.

I can't keep this secret from her. That's a douchepotato move.

She figures it out before I can tell her. Which somehow manages to be worse.

And just to throw a monkey in our wrench the boss has assigned us to work together on a super-secret project to unmask whoever is sabotaging the team, and our cover? Of course, it's fake dating.

We’ll do it because Clover moved to Cincinnati to do the impossible: build a body-diverse professional cheer squad in a league that's never had one, for a team that everyone says is going nowhere.

Someone powerful is betting she'll fail. She's taking that bet, and I'm going to be there to make sure nobody hurts her.


This sports romance features a chaotic quarterback with a secret business empire and zero chill about his feelings, a plus-size heroine holding the door open for every woman who was told the dream wasn't for her, two cats with better emotional intelligence than their owners, and that Bridgertons-meets-American-Football family who will absolutely deploy every brother and one mastermind sister before this season is over.]]> 362 Amy Award Johni 0 3.78 2026
author: Amy Award
name: Johni
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at: 2026/07/19
date added: 2026/07/19
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]]> 218460347 A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death—from the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.

But when PJ reads an obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.

Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also figures he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter, adrift in her 20s, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a second shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.]]> 384 Annie Hartnett 0593873440 Johni 0 4.32 2025
author: Annie Hartnett
name: Johni
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2026/07/06
date added: 2026/07/06
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]]> 58953656 The international bestselling Off-Campus series returns with a collection of four novellas by New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation Elle Kennedy! This brand-new installment provides the much-anticipated answer to the question: Where are they now?

Four stories. Four couples. Three years of real life after graduation…
A wedding.
A proposal.
An elopement.
And a surprise pregnancy.

Life after college for Garrett and Hannah, Logan and Grace, Dean and Allie, and Tucker and Sabrina, isn't quite what they imagined it would be. Sure, they have each other, but they also have real-life problems that four years at Briar U didn't exactly prepare them for. As it turns out, for these four couples, love is the easy part. Growing up is a whole lot harder.

Come for the drama, stay for the laughs! Catch up with your favorite Off-Campus characters as they navigate the changes that come with growing up and discover that big decisions can have big consequences… and big rewards.]]> 339 Elle Kennedy 1990101054 Johni 0 3.75 2021
author: Elle Kennedy
name: Johni
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2026/06/24
date added: 2026/06/24
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]]> 58953641 She’s good at achieving her goals…

College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn’t include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she’s willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change.

But the game just got a whole lot more complicated

Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he’s fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn’t hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina’s heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he’ll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist.]]> 350 Elle Kennedy Johni 0 3.92 2016
author: Elle Kennedy
name: Johni
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2026/06/21
date added: 2026/06/21
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]]> 58953634 He knows how to score, on and off the ice

Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she’s going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.

It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over

Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love.]]> 361 Elle Kennedy Johni 0 4.20 2016
author: Elle Kennedy
name: Johni
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2026/06/18
date added: 2026/06/18
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]]> 58953631 He's a player in more ways than one…

College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants. For this hockey star, life is a parade of parties and hookups, but behind his killer grins and easygoing charm, he hides growing despair about the dead-end road he'll be forced to walk after graduation. A sexy encounter with freshman Grace Ivers is just the distraction he needs, but when a thoughtless mistake pushes her away, Logan plans to spend his final year proving to her that he's worth a second chance.

Now he's going to need to up his game…

After a less than stellar freshman year, Grace is back at Briar University, older, wiser, and so over the arrogant hockey player she nearly handed her V-card to. She's not a charity case, and she's not the quiet butterfly she was when they first hooked up. If Logan expects her to roll over and beg like all his other puck bunnies, he can think again. He wants her back? He'll have to work for it. This time around, she'll be the one in the driver's seat, and she plans on driving him wild.]]> 296 Elle Kennedy Johni 0 3.99 2015
author: Elle Kennedy
name: Johni
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2026/06/15
date added: 2026/06/15
shelves:
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]]> 240549629 She was Olympus's Queen. Its sacrifice. Its savior. Its destruction.

Long ago, Circe was Hermes' entire heart. The two women lived on the outskirts of Olympian society, content with a quiet life away from the spotlight. Then Circe caught the eye of Zeus…and was forced into a marriage that would take her freedom, her future, and in the end, her life. In the wake of the tragedy, gossip swirled about the woman Zeus married and (allegedly) murdered…but in time, everyone forgot about beautiful, tragic Circe.

Everyone but Hermes, who vowed on that day to bring Olympus to its knees.

Now, fifteen years later, a new Zeus rules the city, a new Hades protects his people, a new hope dawns…and Hermes has begun to think there may be things about Olympus worth saving. With Atalanta by her side—and slowly rebuilding her heart—Hermes may finally be ready to set aside her fury and seek the city's rebirth instead of its total annihilation. But there is a beautiful devil on Hermes' other a devil who rose, blood-soaked, from where Zeus left her for dead years ago. A devil who has waited all this time to have her revenge.

And no matter their past, no matter the desperate love they once shared, no matter the complicated triad forming between the three women, Circe will not rest until all of Olympus lays shattered at her feet…and the gods help anyone who gets in her way.

A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Hermes and Atalanta and Circe.]]> 339 Katee Robert 1728284821 Johni 0 3.45 2026
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at: 2026/06/13
date added: 2026/06/13
shelves:
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]]> 58953626 She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…

Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.

...and it’s going to be oh so good

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.]]> 342 Elle Kennedy Johni 0 4.27 2015
author: Elle Kennedy
name: Johni
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2026/06/06
date added: 2026/06/06
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]]> 220772912
It is bedlam on the eighth floor.
As management reels from the unexpected conclusion of the seventh level, the surviving crawlers stumble onto the eighth and find themselves scattered. It’s a map based on Earth’s final days before the collapse, where ethereal, intangible ghosts of humanity go about their lives, oblivious of the impending doom. Living amongst these ghosts are monsters based in Earth lore. “Legendary” creatures tied to the geographical location they inhabit.

Each team of crawlers is given a task: find and capture six of these beasts. The captured monsters will be turned into cards. Cards that can be summoned into battle again and again. The stronger, the deadlier, the better.

At the end of the floor, the bad guys will also have decks, and they will have some of the most powerful cards available. So it’s crucial to assemble the toughest squad possible.

But, like always, there is a catch. There’s always a catch.

As Carl and Donut know all too well, just because someone is captured, it doesn’t mean they have been tamed.

Her name is Shi Maria. She’s easily the most powerful monster in their area. If they want to survive, they must capture her. But she is no ordinary beast. She’s intelligent. She was once married to a god, a god who is now missing. Her special attack is known to drive one insane. They call her the Bedlam Bride.

“Beware, beware. Beware the Eye of the Bedlam Bride”]]> 832 Matt Dinniman 059395601X Johni 0 4.58 2023
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2026/06/03
date added: 2026/06/04
shelves:
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]]> 239039076 A wise, playful, electric novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling, Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO, in the twilight hours of his life, as he is ferried from this world into the next.

Not for the first time, Jill “Doll” Blaine finds herself hurtling toward earth, reconstituting as she falls, right down to her favorite black pumps. She plummets towards her newest charge, yet another soul she must usher into the afterlife, and lands headfirst in the circular drive of his ornate mansion.

She has performed this sacred duty three hundred and forty-three times since her own death. Her charges, as a rule, have been greatly comforted in their final moments. But this charge, she soon discovers, isn’t like the others. The powerful K.J. Boone will not be consoled, because he has nothing to regret. He lived a big, bold life, and the world is better for it. Isn’t it?

