Rhea's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 27 Jun 2026 06:54:02 -0700 60 Rhea's bookshelf: all 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[How To Hold a Cockroach: A book for those who are free and don't know it]]> 53279827 An Inspirational Tale with 42 Beautiful Illustrations In this story for all ages, a struggling boy begins a life-changing journey when a disgusting guest disturbs his dinner. As he encounters more sources of suffering, the boy must investigate fundamental truths he has believed about himself, love, and life. He confronts some of life's most persistent questions:
Described as "a children's book for adults," How to Hold a Cockroach was written for adults but is suitable for thoughtful teenagers and children. 
For Readers Who Are... ✓ Looking for contemplative and inspirational books about philosophy, spirituality, or psychology.
✓ Facing challenging circumstances, heartbreak, low self-esteem, or resentment towards others. 
✓ Finding it difficult to accept the past or fearing what the future will bring.
✓ Fans of the works of Paulo Coelho, Kobi Yamada, or Charlie Mackesy; books like The Alchemist , The Tao of Pooh , The Little Prince , and The Untethered Soul ; or spiritual teachers like Tara Brach, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, and Cheri Huber. 

Regardless of your birthplace, background, or spiritual beliefs -- Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, Muslim, Jewish, Latter-day Saint, or anything else - this book invites you to explore how you see yourself and the world, re-examine your perspectives, and free yourself to experience more joy, peace, and love. 
Choose Your Edition The hardcover edition is 7x10 inches and contains full-color illustrations.
The paperback edition is 6x9 inches and contains black-and-white illustrations.
The Kindle edition contains full-color illustrations (or black-and-white if your device does not support color).]]> 110 Matthew Maxwell 1733353321 Rhea 0 3.89 How To Hold a Cockroach: A book for those who are free and don't know it
author: Matthew Maxwell
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/27
shelves: to-read, nonfic-inspo-selfhelp
review:

]]> Zhu Yu 241818901
They quickly struck a deal: she would take him in and provide him a place to heal, while he would enter a sham marriage and help her keep the estate. Once the family business was stabilized, Fan Changyu was ready to fulfill her promise and draft the separation letter. However, unforeseen circumstances arose. The imperial court began conscripting men for war, and her ‘husband’ was forcibly recruited as a soldier. He vanished without a trace.

When they crossed paths again, the man lay covered in blood in a tent for wounded soldiers. His face, splattered with crimson, was still as handsome as ever, but the standard soldier’s uniform on his body had been slashed to tatters. Seeing him in such a pitiful state, Fan Changyu’s eyes reddened: “Don’t serve in the army anymore. Come back home—I’ll raise pigs to support you.”

The man, barely conscious, coughed up a mouthful of blood: “Weren’t you going to divorce me?”

Tears welled up in Fan Changyu’s eyes: “I’m not divorcing you anymore. Never!”]]> 3570 Tuan Zi Lai Xi Rhea 0 4.46 Zhu Yu
author: Tuan Zi Lai Xi
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.46
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/24
shelves: currently-reading, rom-com-romance, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Love Her or Lose Her (Hot & Hammered, #2)]]> 44148563
Never in a million years did Rosie believe her stoic, too-manly-to emote husband would actually agree to relationship rehab with a weed-smoking hippie. Dom talking about feelings? Sitting on pillows? Communing with nature? Learning love languages? Nope. But to her surprise, he's all in, and it forces her to admit her own role in their cracked foundation. As they complete one ridiculous - yet surprisingly helpful - assignment after another, their remodeled relationship gets stronger than ever. Except just as they're getting back on track, Rosie discovers Dom has a secret... and it could demolish everything.]]> 336 Tessa Bailey 0062872869 Rhea 0 to-read 3.58 2020 Love Her or Lose Her (Hot & Hammered, #2)
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex, #1) 56554626 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.]]> 308 Erin Sterling 006302747X Rhea 0 to-read 3.44 2021 The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex, #1)
author: Erin Sterling
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tangled Up in You (Meant to Be, #4)]]> 197577021
Ren has never held an iPhone, googled the answer to a question, or followed a crush on social media. What she has done: Read a book or two, or three (okay, hundreds). Taught herself to paint. Built a working wind power system from scratch. But for all the books she’s read, Ren has never found one that’s taught a woman raised on a homestead and off the grid for most of her twenty-two years how to live in the real world. So when she finally achieves her lifelong dream of attending Corona College, it feels like her life is finally beginning.

Fitz has the rest of his life mapped out: Graduate from Corona at the top of his class, get his criminal record wiped clean, and pass himself off as the rich, handsome player everyone thinks he is. He’s a few short months from checking off step one of his plans when Ren Gylden, with her cascading blonde hair and encyclopedic brain, crashes into his life, and for the first time Fitz’s plan is in jeopardy.

But a simple assignment in their immunology seminar changes the course of both their lives, and suddenly they’re thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire on a road trip that will lead them in the most unexpected directions. Out on the open road, the world somehow shifts, and the unlikely pair realize that, maybe, the key to the dreams they've both been chasing have been sitting next to them the whole time.]]> 309 Christina Lauren 1368092837 Rhea 4 3.87 2024 Tangled Up in You (Meant to Be, #4)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2026/06/12
date added: 2026/06/12
shelves: rom-com-romance, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf
review:

]]> The Dragon of Ynys 55141101
But when the dragon hoards a person, that's a step too far. Sir Violet storms off to the mountainside to escort the baker home, only to find a more complex mystery—a quest that leads him far beyond the cave. Accompanied by the missing baker's wife and the dragon himself, the dutiful village knight embarks on his greatest adventure yet.

The Dragon of Ynys is an inclusive fairy tale for all ages.]]> 87 Minerva Cerridwen 1945009691 Rhea 0 to-read 3.79 2018 The Dragon of Ynys
author: Minerva Cerridwen
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Fire Becomes Her 55977886
Flare is power.

With only a drop of flare, one can light the night sky with fireworks . . . or burn a building to the ground -- and seventeen-year-old Ingrid Ellis wants her fair share.

Ingrid doesn't have a family fortune, monetary or magical, but at least she has a plan: Rise to the top on the arm of Linden Holt, heir to a hefty political legacy and the largest fortune of flare in all of Candesce. Her only obstacle is Linden's father who refuses to acknowledge her.

So when Senator Holt announces his run for president, Ingrid uses the situation to her advantage. She strikes a deal to spy on the senator’s opposition in exchange for his approval and the status she so desperately craves. But the longer Ingrid wears two masks, the more she questions where her true allegiances lie.

Will she stand with the Holts, or will she forge her own path?]]> 368 Rosiee Thor 1338679112 Rhea 0 to-read 3.59 2022 Fire Becomes Her
author: Rosiee Thor
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Baker Thief 39979131
Claire owns the Croissant-toi, but while her days are filled with pastries and customers, her nights are dedicated to stealing exocores. These new red gems are heralded as the energy of the future, but she knows the truth.

When her twin disappears, Claire redoubles in her efforts to investigate. She keeps running into Adèle, however, and whether or not she can save her sister might depend on their conflicted, unstable, but deepening relationship.

---------------

BAKER THIEF is the first in a fantasy series meant to reframe romance tropes within non-romantic relationship and centering aromantic characters. Those who love enemies-to-lovers and superheroes should enjoy the story!]]> 413 Claudie Arseneault 1775312917 Rhea 0 to-read 3.87 2018 Baker Thief
author: Claudie Arseneault
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Old Fashioned 36564284

Old Fashioned is a story about finding words and the importance of fake cobwebs in the windows.]]> 23 K.A. Cook 1370937490 Rhea 0 to-read 3.43 Old Fashioned
author: K.A. Cook
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.43
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bones of Green and Hearts of Gold]]> 55886630
Bones of Green and Hearts of Gold collects twenty fantasy and contemporary stories celebrating the many ways aromanticism need not always pair with asexuality.]]> 280 K.A. Cook Rhea 0 to-read 4.00 Bones of Green and Hearts of Gold
author: K.A. Cook
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Common Bonds: A speculative aromantic anthology]]> 103617792
Within this anthology, a cursed seamstress finds comfort in the presence of a witch, a team of demon hunters work with their rival to save one of their own, a peculiar scholar gets attached to those he was meant to study, and queerplatonic shopkeepers guide their pupil as they explore their relationships needs and desires.

