Aurora's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 03 Jul 2025 07:18:59 -0700 60 Aurora's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg We Fell Apart 226747071 This gorgeous edition of We Fell Apart will feature stunning sprayed edges, unique printed endpapers, and an exclusive foil-stamped case!

#1 New York Times bestselling author E. Lockhart returns to the world of her TikTok sensation We Were Liars with all her signature beachy gothic atmosphere, family intrigue, and high-stakes romance.

The invitation arrives out of the blue.

In it, Matilda discovers a father she’s never met. Kingsley Cello is a visionary, a reclusive artist. And when he asks her to spend the summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach, Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood.

Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and brooding, wild Tatum, who just wants her to leave their crumbling sanctuary.

With Kingsley nowhere to be seen, Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she’s desperately craving. But secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater.

And everyone here is lying.]]> 320 E. Lockhart 0593899164 Aurora 5 own
Matilda is living with her mother's ex-boyfriend after recently being dumped by her boyfriend and all his friends when an invitation comes out of the blue to visit the father she's never known. Kingsley invites her to his castle on Martha's Vineyard, but when she arrives he's not there and only her half-brother was expecting her. Something's wrong with the castle, too — nobody is keeping it up, and the few people still living there seem like they could be the last lingering members of a cult. Desperate to learn more about her family, Matilda must uncover the truth about the castle before it's too late.

I felt truly transported to the setting in this novel, which felt alive in a way that many settings do not. It did a great job of adding to the mystery and somewhat horrific elements of the book. I think Lockhart did a better job with the setting in this book than she did with either of the previously published Liars books.

I didn't really like the love interest, Tatum, but he was still an interesting character. I understand why he made the choices he made, but a lot of them were deeply questionable. That goes for all of the characters in this book, pretty much, but I found Meer, Matilda's brother, to be significantly more sympathetic than Tatum was. June, Matilda's stepmother, is also a complex character — sort of hate-able, but you can't exactly hate her for what she did because she was trapped too.

I appreciated the Jewish representation in this book as well, and the representation overall. Matilda's mother and her ex-boyfriend are also Jewish, and June and Meer are part Japanese. Meer is gay, and I think Holland, a side character, is a nonbinary lesbian. The way Holland was written as a nonbinary character is a little confusing — there's one line about it, and then she/her pronouns are used for her. Lockhart's author's note says that they/them pronouns weren't being used much yet in 2012 and Holland comes from an establishment family, which is why she uses she/her pronouns. I suppose that makes some sense, but I don't think it would have exactly been unrealistic for her to use they/them pronouns since she was just hanging out on the island with her best friends, not with her parents. People did definitely use they/them in 2012. It's not that big of a deal, but it is a little odd.

The plot twist in this book was a little more predictable than the ones in We Were Liars or Family of Liars, but I didn't entirely predict it. I thought I knew what was going on, and I had a partial idea of what was going on, but not the complete idea. It was still a very enjoyable read.

We Fell Apart releases Nov 4 2025 from Delacorte Press. Thank you to Netgalley, E. Lockhart and Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. ]]> 3.87 2025 We Fell Apart
author: E. Lockhart
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/07/02
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: own
review:
4.5 stars rounded up

Matilda is living with her mother's ex-boyfriend after recently being dumped by her boyfriend and all his friends when an invitation comes out of the blue to visit the father she's never known. Kingsley invites her to his castle on Martha's Vineyard, but when she arrives he's not there and only her half-brother was expecting her. Something's wrong with the castle, too — nobody is keeping it up, and the few people still living there seem like they could be the last lingering members of a cult. Desperate to learn more about her family, Matilda must uncover the truth about the castle before it's too late.

I felt truly transported to the setting in this novel, which felt alive in a way that many settings do not. It did a great job of adding to the mystery and somewhat horrific elements of the book. I think Lockhart did a better job with the setting in this book than she did with either of the previously published Liars books.

I didn't really like the love interest, Tatum, but he was still an interesting character. I understand why he made the choices he made, but a lot of them were deeply questionable. That goes for all of the characters in this book, pretty much, but I found Meer, Matilda's brother, to be significantly more sympathetic than Tatum was. June, Matilda's stepmother, is also a complex character — sort of hate-able, but you can't exactly hate her for what she did because she was trapped too.

I appreciated the Jewish representation in this book as well, and the representation overall. Matilda's mother and her ex-boyfriend are also Jewish, and June and Meer are part Japanese. Meer is gay, and I think Holland, a side character, is a nonbinary lesbian. The way Holland was written as a nonbinary character is a little confusing — there's one line about it, and then she/her pronouns are used for her. Lockhart's author's note says that they/them pronouns weren't being used much yet in 2012 and Holland comes from an establishment family, which is why she uses she/her pronouns. I suppose that makes some sense, but I don't think it would have exactly been unrealistic for her to use they/them pronouns since she was just hanging out on the island with her best friends, not with her parents. People did definitely use they/them in 2012. It's not that big of a deal, but it is a little odd.

The plot twist in this book was a little more predictable than the ones in We Were Liars or Family of Liars, but I didn't entirely predict it. I thought I knew what was going on, and I had a partial idea of what was going on, but not the complete idea. It was still a very enjoyable read.

We Fell Apart releases Nov 4 2025 from Delacorte Press. Thank you to Netgalley, E. Lockhart and Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
]]> Forgive-Me-Not 228665714
Aisling is many things to many people: princess, heir to the throne, teenage daughter of two loving parents… She’s also about to learn a lot more about herself: changeling. Fey creature. Hunted. Feared. Loved?

Forgive-Me-Not is the name given to the true princess — the lost teenage biological daughter to the king and queen, who’s grown up in the chaotic and untrustworthy realm of Faerie. When Forgive-Me-Not breaks into Aisling’s room the night before their 18 th birthday looking for revenge, the two embark on a long and arduous journey. And what starts as a confrontational and adversarial pairing grows into a bond of mutual understanding, friendship, and maybe something more…]]> 320 Mari Costa 1250784174 Aurora 5 own
Aisling is a princess who doesn't know she's a fae changeling under a glamour until she's captured by the human whose place she took. Forget-Me-Not, the true princess, wants to break free of the faerie schemes she's been forced to operate under and sees stealing Aisling as the answer, but she doesn't expect to fall in love with the pretty hobgoblin.

