Ashleigh's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:07:09 -0700 60 Ashleigh's bookshelf: all 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Atmosphere 220817728
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.]]> 337 Taylor Jenkins Reid Ashleigh 5 4.30 2025 Atmosphere
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2026/08/27
date added: 2026/08/27
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]]> <![CDATA[A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #3)]]> 62816044
Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Can’t get enough of the Once Upon a Broken Heart series? Don’t miss The Mirror of Infinite Endings!

Also by Stephanie Garber:

The Caraval Series
- Caraval
- Legendary
- Finale
- Spectacular

Alchemy of Secrets]]> 386 Stephanie Garber 1250851203 Ashleigh 4 4.17 2023 A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #3)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2026/08/24
date added: 2026/08/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2)]]> 59808071
Not every love is meant to be.

After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she'll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can. . . .

Continue the adventure in A Curse for True Love and The Mirror of Infinite Endings!

Also by Stephanie Garber:

The Caraval Series:
- Caraval
- Legendary
- Finale
- Spectacular

Alchemy of Secrets]]> 416 Stephanie Garber 1250268427 Ashleigh 4 4.48 2022 The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2026/08/22
date added: 2026/08/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)]]> 55987278
Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game ― and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy.]]> 408 Stephanie Garber 1250268397 Ashleigh 4 4.06 2021 Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2026/08/18
date added: 2026/08/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Problematic Summer Romance (Not in Love, #2)]]> 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 Ashleigh 4 3.76 2025 Problematic Summer Romance (Not in Love, #2)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2026/08/08
date added: 2026/08/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)]]> 217536270 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.]]> 624 Callie Hart 1538774194 Ashleigh 0 currently-reading 4.21 2024 Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)
author: Callie Hart
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Night Prince (The Wolf King, #2)]]> 223259676 Aurora is caught between powerful alphas as they fight for the Wolf Throne. But darker forces are rising. . .

Aurora may have survived the Wolf King. But his bite marks her skin, and in accordance with Wolf Law, that makes her his property. Now, he wants her back.

To beat him and take his throne, Aurora and Callum must form a dangerous alliance with one of the most feared Wolves in the Kingdom, Blake. He is their enemy, but he has entangled his life with Aurora’s—meaning she cannot harm him without forfeiting her own life.

As she fights to break their connection, she suspects Blake is keeping secrets about a dark power that rises in the north, and the unsettling nature of the bond between them. It seems there is a bigger game at play than who sits on the Wolf Throne—one that threatens both the Kingdom of Wolves, and the Kingdom of Men.

With her wolf awakening, enemies closing in, relationships tested, and secrets revealed—Aurora may be the only one who can stop an ancient evil from rising.

If she can figure out who to trust.

If she can figure out where she, and her heart, belong.

If she can stay alive.]]> 498 Lauren Palphreyman Ashleigh 4 4.37 2025 The Night Prince (The Wolf King, #2)
author: Lauren Palphreyman
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2026/06/11
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Wolf King (The Wolf King, #1)]]> 196920718
Princess Aurora longs to escape the castle and the marriage that has been arranged for her.

But on the night before her wedding, at a dog fight where captured werewolves are made to fight for sport, she spares the life of a young wolf. It puts her on the radar of the powerful alpha who was going to kill him. And it changes everything.

That night, when the alpha escapes, he kidnaps her and takes her to the rugged lands north of the border — where the once warring werewolf clans are beginning to unite. He thinks that she is the key to winning the war against the humans.

Only, as they spend time around one another, forbidden attraction starts to grow. And as Aurora learns that not all wolves are bad, the alpha discovers that she is in danger from both his enemies, and those he once considered friends.

With monsters on both sides, a bloodthirsty war between humans and wolves raging, and undeniable passion growing between them — will their story end in love? Or tragedy?

And will Aurora ever get home?

Does she even want to?]]> 475 Lauren Palphreyman Ashleigh 4 4.13 2023 The Wolf King (The Wolf King, #1)
author: Lauren Palphreyman
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2026/06/07
date added: 2026/06/07
shelves:
review:

]]> It's Not About the Burqa 41155465
In 2016, Mariam Khan read that David Cameron had linked the radicalization of Muslim men to the ‘traditional submissiveness’ of Muslim women. Mariam felt pretty sure she didn’t know a single Muslim woman who would describe herself that way. Why was she hearing about Muslim women from people who were neither Muslim, nor female?

Years later the state of the national discourse has deteriorated even further, and Muslim women’s voices are still pushed to the fringes – the figures leading the discussion are white and male.

Taking one of the most politicized and misused words associated with Muslim women and Islamophobia, It’s Not About the Burqa is poised to change all that. Here are voices you won’t see represented in the national news headlines: seventeen Muslim women speaking frankly about the hijab and wavering faith, about love and divorce, about feminism, queer identity, sex, and the twin threats of a disapproving community and a racist country. Funny, warm, sometimes sad, and often angry, each of these essays is a passionate declaration, and each essay is calling time on the oppression, the lazy stereotyping, the misogyny and the Islamophobia.

What does it mean, exactly, to be a Muslim woman in the West today? According to the media, it’s all about the burqa.

Here’s what it’s really about.]]> 272 Mariam Khan 1509886400 Ashleigh 4 4.18 2019 It's Not About the Burqa
author: Mariam Khan
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2026/06/04
date added: 2026/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Project Hail Mary 54493401
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?]]> 476 Andy Weir 0593135202 Ashleigh 5 4.50 2021 Project Hail Mary
author: Andy Weir
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2026/04/15
date added: 2026/04/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The Martian 18007564
Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

]]> 369 Andy Weir 0804139024 Ashleigh 5 4.41 2011 The Martian
author: Andy Weir
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2026/03/25
date added: 2026/03/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fire & Blood (A Targaryen History, #1)]]> 39943621
Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.]]> 706 George R.R. Martin 152479628X Ashleigh 4 4.04 2018 Fire & Blood (A Targaryen History, #1)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2026/03/11
date added: 2026/03/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0)]]> 65213543 When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.]]> 336 Travis Baldree 1250886104 Ashleigh 4 4.08 2023 Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2026/02/27
date added: 2026/02/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bound by the Sleeper's Harp (The Arcane Artifacts, #1)]]> 243158531
Bastian Croft is a supernatural bounty hunter, and it turns out he's hunting...me.

I've been hiding for two years under a fake name, working at a nightclub and trying to forget the nightmare that shattered my old life. But when my beloved mentor Professor Miller is murdered, my carefully constructed world crumbles. Bastian knows I'm lying about who I am. He knows I'm keeping dangerous secrets. And the way he looks at me with those captivating green eyes? It's like he wants to bend me over his motorcycle and show me exactly what his hands can do.