Vigil transports us, careening, through the wild final evening of an epic, complicated life. Crowds of people and animals—worldly and otherworldly, alive and dead—arrive, clamoring for a reckoning. Birds swarm the dying man’s room, a black calf grazes on the loveseat, a man from a distant drought-ravaged village materializes, two oil-business cronies from decades past show up with chilling plans for Boone’s post-death future.

With the acuity and explosive imagination we’ve come to expect, George Saunders takes on the gravest issues of our time—the menace of corporate greed, the toll of capitalism, the environmental perils of progress—and, in the process, spins a tale that encompasses life and death, good and evil, and the thorny question of absolution.]]> 177 George Saunders 0525509631 Johni 0 3.66 2026
author: George Saunders
name: Johni
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at: 2026/05/31
date added: 2026/05/31
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]]> 37570548
What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888.

Their murderer was never identified, but the name created for him by the press has become far more famous than any of these five women.

In this devastating narrative of five lives, historian Hallie Rubenhold finally gives these women back their stories.]]> 352 Hallie Rubenhold Johni 0 4.04 2019
author: Hallie Rubenhold
name: Johni
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2026/05/01
date added: 2026/05/04
shelves:
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]]> 222361661 Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It's not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way—well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry—and Tess’s career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.]]> 330 Madeline Bell 1250373522 Johni 0 3.89 2025
author: Madeline Bell
name: Johni
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2026/04/18
date added: 2026/04/18
shelves:
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]]> 54494693
Enter Hazel Sung, American hot mess—emphasis on hot. Hazel’s in Kostya’s tiny country for a good time, not a long time. She’s spent the past month backpacking Europe after dropping out of medical school, and she’s ending her tour by spending a month with her ambassador mom.

It’s unfortunate that, at their first formal meeting, she’s in sweats and hasn’t showered in two days. It’s bad that at her welcome banquet, she accidentally drinks too much and has to leave. And when he catches her up on the ramparts one night, it’s completely terrible how much she makes the serious, strait-laced prince laugh.

Kostya shouldn’t even be looking at the ambassador’s daughter, let alone sneaking out of the castle to show her the city. Kissing her goes against every rule he knows, but Hazel makes it so easy to forget. And scaling the castle wall to her bedroom? That could cause an international incident.

But when the crown is at stake, who will Kostya choose-–his country, or the woman he loves?

Reign is a high-heat standalone romance. It's for fans of princes and commoners, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine stories, and anyone who loves a fairy tale ending. It's got an ex-military hero who's a little uptight and a messy, quirky heroine who brings out his soft side. It's got tons of steamy scenes, lots of spice, and of course there's an HEA.]]> 334 Roxie Noir Johni 0 4.06 2016
author: Roxie Noir
name: Johni
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2026/04/12
date added: 2026/04/12
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]]> 183436
Bunnicula is missing! Chester is convinced all the world's vegetables are in danger of being drained of their life juices and turned into zombies. Soon he has Harold and Howie running around sticking toothpicks through hearts of lettuce and any other veggie in sight. Of course, Chester has been known to be wrong before...but you can never be too careful when there's a vampire bunny at large!]]> 144 James Howe 1416928146 Johni 0 3.93 1983
author: James Howe
name: Johni
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at: 2026/04/06
date added: 2026/04/06
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]]> 443658 Not a great place to visit, and you wouldn't want to live there

The Monroes have gone on vacation, leaving Harold and Chester at Chateau Bow-Wow -- not exactly a four-star hotel. On the animals' very first night there, the silence is pierced by a peculiar wake-up call -- an unearthly howl that makes Chester observe that the place should be called Howliday Inn.

But the mysterious cries in the night (Chester is convinced there are werewolves afoot) are just the beginning of the frightening goings-on. Soon animals start disappearing, and there are whispers of murder. Is checkout time at Chateau Bow-Wow going to come earlier than Harold and Chester anticipated?]]> 195 James Howe Johni 0 3.94 1982
author: James Howe
name: Johni
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at: 2026/04/03
date added: 2026/04/03
shelves:
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]]> 222376906 Dear Matilda, I wrote.
I let the words flow for her.
And when the ink dried,
I gave my very heart
to the fire.

Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic she uses to carry words and letters through the realms. But the gods will kill for power, and Matilda holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest allies.

And there is a mortal who dreams of her, though they have never met in the waking world. Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life—begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. His request went unanswered, and Vincent became a hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda . . . until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him.

Matilda and Vincent were fated to find each other beyond dreams. But to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, Matilda will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: finally allowing herself to be loved.]]> 527 Rebecca Ross 1250373352 Johni 0 4.26 2025
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Johni
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2026/04/02
date added: 2026/04/02
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]]> 281235 BEWARE THE HARE!
Is he or isn't he a vampire?

Before it's too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household -- a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits... and fangs!]]> 98 Deborah Howe 1416928170 Johni 0 3.88 1979
author: Deborah Howe
name: Johni
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at: 2026/04/01
date added: 2026/04/02
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]]> 215767834
When Saphira opens her cafe welcoming pet baby dragons, she isn’t expecting it to be quite so hard to keep the fires burning. But her young dragon patrons keep incinerating her furniture, which means selling coffee isn’t covering all her costs.

Local heart-throb Aiden is a gardener, though his disobedient baby dragon is a major distraction from his beloved plants. However, Saphira’s café gives him an idea – he’ll ask Saphira to train his dragon, and pay her enough to keep the cafe afloat.

They know they’re the answer to each other’s problems, but happy-go-lucky Saphira and gorgeous-but-grumpy Aiden couldn’t be more different. Can they find a way to work together – and maybe even ignite some fire of their own?

The perfect dual POV, grumpy sunshine cozy fantasy, with HEA guaranteed!]]> 317 Aamna Qureshi 0008727678 Johni 0 3.24 2025
author: Aamna Qureshi
name: Johni
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2026/03/20
date added: 2026/03/22
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]]> 6250997 336 Bram Stoker Johni 0 4.15 1897
author: Bram Stoker
name: Johni
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1897
rating: 0
read at: 2026/03/16
date added: 2026/03/16
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]]> 214152206 From rare book dealer and guest star of the hit show Pawn Stars, a page-turning literary adventure that introduces readers to the women writers who inspired Jane Austen—and investigates why their books have disappeared from our shelves.

Long before she was a rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney was a devoted reader of Jane Austen. She loved that Austen’s books took the lives of women seriously, explored relationships with wit and confidence, and always, allowed for the possibility of a happy ending. She read and reread them, often wishing Austen wrote just one more.

But Austen wasn’t a lone genius. She wrote at a time of great experimentation for women writers—and clues about those women, and the exceptional books they wrote, are sprinkled like breadcrumbs throughout Austen’s work. Every character in Northanger Abbey who isn’t a boor sings the praises of Ann Radcliffe. The play that causes such a stir in Mansfield Park is a real one by the playwright Elizabeth Inchbald. In fact, the phrase “pride and prejudice” came from Frances Burney’s second novel Cecilia. The women that populated Jane Austen’s bookshelf profoundly influenced her work; Austen looked up to them, passionately discussed their books with her friends, and used an appreciation of their books as a litmus test for whether someone had good taste. So where had these women gone? Why hadn’t Romney—despite her training—ever read them? Or, in some cases, even heard of them? And why were they no longer embraced as part of the wider literary canon?