I love books about faeries and sapphic romance, and this book was wonderful! I didn't expect it to be a graphic novel (I haven't read a lot of those), but I'm happy with it nonetheless. The art is beautiful and a little reminiscent of the descriptions of faeries in both older lore and Holly Black's modern books. The villain is appropriately spooky, and the art of the side characters is beautifully detailed. I wish it could have been longer, but I understand that a lot of work goes into making a graphic novel of this length at its current length.

Thank you to Netgalley and First Second Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. ]]> 4.75 Forgive-Me-Not
author: Mari Costa
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/07/01
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: own
review:
4.75 stars rounded up

Aisling is a princess who doesn't know she's a fae changeling under a glamour until she's captured by the human whose place she took. Forget-Me-Not, the true princess, wants to break free of the faerie schemes she's been forced to operate under and sees stealing Aisling as the answer, but she doesn't expect to fall in love with the pretty hobgoblin.

I love books about faeries and sapphic romance, and this book was wonderful! I didn't expect it to be a graphic novel (I haven't read a lot of those), but I'm happy with it nonetheless. The art is beautiful and a little reminiscent of the descriptions of faeries in both older lore and Holly Black's modern books. The villain is appropriately spooky, and the art of the side characters is beautifully detailed. I wish it could have been longer, but I understand that a lot of work goes into making a graphic novel of this length at its current length.

Thank you to Netgalley and First Second Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
]]> <![CDATA[Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1)]]> 221770379 Four girls, all named Taylor, make for one unforgettable friendship! New York Times bestseller Elizabeth Eulberg follows four stories of first love, friendship, and heartbreak. Don't miss the sister novel, Jen Calonita's The Taylors!



Not all friendships are forever and always . . .



Teffy, Tay, Taylor, and TS have been best friends since middle school. As they enter their high school freshmen era, relationships bring on the drama.



Teffy is crushing on the boy next door who belongs to someone else. Tay finds herself down bad for a tortured poet. Things get treacherous as an older boy starts flirting with Taylor. And TS is definitely focused only on soccer and doesn't fancy her new teammate, a cute London girl . . . right?



Suddenly, it feels like everything has changed. Pulled in different directions between navigating high school and new relationships, will their friendship be long lived or is it so long, Taylors?]]> 272 Elizabeth Eulberg 154617673X Aurora 4 own
I enjoyed this book as a lighter read than I typically read. Elizabeth Eulberg once again succeeds at capturing the drama of high school and first love, and all four girls are relatable, even if you don't like boys or don't like girls. Taylor irritated me more than once with her behavior towards her other friends, but she does have character development by the end of the book. The four girls were all sweet girls who you wanted to root for and didn't want to see hurt.

I agree with other reviewers that the girls seemed on the younger side in this book and that it would suit for younger readers, which does make sense since the girls are freshmen in high school. They're young, but they are supposed to be. It's definitely a book by Taylor Swift fans, for Taylor Swift fans, and if you aren't a Taylor Swift fan you might not like the book very much. If, on the other hand, you really wished that Fifteen, You Belong with Me, The Tortured Poets Department or The Very First Night were books, you will probably enjoy this book quite a lot. The characters used some language that I wasn't very familiar with as a Tumblr Taylor Swift fan (I think it's Tiktok language), but they were still relatable.

Love Stories releases October 7 2025 from Scholastic. Thank you to Netgalley, Elizabeth Eulberg and Scholastic for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. ]]> 4.14 Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1)
author: Elizabeth Eulberg
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/07/01
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: own
review:
Taylor, Tay, Teffy and TS are four girls all named Taylor by parents who were huge Swifties, and they're Swifties themselves as well. They've been best friends for four years, but they're now starting high school and their relationships and passions are threatening to damage their friendship. Taylor is campaigning for student body president and dating an older boy, Tay is falling for the rich boy in a band who's her biology partner, Teffy is crushing on her next-door neighbor in a Romeo-and-Juliet type situation, and TS has a crush on the girl on her soccer team.

I enjoyed this book as a lighter read than I typically read. Elizabeth Eulberg once again succeeds at capturing the drama of high school and first love, and all four girls are relatable, even if you don't like boys or don't like girls. Taylor irritated me more than once with her behavior towards her other friends, but she does have character development by the end of the book. The four girls were all sweet girls who you wanted to root for and didn't want to see hurt.

I agree with other reviewers that the girls seemed on the younger side in this book and that it would suit for younger readers, which does make sense since the girls are freshmen in high school. They're young, but they are supposed to be. It's definitely a book by Taylor Swift fans, for Taylor Swift fans, and if you aren't a Taylor Swift fan you might not like the book very much. If, on the other hand, you really wished that Fifteen, You Belong with Me, The Tortured Poets Department or The Very First Night were books, you will probably enjoy this book quite a lot. The characters used some language that I wasn't very familiar with as a Tumblr Taylor Swift fan (I think it's Tiktok language), but they were still relatable.

Love Stories releases October 7 2025 from Scholastic. Thank you to Netgalley, Elizabeth Eulberg and Scholastic for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
]]> Valley of the Vikings 221965102 Skandar

A rip-roaring adventure story of magic, myth and mermaids, featuring Liz Kessler's popular character Emily Windsnap.

Neptune and Thor battle for power and their fight upsets the balance of the world. Lightning strikes, curses fly and towering waves swallow a Viking longship and its crew into a watery valley, taking with it the secret of the magical blue crystals.