When an ancient artifact starts stealing souls and trapping them in endless sleep, we're forced to work together. Bodies pile up across the city as the supernatural community faces an unknown threat, and someone from my past is pulling the strings—someone who knows exactly how to hurt me. But fighting for our lives while trying to resist the explosive chemistry between us? That's a whole different kind of dangerous. I'm breaking every rule I made to keep myself safe. Now I'm fighting the urge to climb this grumpy goblin like my own personal jungle gym, all while praying my deadly secrets stay buried.

Because if my past surfaces, it won't just get me killed—it'll destroy everything I've grown to love, including the fierce protector who's become my everything.

Bound by the Sleeper's Harp is a steamy paranormal romance featuring magical artifacts, supernatural politics, a sassy heroine reclaiming her power, and a possessive goblin who'll burn the world down to keep her safe. Perfect for fans of KF Breene, Patricia Briggs, and Ilona Andrews who love their urban fantasy with heat, heart, and happily ever afters.]]> Melissa Mitchell Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.18 Bound by the Sleeper's Harp (The Arcane Artifacts, #1)
author: Melissa Mitchell
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games)]]> 214331246
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

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

When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 387 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 Ashleigh 4 4.49 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/12/08
date added: 2025/12/08
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil]]> 215020997 From V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger.

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts. ]]> 535 V.E. Schwab 1035064642 Ashleigh 4 3.86 2025 Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/11/22
date added: 2025/11/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly (Compelling Fates Saga, #1)]]> 216725635
Literally.

Since her magic allows her to compel anyone to do her bidding by merely looking into their eyes, the world was at her feet.

But after a tragic accident, she is thrown into the Fae king’s dungeons and forced to swear a blood oath to him, binding her to his service.

Five years later, she’s living amongst humans in Ellow and has created a life for herself—as much as she can with the king’s promise to call in his debt looming over her.

When he finally comes to collect, she is made to infiltrate the human elections to determine whether the current regent is involved in the strange things happening in the land of Fae.

With the promise of freedom from the king’s claws, Elessia is determined to see it through. Liberty is within reach as long as she can keep the lethal Fae guard watching over her from eliminating her before she unearths the information the king seeks.

But as she grows closer to the brooding human regent and secrets begin to unravel, Elessia realizes greater forces may be at play.

And she might stand before the choice between her own freedom and that of a nation.]]> 476 Sophia St. Germain 9153105591 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.97 2024 A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly (Compelling Fates Saga, #1)
author: Sophia St. Germain
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/09/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) 90202302
Although Violet’s body is weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she has her wits—and a will of iron. Leadership forgets the most important lesson Basgiath taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But determination to survive won’t be enough this year, because Violet knows the secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.]]> 623 Rebecca Yarros 1649374178 Ashleigh 5 4.32 2023 Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/30
date added: 2025/06/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[This Violent Light (The Echo Realm)]]> 230512869
When vampire king Sebastian Vulce betrays a witch coven, he unwittingly brings a deadly curse over his people, condemning them to burn in the sun. The only way to break it is with a witch from a vanished bloodline.

Everything changes when Grace Renolds accidently exposes her existence to the vampiric world. Bubbly and kind, Grace has no idea she’s half-witch…or that she’s the only one capable of freeing the vampires.

When Sebastian traps her in his manor, Grace immediately plans her escape. She knows Sebastian will kill her if she fails to break the curse—and Grace only ever fails.

But violent and cruel as Sebastian may be, he doesn’t see Grace like she sees herself. To him, she’s not vapid or pathetic. She’s strong, irreplaceable, unstoppable.

Grace knows she should run…because the only thing worse than helping a vampire king is falling in love with him.

THIS VIOLENT LIGHT is a standalone vampire romantasy, perfect for fans of Klaus and Caroline from The Vampire Diaries. Featuring enemies-to-lovers and open-door spice, it is told in dual, first person POV.]]> 306 Bree Wilde 1945860057 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.90 2025 This Violent Light (The Echo Realm)
author: Bree Wilde
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Love Hypothesis 56732449 When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships—but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor—and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. And when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding. . . six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.]]> 373 Ali Hazelwood 0593336828 Ashleigh 4 4.07 2021 The Love Hypothesis
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/18
date added: 2025/06/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Check & Mate 60683957 done with chess. Every move counts nowadays. After the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning bad boy of chess.

Nolan's loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone—especially Mallory. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory's victory opens the door to sorely needed cash prizes and, despite everything, she can't help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren't only on the board, the spotlight is hotter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce(-ly attractive. And intelligent...and infuriating...)]]> 353 Ali Hazelwood Ashleigh 5 3.92 2023 Check & Mate
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/23
date added: 2025/05/23
shelves:
review:

]]> Deep End 212808709 A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...]]> 464 Ali Hazelwood Ashleigh 5 3.83 2025 Deep End
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/15
date added: 2025/05/15
shelves:
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]]> Confess 22609310
For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?]]> 306 Colleen Hoover 1476791457 Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.12 2015 Confess
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Still Friends: 25 Years of the TV Show That Defined an Era]]> 50890111 Twenty-five years on from when it first aired, Still Friends is an entertaining, fascinating and deeply researched behind-the-scenes look at the success of the hit show, Friends, featuring exclusive interviews with the show's creators, cast members and industry insiders.

In September 1994, six friends sat down in their favourite coffee shop and began bantering. A quarter of a century later, new fans are still finding their way into the lives of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler, Monica and Phoebe, and thanks to a combination of talented creators, its intimate understanding of its youthful audience, and its reign during network television's last moment of dominance, Friends has become the most influential and beloved show of its era.

Noted pop culture historian Saul Austerlitz is here to tell us how it happened. Utilizing exclusive interviews with creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, executive producer Kevin Bright, director James Burrows, and many other producers, writers, and cast members, Still Friends tells the story of Friends' creation, its remarkable decade-long run, and its astonishing Netflix-fuelled afterlife. Readers will learn how the show was developed and cast, written and filmed. They'll be reminded of episodes like the one about the trivia contest, the prom video, and the London trip. And, of course, the saga of Ross and Rachel. They'll also discover surprising details: that Monica and Joey were the show's original romantic couple, how Danielle Steel probably saved Jennifer Aniston's career, and why Friends is still so popular today.

On the 25th anniversary of this truly groundbreaking show, it's clear that Friends has a legacy that has endured beyond wildest expectations. And in this hilarious, informative, and entertaining book, readers will now understand why.

As published in the US as Generation Friends.

]]> 368 Saul Austerlitz 1409193918 Ashleigh 4 3.58 2019 Still Friends: 25 Years of the TV Show That Defined an Era
author: Saul Austerlitz
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/12
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Gilded (Gilded, #1) 56614597
Or so everyone believes.