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes—women writers who were erased from the Western canon—to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer including Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth—and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works, and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s. Romney collects the once-famed works of these forgotten writers, physically recreating Austen’s bookshelf and making a convincing case for why these books should be placed back on the to-be-read pile of all book lovers today. Jane Austen’s Bookshelf will encourage you to look beyond assigned reading lists, question who decides what belongs there, and build your very own collection of favorite novels.]]> 455 Rebecca Romney 1982190248 Johni 0 4.27 2025
author: Rebecca Romney
name: Johni
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2026/03/09
date added: 2026/03/09
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]]> 110386
Eloise Bridgerton couldn't marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking... and wondering... and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match. Except... he wasn't. Her perfect husband wouldn't be so moody and ill-mannered. And he certainly should have mentioned that he had two young - and decidedly unruly - children, as much in need of a mother as Phillip is in need of a wife.

an alternate cover edition can be found here]]> 372 Julia Quinn 0380820854 Johni 0 3.65 2003
author: Julia Quinn
name: Johni
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2026/02/04
date added: 2026/02/05
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]]> 122759146
Until Athena sends her after Calypso, the mistress of the rich politician Odysseus. Calypso is beautiful and cunning and she’ll do anything to keep her life—including seducing her would-be assassin.

What starts as a ploy to escape quickly spirals into genuine interest. But it doesn’t matter that they’ve finally found something special together. Athena will have her blood, and this time not even crossing the River Styx will save them…

Please check author website for all CWs.]]> 81 Katee Robert Johni 0 3.49 2022
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2026/01/20
date added: 2026/01/20
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]]> 181344911
It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.
 
In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?
 
As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.]]> 366 Kristen Perrin Johni 0 3.96 2024
author: Kristen Perrin
name: Johni
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2026/01/19
date added: 2026/01/19
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]]> 229067358 In this sweeping romantic fantasy from bestselling author Jessica Khoury, a young witch caught in a twisted bargain with the fae must disguise herself as a governess and uncover the gateway to the realm of faerie in order to save her dying magic and escape the clutches of her controlling fae handler—even as she finds herself falling for her new employer, an enigmatic young Scottish laird and the owner of a crumbling estate brimming with secrets.

Rose Pryor has sacrificed everything for magic. As a Weaver skilled in the craft of spinning spells with thread and needle, she’s always chosen magic over love, and it was magic that brought her to Lachlan, the fae with whom Rose once struck a sinister deal in order to escape her abusive home. After years of running from her past, Rose has finally managed to build a new life for herself as a teacher in a school for young Weavers. But Rose has a secret: her magic is waning, and every spell she weaves to train her students is slowly killing her.

When Lachlan returns to collect the debt Rose owes him, she finds herself on a perilous journey to the Scottish moors where she must find him an ancient gateway to the realm of the fae, lest her precious magic be forfeit. But when her quest pits her against Conrad, a young laird with a soul as lonely as her own who hires Rose to work as a governess for his rebellious young sister, Rose finds herself torn between her promise to Lachlan and her budding feelings for her new employer as her search for the gateway puts both her magic and her heart at stake.]]> 410 Jessica Khoury 1662532253 Johni 0 4.18 2025
author: Jessica Khoury
name: Johni
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2026/01/10
date added: 2026/01/10
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]]> 199531938
Tallulah is smart, vivacious, and studying to be a marine biologist. She’s also twenty-six and broke. So when Burgess, a battle-scarred hockey veteran and newly single dad, offers her a job as his live-in nanny, she jumps at the opportunity to get paid while living in a super fancy neighborhood and being around Lissa, his cool but introverted tween.

Her tween charge isn’t the only one who could use some help fitting in, though. According to…well, everyone except Burgess, he needs to get back on the dating scene, and adventurous Tallulah is just the girl to show him how. But as boundaries are slowly crossed and Burgess finds himself pulled between his daughter, who wants her parents back together, and his insane chemistry with Tallulah, a huge rift is formed, and Tallulah does the “right” thing—breaks her own heart and walks away.

Though Burgess knows it’s for the best—he’s too jaded, with too much baggage—a chance meeting, and a new push from his daughter, forces him to put everything on the line and fight to prove he learned his lessons well and is worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah. ]]> 384 Tessa Bailey 0063308436 Johni 0 3.54 2024
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Johni
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/12/30
date added: 2025/12/30
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]]> 220818107 #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

The stunning hardcover of Atmosphere features beautiful endpapers and a premium dust jacket!

“Thrilling . . . heartbreaking . . . uplifting . . . the fast-paced, emotionally charged story of one ambitious young woman, finding both her voice and her passion.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women

“NASA? Space missions? The ’80s? This is a collection of all the things I love.”—Andy Weir, author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.]]> 345 Taylor Jenkins Reid 0593158725 Johni 0 4.40 2025
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Johni
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/12/26
date added: 2025/12/26
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]]> 18716581
W aneksie współ Pogrzeb : (fragment opowieści ) / George Gordon Byron. Wampir / John William Polidori. Dziennik z Genewy : opowieści o duchach / Percy Bysshe Shelley]]> 320 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 8377311518 Johni 0 4.14
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
name: Johni
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2023/10/07
date added: 2025/12/22
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]]> 228041584 I was his wife. His lover. His sworn enemy. The ice queen to Olympus's most hated king.

*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Hera and Zeus.*

The barrier that's protected Olympus for generations has fallen. The enemy's breached the gates and the Thirteen are scrambling to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the city they've sworn to protect. At least they would be if they weren't at each others' throats instead.

Hera has no intention of letting her husband, Zeus, survive the oncoming storm. But despite the white-hot hatred burning between them, when Hera and Zeus are forced to work together, enmity crystalizes into something brighter. Hotter. Too powerful to deny or destroy.

Hera never bartered on falling in love with the man she married—the man she once swore to kill. But now, standing back-to-back in the ruins of Olympus, she may be forced to admit that she's been wrong about Zeus all these years…and there may be something about their marriage worth saving if they can survive long enough to turn sworn enemies into something more.]]> 300 Katee Robert 1728284791 Johni 0 3.94 2025
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/12/12
date added: 2025/12/12
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]]> 222348870
Duty. Blood. Honor. Power.
Saeris Fane doesn’t want power. The very last thing she needs is her name whispered on an entire court’s lips, but now that she’s been crowned queen of the Blood Court, she’s discovering that a queen’s life is not her own. A heavy weight rests upon her shoulders. Her ward—and her brother—need her back in her homeland…but the changes that have strengthened Saeris have also made her weak. Born under blazing suns, Saeris will surely die if she makes her way home through the Quicksilver. Which means that, once again, she must send someone else in her stead...

“Keep your mouth shut. Stick to the shadows. And for the love of all seven Gods, do NOT crack any jokes.”

Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate has defeated armies and survived all manner of horrors, but traveling back to Zilvaren with Carrion Swift might just be the death of him. The male just will not shut up. Hidden dangers await them down the narrow alleyways of the Silver City. Unfolding secrets pose impossible threats. Fisher must wrangle the smuggler and accomplish his goals quickly if he wants to see his mate again.

A darkness falls across Yvelia. The realm and their friends are in danger. Together, Saeris and Fisher will pass through fire and brimstone to save them.]]> 663 Callie Hart 1538774240 Johni 0 4.22 2025
author: Callie Hart
name: Johni
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/12/07
date added: 2025/12/07
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]]> 235329344 When your love life stinks and you’re clearly the worst at choosing someone who won’t break your heart, why not ask your best friend to find you a date?