A thousand years later, Emily, a girl who is half human, half mermaid, discovers a bangle with a mysterious and beautiful blue crystal. With the help of her human and mer friends, she discovers the truth about the jewel – and the danger the world faces. The team must race against time to persuade the powerful but notoriously selfish gods of sea and sky to make peace with each other, before disaster strikes.]]> 221 Liz Kessler 1035916975 Aurora 0 to-read 3.78 Valley of the Vikings
author: Liz Kessler
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.78
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Just One Summer (Just One, #1)]]> 39398410
Carly Reynolds does not want to work at her father’s Branson theater over the summer, but she has no choice. After wrecking his prized Mercedes on Prom night, she’s got to pay him back somehow before she leaves for college. Now she’s stuck working as the personal assistant to twenty-year-old Gracin Ford, former member of one-hit-wonder boy band Accentuate.

Gracin is demanding, condescending, and an all-around jerk. Carly would rather eat glass than deal with a male diva who’s more famous for his stint in rehab than his music. Until she realizes that Gracin’s lonely. Once she welcomes him into her life, she starts to let him into her heart. Even though she knows it will end when she leaves for school, Carly doesn’t want to look back on her life and wonder what if. Even if it means a broken heart.


2019 Winner Imadjinn Award for Best Young Adult Novel

2019 Official Selection New Apple Summer Ebook Awards

2018 Finalist OKRWA International Digital Awards]]> 312 Lynn Stevens 1732153809 Aurora 2 own, abandoned, bad-boy 3.56 Just One Summer (Just One, #1)
author: Lynn Stevens
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.56
book published:
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2025/06/29
shelves: own, abandoned, bad-boy
review:
DNF @15%. physically abusive male LI.
]]> Witch of the Wolves 222284050 When a powerful witch discovers she's the daughter of an Alpha werewolf and is taken by his Pack, she's determined to break free all the while denying her attraction to her abductor. Witch of the Wolves is perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Blood and Ash.

Cordelia Levine comes from a long line of powerful witches. She's been flying under the radar in the human world, focused on strengthening her magic. She loves working at her aunt's apothecary in London, secretly serving supernaturals.

Until the truth about her family is revealed.

She always assumed her enhanced sense of smell came from her French perfumer father. But when Bishop Daniels abducts Cordelia at the request of her father, the Alpha, Cordelia learns she's a lycan--sharing both witch and werewolf traits. She's brought to Trevelyan, the pack estate, under the guise of protection from foreign threats who want to use her to continue their bloodline.

She quickly learns that to keep her from being sold off to another pack, her father intends to give Cordelia as a mate to Bishop. His second in command and the future Alpha.

Cordelia refuses to accept this as her fate. She can't rely on her magic alone to escape and when she learns Bishop plans to challenge her father's power, she reluctantly begins to trust him. The cracks within the Pack become evident and something is bound to break. And Cordelia and her growing desire for the man who shouldn't set her on fire are right at the center of it all.

Witch of the Wolves is the first book in this Victorian romantasy series, featuring an intense and sexy romance and a world on the brink of change.]]> 352 Kaylee Archer 1250393078 Aurora 3 own
So, I did enjoy a lot about this book. It's well-paced, and the worldbuilding is interesting. I kept on thinking that the plot twist would be that female werewolves actually do exist and Cordelia is one, and that didn't happen, so kudos for that. She's genuinely "just" a lycan witch, but she's not actually "just" anything — she's a kickass FMC. Bishop is also a great love interest and a really interesting character. I didn't buy their romance, since the thing that caused their first kiss seemed kind of random, and suddenly they're in love and jumping into bed together, but I guess that is fairly common for the genre.

I unfortunately have major issues with the way the greater-scope villains were presented. I am aware that if you are reading fantasy as a Jewish reader, due to the roots of the genre, you need to be prepared for at least a chance of antisemitism — but wow, there was way more than just a little bit in this book. The villains have a Jewish last name, are literally called a cabal (a word derived from Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism), steal/buy children and entice women to have sex with demons. I appreciate a little more creativity in my villains, honestly, not just copy/paste of blood libel. Did they really have to use such a stereotypically Ashkenazi Jewish last name? Not to mention, it also has aspects of people from the cabal running away and changing their names to assimilate into British society, and taking British lovers. I'm not advocating for censorship here, just sensitivity in a world where Jewish people are expected to assimilate. It's especially problematic since one of the witches from the cabal is forced into a marriage with a gentile. Archer clearly has a creative flair for worldbuilding, and I am hoping that the second book in this duology shows it better.

Witch of the Wolves releases September 30, 2025 from St. Martin’s Griffin. I received an advance reader copy (thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Kaylee Archer), but my review is unbiased. ]]> 3.74 2025 Witch of the Wolves
author: Kaylee Archer
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/28
date added: 2025/06/28
shelves: own
review:
Cordelia is used to strange supernatural men following her, but when she loses one and informs her aunt, who she lives with, of the details, her aunt tells her they need to flee. It turns out that the man, Bishop, works for her father, the alpha of a werewolf pack. They attempt to flee, but despite their best efforts Cordelia is captured and engaged to Bishop because her father wants a strong male heir. Cracks begin to show in the leadership of the pack, and Cordelia must decide who to trust and put her loyalty in.

So, I did enjoy a lot about this book. It's well-paced, and the worldbuilding is interesting. I kept on thinking that the plot twist would be that female werewolves actually do exist and Cordelia is one, and that didn't happen, so kudos for that. She's genuinely "just" a lycan witch, but she's not actually "just" anything — she's a kickass FMC. Bishop is also a great love interest and a really interesting character. I didn't buy their romance, since the thing that caused their first kiss seemed kind of random, and suddenly they're in love and jumping into bed together, but I guess that is fairly common for the genre.

I unfortunately have major issues with the way the greater-scope villains were presented. I am aware that if you are reading fantasy as a Jewish reader, due to the roots of the genre, you need to be prepared for at least a chance of antisemitism — but wow, there was way more than just a little bit in this book. The villains have a Jewish last name, are literally called a cabal (a word derived from Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism), steal/buy children and entice women to have sex with demons. I appreciate a little more creativity in my villains, honestly, not just copy/paste of blood libel. Did they really have to use such a stereotypically Ashkenazi Jewish last name? Not to mention, it also has aspects of people from the cabal running away and changing their names to assimilate into British society, and taking British lovers. I'm not advocating for censorship here, just sensitivity in a world where Jewish people are expected to assimilate. It's especially problematic since one of the witches from the cabal is forced into a marriage with a gentile. Archer clearly has a creative flair for worldbuilding, and I am hoping that the second book in this duology shows it better.