Through nineteen stories and poems, COMMON BONDS explores the ways platonic relationships enrich our lives.

---
Edited by Claudie Arseneault, C. T. Callahan, B. R. Sanders, and RoAnna Sylver
Featuring works by A. Z. Louise, Adriana C. Grigore, Avi Silver, Camilla Quinn, Cora Ruskin, E. H. Timms, Ian Mahler, Jeff Reynolds, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Marjorie King, Mika Stanard, Morgan Swim, Polenth Blake, Ren Oliveira, Rosiee Thor, Syl Woo, Thomas Leonard Shaw, and Vida Cruz.]]> 189 Claudie Arseneault Rhea 0 to-read 3.60 2021 Common Bonds: A speculative aromantic anthology
author: Claudie Arseneault
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hopeless Aromantic: An Affirmative Guide to Aromanticism]]> 128076214 Aromanticism is defined as experiencing little to no romantic attraction to others. Sam Rendle, onetime aromantic asexual, sometime aroaceflux, and present-day label unspecified, knows a thing or two about the aro spectrum - and she has some answers for you.
You'll explore what aromanticism is, how aromantic people form relationships, how to know if you're aromantic and deal with internalised shame and societal stigma. With a history of aromantic representation, guidance on queerplatonic relationships, and testimony from your worldwide aro family - this is the affirmatory aro companion to have in your back pocket.]]> 175 Samantha Rendle 1839973684 Rhea 0 to-read 3.49 Hopeless Aromantic: An Affirmative Guide to Aromanticism
author: Samantha Rendle
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.49
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch]]> 12070
Put New York Times bestselling authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett together . . . and all Hell breaks loose.]]> 384 Neil Gaiman 0060853972 Rhea 0 2026-tbr-shortlist 4.18 1990 Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: 2026-tbr-shortlist
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian]]> 693208
Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

With a foreward by Markus Zusak & interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney
]]> 230 Sherman Alexie 0316013684 Rhea 0 to-read 4.05 2007 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
author: Sherman Alexie
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Worth Fighting For (Meant to Be, #5)]]> 217064246
Mulan is reimagined as a contemporary romance about family expectations, mistaken identity, and high stakes mergers—of both business and the heart.

As the right hand of her father’s hedge fund company, Fa Mulan knows what it takes to succeed as a woman in a man’s work twice as hard, be twice as smart, and burp twice as loud as any of the other finance bros she works with. So when her father unexpectedly falls ill in the middle of a critical acquisition, she is determined to see it through. There’s just one the family company in question is known for its ultra masculine whiskey brand, and the brood of old-fashioned aunts, uncles, and cousins who run it—lead by the dedicated but overworked Shang—will only trust Mulan’s father, Fa Zhou, with the future of their business.

Rather than fail the deal and her father, Mulan pretends she’s Fa Zhou. Since they’ve only corresponded over email, how hard could it be to keep things moving in his absence?

But the email leads to a face-to-face meeting, which leads to an invitation to a week long retreat at Shang’s family ranch. One meeting she can handle, but a whole week of cattle wrangling, axe-throwing, and learning proper butchering techniques, all while trying to convince Shang’s dubious family that this young woman is the powerful hedge fund CEO they’ve been negotiating with? Not so much—especially as she finds it harder and harder to ignore the undeniable spark between her and Shang.

Can she keep her head in the game and make her father proud, all while trying not to fall into a trough, or in love with Shang?]]> 278 Jesse Q. Sutanto 1368112811 Rhea 0 to-read 3.67 2025 Worth Fighting For (Meant to Be, #5)
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> By the Book (Meant to Be, #2) 58950845 A tale as old as time—for a new generation…

Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing right out of college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, living at home, still an editorial assistant, and the only Black employee at her publishing house. Overworked and underpaid, constantly torn between speaking up or stifling herself, Izzy thinks there must be more to this publishing life. So when she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, Isabelle sees an opportunity to finally get the promotion she deserves.

All she has to do is go to the author’s Santa Barbara mansion and give him a quick pep talk or three. How hard could it be?

But Izzy quickly finds out she is in over her head. Beau Towers is not some celebrity lightweight writing a tell-all memoir. He is jaded and withdrawn and—it turns out—just as lost as Izzy. But despite his standoffishness, Izzy needs Beau to deliver, and with her encouragement, his story begins to spill onto the page. They soon discover they have more in common than either of them expected, and as their deadline nears, Izzy and Beau begin to realize there may be something there that wasn't there before.

Best-selling author Jasmine Guillory’s reimagining of a beloved fairy tale is a romantic triumph of love and acceptance and learning that sometimes to truly know a person you have to read between the lines. ]]> 313 Jasmine Guillory 1368053386 Rhea 0 3.67 2022 By the Book (Meant to Be, #2)
author: Jasmine Guillory
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/11
shelves: to-read, 2026-tbr-shortlist, rom-com-romance
review:

]]> The Cask of Amontillado 261240
It is set in a nameless Italian city in an unspecified year (possibly during the eighteenth century) and concerns the revenge taken by the narrator on a friend who he claims has insulted him. Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around the possibility of a person being buried alive or enclosed in a small space with not possibility of escape (aka immurement).

Librarian's note: this entry relates to the story "The Cask of Amontillado." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.]]> 24 Edgar Allan Poe 1594561869 Rhea 4 4.09 1846 The Cask of Amontillado
author: Edgar Allan Poe
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1846
rating: 4
read at: 2026/06/10
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: re-read-for-memory, short-stories, classics
review:

]]> The Memory Keeper's Daughter 10441 401 Kim Edwards 0143037145 Rhea 0 to-read 3.70 2005 The Memory Keeper's Daughter
author: Kim Edwards
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1)]]> 44421460 What would you change if you could go back in time?

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.

In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving story explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?]]> 213 Toshikazu Kawaguchi 1529029589 Rhea 0 to-read 3.63 2015 Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1)
author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Astral Library 235289973 From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.

Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books.

The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy—Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?]]> 304 Kate Quinn 0063244780 Rhea 0 to-read 3.52 2026 The Astral Library
author: Kate Quinn
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)]]> 58416952 At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in this new fantasy series by internationally bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.

AUDI. VIDE. TACE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.]]> 640 James Islington 1982141190 Rhea 0 to-read 4.56 2023 The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)
author: James Islington
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Theo of Golden 242376245 One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…

His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than he answers.

Theo visits the local coffeehouse, where ninety-two pencil portraits hang on the walls, portraits of the people of Golden done by a local artist. He begins purchasing them, one at a time, and putting them back in the hands of their “rightful owners.” With each exchange, a story is told, a friendship born, and a life altered.

A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted novel about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another.]]> 400 Allen Levi 1668236516 Rhea 0 to-read 4.34 2023 Theo of Golden
author: Allen Levi
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Writers & Lovers 45289222 Following the breakout success of her critically acclaimed and award-winning novel Euphoria, Lily King returns with an unforgettable portrait of an artist as a young woman.

Blindsided by her mother's sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she's been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey's fight to fulfil her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.

Writers & Lovers follows Casey--a smart and achingly vulnerable protagonist--in the last days of a long youth, a time when every element of her life comes to a crisis. Written with King's trademark humor, heart, and intelligence, Writers & Lovers is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.]]> 320 Lily King Rhea 0 to-read 3.93 2020 Writers & Lovers
author: Lily King
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bird by Bird 12543 A newer edition of this title can be found here.