When one of Serilda's outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda to complete the impossible task of spinning straw into gold, or be killed for telling falsehoods. In her desperation, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. He agrees to help her... for a price.

Soon Serilda realizes that there is more than one secret hidden in the castle walls, including an ancient curse that must be broken if she hopes to end the tyranny of the king and his wild hunt forever.

Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times-bestselling author, returns to the fairytale world with this haunting retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.]]> 502 Marissa Meyer 1250618843 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.84 2021 Gilded (Gilded, #1)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Familiar 133286777
What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 379 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.71 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Icebreaker (UCMH, #1) 61767292
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 Ashleigh 5 3.69 2022 Icebreaker (UCMH, #1)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Redeemed (Dirty Air, #4) 206024568
One mistake destroys my career, and I go from the most eligible Formula 1 driver to a grumpy recluse.

I'm committed to spending the rest of my retirement alone until Chloe Carter breaks into my house, accusing me of stealing her phone. She is a criminal who should be arrested, but I pretend she is my girlfriend instead.

My plan is risky, but fake dating Chloe could solve all my problems with my family. Or so I thought until our act transforms into something more, and I'm left wondering what could happen if we drop it altogether.

The only problem? Chloe hates liars, and I happen to be the biggest one of all.

Chloe

My whole life changes after an ancestry kit matches me with a long-lost father in Italy who has no idea I exist. Next thing I know, I'm in a fake relationship with a local who happens to be my father's favorite Formula 1 driver.

The catch? I had no idea who Santiago Alatorre was before I agreed to be his girlfriend, so I'm stuck continuing the ruse.

Fulfilling our arrangement is one thing, but falling in love in the process? Never going to happen, even if Santiago is determined to prove me wrong.]]> 482 Lauren Asher Ashleigh 5 4.21 2021 Redeemed (Dirty Air, #4)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves:
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]]> Wrecked (Dirty Air, #3) 206024451 Pills. Alcohol. Adrenaline.
I'm addicted to destructive decisions that numb my pain.
Until one night when I make a catastrophic mistake.
To repair my broken reputation, my team hires Elena--
An overpaid babysitter set on ruining my plans.
She's my damnation disguised as my salvation.
And my newest addiction.

Elena
I begged the universe to save me from my financial disaster.
It answered my call with a Formula 1 team desperate for a PR miracle.
One season. One job. One broody British racer.
Except that Jax turns our hotel room into a battleground.
To beat the enemy, I need to find his weaknesses.
What I learn threatens to ruin everything.
Him. Me. Us.
Love is a warzone, and neither one of us plans to surrender.

Wrecked is a steamy standalone in the Dirty Air world. Recommended for mature audiences.]]> 584 Lauren Asher 173750779X Ashleigh 4 3.95 2020 Wrecked (Dirty Air, #3)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Collided (Dirty Air, #2) 206023915 Creating a naughty bucket list gains Liam Zander's attention, solidifying a destined-for-failure friendship.

Liam is Formula 1’s golden boy.
Irresistible. Unattainable. Whisperer of seductive promises.
A closet nerd who reads novels and discusses movie plot holes for fun.
The type of man who should come with a complimentary roll of caution tape.

He wants to strike a deal. Cross off naughty bucket list items together while traveling around the world.
I should say no and walk away.
Instead, we make a bet.

I broke my biggest rule, unwillingly adding a new item to my list while shattering my heart—and friendship—in the process.]]> 440 Lauren Asher 1734258721 Ashleigh 4 3.72 2020 Collided (Dirty Air, #2)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/12
shelves:
review:

]]> Throttled (Dirty Air, #1) 206023355 Maya Alatorre is the sister of my teammate…and my new obsession.
Keeping my distance during the Formula 1 season should be easy, except I always find ways to see her.
Press tours. Pre-race rituals. Sponsor events and black-tie galas.
The more time we spend together, the stronger my desire grows.
Sneaking around with her is one thing, but wanting more?
Never going to happen.
She might be a distraction dressed like a daydream, but no woman is worth risking the championship title over.
Or so I thought.

Maya
Noah Slade is Formula 1 royalty and my brother’s biggest rival.
When I’m invited to join my sibling while he competes for the World
Championship, I promise to avoid Noah at all costs.
Twenty-one races. Two drivers who hate each other. And one forbidden attraction I can’t ignore.
Developing feelings for Noah wasn’t part of my plan.
But then again, neither was anyone finding out.
Turns out the man I was warned about happens to be the one I can’t stay away from.
Even if he breaks my heart once the season comes to an end.]]> 378 Lauren Asher 1734258705 Ashleigh 4 3.66 2020 Throttled (Dirty Air, #1)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan, #3)]]> 60784612
Mob boss Feliks is still running the show from behind bars, and he has a task for Finlay: find and identify a contract killer before the cops do. The problem is, the killer might be an officer themself.

Luckily, hot cop Nick has just been tasked with starting up a citizen's police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay's looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with a tempting detective), Finlay and Vero use their time in police academy to sleuth out the real contract killer to free themselves from the mob's clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero's past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood.

From USA Today bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun—the highly anticipated, hilarious, and heart-pounding next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series…]]> 304 Elle Cosimano 125084603X Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.80 2023 Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan, #3)
author: Elle Cosimano
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

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

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

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

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated, #1)]]> 165940202
Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.

Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.

Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.]]> 419 Danielle L. Jensen 0593599837 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.87 2024 A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated, #1)
author: Danielle L. Jensen
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy, #1)]]> 75513900 She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.
He is the very thing she’s spent her whole life pretending to be.

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. Easier said than done.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is—completely Ordinary.]]> 526 Lauren Roberts Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.12 2023 Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy, #1)
author: Lauren Roberts
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bride (Bride, #1) 181344829
Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast-again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are she has been called upon to uphold an historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange. Again . . .

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It's clear from the way he tracks Misery's every movement that he doesn't trust her. If only he knew how right he was . . .

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what's hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory . . . alone with the wolf.]]> 410 Ali Hazelwood Ashleigh 4 3.98 2024 Bride (Bride, #1)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/04
date added: 2024/04/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lore Olympus: Volume Four (Lore Olympus, #4)]]> 62698816 Witness what the gods do after dark in the fourth volume of a stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the best-known stories in Greek mythology, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes content from creator Rachel Smythe.

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

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

But that's easier said than done.

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

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

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

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

This volume collects episodes 76-102 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus. ]]> 416 Rachel Smythe 059360007X Ashleigh 5 4.48 2023 Lore Olympus: Volume Four (Lore Olympus, #4)
author: Rachel Smythe
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/21
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers, #3)]]> 53138253 Face your fears, fight the battle.

Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.

Fight the battle, save the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey's deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.

As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and a dangerous enemy returns, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.]]> 408 Brigid Kemmerer 1547602589 Ashleigh 4 3.74 2021 A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers, #3)
author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/18
date added: 2024/03/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lore Olympus: Volume Three (Lore Olympus, #3)]]> 60149524 Witness what the gods do after dark in the third volume of a stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the best-known stories in Greek mythology, featuring a brand-new, exclusive short story from creator Rachel Smythe.

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

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

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

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

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

This volume collects episodes 50-75 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.]]> 384 Rachel Smythe 0593160312 Ashleigh 5 4.46 2022 Lore Olympus: Volume Three (Lore Olympus, #3)
author: Rachel Smythe
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers, #2)]]> 42952728 Find the heir, win the crown.

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.

Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen--until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

In the sequel to New York Times bestselling A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Brigid Kemmerer returns to the world of Emberfall in a lush fantasy where friends become foes and love blooms in the darkest of places.]]> 450 Brigid Kemmerer Ashleigh 4 3.84 2020 A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers, #2)
author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)]]> 43204703 here.

Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.]]> 484 Brigid Kemmerer 1681195089 Ashleigh 4 3.93 2019 A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)
author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/11
date added: 2024/02/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lore Olympus: Volume Two (Lore Olympus, #2)]]> 57717417 Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love—witness what the gods do after dark in this stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of mythology’s best-known stories from creator Rachel Smythe.

Persephone was ready to start a new life when she left the mortal realm for Olympus. However, she quickly discovered the dark side of her glamorous new home — from the relatively minor gossip threatening her reputation to a realm-shattering violation of her safety by the conceited Apollo — and she's struggling to find her footing in the fast-moving realm of the gods. Hades is also off balance, fighting against his burgeoning feelings for the young goddess of spring while maintaining his lonely rule of the Underworld. As the pair are drawn ever closer, they must untangle the twisted webs of their past and present to build toward a new future.

This edition of Smythe’s original Eisner–nominated webcomic Lore Olympus features a brand-new, exclusive short story from creator Rachel Smythe and brings the Greek pantheon into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 26–49 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.]]> 368 Rachel Smythe 059335608X Ashleigh 5 4.40 2022 Lore Olympus: Volume Two (Lore Olympus, #2)
author: Rachel Smythe
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/06
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City, #3)]]> 52857700
Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he's in the Asteri's dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce's fate. He's desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri's leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt's world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.]]> 835 Sarah J. Maas 1681193094 Ashleigh 4 4.21 2024 House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City, #3)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/04
date added: 2024/02/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)]]> 56905097 The finale to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. By the end of this mystery series, you'll never think of good girls the same way again...

Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she can’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?

Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life. When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars.

Police refuse to act, so Pip has only one choice: find the suspect herself—or be the next victim. As the deadly game plays out, Pip discovers that everything in her small town is coming full circle... and if she doesn’t find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears...]]> 459 Holly Jackson 0593379853 Ashleigh 5 4.19 2021 As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/26
date added: 2024/01/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2)]]> 51335759
With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh.

The police won't do anything about it. And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way... and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it's too late?]]> 446 Holly Jackson 1405297751 Ashleigh 5 4.24 2020 Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/20
date added: 2024/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)]]> 40916679
But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth…?]]> 433 Holly Jackson 1405293187 Ashleigh 5 4.27 2019 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/15
date added: 2024/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, #1)]]> 46249012 From #1  New York Times  bestselling author Kathryn Purdie comes a high-stakes fantasy duology flush with doomed romance and macabre magic, perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber and Roshani Chokshi.

Bone Criers are the last descendants of an ancient famille charged with using the magic they draw from animal bones to shepherd the dead into the afterlife—lest they drain the light from the living.


Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become their matriarch, but first she must complete her rite of passage: to kill the boy she’s destined to love.

Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Now his vengeance must wait, as Ailesse’s ritual has begun and their fates are entwined—in life and in death.]]> 480 Kathryn Purdie 0062798774 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.63 2020 Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, #1)
author: Kathryn Purdie
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)]]> 61242426
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.]]> 296 Travis Baldree Ashleigh 5 4.00 2022 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/06
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lore Olympus: Volume One (Lore Olympus, #1)]]> 57282218
Persephone, young goddess of spring, is new to Olympus. Her mother, Demeter, has raised her in the mortal realm, but after Persephone promises to train as a sacred virgin, she’s allowed to live in the fast-moving, glamorous world of the gods. When her roommate, Artemis, takes her to a party, her entire life changes: she ends up meeting Hades and feels an immediate spark with the charming yet misunderstood ruler of the Underworld. Now Persephone must navigate the confusing politics and relationships that rule Olympus, while also figuring out her own place—and her own power.

This edition of Smythe’s original Eisner-winning webcomic Lore Olympus features a brand-new, exclusive short story, and brings the Greek Pantheon into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 1-25 of the #1 WEBTOON comic, Lore Olympus.]]> 384 Rachel Smythe 0593160290 Ashleigh 4 4.18 2021 Lore Olympus: Volume One (Lore Olympus, #1)
author: Rachel Smythe
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/02
date added: 2024/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> The Secret History 29044 Truly deserving of the accolade modern classic, Donna Tartt's novel is a remarkable achievement—both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.]]> 559 Donna Tartt 1400031702 Ashleigh 5 4.15 1992 The Secret History
author: Donna Tartt
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/31
date added: 2023/12/31
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]]> <![CDATA[The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)]]> 51901147 Ambition will fuel him.

Competition will drive him.

But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.]]> 541 Suzanne Collins Ashleigh 5 4.00 2020 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/14
date added: 2023/11/14
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches]]> 60018635 A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life.

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and...Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he's concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn't know she was looking for....
]]> 336 Sangu Mandanna 059343935X Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.01 2022 The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/06
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Unmaking of June Farrow 66087062
It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—signs of what June has always known is coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice the hope of love and a family of her own.

After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s disappearance, except these only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk through the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.]]> 320 Adrienne Young 0593598679 Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.08 2023 The Unmaking of June Farrow
author: Adrienne Young
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/06
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[My Year of Rest and Relaxation]]> 44279110
Our narrator should be happy, shouldn’t she? She’s young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, works an easy job at a hip art gallery, lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like the rest of her needs, by her inheritance. But there is a dark and vacuous hole in her heart, and it isn’t just the loss of her parents, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, Reva. It’s the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?

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.]]> 289 Ottessa Moshfegh 0525522131 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.59 2018 My Year of Rest and Relaxation
author: Ottessa Moshfegh
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/06
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[A Study in Drowning (A Study in Drowning, #1)]]> 75302266 Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.