Unless of course…you’re in love with her.

I've been friends with Artemis since high school, when we bonded over crushing on the same guy. Six years later, we’re roommates in our shiny new post college lives—she's training for the Olympics while I start my pro football career. We’ve both recently had bad break-ups and she says if she’s going to get back out there, she needs dating lessons. Naturally, she asks me—her completely platonic roommate—to teach her.

We practice eye contact. Hand holding. Cuddling during movies. Because that's what best friends do, right? Practice intimacy? For science?

She thinks I'm being helpful. I think I'm losing my mind.

Meanwhile, I'm out here sabotaging her dates, getting jealous of my own teammates, and having heart-to-hearts with our pet goats about my feelings while she's literally in the next room.

But we're definitely just friends.

The evidence we might be idiots:

• The documentary crew filming my rookie season knows.
• Our pet goats know.
• Everyone knows. EVERYONE.
• The only people who don't know? Us.

This sports romance features two bisexual dating disasters who are Olympic-level idiots for each other —a football player who falls first and pines HARD, and a curvy rugby goddess who's oblivious because she's convinced she's "too much,"— matchmaking goats with excellent taste in humans, that Bridgertons-meets-American-Football family that's about to stage an intervention unless someone snaps and locks them in a closet together first, a documentary crew catching every slip and you've got a love story everyone can see coming … except them.]]> 438 Amy Award Johni 0 3.98 2025
author: Amy Award
name: Johni
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/11/21
date added: 2025/11/21
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]]> 213681682 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.]]> 458 Robert Jackson Bennett 059372383X Johni 0 4.56 2025
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Johni
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/11/17
date added: 2025/11/17
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]]> 74872758 A charming, deeply moving novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle…

Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.

When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.

How to Read a Book  is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.  . ]]> 283 Monica Wood Johni 0 4.41 2024
author: Monica Wood
name: Johni
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/10/13
date added: 2025/10/13
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]]> 218014044 This #1 New York Times bestseller is a highly addicting enemies-to-lovers Romantasy with razor-sharp banter, heart-stopping action, and blistering hot romance.

Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.

Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details... Now with an embossed cover, silver foiling, and an updated interior design.  

N.B. Quicksilver contains depictions of graphic violence/adult situations and is therefore recommended for readers 17+. For a full list of tropes and TWs, please visit the author's website. ]]> 610 Callie Hart Johni 0 4.47 2024
author: Callie Hart
name: Johni
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/10/05
date added: 2025/10/05
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]]> 219303895 He’s the campus king with a no girlfriends rule.
But he’s about to break it for the most irritating, sassy-mouthed woman he’s ever met.

Flynn Kingman’s senior year plan is simple: class, getting drafted in the first round, and no romantic complications. Until he chases a rogue baby donkey across campus and meets Tempest Navarro—the one woman immune to his charm.

Tempest Navarro is hiding her bestselling romance novels, anxiety, and a baby donkey in her sorority house. Nope, nothing to see here. Especially not for a jock that’s too hot for his own good. Why does he have to be in her Shakespeare class, saying smart things, and driving her insane?

When they’re forced together by a university tutoring program, verbal sparring turns to undeniable attraction. Especially when Tempest’s emotional support donkey, her meddling sisters, and a whole lot of Kingman siblings are all conspiring to push them together at every turn.

This steamy sports romance features a protective football player with hidden depths, a curvy heroine owning her talents and learning to take up space, an emotional support donkey with perfect timing, and that Bridgertons-meets-American-Football family that’ll make you wish you were a Kingman.]]> 466 Amy Award Johni 0 4.11 2025
author: Amy Award
name: Johni
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/09/16
date added: 2025/09/16
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]]> 210532883 I can get any woman I want... and I do.
So why is the one woman who is completely off-limits knocking on my door?
Someone (my meddling brothers) told her I'm the love guru.
And she wants lessons in falling in love.
Just not with me.

Penelope is curvy, sassy, and my brother's fiancée's best friend. Totally forbidden fruit. But when she asks for dating lessons, I'm suddenly fumbling like a rookie.

I thought love was supposed to hit like a linebacker—fast and hard. Instead, it's a slow burn that's got me breaking all my own rules.

Somehow, I've got to tackle this problem without getting sacked by my overprotective brother.

Oh, and there's an anaconda loose in my house. Because clearly what this situation needs is more complications.

This sports romance features a super-supportive cinnamon roll football player who thought he knew it all when it came to love, a plus-size heroine who will school him while finally learning to love herself, and that Bridgertons-meets-American-Football family that'll have you wishing you were a Kingman... or a Kingman's Queen.]]> 360 Amy Award Johni 0 3.85 2024
author: Amy Award
name: Johni
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/09/12
date added: 2025/09/12
shelves:
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]]> 205878607 He’s an athlete all about focus, discipline, and achieving goals.
She’s the free spirited girl next door who won’t be tied down to anything but her emotional support Kindle.
But when the cat distribution system brings these two together, opposites attract.

Life has always been family, football, and school.

Focusing on my goals didn’t leave much room for girls. But I’m not in school anymore. I’m the hottest rookie running back the league has ever seen, and I know how to score a touchdown. I don’t have a clue how to score with a girl.

But I’m going to learn. Because the girl next door with all the thick curves is my new goal. And I’m going to win her heart.

She knows nothing about football, but she does like my tight end.

So does her cat.

Her older brother (by two whole minutes) does not and he’ll do anything to keep us apart.

The next book in the Cocky Kingmans series will have you swooning and wishing you were a part of the Kingman family all over again.]]> 318 Amy Award Johni 0 3.83 2024
author: Amy Award
name: Johni
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/09/07
date added: 2025/09/07
shelves:
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]]> 39927096 You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years now engaged to someone else. You can’t say yes--it would all be too awkward--and you can’t say no--it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of half-baked literary invitations you’ve received from around the world.

QUESTION: How do you arrange to skip town?

ANSWER: You accept them all.

If you are Arthur Less.

Thus begins an around-the-world-in-eighty-days fantasia that will take Arthur Less to Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco, India and Japan and put thousands of miles between him and the problems he refuses to face. What could possibly go wrong?

Well: Arthur will almost fall in love in Paris, almost fall to his death in Berlin, barely escape to a Moroccan ski chalet from a Sahara sandstorm, accidentally book himself as the (only) writer-in-residence at a Christian Retreat Center in Southern India, and arrive in Japan too late for the cherry blossoms. In between: science fiction fans, crazed academics, emergency rooms, starlets, doctors, exes and, on a desert island in the Arabian Sea, the last person on Earth he wants to see. Somewhere in there: he will turn fifty. The second phase of life, as he thinks of it, falling behind him like the second phase of a rocket. There will be his first love. And there will be his last.

A love story, a satire of the American abroad, a rumination on time and the human heart, by an author The New York Times has hailed as “inspired, lyrical,” “elegiac,” “ingenious,” as well as “too sappy by half,” Less shows a writer at the peak of his talents raising the curtain on our shared human comedy.]]> 273 Andrew Sean Greer Johni 0 3.60 2017
author: Andrew Sean Greer
name: Johni
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2025/09/03
date added: 2025/09/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 221226891 324 Regina Black 1538767546 Johni 0 3.78 2025
author: Regina Black
name: Johni
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/08/30
date added: 2025/08/30
shelves:
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]]> 228691356 What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End.

Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.

Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.

It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.

But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.