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said. 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

With this basic instruction always in mind, Anne Lamott returns to offer us a new gift: a step-by-step guide on how to write and on how to manage the writer's life. From "Getting Started,' with "Short Assignments," through "Shitty First Drafts," "Character," "Plot," "Dialogue." all the way from "False Starts" to "How Do You Know When You're Done?" Lamott encourages, instructs, and inspires. She discusses "Writers Block," "Writing Groups," and "Publication." Bracingly honest, she is also one of the funniest people alive.

If you have ever wondered what it takes to be a writer, what it means to be a writer, what the contents of your school lunches said about what your parents were really like, this book is for you. From faith, love, and grace to pain, jealousy, and fear, Lamott insists that you keep your eyes open, and then shows you how to survive. And always, from the life of the artist she turns to the art of life.

]]> 238 Anne Lamott Rhea 0 4.24 1994 Bird by Bird
author: Anne Lamott
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read, 2026-tbr-shortlist, nonfic-inspo-selfhelp
review:

]]> <![CDATA[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]]> 10569 (back cover)]]> 320 Stephen King 0743455967 Rhea 0 4.33 2000 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
author: Stephen King
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read, nonfic-inspo-selfhelp
review:

]]> Becoming a Writer 76788
With close reference to the great writers of her day--Wolfe, Forster, Wharton and so on--Brande gives practical but inspirational advice about finding the right time of day to write and being very self disciplined about it--"You have decided to write at four o'clock, and at four o'clock you must write." She's strong on confidence building and there's a lot about cheating your unconscious which will constantly try to stop you writing by coming up with excuses. Then there are exercises to help you get into the right frame of mind and to build up writing stamina. She also shows how to harness the unconscious, how to fall into the "artistic coma," then how to re-emerge and be your own critic.

This is Dorothea Brande's legacy to all those who have ever wanted to express their ideas in written form. A sound, practical, inspirational and charming approach to writing, it fulfills on finding "the writer's magic."]]> 192 Dorothea Brande 0874771641 Rhea 0 4.01 1934 Becoming a Writer
author: Dorothea Brande
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1934
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read, 2026-tbr-shortlist, nonfic-inspo-selfhelp
review:

]]> Skinner's Drift 830190
Like Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee, Fugard has written a profoundly moving family drama, subtly set against the backdrop of a country in turmoil. She moves with extraordinary agility between intimate and revelatory domestic scenes and the fiercely challenging land. This is a powerful story from a stunning new writer.]]> 289 Lisa Fugard 0743272994 Rhea 0 to-read 3.60 2005 Skinner's Drift
author: Lisa Fugard
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![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 Rhea 0 to-read, recs-from-friends 4.00 2022 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read, recs-from-friends
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)]]> 37442 Alternative cover edition of ISBN 9780060987107

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

]]> 406 Gregory Maguire Rhea 0 3.51 1995 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)
author: Gregory Maguire
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.51
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: classics, dnf-but-might-come-back, recs-from-friends, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom (Kiki Kallira, #1)]]> 55644068
One day, her sketchbook's calming effect is broken when her mythological characters begin springing to life right out of its pages. Kiki ends up falling into the mystical world she drew, which includes a lot of wonderful discoveries like the band of rebel kids who protect the kingdom, as well as not-so-great ones like the ancient deity bent on total destruction. As the one responsible for creating the evil god, Kiki must overcome her fear and anxiety to save both worlds--the real and the imagined--from his wrath. But how can a girl armed with only a pencil defeat something so powerful?]]> 352 Sangu Mandanna 0593206975 Rhea 0 to-read, 2026-tbr-shortlist 4.03 2021 Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom (Kiki Kallira, #1)
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read, 2026-tbr-shortlist
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Spark of White Fire (The Celestial Trilogy, #1)]]> 37588503
Raised alone and far away from her home on Kali, Esmae longs to return to her family. When the King of Wychstar offers to gift the unbeatable, sentient warship Titania to a warrior that can win his competition, she sees her way home: she’ll enter the competition, reveal her true identity to the world, and help her famous brother win back the crown of Kali.

It’s a great plan. Until it falls apart.

Inspired by the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian stories, A Spark of White Fire is a lush, sweeping space opera about family, curses, and the endless battle between jealousy and love.]]> 311 Sangu Mandanna 1510733787 Rhea 0 to-read, 2026-tbr-shortlist 3.86 2018 A Spark of White Fire (The Celestial Trilogy, #1)
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read, 2026-tbr-shortlist
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Vanya and the Wild Hunt (Vanya Vallen Adventures #1)]]> 200982337 Amari and the Night Brothers meets Nevermoor in this enchanting middle grade fantasy, inspired by Indian mythology and British folklore, about a neurodivergent heroine, a mysterious school, and a world of magical creatures.

Eleven-year-old Vanya Vallen has always felt like she doesn’t fit in. She’s British-Indian in a mostly white town in England, her parents won’t talk about their pasts, and she has ADHD.

Oh, and she talks to books. More importantly, the books talk back.

When her family is attacked by a monster she believed only existed in fairytales, Vanya discovers that her parents have secrets, and that there are a lot more monsters out there. Overnight, she’s whisked off to the enchanted library and school of Auramere, where she joins the ranks of archwitches and archivists.

Life at Auramere is unexpected, exciting and wonderful. But even here, there’s no escaping monsters. The mysterious, powerful Wild Hunt is on the prowl, and Vanya will need all her creativity and courage to unmask its leader and stop them before they destroy the only place she’s ever truly belonged.

From the critically-acclaimed author of the Kiki Kallira series and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches comes an action-packed and magical middle grade fantasy, perfect for fans of J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan.]]> 288 Sangu Mandanna 1250899834 Rhea 0 to-read 4.12 2025 Vanya and the Wild Hunt (Vanya Vallen Adventures #1)
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Color Outside the Lines 40960763 This modern, groundbreaking YA anthology explores the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center.

When people ask me what this anthology is about, I’m often tempted to give them the complicated answer: it’s about race, and about how being different from the person you love can matter but how it can also not matter, and it’s about Chinese pirate ghosts, black girl vigilantes, colonial India, a flower festival, a garden of poisons, and so, so much else. Honestly, though? I think the answer’s much simpler than that. Color outside the Lines is a collection of stories about young, fierce, brilliantly hopeful people in love.
—Sangu Mandanna, editor of Color outside the Lines]]> 312 Sangu Mandanna 1641290463 Rhea 0 to-read 3.80 2019 Color Outside the Lines
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping]]> 123029113
Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her magical Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Aunt Jasmine run an inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests' shenanigans, tries to keep the talking fox in check, and longs for the magical future she lost.

When she learns about an old spellbook that holds the secret to restoring her power, she turns to Luke Larsen, a gorgeous historian who might just be able to help her unlock the book’s mysteries. Luke, who has his own reasons for staying at the inn, never planned on getting involved in the madcap goings-on around him and certainly had no intention of letting certain grumpy innkeepers past his icy walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he not only agrees to help, but also finds himself thawing .

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone... and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.]]> 352 Sangu Mandanna Rhea 5 3.89 2025 A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2026/06/10
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: rom-com-romance, comfort-re-reads, favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, #4)]]> 114954
After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis had his mind wiped of his memories of the world belowground. But they have not forgotten about him. Once again, he must stop the human and fairy worlds from colliding—only this time, Artemis faces an enemy who may have finally outsmarted him.]]> 528 Eoin Colfer 1423103998 Rhea 3 yung-adult-middle-grade 4.06 2005 The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, #4)
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2026/05/12
date added: 2026/06/10
shelves: yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not a Hero (Better School)]]> 236772727 Amid magic and monsters, a queer seventh-grader discovers a world where he can be himself but has to decide if he will fight for it…even if it means becoming the villain.