Witch of the Wolves releases September 30, 2025 from St. Martin’s Griffin. I received an advance reader copy (thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Kaylee Archer), but my review is unbiased.
]]> Everything She Does Is Magic 200839666 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 . . .]]> Bridget Morrissey Aurora 4 own
This was a quick, fun read, but things got a little darker than I expected for cozy fantasy. It feels as if a lot of the dynamics that frankly constitute child abuse (emotional abuse) were glossed over as not that big a deal in the ending. That seems insensitive to me given the number of LGBTQ teenagers who either are kicked out of their family for being LGBTQ or fear that happening if they come out. I still enjoyed the book quite a bit, I just feel that some of the topics could have been handled more sensitively. Even though it wasn't directly based on the girls' sexuality, it's still not okay parenting, and it still comes off as bigotry-flavored even though the parents claim it wasn't based on the girls' sexuality. That's a thing a lot of bigots claim. I also wasn't necessarily expecting a medical emergency as the climax in a cozy fantasy. I was honestly expecting the climax to be Anya's initiation, but that isn't even shown on the page! It was just a little weird to me.

The good aspects of the book (cute town, vivid characters, sweet relationships between the girls and their friends) did outweigh the negative aspects, though. I would recommend this novel to people who like cozy-ish sapphic fantasy, with just a warning that it may contain a bit more trauma than a cozy fantasy reader might expect.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House and Bridget Morrissey for the advance reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review.]]> 4.38 2025 Everything She Does Is Magic
author: Bridget Morrissey
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/26
date added: 2025/06/26
shelves: own
review:
Darcy is the daughter of parents who own a paint shop and run the Halloween festivities in their small town, but she feels trapped by their plans for her life not consulting her. Anya is a friendless witch who needs to find a mortal to become her protector in order to be initiated into her coven. She's lied to her parents that Darcy will do it — the only problem is that Darcy doesn't believe magic is real and doesn't know her. She ends up joining the fall planning committee to get to know Darcy, only to find herself falling deeper for the other girl in the process.

This was a quick, fun read, but things got a little darker than I expected for cozy fantasy. It feels as if a lot of the dynamics that frankly constitute child abuse (emotional abuse) were glossed over as not that big a deal in the ending. That seems insensitive to me given the number of LGBTQ teenagers who either are kicked out of their family for being LGBTQ or fear that happening if they come out. I still enjoyed the book quite a bit, I just feel that some of the topics could have been handled more sensitively. Even though it wasn't directly based on the girls' sexuality, it's still not okay parenting, and it still comes off as bigotry-flavored even though the parents claim it wasn't based on the girls' sexuality. That's a thing a lot of bigots claim. I also wasn't necessarily expecting a medical emergency as the climax in a cozy fantasy. I was honestly expecting the climax to be Anya's initiation, but that isn't even shown on the page! It was just a little weird to me.

The good aspects of the book (cute town, vivid characters, sweet relationships between the girls and their friends) did outweigh the negative aspects, though. I would recommend this novel to people who like cozy-ish sapphic fantasy, with just a warning that it may contain a bit more trauma than a cozy fantasy reader might expect.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House and Bridget Morrissey for the advance reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
]]> Witchlore 222376752 Holly Black meets Lex Croucher in this contemporary fantasy about a love story to raise the dead.

At Demdike College of Witchcraft, Orlando is an outcast. Not just for being the only shapeshifter in a college of witches. Not just for being a really bad shapeshifter, with no control over their magic or when their body switches between male and female forms. But because their girlfriend Elizabeth died - and it was Lando's fault.

Then charming new boy Bastian arrives with a proposition: he knows a spell that can raise Elizabeth from the dead. It's dangerous but Lando will try anything. But as Lando's attraction to Bastian grows, questions start to arise. Who is Bastian? What does he really want? And who will survive the resurrection spell?

For fans of V.E. Schwab and Rainbow Rowell, Emma Hinds' Witchlore is a spellbinding contemporary fantasy where the passion is as real as the magic.]]> 352 Emma Hinds 1250369495 Aurora 3 own, did-not-finish
I found the concept of this book and the worldbuilding really intriguing, it is a well-built urban fantasy world. Unfortunately, I found myself unable to finish the novel due to how unsympathetic the protagonist, Lando, was. They even effectively threatened suicide when a character called them by their full name instead of by their nickname! I understand that they are traumatized, are grieving and have been through a lot of things in their life, but they were rude to absolutely everyone — even people who were trying to help them. They felt like the kind of teenager who grew up on Tumblr, has a constant victim complex and thinks everyone is persecuting them. It really bothered me how much negativity they had about feminism — seeming to assume that all feminism is out to get them because they are nonbinary and currently in a male body. That's not what feminism is about, and it's not a good message to send in a world where women's rights are under attack. There was also a lot of negativity about queer men. Hopefully Lando has some character development by the end of the book. I usually am fine reading books with unsympathetic protagonists, but I just found them so antagonistic and difficult to read about. ]]> 4.05 2025 Witchlore
author: Emma Hinds
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/06/26
shelves: own, did-not-finish
review:
DNF @ 34%

I found the concept of this book and the worldbuilding really intriguing, it is a well-built urban fantasy world. Unfortunately, I found myself unable to finish the novel due to how unsympathetic the protagonist, Lando, was. They even effectively threatened suicide when a character called them by their full name instead of by their nickname! I understand that they are traumatized, are grieving and have been through a lot of things in their life, but they were rude to absolutely everyone — even people who were trying to help them. They felt like the kind of teenager who grew up on Tumblr, has a constant victim complex and thinks everyone is persecuting them. It really bothered me how much negativity they had about feminism — seeming to assume that all feminism is out to get them because they are nonbinary and currently in a male body. That's not what feminism is about, and it's not a good message to send in a world where women's rights are under attack. There was also a lot of negativity about queer men. Hopefully Lando has some character development by the end of the book. I usually am fine reading books with unsympathetic protagonists, but I just found them so antagonistic and difficult to read about.
]]> Fated (Slated, #0) 40126081
Sam's cosy life as daughter of the Deputy Prime Minister is about to end. These are turbulent times. Borders have closed and protests are turning violent. The government blames the country's youth, and is cracking down hard. Mobile phones are blocked, gatherings are banned and dissent is brutally crushed.