When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.]]> 416 Ali Hazelwood Johni 0 3.76 2025
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Johni
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/08/26
date added: 2025/08/25
shelves:
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]]> 59437333 Laila: I've tried to like Adrian Savage, the mercurial frontman for Fugitive Summer, while serving as his band's opening act on tour. But it's proved impossible. Global thirst trap that he is, however, I can't resist having some fun at his expense. Specifically, I've decided not only to give Savage the sound tongue lashing his cocky ass deserves--one nobody else has the balls to deliver--I'm also determined to bring that brooding bad boy to his knees. Savage: I'm totally obsessed with Laila. I tried to step aside when my bandmate said he was crushing on her. But it's proved impossible. She's too gorgeous and talented for me to resist. Not too mention too big a pain in the ass, which has always been my weakness. Unfortunately, though, in trying to do the right thing by my best friend, I've done the wrong thing by myself. I've pushed Laila away so hard, she hates me now. Which I guess should make me happy. But it doesn't. In fact, I'm finding it harder and harder to resist going after what I've wanted from the second I laid eyes on Laila. In fact, I'm finding it damned near The Hate Love Duet is a bundle of two 1) Falling Out of Hate With You, and 2) Falling Into Love With You.]]> 556 Lauren Rowe 1951315375 Johni 0 4.29
author: Lauren Rowe
name: Johni
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/08/23
date added: 2025/08/23
shelves:
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]]> 199217532 What happens when the sunshiny pop princess and the grumpy football player discover there's more to this fake romance than inspiration for a new love song?

Kelsey Best is America's pop sweetheart and anyone who says they don't like her music is a liar and needs to be punched in the nads. And I'll do it too, because I'm the guy the NFL dubbed the meanest player in the league. Great for my career on the field, not so much for my reputation off it.

So I'm shocked as hell when Kelsey's team sends my agent a wild idea – they want a showmance between us. She's looking to dodge the media frenzy after her breakup with Hollywood's latest heartthrob, and I apparently fit the bill as her perfect distraction. My agent is convinced this fake dating stunt is the key to fixing my image. The whole world is going to hate me when we fake break up. And what happens when I fall for her? She's going to create a blank space in my heart, and I don't think I'm going to be able to shake it off.

This plus-size curvy girl romance has a burnt cinnamon roll hero with a mean protective streak and a baddie plus-size pop star who is on the verge of burn out. But a Bridgertons-meets-American-Football family you'll wish you were a part of will make sure they get their happy ever after.]]> 408 Amy Award Johni 0 3.81 2024
author: Amy Award
name: Johni
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/08/16
date added: 2025/08/16
shelves:
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]]> 60497502 32 Margaret Atwood 1662504497 Johni 0 3.86 2022
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Johni
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/08/11
date added: 2025/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 60233239 Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose. Run, Run, Run.

A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”

The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.

As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.

But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.

Dungeon Crawler Carl and Princess Donut return in book five of the acclaimed litrpg series.]]> 768 Matt Dinniman Johni 0 4.70 2022
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.70
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/08/10
date added: 2025/08/10
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]]> 63318188 Always the nerdy girl, never the girlfriend~
Until her cocky best friend and his *ahem* rooster take charge.

Look, I've had it bad for the girl with all the curves next door forever. She turned me down in high school and since I'm not a total douchecanoe, I lusted after her all by myself in my shower, and we stayed just friends for years.

Now she's the adorkable librarian next door and I'm the star quarterback of the best pro football team in the league.
So when she asks me to be her fake date to her all-girls school reunion I am totally down to show her off to the mean girls who bullied her back then so they can see just how incredible she is.
I'll be the best boyfriend they've ever seen. The best fake boyfriend that is.

Until I find out from her slightly-stalkery classmates that she still has her v-card. I don't see how that is even possible. Not with how sexy and sweet she is. Could it be because she knows she belongs with me?

This curvy girl and football quarterback sports romance has a baddie plus-size woman who knows her own worth and a Bridgertons-meets-American-Football family you'll wish you were a part of.]]> 334 Amy Award Johni 0 3.72 2023
author: Amy Award
name: Johni
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2025/08/03
date added: 2025/08/02
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]]> 182513578 Lights. Camera. Lies.

Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And—could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.]]> 440 Holly Jackson Johni 0 4.01 2024
author: Holly Jackson
name: Johni
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/07/20
date added: 2025/07/20
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]]> 211332384 The stunning conclusion to the bestselling Filthy Rich Vampires series…

As Thea takes her place as queen with Julian by her side, their world splinters. A new game of deceit begins between factions vying for control. Power is the prize, and Thea and Julian are caught in the middle of it. Targeted by the Vampire Council, the Mordicum, and their families, they soon discover an even deadlier threat to their future.

Someone killed the queen on whose throne Thea now occupies, and time is running out to find the murderer before they strike again.

In this stunning fourth book in the bestselling Filthy Rich Vampires series, magic returns to a dying world with devastating consequences.

The Filthy Rich Vampires series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading
Book #1 Filthy Rich Vampire
Book #2 Second Rite
Book #3 Three Queens
Book #4 For Eternity]]> 495 Geneva Lee 164937772X Johni 0 4.02 2023
author: Geneva Lee
name: Johni
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2025/07/06
date added: 2025/07/06
shelves:
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]]> 211332251 The Filthy Rich Vampires saga continues in the third installment from New York Times bestseller, Geneva Lee.

Thea and Julian have made their choice, but can they survive the fallout? Experience the decadent, magical world of Three Queens, the third book in the Filthy Rich Vampires series from New York Times bestselling author Geneva Lee.

Returning to the world of the vampire elite as the Solstice falls, they must navigate new dangers, treacherous allies, and morally gray friendships. The past might hold the key to their future, but to find out, Julian must face the monster he was once was—and as forgotten magic stirs in Thea’s blood, the search for answers leads to devastating consequences...

With the future of the magical world hanging in the balance, tensions rising in their family, and war looming on the horizon, will their love triumph, or will they pay the ultimate price?

The Filthy Rich Vampires series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading
Book #1 Filthy Rich Vampire
Book #2 Second Rite
Book #3 Three Queens
Book #4 For Eternity]]> 337 Geneva Lee 1649377711 Johni 0 4.15 2023
author: Geneva Lee
name: Johni
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2025/06/29
date added: 2025/06/29
shelves:
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]]> 211332273 Return to the seductive world of Filthy Rich Vampires with Second Rite, the thrilling sexy continuation of Julian and Thea's story.

Thea Melbourne has a broken heart. A month after her world turned upside down, she’s struggling to return to the life she left behind. Her mother is in a coma, she’s selling off designer gowns to pay the bills, and her roommates seem to think she’s made of glass. But when the vampire who broke her heart shows up at the hospital, she learns a devastating secret.

To save the love of his life, Julian pushed her away. Now he has to live with the pain and regret...or find someone to put him out of his misery. When it becomes clear that Thea is still in danger, he has a choice to make. He can stay away like the Council demands or risk everything, including their lives, to win her back.

Convincing her means facing his own dark secrets and resisting the temptation to claim her as his mate once and for all. But Thea isn’t going to make that easy for him...

The Filthy Rich Vampires series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading
Book #1 Filthy Rich Vampire
Book #2 Second Rite
Book #3 Three Queens
Book #4 For Eternity]]> 404 Geneva Lee 1649377703 Johni 0 4.10 2022
author: Geneva Lee
name: Johni
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/06/22
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves:
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]]> 211332336
When cellist Thea literally stumbles into his life at a gala, he knows she's the last person he could ever fall in love with. She's too innocent, too kind, and way too human. But now that she knows about his world, she's also a walking target. She needs protection. He needs a fake girlfriend to discourage overzealous vampire matchmaking.