Clementine has always felt like the villain of his story. Most of the time, he’s a socially anxious kid who knows it’s not “normal” for a boy to wear pink shoes to school. While he’s there, his teachers won’t call him by the right name (even though Clementine is a boy’s name, if a boy has it), his classmates tease him about his obsessive love for spiders (even though they’re beautiful), and he’s the only one who can see the floating faces that haunt the surrounding woods.

But in the woods, everything is different. At night, he and his new friends Beetle, Cricket, and Anise spend hours in a play-pretend world that seems to be seeping into reality. Clementine has never had a friend like Beetle—a boy who breaks into his house and teaches him to howl at the moon, who dreams of being a hero and says the whole sky is beautiful while looking right at Clementine and not at the sky at all.

But Clementine wants to use the power fueling their adventures to make things better outside the forest—not later, when he’s grown up, but now. And when he discovers the source of the magic, Clementine has to Does he become a hero with Beetle and protect a world that hates him? Or does he finally become the villain, ready to build a new world whatever the cost? In this joyful and uninhibited celebration of imagination, empathy and all things monstrous, debut author Noah Corey tells the story of a queer kid who is exactly and exquisitely himself. This book is a love letter to villains and heroes, and all the ways they make us brave.]]> 352 Noah Corey 0593906365 Rhea 3 3.77 2026 Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not a Hero (Better School)
author: Noah Corey
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/06/09
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: lgbt-themes, yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> Three Tasks for a Dragon 124068316 With wit and gorgeous art, New York Times best-selling author Eoin Colfer and multi-award-winning illustrator P.J. Lynch team up again for a quest story of knights, dark magic, and a maiden with powers of her own.

Studious Prince Lir is next in line to become the Wolfhound King, but he can’t ride a horse, lift a sword, or summon the fabled wolfhounds. So his stepmother decrees that her own son will inherit the crown instead, sending Lir away on a seemingly impossible—and assuredly fatal—to rescue the maiden Cethlenn from the once-fearsome dragon Lasvarg. Rather than wage battle, Lir insists that Lasvarg, now decidedly past his prime, honor tradition by setting him three tasks to perform—starting with tackling the mold encrusting the dragon’s cave (and his feet!). As Lir improves Lasvarg’s life, he also grows closer to Cethlenn . . . as well as the wolfhound puppy strangely devoted to her. In time, they learn more of the dark magic that may be making pawns of them all—and how Cethlenn herself could be the key to breaking a spell that clouds the entire kingdom. With transporting language and a magnificent dragon masterfully rendered with a range of emotions, Eoin Colfer and P.J. Lynch make their own magic in this classic fantasy with a light feminist twist.]]> 113 Eoin Colfer 1536234362 Rhea 4 4.04 2023 Three Tasks for a Dragon
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2026/06/08
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: short-stories, yung-adult-middle-grade, comfort-re-reads, re-read-for-memory
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, #1)]]> 352262
Join his adventures and misadventures as he finds a new way to train dragons--and becomes a hero. This action-packed, hilarious, and perfectly illustrated novel is a modern classic beloved by millions across the globe.]]> 214 Cressida Cowell 0316737372 Rhea 4 3.91 2003 How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, #1)
author: Cressida Cowell
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2026/06/08
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: yung-adult-middle-grade, comfort-re-reads
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stuck with You (The STEMinist Novellas, #2)]]> 59651555 Nothing like a little rivalry between scientists to take love to the next level.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn…

Logically, Sadie knows that civil engineers are supposed to build bridges. However, as a woman of STEM she also understands that variables can change, and when you are stuck for hours in a tiny New York elevator with the man who broke your heart, you earn the right to burn that brawny, blond bridge to the ground. Erik can apologize all he wants, but to quote her rebel leader—she’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee.

Not even the most sophisticated of Sadie’s superstitious rituals could have predicted such a disastrous reunion. But while she refuses to acknowledge the siren call of Erik’s steely forearms or the way his voice softens when he offers her his sweater, Sadie can’t help but wonder if there might be more layers to her cold-hearted nemesis than meet the eye. Maybe, possibly, even burned bridges can still be crossed….

To read Mara and Hannah’s stories look for the novellas Under One Roof, available now, and Below Zero, coming soon from Berkley!]]> 127 Ali Hazelwood Rhea 2 3.56 2022 Stuck with You (The STEMinist Novellas, #2)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2026/06/03
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: rom-com-romance, short-stories
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows, #2)]]> 241058997
I’m lost. Terrified. Homesick. Hunted by monsters, driven to exhaustion, and kidnapped by a powerful priest, the only thing keeping me going is the little girl counting on me to keep her safe. It’s my turn to become the Guardian.

Our lives change one fateful night. A night of death. A night of monsters. A night of truths. That night, I learn the real meaning of fear—and the depth of my own strength.

Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I embrace my crown? What if the secrets I uncover save our realm?

What if my sacrifice means salvation for the man I love?

For too long, I’ve feared the monsters we make.

It’s time to discover the monster within.]]> 468 Devney Perry 1682816753 Rhea 4 4.38 2026 Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows, #2)
author: Devney Perry
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/05/31
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: 2026-tbr-shortlist, re-read-for-memory, comfort-re-reads, romantasycheese
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1)]]> 217171544 Epickie romantasy i fenomen wydawniczy, który pokochały miliony osób na całym świecie!

Nieodkładalna historia, w której wrogowie stają się kochankami, potwory grasują po przeklętym królestwie, a zapomniana księżniczka znajduje w sobie siłę, by zerwać koronę i stać się wojowniczką, którą nigdy nie miała być.

Bogowie nasyłają potwory na pięć królestw, by przypomnieć śmiertelnikom o ich niższości.

Całe swoje życie klękałam – przed wolą bogów i mojego ojca. Jestem księżniczką, więc moim jedynym obowiązkiem jest nosić koronę i być posłuszną wobec króla.

Władza nigdy nie była mi pisana. Podobnie jak walka. I to nie ja miałam być córką, która przypieczętuje starożytne przymierze własną krwią.

To się jednak zmieniło owego nieszczęsnego dnia, gdy legendarny łowca potworów przybił do naszych wybrzeży. Wkroczyłam do sali tronowej mojego ojca, a książę zrujnował mi życie.

Teraz przemierzam zdradliwe ziemie u boku wojownika, który gardzi mną w takim samym stopniu jak ja nim – i jestem związana z przyszłością, której dla siebie nie wybrałam, i mężem, którego ledwie znam.

Każdy chce, abym stała się kimś, kim nie jestem – królową, szpiegiem, ofiarą.

Co, jeśli jednak odmówię wypełnienia wybranej dla mnie roli i ustalę własne zasady? Co, jeśli w byciu niedocenioną kryje się siła?

I co, jeśli po nią sięgnę – po raz pierwszy w życiu?]]> 528 Devney Perry 1649378513 Rhea 4 4.30 2025 Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1)
author: Devney Perry
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2026/05/27
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: comfort-re-reads, romantasycheese
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl, #5)]]> 37586 Alternate Cover Edition for ISBN: 9780786849567

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear to the fairy families that they could never win, they decided to move their civilisation underground and keep themselves hidden from the humans. All the fairy families agreed on this, except the eighth family, the demons.

The demons planned to lift their small island out of time until they had regrouped and were ready to wage war on the humans once more. However, the time spell went wrong, and the island of Hybras was catapulted into Limbo, where it has remained for ten thousand years.

Now, the tainted time spell is deteriorating and demons are being sucked back into the present space and time. The fairy Council are naturally concerned about this and are monitoring any materialisations. When the spell’s deterioration accelerates, the materialisations become unpredictable. Even the fairy scientists cannot figure out where the next demon will pop up.

But someone can. Artemis Fowl, the teenage criminal mastermind, has solved temporal equations that no normal human should be intelligent enough to understand. But Artemis Fowl is no normal human.