Sam is torn between family loyalty and doing what is right. when she meets Ava and Lucas her mind is made up.

One girl, one choice. She can make a difference: she must. Even if her life - and her heart - are on the line ...]]> 458 Teri Terry 1408350661 Aurora 0 currently-reading 4.14 2019 Fated (Slated, #0)
author: Teri Terry
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Witches of Honeysuckle House 223856287 Haunted by a curse that kills someone close to their family every 13 years, two sisters must come together to break the spell and save that which they hold most dear.

This enchanting novel explores the fraught lines between family and the secrets they keep, perfect for fans of Ava Morgyn and Heather Webber.

Florence and Evie Caldwell have long disagreed on how to break their family’s curse, and tension has been high since their mother’s death thirteen years ago. Honeysuckle House, the family estate where every Caldwell has lived, now only houses one of the sisters. Evie has crafted it into an enchanted bed and breakfast, while Florence runs a magical bookstore in town, refusing to even set foot inside Honeysuckle House. 

But when the house starts behaving dangerously and catches fire, Florence and Evie must set aside their differences and dig into past generations of their family and the town’s history before the curse claims someone they love. 

Honeysuckle House is an exploration of sisterhood, family, and the places we call home perfect for readers who love the darker aspects of Weyward and the sister dynamics of The Crescent Moon Tearoom.]]> 320 Liz Parker Aurora 5 own
I usually don't read books with this many different character POVs, but Witches of Honeysuckle House did the multiple POVs very well. It was so interesting to read from the POV of the house as well as the characters, since there aren't a lot of books with sentient houses as POV characters. The novel is a surprising mix of soft and vaguely horrific themes, which I enjoyed quite a bit as someone who still enjoys Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest books. The character of the summoned cat, Ink, added some coziness to the story, although if you are sensitive to pets being placed in danger I would advise against reading this novel due to the nature of the plot.

This novel did a really good job of tackling intergenerational trauma as well, as the two sisters who were the first Caldwell sisters inherited trauma from their parents dying when they were young and passed it down due to their inability to properly cope with the situation. Florence was a thoughtful portrayal of complex PTSD, and it was cool that we got representation of a bisexual male character in the form of Owen, her love interest. The book isn't majorly a romance, although it does have several romantic arcs (one of them tragic).

I agree with some other readers that Clara seemed on the younger side, but honestly if we're presuming that she spent several of her formative years isolated due to the COVID pandemic (since she was born in 2018), that makes sense. She would unfortunately resemble a lot of seven-year-olds these days in terms of her reading ability and emotional maturity. She might even be more mature than some of them.

Overall, a wonderful novel and I look forward to reading more from Liz Parker.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press and Liz Parker for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. ]]> 4.05 Witches of Honeysuckle House
author: Liz Parker
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/24
date added: 2025/06/24
shelves: own
review:
Due to a curse that kills someone in or close to her family every 13 years, Florence has moved out of her childhood home and is no longer using her inherited magic. She's closed her heart off to everyone, even though she is finding herself falling for a new man in town, Owen. Evie, her younger sister, has taken a different attitude towards breaking the curse, believing that if she and her daughter Clara use their magic to help the town she can break the curse. Told in alternating points of view throughout the years of the curse and between Florence, Evie, Clara, the house and the two original Caldwell sisters, Regina and Violet, Witches of Honeysuckle House gently guides the readers through a story of discovering harsh family truths and healing from them.

I usually don't read books with this many different character POVs, but Witches of Honeysuckle House did the multiple POVs very well. It was so interesting to read from the POV of the house as well as the characters, since there aren't a lot of books with sentient houses as POV characters. The novel is a surprising mix of soft and vaguely horrific themes, which I enjoyed quite a bit as someone who still enjoys Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest books. The character of the summoned cat, Ink, added some coziness to the story, although if you are sensitive to pets being placed in danger I would advise against reading this novel due to the nature of the plot.

This novel did a really good job of tackling intergenerational trauma as well, as the two sisters who were the first Caldwell sisters inherited trauma from their parents dying when they were young and passed it down due to their inability to properly cope with the situation. Florence was a thoughtful portrayal of complex PTSD, and it was cool that we got representation of a bisexual male character in the form of Owen, her love interest. The book isn't majorly a romance, although it does have several romantic arcs (one of them tragic).

I agree with some other readers that Clara seemed on the younger side, but honestly if we're presuming that she spent several of her formative years isolated due to the COVID pandemic (since she was born in 2018), that makes sense. She would unfortunately resemble a lot of seven-year-olds these days in terms of her reading ability and emotional maturity. She might even be more mature than some of them.

Overall, a wonderful novel and I look forward to reading more from Liz Parker.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press and Liz Parker for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
]]> The Summer War 222683998 In this poignant, heartfelt novella from the New York Times bestselling author of Spinning Silver and the Scholomance Trilogy, a young witch who has inadvertently cursed her brother to live a life without love must find a way to undo her spell.

Celia discovered her talent for magic on the day her beloved oldest brother Argent left home. Furious at him for abandoning her in a war-torn land, she lashed out, not realizing her childish, angry words would suddenly become imbued with the power of prophecy, dooming him to a life without love.

While Argent wanders the world, forced to seek only fame and glory instead of the love and belonging he truly desires, Celia attempts to undo the curse she placed on him. Yet even as she grows from a girl to a woman, she cannot find the solution—until she learns the truth about the centuries-old war between her own people and the summerlings, the immortal beings who hold a relentless grudge against their mortal neighbors.