So, Julian makes Thea an irresistible pretend to be his lover and he’ll change her life. For one year, they’ll attend the season’s social events together in exchange for his protection and a way out of her mother’s crippling medical debt.

She can’t say no. But the vampire world is impossibly decadent and darker than Thea ever imagined, and Julian’s filthy rich vampire family wants her out of the way. But with each moment they share, new dangers a desire as forbidden as their stolen touches, an awakening of a long-dead heart, and secrets that could tear them both apart.

Sensual, dangerous, provocative — step into a daring new world of dark magic, primal attraction, and breathtaking romance.

The Filthy Rich Vampires series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading
Book #1 Filthy Rich Vampire
Book #2 Second Rite
Book #3 Three Queens
Book #4 For Eternity]]> 459 Geneva Lee 1649376596 Johni 0 4.04 2022
author: Geneva Lee
name: Johni
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/06/20
date added: 2025/06/20
shelves:
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]]> 150249463
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

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

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.]]> 410 Robert Jackson Bennett 1984820729 Johni 0 4.40 2024
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Johni
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/06/07
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves:
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]]> 61865558 She thought it was love.

Rose Romanov is a mafia princess, and everything that entails. Violently over-protective parents. A giant extended family, all ready to kill anyone who looks at her wrong. Learning to run a business that isn’t exactly on the right side of the law. So, naturally, when she meets a nice guy who isn’t in the life, she falls hard… Right up until the she discovers her new boyfriend isn’t a civilian at all.

But he betrayed her.

When Dante Verducci was sent on an undercover mission to evaluate the Romanov family for weakness, he never expected to have an instant connection with their unlikely heir. There’s something fierce and feral about Rose that calls to him. They’re alike, even if they’re both lying to each other during the months they date. Before he could figure out a new plan, Rose finds out who he really is, dumps him, and immediately enters an engagement with the heir of a rival family. Yeah, no, that’s not going to work for Dante.

Now he’ll do anything to reclaim her. Even go to war.


Author's Note: For all tropes, tag, and CWs, please check the author's website.]]> 304 Katee Robert Johni 0 3.84 2021
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2025/05/03
date added: 2025/05/03
shelves:
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]]> 55468002
My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a powerful answer to that question. Through the story of a year spent under the influence of a truly mad combination of drugs designed to heal our heroine from her alienation from this world, Moshfegh shows us how reasonable, even necessary, alienation can be. Both tender and blackly funny, merciless and compassionate, it is a showcase for the gifts of one of our major writers working at the height of her powers.]]> 301 Ottessa Moshfegh Johni 0 3.57 2018
author: Ottessa Moshfegh
name: Johni
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/30
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 25802043
In order to survive, we have to take on a symbiont that wants to rewire our bodies to live in this brutal place. I like to call it a cootie. And my cootie’s a jerk, because it also thinks I’m the mate to the biggest, surliest alien of the group.

BARBARIAN ALIEN is a sequel to ICE PLANET BARBARIANS. You do not have to read both in order to understand the plot, but the story will be richer if you do!]]> 248 Ruby Dixon Johni 0 3.74 2015
author: Ruby Dixon
name: Johni
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves:
review:

]]> 209116165 He was mine to protect. Mine to adore. Mine to lose forever.

Icarus may not have flown particularly close to the sun, but he has fallen…right into the rough hands of Olympus's own Poseidon. Being held captive by the gentle giant wouldn't be so bad if Olympus wasn't on the eve of destruction…or if Poseidon stopped looking at him with those irresistibly stormy eyes.

Poseidon doesn't have time to babysit his increasingly bratty prisoner, but he has no choice: Olympus is officially at war, and someone has to keep their best bargaining chip out of harm's way. The thing is, the longer Poseidon is with Icarus, the more he starts to care for his sworn enemy...and the more he realizes that Icarus isn't the villain he's been made out to be. There's a warmth to him, a vulnerability, that Poseidon finds difficult to ignore or deny.

Now with Circe and the Aeaens at the gate and Olympus a hair's breadth away from falling, Poseidon will have to make a difficult choice: about himself, about his allegiances, and about the man who woke his heart from its long slumber only to threaten to break it for good...

A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Poseidon and Icarus.]]> 336 Katee Robert Johni 0 3.57 2025
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/11
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 57905101 New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.

You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that’s talent.

A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps.

It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the stairwell is unlocked.

Here's the thing. It's never easy. Carl and his team can't go it alone. Not this time. They must rely on the help of the low-level, I-can't-believe-these-idiots-are-still-alive crawlers trapped in the bubble with them. But can they be trusted?

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the fifth floor of the dungeon.]]> 592 Matt Dinniman Johni 0 4.55 2021
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 58708383 One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.]]> 398 Emily Henry Johni 0 4.25 2022
author: Emily Henry
name: Johni
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 83817474
When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice. 

But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?

Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?

Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.]]> 371 Josie Silver 0593722876 Johni 0 3.80 2023
author: Josie Silver
name: Johni
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves:
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]]> 223199392 Two good neighbors make the best of a bad Valentine’s Day in a funny and improbably romantic short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.]]> 81 Abby Jimenez 1662529082 Johni 0 4.06 2025
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Johni
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 209668781
Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.

But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.

The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Fourth Wing
Book #2 Iron Flame
Book #3 Onyx Storm]]> 758 Rebecca Yarros 1649376944 Johni 0 4.42 2025
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Johni
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
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]]> 196241667 Hazel can't understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues… she just needs someone to help her out.

Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he's been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help!

Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store is a Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling cozy romantic mystery with a HEA guaranteed!]]> 384 Laurie Gilmore Johni 0 3.64 2024
author: Laurie Gilmore
name: Johni
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 57001971
The top 10 list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face.

The Iron Tangle. An impossibly complicated subway system built out of the world's subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away.

But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly useless book.

Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon.]]> 544 Matt Dinniman Johni 0 4.42 2021
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves:
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 Johni 4 4.15 2014
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Johni
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 4
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date added: 2025/01/17
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]]> 56377548
The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game.]]> 400 Matt Dinniman Johni 0 4.52 2021
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
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]]> 63490073 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A TikTok sensation! Sparks fly when a competitive figure skater and hockey team captain are forced to share a rink.

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?]]> 447 Hannah Grace Johni 0 3.95 2022
author: Hannah Grace
name: Johni
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
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]]> 39933668 W.E. Hill Johni 0 0.0 1926
author: W.E. Hill
name: Johni
average rating: 0.0
book published: 1926
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/25
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]]> 60539545
In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both?]]> 105 Jon Klassen Johni 0 4.13 2023
author: Jon Klassen
name: Johni
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
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]]> 56791389 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B08BKGYQXW


The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game—with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.]]> 464 Matt Dinniman Johni 0 4.44 2020
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Johni
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
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]]> 35393431
Dmitri knows better than to underestimate Keira for one second. Molten desire smolders between them, a dangerous addiction neither can resist. But his enemies are already on the move, and he needs every ounce of his legendary focus and control to keep them alive. Keira could just be his secret weapon—if she doesn’t bring him to his knees first.]]> 369 Katee Robert Johni 0 4.12 2018
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/11/30
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]]> 34522290 Scandal. Wealth. Power. Seduction. Welcome to the world of the O'Malleys.
Ex-cop Charlotte Finch used to think there was a clear line between right and wrong. Then her fellow officers betrayed her, and the world is no longer so black and white. Especially when it's Aiden O'Malley, one of the most dangerous men in Boston, who offers her a chance for justice. The only she'll have to pretend to be his fiancee for his plan to work.
Aiden can't afford to let anyone see the man behind the mask. To run the O'Malley empire, he has to be cool and controlled at all times. But the moment he meets Charlie, they're playing with fire. Her slightest touch is enough to send him over the edge. At first their "engagement" was a way to eliminate his enemies. Now he'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe-- even if he has to destroy his own family to do it.
More in the O'Malleys
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
THE WEDDING PACT
AN INDECENT PROPOSAL FORBIDDEN PROMISES THE BASTARD'S BARGAIN]]> 353 Katee Robert 1455597066 Johni 0 4.01 2017
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
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]]> 31893590
Some lines should never be crossed . . . not even for love.