But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.]]> 378 Ava Reid 0063211505 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.67 2023 A Study in Drowning (A Study in Drowning, #1)
author: Ava Reid
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)]]> 30075802
A poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves as a note to the reader & all of humankind. Explores life & all of its love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, & inspirations.]]> 156 Amanda Lovelace 1532913680 Ashleigh 4 3.82 2016 The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)
author: Amanda Lovelace
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/04
date added: 2023/11/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Rush (The Game, #1) 13571953
Miki Jones's carefully controlled life spins into chaos after she's run down in the street, left broken and bloody. She wakes up fully healed in a place called the lobby - pulled from her life, through time and space into some kind of game in which she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures.

There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Every moment of the game is kill or be killed, and Miki has only the questionable guidance of Jackson Tate, the team's alluring and secretive leader. He evades her questions, holds himself aloof from the others, and claims it's every player for himself. But when he puts himself at risk to watch Miki's back, he leaves her both frustrated and fascinated. Jackson says the game isn't really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival. And the survival of every other person on the planet. She laughs. He doesn't. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.]]> 364 Eve Silver 0062192132 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.88 2013 Rush (The Game, #1)
author: Eve Silver
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/30
shelves: to-read
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]]> They Never Learn 124948406 From the author of the “raw, ingenious, and utterly fearless” (Wendy Walker, USA TODAY bestselling author) Temper comes a dynamic psychological thriller about two women who give bad men exactly what they deserve.

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.

Every year, she searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she’s avoided drawing attention to herself—but as she’s preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Scarlett insinuates herself into the investigation and charms the woman in charge, Dr. Mina Pierce. Everything’s going according to her master plan…until she loses control with her latest victim, putting her secret life at risk of exposure.

Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies and fade into the background. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident—everything Carly wishes she could be—and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is sexually assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay...and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.

Featuring Layne Fargo’s trademark “propulsive writing style” (Kirkus Reviews) and “sinister, of the moment” (Chicago Review of Books) suspense, They Never Learn is a feminist serial killer story perfect for fans of Killing Eve and Chelsea Cain.]]> 349 Layne Fargo Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.82 2020 They Never Learn
author: Layne Fargo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/30
shelves: to-read
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]]> Gallant 58064046 Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?]]> 338 V.E. Schwab 0062835777 Ashleigh 3 3.69 2022 Gallant
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/27
date added: 2023/10/27
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]]> <![CDATA[House of Beating Wings (The Kingdom of Crows, #1)]]> 58175788 Free the crows, Fallon, and they will make you queen.

Until an oracle predicted my regal future, I’d never imagined myself rising above the curve of my round ears. After all, I was the magicless halfling loved by beasts but loathed by every pure-blooded faerie at court. Well... by all but one.

Dante Regio, prince of Luce, had owned my heart since he gave me my first kiss. If gathering a slew of iron relics could help me overthrow the current monarch and crown his brother to rule at my side, then treasure hunting I’d go.

If only the oracle had warned me what winged demon I was releasing into the world.

And that I’d become this demon’s obsession.

Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Mary E. Pearson will devour this epic fantasy romance full of deceit, betrayal, and false loves that could swallow a person whole.]]> 490 Olivia Wildenstein 1948463555 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.93 2022 House of Beating Wings (The Kingdom of Crows, #1)
author: Olivia Wildenstein
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> Attached at the Hip 195790639 Survivor meets The Bachelor in Attached at the Hip, an irresistible, romantic adventure by New York Times bestselling author Christine Riccio.

Orie Lennox has spent her entire life prepping for her happily ever after -- and now that she’s graduated, she’s low-key wondering, when the heck is it gonna hit. Her love life, her new job, her relationship with her sister: none of it is quite what she envisioned it to be.

One evening, on a whim, she applies for a reality show where she’ll be stranded on an island, with a bunch of strangers, to play a game of human chess for a shot at a million dollars. What better way to force herself to break up with the things that aren’t bringing her joy, than to abandon them all on short notice to live off the grid on a beach in the South Pacific!

Orie's shocked when she ends up cast in an experimental romantic edition of the show: and even more surprised to find that her old high school crush, Remy, has been cast as well. Orie's one of ten contestants, set to compete in formidable challenges, while speed dating, in the wilderness: without deodorant, toilets, shaving cream, or showers. (How!?)

She finds herself tied up — literally — in a game of risky alliances as she navigates ever-growing feelings for her one that got away, alongside an exciting array of budding new relationships.]]> 400 Christine Riccio 1250760097 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.69 2024 Attached at the Hip
author: Christine Riccio
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead (Finlay Donovan, #2)]]> 57693474
On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he's a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she'd like.

Meanwhile, Vero's keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay's first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes... and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book's deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn't a noose at the end of it...

From Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead―the hilarious and heart-pounding follow-up to Finlay Donovan is Killing It.]]> 357 Elle Cosimano 1250242185 Ashleigh 5 3.93 2022 Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead (Finlay Donovan, #2)
author: Elle Cosimano
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/10
date added: 2023/10/10
shelves:
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]]> The Library of Shadows 64627957
Not literally, of course. She doesn’t believe in ghosts. Going to her dad’s school just seems like her best hope at figuring out who he was.

But then Este meets Mateo, who is maybe—probably—definitely—a real ghost. And an annoying one at that.

When Mateo frames Este for the theft of a rare book from the library’s secret spire and then vanishes, Este will have to track him down or risk being expelled and leaving Radcliffe early just like her father did.

Except following her father’s footsteps might be more dangerous than Este ever anticipated. As she investigates the library with its secret passageways, hidden tunnels, and haunted halls, she learns that the student disappearances aren’t just myth. And if she isn’t careful, she’ll be next.]]> 366 Rachel Moore Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.55 2023 The Library of Shadows
author: Rachel Moore
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All That Consumes Us: A Gothic Dark Academia YA Thriller About Ambition, Secrets, and the Price of Greatness]]> 83814853
The students in Corbin College’s elite academic society, Magni Viri, have it all—free tuition, inspirational professors, and dream jobs once they graduate. When first-gen college student Tara is offered a chance to enroll, she doesn’t hesitate.?  Except once she’s settled into the gorgeous Victorian dormitory, something strange starts to happen. She’s finally writing, but her stories are dark and twisted. Her dreams feel as if they could bury her alive. An unseen presence seems to stalk her through the halls.  And a chilling secret awaits Tara at the heart of Magni Viri—one that just might turn her nightmares into reality; one that might destroy her before she has a chance to escape. 