So when a confused and frightened demon pops up in a Sicilian theatre, Artemis Fowl is there to meet him. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. A second, mysterious party has also solved the temporal equations, and manages to abduct the demon before Artemis can secure him.

This is a disaster for the fairy People, because this demon was no ordinary fairy. He was the last demon warlock, and as such held the key to the survival of the entire demon race.

It is up to Artemis and his old comrade, Captain Holly Short to track down the missing demon and rescue him before the time spell dissolves completely and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth.]]> 385 Eoin Colfer Rhea 0 4.01 2006 The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl, #5)
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: did-not-finish, dnf-but-might-come-back, yung-adult-middle-grade, 2026-tbr-shortlist
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The ​Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash, #3)]]> 55240343 She's been the victim and the survivor…

Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.

The enemy and the warrior…

Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the kingdoms’ dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head.

A lover and heartmate…

But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other.

And now she will become Queen.]]> 645 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457254 Rhea 1 4.10 2021 The ​Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash, #3)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2021
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: did-not-finish, romantasycheese
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash, #2)]]> 54319549 A Betrayal…

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

A Choice...

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

A Secret…

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.]]> 637 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457106 Rhea 2 romantasycheese 4.30 2020 A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash, #2)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2026/04/25
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: romantasycheese
review:

]]> <![CDATA[From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1)]]> 52831200 A Maiden…

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

A Duty…

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

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.]]> 622 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1952457017 Rhea 2 4.18 2020 From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2026/04/09
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beetle V. Valorous Is Not a Villain (Better School Book 2)]]> 253013465 When you’re the villain, no one can tell you what to do. In this charming and thought-provoking sequel to Noah Corey’s uniquely imaginative middle-grade fantasy debut, a genderqueer middle schooler with magic powers realizes that ending the world is just the beginning.

After making a deal with Aunty for limitless magical power and trapping her inside his body, Clementine is learning how to be a twelve-year-old boy (maybe?) and also a monster queen. Sure, it’s complicated, but so is growing up.

Clementine and his best friend Cricket are determined to create Better School, a place for outcast kids to fit in. But Aunty’s voice is in Clementine’s head, whispering plans to destroy, eat, and rule the world. And he is definitely NOT thinking about his former-best-friend-slash-crush Bug, aka Beetle. Now that Clementine is evil, and Bug is a hero, they are sworn enemies. And sworn enemies don’t daydream about holding hands!

But below Better School’s floating cloud, Anise’s father has convinced everyone that kids like Clementine—kids with magic—are dangerous. Now Clementine has to infiltrate a cult, solve a missing-kids mystery, rescue Beetle from being brainwashed, and keep Better School running . . . or else Aunty will end the world for real. In the meantime, he will decide who he is and where he belongs, once and for all.]]> Noah Corey 059390642X Rhea 0 to-read 0.0 Beetle V. Valorous Is Not a Villain (Better School Book 2)
author: Noah Corey
name: Rhea
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Confederacy of Dunces 310612 Set in the French Quarter of 1960s New Orleans, this cult-classic satire follows unforgettable misfit Ignatius J. Reilly as his misadventures ricochet from hot dog carts to Bourbon Street, and collide with the city’s politics, vice, and absurdity.

A wildly outrageous, darkly hilarious portrait of America, still razor-sharp and painfully relevant, reimagined in stunning visual form for lifelong fans and new readers.

For fans of the darkly funny counter-culture satire of Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse-Five.]]> 394 John Kennedy Toole 0802130208 Rhea 0 to-read, classics 3.89 1980 A Confederacy of Dunces
author: John Kennedy Toole
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/05/28
shelves: to-read, classics
review:

]]> In What World 243856427 352 Bridget Morrissey Rhea 0 to-read 3.99 2026 In What World
author: Bridget Morrissey
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Everything She Does Is Magic (Fableview, #1)]]> 223854904 In the charming town of Fableview, every day is Halloween. Get ready to fall under the spell of this bewitching sapphic romance, perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls and Wicked!

Darcy Keller, resident ray of sunshine and town spirit princess, loves every moment of Fableview’s fall festivities. But she’s also really ready to leave for college next year, even though her parents expect her to stay and take over their Halloween empire.

Enter brooding new girl Anya Doyle, a real-life witch and almost a full member of her coven. In order to be initiated, she has to choose a mortal ally to act as her “protector.” But having moved around so much, Anya is completely friendless. So she does what any self-respecting teenage almost-witch would—she lies and tells her coven her secret crush, Darcy, is willing to do the job.

Desperate to solve their personal problems, they agree to help each other out, attending everything from a costume parade to a pumpkin patch party to an apple bobbing contest together. But with Anya’s magical powers and Darcy’s future independence on the line, the last thing they need is the added complication of pesky feelings . . .]]> 288 Bridget Morrissey 0593898435 Rhea 0 to-read, lgbt-themes, sapphic 3.74 2025 Everything She Does Is Magic (Fableview, #1)
author: Bridget Morrissey
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/17
shelves: to-read, lgbt-themes, sapphic
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, #2)]]> 114955
The world that Colfer creates is as vivid and fantastical as any shire, gotham, or galaxy far, far away in recent memory. Grade: A-.]]> 278 Eoin Colfer Rhea 4 yung-adult-middle-grade 3.96 2002 The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, #2)
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2026/04/03
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, #3)]]> 227865 329 Eoin Colfer 0141321318 Rhea 3 yung-adult-middle-grade 4.05 2003 The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, #3)
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2026/04/04
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)]]> 249747 Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.]]> 396 Eoin Colfer Rhea 5 3.87 2001 Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2026/03/29
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: yung-adult-middle-grade, comfort-re-reads, favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Serpent's Shadow (The Kane Chronicles, #3)]]> 12893742 406 Rick Riordan 1423140575 Rhea 4 4.26 2012 The Serpent's Shadow (The Kane Chronicles, #3)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2026/03/31
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: comfort-re-reads, yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles, #2)]]> 9067850
And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.

First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.]]> 452 Rick Riordan 1423140567 Rhea 5 4.18 2011 The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2026/03/28
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: comfort-re-reads, favorites, yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> See You Yesterday 59365594
The next morning, Barrett’s perplexed to find herself back in her dorm room bed, no longer smelling of ashes and crushed dreams. It’s September 21st. Again. And after a confrontation with Miles, the guy from Physics 101, she learns she’s not alone—he’s been trapped for months.

When her attempts to fix her timeline fail, she agrees to work with Miles to find a way out. Soon they’re exploring the mysterious underbelly of the university and going on wild, romantic adventures. As they start falling for each other, they face the universe’s biggest unanswered question yet: what happens to their relationship if they finally make it to tomorrow?]]> 419 Rachel Lynn Solomon 1665901926 Rhea 5 favorites, rom-com-romance 3.83 2022 See You Yesterday
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2026/04/08
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: favorites, rom-com-romance
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Can't Keep Meeting Like This]]> 55710755 A wedding harpist disillusioned with love and a hopeless romantic cater-waiter flirt and fight their way through a summer of weddings.

Quinn Berkowitz and Tarek Mansour’s families have been in business together for years: Quinn’s parents are wedding planners, and Tarek’s own a catering company. At the end of last summer, Quinn confessed her crush on him in the form of a rambling email—and then he left for college without a response.

Quinn has been dreading seeing him again almost as much as she dreads another summer playing the harp for her parents’ weddings. When he shows up at the first wedding of the summer, looking cuter than ever after a year apart, they clash immediately. Tarek’s always loved the grand gestures in weddings—the flashier, the better—while Quinn can’t see them as anything but fake. Even as they can’t seem to have one civil conversation, Quinn’s thrown together with Tarek wedding after wedding, from performing a daring cake rescue to filling in for a missing bridesmaid and groomsman.