Sloan O'Malley just left her entire world behind-her family, her wealth, and even her real name. For the first time in her life, she's free. She can live the "normal" life she's always wanted. A life without fear. But there's nothing safe about her intensely sexy next-door neighbor.

Jude MacNamara has no room for innocence in his life. Only revenge. Still, he's never been able to walk away from the forbidden, and Sloan--who is every inch of pure, mouthwatering temptation--has forbidden written all over her. Only after it's way too late does he discover the real danger: claiming Sloan as his puts a target on her back. To protect her, Jude is willing risk everything . . . and to hell with the consequences.]]> 337 Katee Robert 1538757362 Johni 0 3.88 2017
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/25
date added: 2024/11/25
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]]> 209292213
Plagued by a violent past, Cillian is more vulnerable than anyone realizes. Anyone except Olivia, whose beauty, compassion, and pride have him at "hello," even if she's more inclined to say good-bye to an O'Malley. While his proposal of sex with no strings seems simple, what he feels for her isn't, especially after he learns that she belongs to a rival crime family. Cillian knows that there is no escape from the life, but Olivia may be worth trying-and dying-for . . .]]> 337 Katee Robert Johni 0 3.93 2016
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/19
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]]> 26109570 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert continues her smoking-hot series about the O'Malleys-wealthy, powerful, and full of scandalous family secrets.

Carrigan O'Malley has always known her arranged marriage would be more about power and prestige than passion. But after one taste of the hard-bodied, whiskey-voiced James Halloran, she's ruined for anyone else. Too bad James and his family are enemy number 1.

Hallorans vs. O'Malleys-that's how it's always been. James should be thinking more about how to expand his family's empire instead of how silky Carrigan's skin is against his and how he can next get her into his bed. Those are dangerous thoughts. But not nearly as dangerous as he'll be if he can't get what he Carrigan by his side for the rest of their lives.]]> 352 Katee Robert 1455590495 Johni 0 4.05 2016
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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]]> 213491956 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert begins a smoking hot new series about the O'Malley family-wealthy, powerful, dangerous and seething with scandal.

Teague O'Malley hates pretty much everything associated with his family's name. And when his father orders him to marry Callista Sheridan to create a "business" alliance, Teague's ready to tell his dad exactly where he can stuff his millions. But then Teague actually meets his new fiancée, sees the bruises on her neck and the fight still left in her big blue eyes, and vows he will do everything in his power to protect her.

Everyone knows the O'Malleys have a dangerous reputation. But Callie wasn't aware just what that meant until she saw Teague, the embodiment of lethal grace and coiled power. His slightest touch sizzles through her. But the closer they get, the more trouble they're in. Because Callie's keeping a dark secret-and what Teague doesn't know could get him killed.]]> 338 Katee Robert 1455590460 Johni 0 3.74 2015
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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]]> 219876684
Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.]]> 68 Fredrik Backman 1662526520 Johni 0 3.91 2024
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Johni
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> 199415360 A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He’s the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there’s the island’s sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.]]> 410 T.J. Klune Johni 0 4.16 2024
author: T.J. Klune
name: Johni
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/03
date added: 2024/11/03
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]]> 61100920 Two rival spies must brave pirates, witches, and fake matrimony to save the Queen.

Known as Agent A, Alice is the top operative within the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself. From managing deceptive witches to bored aristocratic ladies, nothing is beyond Alice’s capabilities. She has a steely composure and a plan always up her sleeve (alongside a dagger and an embroidered handkerchief). So when rumors of an assassination plot begin to circulate, she’s immediately assigned to the case.

But she’s not working alone. Daniel Bixby, otherwise known as Agent B and Alice’s greatest rival, is given the most challenging undercover assignment of his life— pretending to be Alice’s husband. Together they will assume the identity of a married couple, infiltrate a pirate house party, and foil their unpatriotic plans.

Determined to remain consummate professionals, Alice and Daniel must ignore the growing attraction between them, especially since acting on it might prove more dangerous than their target.]]> 368 India Holton 0593547276 Johni 0 3.93 2023
author: India Holton
name: Johni
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/15
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> 58420056 Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the teahouse...

Miss Charlotte Pettifer belongs to a secret league of women skilled in the subtle arts. That is to say—although it must never be said—witchcraft. The League of Gentlewomen Witches strives to improve the world in small ways. Using magic, they tidy, correct, and manipulate according to their notions of what is proper, entirely unlike those reprobates in the Wisteria Society.

When the long lost amulet of Black Beryl is discovered, it is up to Charlotte, as the future leader of the League, to make sure the powerful talisman does not fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it is most unfortunate when she crosses paths with Alex O'Riley, a pirate who is no Mr. Darcy. With all the world scrambling after the amulet, Alex and Charlotte join forces to steal it together. If only they could keep their pickpocketing hands to themselves! If Alex's not careful, he might just steal something else—such as Charlotte's heart.

]]> 339 India Holton 0593200195 Johni 0 4.06 2022
author: India Holton
name: Johni
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/12
date added: 2024/10/12
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]]> 8598215
Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.

When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, Carter and Alice, aren't your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. What's worse, Andie's fiancé thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie's dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that's not the only haunting.

What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-inlaw, and, of course, her jealous fiancé. And just when she thinks things couldn't get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them.
If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she's pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind…]]> 323 Jennifer Crusie Johni 0 4.11 2010
author: Jennifer Crusie
name: Johni
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/02
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]]> 57033379 The Ogress and The Orphans, Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and
watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.]]> 352 Kelly Barnhill 0385548230 Johni 0 4.05 2022
author: Kelly Barnhill
name: Johni
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2024/09/19
date added: 2024/09/19
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]]> 27206610
Basil the mouse detective sets off on a journey to solve one of the greatest mysteries of mousedom: Do miniature cats exist? Leading mouse scientists aren’t certain, but they believe that answers can be found in India.

As Basil sets sail for the Far East—and the lost island of Kataarh—danger stalks him at every turn. Will Basil successfully unravel the mystery of these mini-cats and their mouse king?]]> 101 Eve Titus 1481464043 Johni 0 3.60 1971
author: Eve Titus
name: Johni
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1971
rating: 0
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]]> 28182078
Basil—the famous sleuth of mousedom—lives in the cellar of Sherlock Holmes’s house. A devoted admirer of the great detective, he has learned his craft by listening at the feet of Holmes himself. But will it be enough to help Basil solve his most baffling mystery yet?