All That Consumes Us will pull readers into a hypnotizing, dark reverie that blurs the lines of reality and shows that the addictive nature of ambition—and its inevitable price—always claims its due.  ]]> 416 Erica Waters 0063115964 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.69 2023 All That Consumes Us: A Gothic Dark Academia YA Thriller About Ambition, Secrets, and the Price of Greatness
author: Erica Waters
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1)]]> 53138099 "Getting the job done" for one single mom takes on a whole new meaning in Finlay Donovan is Killing It.

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moment, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.]]> 368 Elle Cosimano 1250241707 Ashleigh 5 3.96 2021 Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1)
author: Elle Cosimano
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/01
date added: 2023/10/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Starling House 65213595 A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can't stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.]]> 308 Alix E. Harrow 1250799058 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.75 2023 Starling House
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/20
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Sun and Her Flowers 35606560 256 Rupi Kaur 1449486797 Ashleigh 4 4.08 2018 The Sun and Her Flowers
author: Rupi Kaur
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/11
date added: 2023/09/11
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)]]> 42036538
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.]]> 448 Tamsyn Muir 1250313198 Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.17 2019 Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Malibu Rising 55404546 Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.

Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them... and what they will leave behind.]]> 369 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1524798657 Ashleigh 4 4.01 2021 Malibu Rising
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/07
date added: 2023/09/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)]]> 61431922
"Suspenseful, sexy, and with incredibly entertaining storytelling, the first in Yarros' Empyrean series will delight fans of romantic, adventure-filled fantasy." ―Booklist, starred review

"Fourth Wing will have your heart pounding from beginning to end... A fantasy like you've never read before." ―#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout


Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

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

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

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

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

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

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Fourth Wing
Book #2 Iron Flame
Book #3 Onyx Storm]]> 517 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 Ashleigh 4 4.54 2023 Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/04
date added: 2023/09/04
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]]> Book Lovers 58690308 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.]]> 377 Emily Henry 0593334833 Ashleigh 5 4.06 2022 Book Lovers
author: Emily Henry
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/27
date added: 2023/08/27
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review:

]]> Projections 126918738
Love may last a lifetime, but in this dark historical fantasy, the bitterness of rejection endures for centuries.

As a young woman seeks vengeance on the obsessed sorcerer who murdered her because he could not have her, her murderer sends projections of himself out into the world to seek out and seduce women who will return the love she denied―or suffer mortal consequence. A lush, gothic journey across worlds full of strange characters and even stranger magic.

Sarah Porter’s adult debut explores misogyny and the soul-corrupting power of unrequited love through an enchanted lens of violence and revenge.

Also by Sarah
Vassa in the Night
When I Cast Your Shadow
Never-Contented Things]]> 452 S.E. Porter 0765396777 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.44 2024 Projections
author: S.E. Porter
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Atlas Complex (The Atlas, #3)]]> 63104676 Only the extraordinary are chosen. Only the cunning survive.

An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment.

Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities, while elsewhere, an unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage.

And still the outside world mobilizes to destroy them, while the Caretaker himself, Atlas Blakely, may yet succeed with a plan foreseen to have world-ending stakes. It’s a race to survive as the six Society recruits are faced with the question of what they're willing to betray for limitless power―and who will be destroyed along the way.]]> 496 Olivie Blake 1529095352 Ashleigh 0 to-read 2.80 2024 The Atlas Complex (The Atlas, #3)
author: Olivie Blake
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 2.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Incarnation of Shadow and Light]]> 62689561
In the Kingdom of Verchiél only a handful of people known as Incarnate can use magic. Equally feared and respected, they are revered as saints and indulged like gods. But the sudden deaths of Verchiél’s rulers unleashes a power struggle between four Incarnate, each seeking power to fulfil their own desires.

Gabriel, a charismatic socialite who takes darker paths to avoid slipping back into powerlessness.

Zoe, the daughter of a disgraced merchant, determined to carve a new path for her life.

Niklas, an exiled prince trying to escape the ghosts of his past.

Silje, an assassin who will stop at nothing until she’s seized the adoration she has always been denied.

Infighting and betrayal run rampant as each becomes worse than their problems in order to solve them.]]> 482 S.A. Christianson 1778287328 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.94 2022 An Incarnation of Shadow and Light
author: S.A. Christianson
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash, #4)]]> 57815107 From the desperation of golden crowns…

Casteel Da’Neer knows all too well that very few are as cunning or vicious as the Blood Queen, but no one, not even him, could’ve prepared for the staggering revelations. The magnitude of what the Blood Queen has done is almost unthinkable.

And born of mortal flesh…

Nothing will stop Poppy from freeing her King and destroying everything the Blood Crown stands for. With the strength of the Primal of Life’s guards behind her, and the support of the wolven, Poppy must convince the Atlantian generals to make war her way—because there can be no retreat this time. Not if she has any hope of building a future where both kingdoms can reside in peace.

A great primal power rises…

Together, Poppy and Casteel must embrace traditions old and new to safeguard those they hold dear—to protect those who cannot defend themselves. But war is only the beginning. Ancient primal powers have already stirred, revealing the horror of what began eons ago. To end what the Blood Queen has begun, Poppy might have to become what she has been prophesied to be—what she fears the most.

As the Harbinger of Death and Destruction.]]> 628 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457726 Ashleigh 4 4.02 2022 The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash, #4)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/19
date added: 2023/08/19
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]]> <![CDATA[Beautiful World, Where Are You]]> 75555793 *The Sunday Times and Global number one bestseller*
*Winner of Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards*
*A Book of the Year in The Times, the Guardian, the Irish Times and the Financial Times*

Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he'd like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend Eileen is getting over a break-up and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood.

Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon are still young - but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they worry about sex and friendship and the times they live in. Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?]]> 337 Sally Rooney 0571365442 Ashleigh 4 3.49 2021 Beautiful World, Where Are You
author: Sally Rooney
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/14
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Masters of Death 38311338 From Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes Masters of Death, a story about vampires, ghosts, and death itself!

Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. But her biggest problem currently is that the house she needs to sell is haunted. The ghost haunting the house has been murdered, and until he can solve the mystery of how he died, he refuses to move on.

Fox D’Mora is a medium, and though is also most-definitely a shameless fraud, he isn’t entirely without his uses—seeing as he’s actually the godson of Death.

When Viola seeks out Fox to help her with her ghost-infested mansion, he becomes inextricably involved in a quest that neither he nor Vi expects (or wants). But with the help of an unruly poltergeist, a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel, a love-stricken reaper, and a few high-functioning creatures, Vi and Fox soon discover the difference between a mysterious lost love and an annoying dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as they thought.]]> 406 Olivie Blake Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.60 2018 Masters of Death
author: Olivie Blake
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/11
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Red, White & Royal Blue (Red, White & Royal Blue, #1)]]> 41150487
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?]]> 443 Casey McQuiston 1250316774 Ashleigh 5 4.04 2019 Red, White & Royal Blue (Red, White & Royal Blue, #1)
author: Casey McQuiston
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/04
date added: 2023/08/04
shelves:
review:

]]> I'm Glad My Mom Died 59364173 iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.

Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother's dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called "calorie restriction," eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, "Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn't tint hers?" She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi ("Hi Gale!"), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I'm Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.]]> 320 Jennette McCurdy Ashleigh 5 4.44 2022 I'm Glad My Mom Died
author: Jennette McCurdy
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/30
date added: 2023/07/30
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]]> Carrie Soto Is Back 60435878 Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular.

By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan.

At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked the 'Battle-Axe' anyway. Even if her body doesn't move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.

In spite of it all: Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story about the cost of greatness and a legendary athlete attempting a comeback.]]> 384 Taylor Jenkins Reid 0593158687 Ashleigh 5 4.18 2022 Carrie Soto Is Back
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/23
date added: 2023/07/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)]]> 7260188 My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.]]> 390 Suzanne Collins 0439023513 Ashleigh 5 4.12 2010 Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/20
date added: 2023/07/20
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)]]> 6148028 Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.]]> 391 Suzanne Collins 0439023491 Ashleigh 5 4.36 2009 Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/16
date added: 2023/07/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Cleopatra and Frankenstein 57693262 For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends, an addictive, humorous, and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple's impulsive marriage.

Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could've predicted.

Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it's Cleo's best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo's marriage, or Frank's financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last.

As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.]]> 368 Coco Mellors 1635576814 Ashleigh 4 3.66 2022 Cleopatra and Frankenstein
author: Coco Mellors
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/11
date added: 2023/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire, #1)]]> 57282383
However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot. 

Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.]]> 647 Jennifer L. Armentrout Ashleigh 4 4.42 2021 A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire, #1)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/29
date added: 2023/06/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color]]> 40680117 New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange.  Between this book’s covers burn tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their indefinable overlappings.   These are authors aware of our many possible pasts and futures, authors freed of stereotypes and clichéd expectations, ready to dazzle you with their daring genius

Unexploited brilliance shines forth from every page. 

Includes stories by Kathleen Alcala, Minsoo Kang, Anil Menon, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Alex Jennings, Alberto Yanez, Steven Barnes, Jaymee Goh, Karin Lowachee, E. Lily Yu, Andrea Hairston, Tobias Buckell, Hiromi Goto, Rebecca Roanhorse, Indrapramit Das, Chinelo Onwualu and Darcie Little Badger.

Foreword, LeVar Burton
The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex, Tobias S. Buckell
Deer Dancer, Kathleen Alcala
The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations, Minsoo Kang
Come Home to Atropos, Steven Barnes
The Fine Print, Chinelo Onwualu
unkind of mercy, Alex Jennings
Burn the Ships, Alberto Yanez
The Freedom of the Shifting Sea, Jaymee Goh
Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire, E. Lily Yu
Blood and Bells, Karin Lowachee
Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Shadow We Cast Through Time, Indrapramit Das
The Robots of Eden, Anil Menon
Dumb House, Andrea Hairston
One Easy Trick, Hiromi Goto
Harvest, Rebecca Roanhorse
Kelsey and the Burdened Breath, Darcie Little Badger
Afterword, Nisi Shawl]]> 279 Nisi Shawl 1781085781 Ashleigh 4 3.85 2019 New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color
author: Nisi Shawl
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/27
date added: 2023/05/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto]]> 61783810
A sex and relationship columnist bares it all in a series of essays—part memoir, part manifesto—that explore the author’s coming-of-age and coming out as a bisexual man and move toward embracing and celebrating sex unencumbered by shame

As a boy, Zachary Zane sensed that all was not right when images of his therapist naked popped into his head. Without an explanation as to why, a deep sense of shame pervaded these thoughts. Though his therapist assured him a little imagination was nothing to be ashamed of, over the years, society told him otherwise.

Boyslut is a series of personal and tantalizing essays that articulate how our society still shames people for the sex that they have and the sexualities that they inhabit. Through the lens of his bisexuality and much self-described sluttiness, Zane breaks down exactly how this sexual shame negatively impacts the sex and relationships in our lives, and through personal experience, shares how we can unlearn the harmful, entrenched messages that society imparts to us.

From stories of drug-fueled threesomes and risqué Grindr hookups to insights on dealing with rejection and living with his boyfriend and his wife, Boyslut is reassuring and often painfully funny—but is most potently a testimony that we can all learn to live healthier lives unburdened by stigma.]]> 240 Zachary Zane 1419764713 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.73 2023 Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto
author: Zachary Zane
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rule of Wolves (King of Scars, #2)]]> 36307674
The wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times-bestselling King of Scars Duology.

The Demon King. As Fjerda's massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king's gift for the impossible.

The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost.

The Queen of Mourning. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart.

King. General. Spy. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall.]]> 592 Leigh Bardugo 1510109188 Ashleigh 4 4.32 2021 Rule of Wolves (King of Scars, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/30
date added: 2023/04/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Demon in the Wood (Grishaverse, #0)]]> 59785164
Discover the origin story of the Darkling in #1 New York Times-bestselling author Leigh Bardugo's Demon in the Wood―the beautifully illustrated, first-ever Grishaverse graphic novel.

Before he became the Darkling, Eryk was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power. The dangerous truth is that Eryk is not just a Grisha―he is the deadliest and rarest of his kind.

With stunning illustrations and raw emotion, peer into the shadows of the Darkling’s past and discover why he has always been feared by those who wish to destroy him and hunted into hiding his true abilities.

But even in this villain origin story, wicked secrets are destined to reveal themselves . . .]]> 203 Leigh Bardugo 1250624649 Ashleigh 4 4.09 2022 Demon in the Wood (Grishaverse, #0)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/31
date added: 2023/03/31
shelves:
review:

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

The Kiss of Deception is the first audiobook in Mary E. Pearson's Remnant Chronicles]]> 492 Mary E. Pearson Ashleigh 3 3.91 2014 The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)
author: Mary E. Pearson
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/31
date added: 2023/03/31
shelves:
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]]> A Little Something Different 20801166 something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....
]]> 272 Sandy Hall 1250061776 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.57 2014 A Little Something Different
author: Sandy Hall
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys, #1)]]> 59918505 The stories were all wrong — Hook was never the villain.

For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some for a week or a month. But they always return broken.

Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.

But it’s pointless.

Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go.

NOTE: The Never King is a reimagining of Peter Pan and Wendy. Characters have been aged-up for this darker, grittier version. If you like your enemies-to-lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you’ll enjoy The Never King and the Vicious Lost Boys series. You can expect hate kissing, fighting, bickering, and ‘touch her and I’ll unalive you’ vibes.