Now, with the aid of her unwanted middle brother, Celia may be able to both undo her eldest brother's curse and heal the lands so long torn apart by the Summer War.]]> 144 Naomi Novik 0593984706 Aurora 0 to-read 4.27 2025 The Summer War
author: Naomi Novik
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rite of Radnick (The Rite of Radnick Duology, #1)]]> 216780042
CHOSEN TO KEEP THE DARKNESS AT BAY

In the theocratic state of Argacia, where ears listen behind closed doors and the watchful eye of the Sect sees all, Braya Farroe has two options: sacrifice herself for the betterment of her people or face banishment. Not much of a choice, she knows. And despite the Sect Elders’ wishes, Braya wants more than a life of service and sacrifice. She wants to be free.

But when two members of the dreaded Mollakai arrive early to perform the sacrificial ceremony, she finds herself inextricably drawn to them — the deadly and enigmatic Mollakai she should fear and revile. But fate is a twisted mistress and the men who should be her damnation may instead offer her salvation.

NO ONE CAN OUTRUN THEIR DESTINY

They’ll help Braya escape if she pretends to be an Apexer — the ruthless governing class who value strength above all else. But of course, there’s a catch. As part of the ruse, she needs to enter the Rite of Radnick, a once-in-a-generation rite of passage to choose the future ruler of Argacia. Even if it means competing against the man who rescued her from the Sect.

And when she finds herself thrust into a sacred land surrounded by competitors more vicious than the mythical creatures trying to kill her, Braya must discover who is worthy of her trust and her heart. Because once you enter the Rite of Radnick, there are only two choices:

RISE OR DIE


A Fantasy for readers who love:

- Dystopian Vibes
- Battle Royale Style Quests
- Strong Heroines
- Fantasy > Romance
- Forbidden Romance (Open Door)]]> 384 Tara O’Toole 1068733713 Aurora 2
Braya is one of Gaia's Chosen, a woman born with the unique ability to power crystals with flame magic. She has been raised her whole life to eventually sacrifice herself to an endless sleep in order to keep the city heated. The religious Sect elders have done their best to brainwash her and the other girls to believe it is their duty and they have no choice, but Braya rebels by running away. She then encounters a secret resistance, and hope for a future outside of the Sect — at a deep cost.

The concept of this book and the worldbuilding was promising, but the writing style of the book really did not work for me. It was of poor quality, and I struggled to continue. It was also paced in a confusing way — I don't think it needed to be as long as it was. I also discovered that the author wrote this book on an AI-powered writing platform, which explains some of the writing quality issues and the grammatical errors. If you enjoy dystopian fantasy romance and don't mind use of generative AI in writing, you may enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it and couldn't bring myself to finish it. ]]> 4.05 The Rite of Radnick (The Rite of Radnick Duology, #1)
author: Tara O’Toole
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/06/23
shelves: did-not-finish, own, abandoned
review:
DNF @ 34%

Braya is one of Gaia's Chosen, a woman born with the unique ability to power crystals with flame magic. She has been raised her whole life to eventually sacrifice herself to an endless sleep in order to keep the city heated. The religious Sect elders have done their best to brainwash her and the other girls to believe it is their duty and they have no choice, but Braya rebels by running away. She then encounters a secret resistance, and hope for a future outside of the Sect — at a deep cost.

The concept of this book and the worldbuilding was promising, but the writing style of the book really did not work for me. It was of poor quality, and I struggled to continue. It was also paced in a confusing way — I don't think it needed to be as long as it was. I also discovered that the author wrote this book on an AI-powered writing platform, which explains some of the writing quality issues and the grammatical errors. If you enjoy dystopian fantasy romance and don't mind use of generative AI in writing, you may enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it and couldn't bring myself to finish it.
]]> Ladies in Hating 222376849 A pair of Gothic novelists trade rivalry for love in this swoony, steamy, sapphic Regency by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course.

But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan—because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.

Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be distracted by the stunning(ly pretentious) Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her infuriatingly beautiful rival—including at the eerie manor where they both plan to set their next books. The plot unexpectedly thickens, however, when the novelists find themselves trapped in the manor together. In between ghostly moans and spectral staff, Cat and Georgiana come face-to-face with real the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along.]]> 352 Alexandra Vasti 1250910986 Aurora 4 own
Georgiana and Cat are rival Gothic novelists, both writing to support their families in a culture that frequently derides women authors. They also used to have feelings for each other, when Cat's father was the butler in Georgiana's household, before Georgiana's father threw them out. They keep on seemingly coincidentally having similarities between their novels, and Georgiana believes Cat is stealing her plots. Their rivalry comes to a head when they both take up temporary residence at Redwick Manor to work on their writing, which might also have ghosts in residence.

I loved the characters of Georgiana and Cat in this book, as well as the other characters. They all felt so vivid, and I felt deeply for Georgiana's complex that she hurts everyone she loves and Cat's fear of being shut out by those she loves. Some of the plot elements were very cliché, such as having to share a bed in an inn, but it was written well.

I found the conclusion to the mystery of the house and the death there to be a little overly convoluted and confusing, and wondered why the supernatural element wasn't incorporated more. The light supernatural elements feel like they didn't come to a satisfying conclusion, and the epilogue had so many time skips within the same chapter, which was also confusing. Overall, though, I very much enjoyed this novel. I got emotional and cried a little a few times at the emotional statements the characters made. I did not expect to cry from a rivals-to-lovers comedy mystery, but it was surprisingly emotionally poignant. ]]> 4.18 2025 Ladies in Hating
author: Alexandra Vasti
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/23
date added: 2025/06/23
shelves: own
review:
4.5 stars, rounded down

Georgiana and Cat are rival Gothic novelists, both writing to support their families in a culture that frequently derides women authors. They also used to have feelings for each other, when Cat's father was the butler in Georgiana's household, before Georgiana's father threw them out. They keep on seemingly coincidentally having similarities between their novels, and Georgiana believes Cat is stealing her plots. Their rivalry comes to a head when they both take up temporary residence at Redwick Manor to work on their writing, which might also have ghosts in residence.