Quinn can’t deny her feelings for him are still there, especially after she learns the truth about his silence, opens up about her own fears, and begins learning the art of harp-making from an enigmatic teacher.

Maybe love isn’t the enemy after all—and maybe allowing herself to fall is the most honest thing Quinn’s ever done.]]> 336 Rachel Lynn Solomon 1534440275 Rhea 0 to-read, rom-com-romance 3.48 2021 We Can't Keep Meeting Like This
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: to-read, rom-com-romance
review:

]]> Weather Girl 53369734
In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.

Working closely with Russell means allowing him to get to know parts of herself that Ari keeps hidden from everyone. Will he be able to embrace her dark clouds as well as her clear skies?

A TV meteorologist and a sports reporter scheme to reunite their divorced bosses with unforecasted results in this charming romantic comedy from the author of The Ex Talk.]]> 336 Rachel Lynn Solomon 0593200144 Rhea 0 to-read, rom-com-romance 3.58 2022 Weather Girl
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: to-read, rom-com-romance
review:

]]> The Ex Talk 53415121
When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it's this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it's not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.]]> 345 Rachel Lynn Solomon Rhea 0 to-read, rom-com-romance 3.66 2021 The Ex Talk
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: to-read, rom-com-romance
review:

]]> Hollywood, Ending 249789500 A behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story that brilliantly confronts the private cost of a public life

For rising young actors Kai Laramie and Juniper Castillo, being cast in the buzzy biopic Andy Warhol Never Gets Old is the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. They’re on the verge of breaking out, and maybe even falling in love. Soon the movie is blowing up and so are their lives—in exciting but also terrifying ways.

John Green artfully blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with an unflinching examination of the insatiable attention economy. Told through dual points of view, the novel follows Kai and Juniper from their first days on location to the movie’s premiere, brilliantly juxtaposing their story with the on-screen study of Warhol’s life at the dawn of celebrity culture.

Hollywood, Ending is a deeply observed novel about the tension between a public and a private life, and finding your safe someone to hold onto. Tender, heartbreaking, and shrewdly funny, this is a story as only Green can tell it.]]> 9 John Green Rhea 0 to-read 0.0 2026 Hollywood, Ending
author: John Green
name: Rhea
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lost Library 63005200 A little free library guarded by a cat and a boy who takes on the mystery it keeps.

When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.

Evan and his best friend Rafe quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys start asking questions whose answers will transform not only their own futures, but the town itself.

Told in turn by a ghost librarian named Al, an aging (but beautiful) cat named Mortimer, and Evan himself, The Lost Library is a timeless story from award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. It's about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you).]]> 215 Rebecca Stead 1250838819 Rhea 0 to-read 4.05 2023 The Lost Library
author: Rebecca Stead
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Basil and Oregano 59385412
Porta Bella Magiculinary Academy is the finest school for the art of cooking with magic, and Basil Eyres is determined to be the top student. On the first day of her senior year, Arabella Oregano, the daughter of a renowned chef, joins the academy for her senior year as well. The two are instantly smitten with each other, but Basil senses there’s something Arabella is hiding from her. Still, the two work together to stand out from the class as the end of year culinary festival approaches. But when Arabella’s secret is reveled, Basil is faced with the hardest decision of her life, which has the potential to throw her future aspirations in jeopardy.]]> 232 Melissa Capriglione 1506728707 Rhea 0 3.82 2023 Basil and Oregano
author: Melissa Capriglione
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read, comic-graphic-novel, lgbt-themes, sapphic, yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1)]]> 46756 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780385721677.
Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.]]> 389 Margaret Atwood Rhea 0 to-read 4.00 2003 Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Blind Assassin 78433 The Blind Assassin is a richly layered and uniquely rewarding experience.

It opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister Laura's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist.

For the past twenty-five years, Margaret Atwood has written works of striking originality and imagination. In The Blind Assassin, she stretches the limits of her accomplishments as never before, creating a novel that is entertaining and profoundly serious. The Blind Assassin proves once again that Atwood is one of the most talented, daring, and exciting writers of our time. Like The Handmaid's Tale, it is destined to become a classic.]]> 641 Margaret Atwood Rhea 0 to-read 3.96 2000 The Blind Assassin
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Heart Goes Last 24388326 320 Margaret Atwood 0385540353 Rhea 0 to-read 3.37 2015 The Heart Goes Last
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow]]> 58784475 In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.]]> 399 Gabrielle Zevin 0735243344 Rhea 0 to-read 4.09 2022 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
author: Gabrielle Zevin
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![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 Rhea 0 to-read 4.01 2022 The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Meditations 233411514 Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the emperor struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. Ranging from doubt and despair to conviction and exaltation, they cover such diverse topics as the nature of moral virtue, human rationality, divine providence, and Marcus' own emotions. But while the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation and encouragement, in developing his beliefs Marcus Aurelius also created one of the greatest of all works of a timeless collection of extended meditations and short aphorisms that has been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers and readers through the centuries.]]> 288 Marcus Aurelius 132409639X Rhea 0 to-read, classics 4.29 180 Meditations
author: Marcus Aurelius
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.29
book published: 180
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read, classics
review:

]]> The Sun Also Rises 3876 The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta) is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.]]> 189 Ernest Hemingway Rhea 0 to-read, classics 3.80 1926 The Sun Also Rises
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1926
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read, classics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection]]> 220341389
In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.]]> 198 John Green 0525556575 Rhea 0 4.31 2025 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
author: John Green
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read, nonfic-inspo-selfhelp
review:

]]> The Lost Bookshop 65137920 The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.]]> 444 Evie Woods 0008609209 Rhea 0 to-read 3.97 2023 The Lost Bookshop
author: Evie Woods
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Great Minds of Science (Black Lives #1): A Nonfiction Graphic Novel]]> 208512481 Black Lives is an exciting new graphic novel series from award-winning author Tonya Bolden and illustrator David Wilkerson. Great Minds of Science celebrates the lives and contributions of Black scientists throughout history.   Matilda Evans (physician). Archie Alexander (civil engineer). Gladys West (mathematician). Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (marine biologist). These aren’t names that many people learn about in school, but they’re some of the greatest scientists that people should know about—doctors, engineers, mathematicians, and biologists. Each of them faced challenges as they rose to the top of their professions, but they didn’t back down.]]> 128 Tonya Bolden 1419752693 Rhea 0 to-read 3.81 Great Minds of Science (Black Lives #1): A Nonfiction Graphic Novel
author: Tonya Bolden
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)]]> 20705702
Then she's kidnapped by Connor "Mad" Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan's after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she's getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.]]> 382 Ilona Andrews 0062289241 Rhea 0 to-read 4.25 2014 Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Beinoni 217007623
In fact, he’s been training most of his life to fight a battle to determine whether Beinoni time continues, or gives way to a more violent, less certain future. He is the Nivchar, the chosen one, with the sign of the scales on his skin. When he comes of age at his bar mitzvah, so too will the gurya, a fiery beast of uncertain form, emerging from a cave to conquer, destroy, and herald a time of conflict.

But Ezra begins to sense that something is very wrong. His friends, his neighbors, the whole world is losing the careful, even balance he’s come to expect in a Beinoni time. It was always uncertain whether he’d be able to best his terrifying, magical foe. But now, is it even possible?]]> 285 Mari Lowe 1646145291 Rhea 0 to-read 4.18 Beinoni
author: Mari Lowe
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Case of the Contraband Closet (Bubblegum Shoes #1)]]> 219848322 When a stock-pile of confiscated classroom items go missing, (self-appointed) seventh grade PI Maya is on the case. From the New York Times bestelling author of Kill the Boy Band comes a whip-smart middle grade debut and the start of a sharp cul-du-sac crime-solving series.

9:48 AM. Math class. Marlowe Middle School.