Please check the author's website for CWs.]]> 192 Nikki St. Crowe Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.55 2022 The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys, #1)
author: Nikki St. Crowe
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hell Bent (Ninth House Trilogy, #2)]]> 60652997 Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. Alex Stern is back and the Ivy League is going straight to hell.

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.]]> 481 Leigh Bardugo 1250313104 Ashleigh 5 4.08 2023 Hell Bent (Ninth House Trilogy, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/12
date added: 2023/03/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hades (Contemporary Mythos, #1)]]> 53330360
When she set foot in the gorgeous tropical resort in Greece, she had no idea she'd meet a man claiming to be Hades, god of the Underworld. And she certainly had no idea that he was telling the truth. Her Greek vacation was about to become very...interactive.

A Hades/Persephone re-imagining.

**The Contemporary Mythos series will feature a different Greek god in each book re-exploring their myths and combining contemporary romance tropes. Though they will all stand alone, the stories will also intersect for those that read them all.**]]> 318 Carly Spade Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.61 2020 Hades (Contemporary Mythos, #1)
author: Carly Spade
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lightlark (Lightlark, #1) 60310757 An instant #1 national bestseller—soon to be a major motion picture. #BookTok phenomenon and award-winning author Alex Aster delivers readers a masterfully written, utterly gripping YA fantasy novel

Welcome to the Centennial.

Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood.

The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised, and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.

To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.

Filled with secrets, deception, romance, and twists worthy of the darkest thrillers, The Lightlark Sagais a must-read for fans of legendary fantasy writers Marie Lu, Marissa Meyer, and Leigh Bardugo.]]> 416 Alex Aster Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.82 2022 Lightlark (Lightlark, #1)
author: Alex Aster
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie, #1)]]> 58081613 I was sure everything would be okay if I had them.
It wasn’t.
The fate of our people is in my hands and I know we’re better off if I’m alone.
After five years on the run, I’m caught and dragged back to face the men I ran away from.
I thought I was doing the right thing.
Now, I’m not so sure.
North, Nox, Gryphon, Atlas, and Gabe may never forgive me but one thing is for sure.
I won’t ever forgive myself.

*Broken Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It's recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.]]> 289 J. Bree Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.12 2021 Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie, #1)
author: J. Bree
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Silver in the Bone (Silver in the Bone, #1)]]> 62031346
Born without a trace of magic, Tamsin Lark is no match for the sorceresses and Hollowers who populate the magical underground of Boston. But when the only parent she’s ever known disappears without so much as a goodbye, she has no choice but to join in their cutthroat pursuit of enchanted relics to keep herself—and her brother, Cabell—alive.

Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian found a powerful ring from Arthurian legend just before he vanished. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who covet the ring.

As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipers’ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother. . . .]]> 467 Alexandra Bracken 0593481658 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.86 2023 Silver in the Bone (Silver in the Bone, #1)
author: Alexandra Bracken
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)]]> 52439531
Varanduse kättesaamiseks tuleb Averyl kolida päritud häärberisse, mis on täis salakäike, mõistatusi ja peidetud vihjeid. Seal elavad ka Hawthorne’i järglased, kes tahavad iga hinna eest välja selgitada, miks võõras Avery „nende“ päranduse endale sai. Järglaste hulgas on mehe neli tütrepoega, kütkestavad, kavalad ja ohtlikud noormehed, kes kasvasid üles teadmisega, et vanaisa varandus on nende jagu.

Peagi on Avery segatud eluohtlikku mängu, mida näib oskavat kogu Hawthorne’ide pere ja mis tal tõe teadasaamiseks võita tuleb. See sotsiaalmeedias laineid lööv noorteromaan on tempoka triloogia esimene osa.]]> 386 Jennifer Lynn Barnes 1368052401 Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.11 2020 The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)
author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Trick (Foolish Kingdoms, #1) 60858870 ADULT 2ND EDITION (fully revised): Substantially rewritten with explicit adult content and changes to worldbuilding and character development. Reviews before October 2022 refer to the original edition and may describe elements that no longer exist in this version.

Spicy Romantasy · Enemies to Lovers · Morally Grey MMC · Forbidden Love · Razor-Sharp Banter · Court Intrigue · Forced Proximity

STAY AWAY FROM THE COURT JESTER. ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE A GOOD LITTLE PRINCESS.

The Court Jester marks his targets with a ribbon. That’s how I find out I’m next.

The moment that band of scarlet fabric appears on my pillow, I know it’s a promise—a bad omen delivered by someone wicked.

He’s powerful. He’s sinful.

They whisper about him in the castle’s shadowed halls. Everyone fears his devilish tongue, yet everyone desires his heated touch.

With each seductive temptation, I fall under the jester’s spell. With every forbidden moment, he ignites a fire that I’ve never known before.

But the jester is guarding a treasonous secret. And becoming his obsession is dangerous.

As a good little princess, I should know. Because if I don’t risk my ruin, I’ll surely sacrifice my heart.

Dark Seasons: Foolish Kingdoms is a scorching romantasy series that must be read in order. Perfect for readers who want: hot fantasy romance, seductive power plays, and a dangerously irresistible antihero.

SPICE: Explicit sexual content and language. For readers 18+

FOR CWs: Please check the author's website.]]> 498 Natalia Jaster 195782400X Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.70 2015 Trick (Foolish Kingdoms, #1)
author: Natalia Jaster
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lore 53375824 THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLER

“Epic from start to finish.” —Marie Lu, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Warcross

“A brilliant and breathless twist on classic mythology!” —Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Lunar Chronicles

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals. They are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory after her family was murdered by a rival line. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man—now a god—responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek her out: Castor, a childhood friend and first love Lore believed to be dead, and Athena, one of the last of the original gods, now gravely wounded.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and a way to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to rejoin the hunt, binding her fate to Athena's, will come at a deadly cost—and it may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love, and redemption.]]> 480 Alexandra Bracken 1484778200 Ashleigh 0 to-read 3.73 2021 Lore
author: Alexandra Bracken
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Night of Cake & Puppets (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1.5)]]> 34733250 In this stand-alone companion to the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone series comes the story of Mik and Zuzana's fantastical first date—as a gorgeously illustrated gift edition with bonus content included.

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her "rabid fairy," her "voodoo eyes" are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or "Violin Boy," her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to make the first move, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It's a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter's night before leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy is not going to know what hit him.

New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Originally published as an ebook, this new print edition will include breathtaking black and white illustrations, plus bonus content in a gorgeous package perfect for new and current fans of the series.]]> 256 Laini Taylor 0316439193 Ashleigh 0 to-read 4.21 2013 Night of Cake & Puppets (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1.5)
author: Laini Taylor
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/20
shelves: to-read
review:

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