I loved the characters of Georgiana and Cat in this book, as well as the other characters. They all felt so vivid, and I felt deeply for Georgiana's complex that she hurts everyone she loves and Cat's fear of being shut out by those she loves. Some of the plot elements were very cliché, such as having to share a bed in an inn, but it was written well.

I found the conclusion to the mystery of the house and the death there to be a little overly convoluted and confusing, and wondered why the supernatural element wasn't incorporated more. The light supernatural elements feel like they didn't come to a satisfying conclusion, and the epilogue had so many time skips within the same chapter, which was also confusing. Overall, though, I very much enjoyed this novel. I got emotional and cried a little a few times at the emotional statements the characters made. I did not expect to cry from a rivals-to-lovers comedy mystery, but it was surprisingly emotionally poignant.
]]> Rules for Fake Girlfriends 222376765
As their quest takes them all over Brighton, Avery finally starts to connect with the mother she always loved but never really understood. Before long, pretending to be Charlie’s girlfriend starts to feel like more than just an illusion. But when long-hidden secrets come to light, Avery grapples with an uncertain future and whether or not love is worth the risk.]]> 304 Raegan Revord 1250356342 Aurora 3 own, did-not-finish
Avery's mom died a few months ago, and she was originally planning on going to Columbia, but she decides instead to go to her mother's university in England for a year before transferring. She hopes that it will help her be able to feel closer with her mother, and understand a last message she left. On the train ride to her university, she meets a girl named Charlie who needs her to pretend to be her girlfriend to keep her from having to sit with her actual ex-girlfriend. Fate keeps throwing Avery and Charlie together, and they eventually decide to team up, with Charlie helping Avery with her mom's scavenger hunt in exchange for Avery continuing to pretend to be her girlfriend.

This book had a really strong start and likeable characters, but I had difficulty continuing the book around the middle. The pacing was confusing, with the plot sort of jumping around. Additionally, the author seemed to forget what had already happened in the book, with the side plot about the relationship with Avery's best friend being inconsistent about what had already happened. The reveal of the fake relationship to Maddi also happened twice, which didn't make much sense. Maddi also had inconsistent pronouns used for them, both they and she, with no explanation that they used both pronouns. There was an additional issue where a boy talks about how he uses both a cane and a wheelchair because of having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, but he doesn't explain why. It could have been as simple as "my mobility issues are worse on some days", or something like that. I myself have Ehlers Danlos syndrome and have used both a cane and a wheelchair over the course of my life, so I was excited that there was a character with the disease, but it wasn't written well.

Overall, the book was just too confusing and inconsistent for me to continue. I'm hoping these issues are resolved in the final version of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Raegan Revord for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. ]]> 3.90 Rules for Fake Girlfriends
author: Raegan Revord
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: own, did-not-finish
review:
DNF @ 50%

Avery's mom died a few months ago, and she was originally planning on going to Columbia, but she decides instead to go to her mother's university in England for a year before transferring. She hopes that it will help her be able to feel closer with her mother, and understand a last message she left. On the train ride to her university, she meets a girl named Charlie who needs her to pretend to be her girlfriend to keep her from having to sit with her actual ex-girlfriend. Fate keeps throwing Avery and Charlie together, and they eventually decide to team up, with Charlie helping Avery with her mom's scavenger hunt in exchange for Avery continuing to pretend to be her girlfriend.

This book had a really strong start and likeable characters, but I had difficulty continuing the book around the middle. The pacing was confusing, with the plot sort of jumping around. Additionally, the author seemed to forget what had already happened in the book, with the side plot about the relationship with Avery's best friend being inconsistent about what had already happened. The reveal of the fake relationship to Maddi also happened twice, which didn't make much sense. Maddi also had inconsistent pronouns used for them, both they and she, with no explanation that they used both pronouns. There was an additional issue where a boy talks about how he uses both a cane and a wheelchair because of having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, but he doesn't explain why. It could have been as simple as "my mobility issues are worse on some days", or something like that. I myself have Ehlers Danlos syndrome and have used both a cane and a wheelchair over the course of my life, so I was excited that there was a character with the disease, but it wasn't written well.

Overall, the book was just too confusing and inconsistent for me to continue. I'm hoping these issues are resolved in the final version of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Raegan Revord for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
]]> Call Your Boyfriend 220161267 She Gets the Girl meets Bottoms in this fun and flirty young adult sapphic rom-com about two teens who want revenge on the flaky popular girl they’re both crushing on.

Cynical but sensitive Beau Carl is on a mission. She needs to know if ultra-popular Maia Moon—the girl she’s been secretly hooking up with for months—really has feelings for her. But when she shows up at the last big party of the year before prom, she sees Maia about to kiss someone else.

Sweet, inexperienced Charm Montgomery is the “someone else.” And she’s ecstatic that she’s been reading Maia’s flirty behavior in their tutoring sessions correctly. But when the kiss is interrupted and Maia accepts an elaborate promposal from her douchey, popular boyfriend just a few days later, both Maia and Beau end up heartbroken.

There’s only one thing for them to do—get her back. And the only way to do that is for Beau to tutor Charm on how she can get their former crush to fall for her so hard that Maia will dump her ex…and then get dumped for once.

As their plan starts working, Beau and Charm grow closer too, in a way neither expected. But are either of them ready to let go of their scheme to take a chance on something a little sweeter—and scarier—than revenge?]]> 336 Olivia A. Cole 1665967145 Aurora 5
Charm has been tutoring Maia in trigonometry and has a feeling that Maia is falling for her, so she goes to the party with the intent to figure things out with her. Unfortunately, after Beau walks in on her and Maia together, Maia flees. Later, she and Beau see her kissing her on-again homophobic boyfriend, and decide to plot revenge: Beau will teach Charm her seduction techniques so that she can teach Charm how to get Maia to fall for her, and then once she's done with her boyfriend for good, Charm will break her heart. Unfortunately, their mutual rule they made as a part of their plan of not falling for each other seems to be a bit difficult to follow.