Life isn't easy on the streets, er, hallways of Marlowe Middle School. Luckily, private eye Maya Mendoza never stops paying attention. She knows who is passing notes in class. Spots which teacher wore shoes a half-size too tight. And she certainly notices when her former best friend Jordan suddenly stops talking to her. 

Then, the legendary Contraband Closet is robbed. Every Hotwheels car, spray paint canister, bouncy ball, and other prized possession teachers have collected since the dawn of time are seemingly lost forever--including an item of Jordan's. Suddenly, Maya sees a case that may set things back to the way it used to be because contraband--and friendships--don't vanish into thin air...right?

A wise-cracking start to a new mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Goldy Moldavsky.]]> 224 Goldy Moldavsky 0593813766 Rhea 0 4.05 The Case of the Contraband Closet (Bubblegum Shoes #1)
author: Goldy Moldavsky
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read, yung-adult-middle-grade
review:

]]> The Overstory 40180098 The Overstory is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of - and paean to - the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.

A New York Times Bestseller.]]> 502 Richard Powers 039335668X Rhea 0 to-read 4.09 2018 The Overstory
author: Richard Powers
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Intermezzo 208931300 An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family—but especially love—from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.]]> 464 Sally Rooney 0374602638 Rhea 0 to-read 3.77 2024 Intermezzo
author: Sally Rooney
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Only When It's Us (Bergman Brothers, #1)]]> 177704614 Now with new exclusive content!

Meet the Bergmans in this enemies-to-lovers new adult romance that tackles the vulnerability of love with humor and heart.

From the moment Willa sat next to Ryder in class, she’s made it clear she hates his guts. Her reason is a mystery, but its outcome suits him fine. Willa Sutter is the feisty, tempting chaos he doesn’t need in his quiet, tidy life. She’s the next generation of women’s soccer. Wild hair. Bee-stung lips. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly. He’ll leverage her hate as long as possible to keep his distance.

When Willa asked Ryder to borrow his lecture notes, the silent, surly, mountain man ignored her. Ryder Bergman is an arrogant, infuriating flannel-wearing enigma. Mangy beard. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge her existence. But Willa’s never backed down from a challenge.

Forced to work together on their final project, Willa and Ryder begin a game of pranks and practical jokes, each determined to come out the champion. But once they catch unexpected feelings, victory begins to mean something else—winning each other’s hearts.]]> 384 Chloe Liese 059364235X Rhea 0 did-not-finish 3.77 2020 Only When It's Us (Bergman Brothers, #1)
author: Chloe Liese
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Forbidden Library (The Forbidden Library, #1)]]> 17987501 The Forbidden Library kicks off an action-packed  fantasy series with classic appeal, a resourceful heroine, a host of magical creatures, and no shortage of narrow escapes--perfect for fans of Story Thieves, Coraline, Inkheart, and Harry Potter.

Alice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That--along with everything else--changed the day she met her first fairy

When Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist. Especially if you're a reader to begin with. Soon Alice finds herself INSIDE the book, and the only way out is to defeat the creature imprisoned within.

It seems her uncle is more than he says he is. But then so is Alice.]]> 376 Django Wexler 0803739753 Rhea 3 3.81 2014 The Forbidden Library (The Forbidden Library, #1)
author: Django Wexler
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: dnf-but-might-come-back, yung-adult-middle-grade, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heated Rivalry (Game Changers, #2)]]> 220966494
Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option.]]> 372 Rachel Reid Rhea 3 4.22 2019 Heated Rivalry (Game Changers, #2)
author: Rachel Reid
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: dnf-but-might-come-back, rom-com-romance, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Roommate Risk (The Midnight Heat Collection, #3)]]> 198509636 From New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert comes an electric, domestic, roommates-to-lovers romance between a whirlwind party girl and her uptight best friend…

Jasmine Allen believes in bad luck, great wine, and the seductive power of a stiletto heel. What she doesn’t believe in is love. Her life is perfect without all that romance rubbish—until a plumbing disaster screws everything up and leaves Jas homeless. Luckily, she has someone to turn to: her best friend Rahul.

For seven years, Rahul Khan has followed three simple rules.
* Don’t touch Jasmine if you can help it.
* Don’t look at her arse in that skirt.
* And don’t ever—ever—tell her you love her.

He should’ve added another rule: Do not, under any circumstances, let Jas move into your house.

Now Rahul is living with the friend he can’t have, and it’s decimating his control. He knows their shared dinners aren’t dates, their late-night kisses are a mistake, and the tenderness in Jasmine’s gaze is only temporary. One wrong word could send his skittish best friend running.

So why is he tempted to risk it all?

This book was previously published as Wanna Bet?. The Roommate Risk is a steamy, standalone, diverse romance. This book is 75,000 words of fluff, angst, and extreme pleasure, with NO cliffhangers, NO cheating, and a guaranteed HEA. Please be aware: this story contains themes of parental neglect and abandonment, parental death, and alcohol dependence that could trigger certain audiences.]]> 352 Talia Hibbert Rhea 2 3.58 2018 The Roommate Risk (The Midnight Heat Collection, #3)
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: rom-com-romance, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom, #1)]]> 205335957
Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil's visions. But when Sybil's fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral's cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she'd rather avoid Rodrick's dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.]]> 385 Rachel Gillig 0356522962 Rhea 2 did-not-finish 4.20 2025 The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom, #1)
author: Rachel Gillig
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: did-not-finish
review:

]]> An Abundance of Katherines 215526423
Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.]]> 260 John Green Rhea 0 3.39 2006 An Abundance of Katherines
author: John Green
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: dnf-but-might-come-back, yung-adult-middle-grade, did-not-finish
review:

]]> I Hope This Finds You Well 200987323 In this wildly funny and heartwarming office comedy, an admin worker accidentally gains access to her colleagues’ private emails and DMs and decides to use this intel to save her job—a laugh-till-you-cry debut novel you’ll be eager to share with your entire list of contacts, perfect for fans of Anxious People and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don’t seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text colour to white so no one can see. That is, until one of her secret messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions.

When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who could resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: gain her boss’s favour, convince HR she’s Supershops material and beat out the competition.

But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworker’s private worlds and secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble—especially around Cliff, who she definitely cannot have feelings for. Soon she will need to decide if she’s ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if it means coming clean to her colleagues.

Crackling with laugh-out-loud dialogue and relatable observations, I Hope This Finds You Well is a fresh and surprisingly tender comedy about loneliness and love beyond our computer screens. This sparkling debut novel will open your heart to the everyday eccentricities of work culture and the undeniable human connection that comes with it.]]> 338 Natalie Sue 0063320363 Rhea 2 3.69 2024 I Hope This Finds You Well
author: Natalie Sue
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: recs-from-friends, rom-com-romance, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dating & Dismemberment (Mating and Monsters, #1)]]> 210318907
Darla Drake, Duchess of Death, is a legendary monster who has haunted the woods around Camp Clear Creek for years. Until an existential crisis forces her to take a sabbatical from wreaking havoc on pimply teens while she figures out what she really wants from the rest of her (possibly infinite) life. But what does a monster do when her malevolent days are over? For Darla, it’s spending time with the decapitated―yet still overbearing―head of her mother, reading romance novels she steals from campers, and struggling with one monstrous case of melancholy. Until Jarko Murkvale arrives in Clear Creek and turns Darla’s life upside down.

Jarko is a conceited, arrogant, infuriating, and unfortunately for Darla, kind of hot. And with the Duchess of Death on the shelf, Jarko has staked his claim on Camp Clear Creek. But Darla refuses to go down without a fight, and so in order to reclaim her territory she challenges Jarko to a series of hunts to see who the most fearsome monster really is.