The Mystery of the Missing Twins is one of the strangest cases in Basil’s career. With only a few crumbs of clues with which to find answers, how is he ever going to figure out where Angela and Agatha are being kept—and, of course, who mouse-napped them! Will Basil’s mouse sleuthing skills be up to the task of finding the twins before it’s too late?]]> 113 Eve Titus Johni 0 3.99 1958
author: Eve Titus
name: Johni
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1958
rating: 0
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]]> 200176685
The Minotaur never had any illusions about Minos's plans. He was willing to get his hands dirty as long as the old man kept his word—at the end of this, the Minotaur would be given Ariadne as a reward. Nowhere in that deal was her walking down the aisle to a different man. She's meant for him, and he means to have her.

Ariadne knows better than to encourage the Minotaur. Her relationship with her new fiancé might be more friendship than burning passion, but she is all too aware of how much fiery passion can hurt. She and the Minotaur are no good for each other. She can never forgive him for what he's done, and he can never change. But when his hands are on her body and his wicked words are whispered in her ear, she might just be willing to let all of Olympus burn…]]> 315 Katee Robert 1728262844 Johni 0 3.62 2024
author: Katee Robert
name: Johni
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> 203788140 Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself—and her family history—in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series.   Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clairmont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, these two otherworldly beings found themselves at the center of a battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Since then, they have fallen in love, traveled to Elizabethan England, dissolved the Covenant between the three species, and awoken the dark powers within Diana’s family line.    Now, Diana and Matthew receive a formal demand from the They must test the magic of their seven-year-old twins, Pip and Rebecca. Concerned with their safety and desperate to avoid the same fate that led her parents to spellbind her, Diana decides to forge a different path for her family’s future and answers a message from a great-aunt she never knew existed, Gwyneth Proctor, whose invitation simply It’s time you came home, Diana. On the hallowed ground of Ravenswood, the Proctor family home, and under the tutelage of Gwyneth, a talented witch grounded in higher magic, a new era begins for a confrontation with her family’s dark past, and a reckoning for her own desire for even greater power—if she can let go, finally, of her fear of wielding it.]]> 446 Deborah Harkness 059372478X Johni 0 4.31 2024
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Johni
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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]]> 165076063
Try to Love the Questions gives college students a framework for understanding and practicing dialogue across difference in and out of the classroom. This invaluable guide explores the challenges facing students as they prepare to listen, speak, and learn in a college community, and encourages students and faculty alike to consider inclusive, respectful communication as a skill—not as a limitation on freedom.

Among the most common challenges on college campuses today is figuring out how to navigate our politically charged culture and engage productively with opposing viewpoints. Lara Schwartz introduces the fundamental principles of free expression, academic freedom, and academic dialogue, showing how open expression is the engine of social progress, scholarship, and inclusion. She sheds light on the rules and norms that govern campus discourse—such as the First Amendment, campus expression policies, and academic standards—and encourages students to adopt a mindset of inquiry that embraces uncertainty and a love of questions.

Empowering students, scholars, and instructors to listen generously, explore questions with integrity, and communicate to be understood, Try to Love the Questions includes writing exercises and discussion questions in every chapter, making it an indispensable resource for anyone interested in practicing good-faith dialogue.]]> 248 Lara Hope Schwartz 0691239991 Johni 0 3.31
author: Lara Hope Schwartz
name: Johni
average rating: 3.31
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]]> 57873211 336 Ronald J. Daniels 1421442698 Johni 0 3.89
author: Ronald J. Daniels
name: Johni
average rating: 3.89
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]]> 61885029
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.]]> 264 John Scalzi Johni 0 4.07 2023
author: John Scalzi
name: Johni
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/21
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]]> 40046061
Jonathan Mooney blends anecdote, expertise, and memoir to present a new mode of thinking about how we live and learn―individually, uniquely, and with advantages and upshots to every type of brain and body. As a neuro-diverse kid diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD who didn't learn to read until he was twelve, the realization that that he wasn’t the problem―the system and the concept of normal were―saved Mooney’s life and fundamentally changed his outlook. Here he explores the toll that being not normal takes on kids and adults when they’re trapped in environments that label them, shame them, and tell them, even in subtle ways, that they are the problem. But, he argues, if we can reorient the ways in which we think about diversity, abilities, and disabilities, we can start a revolution.

A highly sought after public speaker, Mooney has been inspiring audiences with his story and his message for nearly two decades. Now he’s ready to share what he’s learned from parents, educators, researchers, and kids in a book that is as much a survival guide as it is a call to action. Whip-smart, insightful, and utterly inspiring―and movingly framed as a letter to his own young sons, as they work to find their ways in the world―this book will upend what we call normal and empower us all.]]> 256 Jonathan Mooney 1250190169 Johni 0 4.14
author: Jonathan Mooney
name: Johni
average rating: 4.14
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]]> 197511201
Patrick O'Hara is called back to his guncle duties . . . This time for a big family wedding in Italy.

Patrick O’Hara is back. It’s been five years since his summer as his niece Maisie and nephew Grant’s caretaker after their mother’s passing. The kids are back in Connecticut with their dad, and Patrick has relocated to New York to remain close by and relaunch his dormant acting career. After the run of his second successful sit-com comes to a close, Patrick feels on top of the world . . . professionally. But some things have had to take a back seat. Looking down both barrels at fifty, Patrick is single again after breaking things off with Emory. But at least he has a family to lean on. Until that family needs to again lean on him.

When Patrick's brother, Greg, announces he’s getting remarried in Italy, Maisie and Grant are not thrilled. Patrick feels drawn to take the two back under his wing. As they travel through Europe on their way to the wedding, Patrick tries his best to help them understand love, much as he once helped them comprehend grief. But when they arrive in Italy, Patrick is overextended managing a groom with cold feet; his sister, Clara, flirting with guests left and right; a growing rivalry with the kids’ charming soon-to-be-launt (lesbian aunt), and two moody young teens trying to adjust to a new normal, all culminating in a disastrous rehearsal dinner.

Can Patrick save the day? Will teaching the kids about love help him repair his own love life? Can the change of scenery help Patrick come to terms with finally growing up?

Gracing the work with his signature blend of humor and heart, Steven Rowley charms with a beloved story about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty.]]> 320 Steven Rowley 0593540468 Johni 0 3.88 2024
author: Steven Rowley
name: Johni
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/05
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]]> 55502861
Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up.

Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman.

When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.]]> 336 India Holton 0593200160 Johni 0 3.62 2021
author: India Holton
name: Johni
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2024/06/05
date added: 2024/06/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 133185849 not looking for a man. Or drama. Or sex. I’ve got enough on my plate with writer’s block and a daughter who refuses to grow up. Community. That’s what I need. Unfortunately, it seems the universe has other ideas. Either Chatemup, Massachusetts, has a serious shortage of single women, or I’ve become a hot mess magnet for the male species.

At least I’ve found one funny, good-hearted friend: fish peddler Declan Miller, my brainstorming adventure buddy who stirs my creative juices. I’m his Writer Girl. He’s my Dimple Dude. Just scruffy, granite-chested, deep-voiced, ex-military brawn who happens to be—oh, Nicole, what are you doing to yourself?—stoking a long-neglected fire without even trying.

A self-confessed hot mess, divorced single dad Declan is too old for relationship games. Not interested. Same here. So why do I keep thinking about him? Preferably naked. Because I’m a hot mess, too? At least he’s inspiring me to write. If only real life were like one of my novels. At least then I’d have a better idea of how this was going to end.
]]> 361 Melissa Foster 166250795X Johni 0 4.13 2023
author: Melissa Foster
name: Johni
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/06/02
date added: 2024/06/02
shelves:
review:

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