But the more mayhem they cause, the more Darla begins to realize there’s more to this brash monster than she believed…and that Jarko may just be the antidote to her ennui. But there’s a reason Jarko came to Clear Creek, and in order to fill her nine-chambered heart, Darla will have to unravel the mystery of who this closed-off monster really is. And if they can manage to not literally tear each other limb from limb, Darla and Jarko just might find that couples who slay together, stay together.]]> 352 A.L. Brody 1649377614 Rhea 2 3.55 2023 Dating & Dismemberment (Mating and Monsters, #1)
author: A.L. Brody
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: rom-com-romance, dnf-but-might-come-back, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness]]> 6792458
As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status--much like their grandparents before them.

In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community--and all of us--to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.]]> 290 Michelle Alexander Rhea 0 4.51 2010 The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
author: Michelle Alexander
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: nonfic-inspo-selfhelp, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ruin and Rising (Shadow and Bone, #3)]]> 14061957 Alternative Cover Edition #1

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.]]> 432 Leigh Bardugo Rhea 0 3.96 2014 Ruin and Rising (Shadow and Bone, #3)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: re-read-for-memory, yung-adult-middle-grade, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, dnf-but-might-come-back, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #1)]]> 123257687
ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem and terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer―naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain―and his entire nefarious empire―out.

Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.

After all, a good job is hard to find.]]> 342 Hannah Nicole Maehrer 1649375808 Rhea 2 3.88 2023 Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #1)
author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: yung-adult-middle-grade, rom-com-romance, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Apprentice to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #2)]]> 188563943
Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome, evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat . . . out-of-evil-office.

But Rennedawn is in trouble, and all signs—Kingsley's included—point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom's magic, and it's made The Villain's manor vulnerable to their enemies . . . including their nemesis, the king.

Now it's time for Evie to face her greatest challenge: protecting The Villain's lair, his nefarious works, and maybe the entire kingdom. No pressure, Evie.

It's time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. It's all so . . . so . . . delightfully fun.

But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice?

Contains mature themes.]]> 336 Hannah Nicole Maehrer 152991776X Rhea 2 4.12 2024 Apprentice to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #2)
author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: 2025-tbr-shortlist, rom-com-romance, dnf-but-might-come-back, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Great Big Beautiful Life 218559595
When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad… depending on who’s telling it.

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.]]> 432 Emily Henry Rhea 2 3.91 2025 Great Big Beautiful Life
author: Emily Henry
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: rom-com-romance, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) 10429045 I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war—and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.]]> 338 Tahereh Mafi 0062085484 Rhea 3 3.86 2011 Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: dnf-but-might-come-back, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #1)]]> 17402605 An alternate cover edition exists here.

Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on 28 September 1330. Nearly seven hundred years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life. The records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty and Nicholas Flamel lives. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. And that's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it. Sometimes legends are true. And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.]]> 390 Michael Scott 0552562521 Rhea 3 3.90 2007 The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #1)
author: Michael Scott
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: re-read-for-memory, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Liesl & Po 10425811 That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.

]]> 313 Lauren Oliver 006201451X Rhea 2 3.84 2011 Liesl & Po
author: Lauren Oliver
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: recs-from-friends, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Lolita 7604 Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141182537.

Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Dolores Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust.]]> 368 Vladimir Nabokov Rhea 0 3.87 1955 Lolita
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1955
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: classics, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Under the Oak Tree: The Comic, Vol. 1]]> 203164409 Most fairytales end with a wedding and a happily-ever-after—but this is no fairytale. The first volume of the official webcomic based on the hit webnovel by Suji Kim.

When stuttering Lady Maximilian is forced to marry Sir Riftan, a lowborn knight caught in one of her father’s schemes, her stumbling communication and his gruff manner sour their relationship before it can begin. Riftan leaves for war the morning after their disastrous wedding night, and it’s three years before Maxi sees him again.

Now, the husband she barely knows is a war hero. And when he comes home to claim her, Maxi will need to master her own bewildering desire—and Riftan’s—before she can hope to become the true mistress of their enormous castle estate. That task will demand courage from Maxi, even as she struggles to find her own voice.

This volume collects episodes 1-24 of Under the Oak Tree, the #1 webcomic on MANTA.]]> 416 P . 0593871286 Rhea 1 4.16 2024 Under the Oak Tree: The Comic, Vol. 1
author: P .
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: comic-graphic-novel, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Under the Oak Tree, Vol. 1 199346768 Most fairytales end with a wedding and a happily-ever-after—but this is no fairytale. The updated and official translation of Under the Oak Tree, the #1 webnovel on MANTA.

Lady Maximilian is the daughter of the powerful Duke Croyso, but she is rarely allowed outside her family’s sprawling castle for fear that her stutter will tarnish their noble name. When she is forced to marry Sir Riftan, a lowborn knight caught in one of her father’s schemes, Maxi doesn’t dare hope for happiness, let alone love. Her stumbling communication and his gruff manner sour their relationship before it can begin, and Riftan leaves without a word the morning after their vows are exchanged.

Now, three years after their disastrous wedding night, Riftan has returned as a war hero. To Maxi’s surprise, despite rumors that he was offered marriage to Princess Agnes, a beautiful and renowned sorceress, Riftan still wants Maxi for his wife. And when he comes to claim her, his longing becomes a desire that bewilders Maxi, even as she is overcome by the scorching heat that Riftan’s presence ignites within her. As she learns to navigate the intricacies of her new life, Maxi will find herself and her courage, and discover that she is anything but powerless.

This volume collects chapters 1-76 of the original webnovel by Suji Kim.]]> 485 Suji Kim 0593871197 Rhea 1 3.65 2024 Under the Oak Tree, Vol. 1
author: Suji Kim
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: comic-graphic-novel, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Before We Were Us 201335425 She can't remember. He can't forget.

Seven months ago, after graduating with a hospitality degree, city girl Lauren Wentworth travelled to rural New Hampshire to become temporary manager of Pinehaven Lodges, a rustic family-owned resort. What started as just a springboard to her dream job became so much more when she fell in love with the owner's son Jonah, the Landry family, and her simple but rewarding position at the resort. Now she's reaching toward a different kind of future than she'd imagined for herself--and happier than she's ever been. But then she falls from a ladder.

When Lauren wakes up in the hospital, she only recalls her first couple months at the resort. She remembers her adversarial relationship with Jonah and her major crush on small-town doctor, Carson, who also has big-city ambitions--but is, unfortunately, taken. However, according to everyone around her, she's now madly love with Jonah and has forfeited the dream job awaiting her in Boston. It seems impossible to believe she could've made such drastic changes in a matter of months!

Jonah is heartbroken at her memory loss and determined to help Lauren remember the deep feelings they've developed for one another. But Lauren isn't sure she wants to remember falling in love with someone she doesn't even like or giving up her dream career for a rustic resort in Podunk, New Hampshire.

Especially when Dr. Carson is now available. . .]]> 290 Denise Hunter 0840716680 Rhea 2 3.90 2024 Before We Were Us
author: Denise Hunter
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)]]> 861326 1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.
And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
—Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time, the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry—he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands—and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister—but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...]]> 480 Julia Quinn Rhea 2 3.97 2000 The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)
author: Julia Quinn
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at: 2024/06/01
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: rom-com-romance, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Not in Love (Not in Love, #1) 198716261 A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through - and he's a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can't stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business - one that plays for keeps.]]> 394 Ali Hazelwood 1408728915 Rhea 1 3.60 2024 Not in Love (Not in Love, #1)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Rhea
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: rom-com-romance, did-not-finish
review:

]]> 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 Rhea 1 4.32 2023 Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, did-not-finish
review:

]]> Warcross (Warcross, #1) 41014903
Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.]]> 368 Marie Lu 0399547983 Rhea 2 4.10 2017 Warcross (Warcross, #1)
author: Marie Lu
name: Rhea
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: yung-adult-middle-grade, skimmed-to-end-technically-dnf, did-not-finish
review:

]]>