I really enjoyed this revenge-turned-rom-com. I would agree with other reviewers that it feels like a gayer Do Revenge — it even uses the phrase "do revenge" at one point in the book. If you've watched that movie all the way through and are worried about the more toxic element of the relationship between the two female leads, though, don't worry, there's no situation in this book where one of the girls drives a car into the other on purpose. There is only trashcan manslaughter. The novel is sweet in the end, and even the flaky popular girl is surprisingly sympathetic. All of the characters feel well-rounded, which is surprising for a rom-com like this with a "designated villain".

I also am tired of books that promise revenge arcs but then have the characters unrealistically become obsessed with being perfect moral paragons in the name of "character development", so it was a relief that that didn't happen in this book. Beau, Charm and Maia were all allowed to be messy and imperfect, and there was still character development, but realistic character development. I honestly would've loved to have a chapter from Maia's POV as well, but the book was still great without it.

It was really great to see families represented in this book that weren't the typical nuclear family, with Beau's sister and Charm's aunt being more maternal to the girls than their biological mothers were. The families in this book were also allowed to be messy without being tropey, which I appreciated. Beau and Charm also have ambitions beyond just revenge, which helped them feel like fuller characters. The book also had great (in my opinion) representation of what it's like to be a person of color at a mostly-White high school, since Charm is Black and Maia is mixed.

The book was definitely more sexual than a lot of other YA in terms of the amount of sexual references, which makes sense since they're in their senior year of high school. I'd categorize this as upper YA, and if you're bothered by teens talking a lot about sex, this would not be the book for you.

Call Your Boyfriend will be released July 1 by Simon & Schuster. Thank you to Simon & Schuster, the authors and Netgalley for an advance reader copy.

I'm looking forward to reading more books by these authors!]]> 4.30 2025 Call Your Boyfriend
author: Olivia A. Cole
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/20
date added: 2025/06/20
shelves:
review:
Beau is used to straight girls using her as an experiment and then ditching her. She's fed up with popular girl Maia doing what's been done to her many times before, so she goes to a party with the underwear Maia gave her to tell her that it's over. When she's there, she walks in on her nearly kissing another girl, Charm.

Charm has been tutoring Maia in trigonometry and has a feeling that Maia is falling for her, so she goes to the party with the intent to figure things out with her. Unfortunately, after Beau walks in on her and Maia together, Maia flees. Later, she and Beau see her kissing her on-again homophobic boyfriend, and decide to plot revenge: Beau will teach Charm her seduction techniques so that she can teach Charm how to get Maia to fall for her, and then once she's done with her boyfriend for good, Charm will break her heart. Unfortunately, their mutual rule they made as a part of their plan of not falling for each other seems to be a bit difficult to follow.

I really enjoyed this revenge-turned-rom-com. I would agree with other reviewers that it feels like a gayer Do Revenge — it even uses the phrase "do revenge" at one point in the book. If you've watched that movie all the way through and are worried about the more toxic element of the relationship between the two female leads, though, don't worry, there's no situation in this book where one of the girls drives a car into the other on purpose. There is only trashcan manslaughter. The novel is sweet in the end, and even the flaky popular girl is surprisingly sympathetic. All of the characters feel well-rounded, which is surprising for a rom-com like this with a "designated villain".

I also am tired of books that promise revenge arcs but then have the characters unrealistically become obsessed with being perfect moral paragons in the name of "character development", so it was a relief that that didn't happen in this book. Beau, Charm and Maia were all allowed to be messy and imperfect, and there was still character development, but realistic character development. I honestly would've loved to have a chapter from Maia's POV as well, but the book was still great without it.

It was really great to see families represented in this book that weren't the typical nuclear family, with Beau's sister and Charm's aunt being more maternal to the girls than their biological mothers were. The families in this book were also allowed to be messy without being tropey, which I appreciated. Beau and Charm also have ambitions beyond just revenge, which helped them feel like fuller characters. The book also had great (in my opinion) representation of what it's like to be a person of color at a mostly-White high school, since Charm is Black and Maia is mixed.

The book was definitely more sexual than a lot of other YA in terms of the amount of sexual references, which makes sense since they're in their senior year of high school. I'd categorize this as upper YA, and if you're bothered by teens talking a lot about sex, this would not be the book for you.

Call Your Boyfriend will be released July 1 by Simon & Schuster. Thank you to Simon & Schuster, the authors and Netgalley for an advance reader copy.

I'm looking forward to reading more books by these authors!
]]> More Happy Than Not 218462386
Exclusive content includes: A letter from author Adam Silvera, scanned pages from the novel's first draft with handwritten annotations, and an interview with the real-life inspiration for the character of Thomas.

“Silvera managed to leave me smiling after totally breaking my heart. Unforgettable.” —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving New York Times bestselling-debut--also called "mandatory reading" and selected as an Editors' Choice by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.

In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again—but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard?]]> 368 Adam Silvera 1641297190 Aurora 0 to-read 4.33 2015 More Happy Than Not
author: Adam Silvera
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Friends and Liars 224003932 From “edge-of-your-seat suspense” (Booklist) author Kit Frick comes an insidious thriller about four estranged friends trapped in a powerful family’s deadly games at a luxe estate in the Italian countryside.

It’s been five years since heiress Clare Monroe tragically died on New Year’s Eve at her family’s opulent Italian palazzo. Since that time, her college friends have harbored a dark secret—their lies and betrayals led to Clare’s untimely death.

What happened that fateful night was a horrible accident, but Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David are guilty, nonetheless. And their desperate decision to conceal the truth destroyed their once-close bond.

Now, the estranged friends are each the recipient of an invitation from the Monroes to return to the lakeside palazzo for a long-overdue memorial for Clare. Accepting the Monroes’ invitation means playing with fire, but they can hardly refuse.

Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David have barely settled into their idyllic accommodations on Lake Como before someone at the memorial party begins targeting them. Haunted by little “gifts” left in their rooms, taunting notes, and the unshakable sense of being watched, it soon becomes clear that someone on the guest list knows the whole truth about the night Clare died—and the secrets her friends have been keeping. Nothing is as it seems at the palazzo on the lake, and under their tormentor’s vengeful gaze, their secrets—and their lives—are in danger.]]> 272 Kit Frick 1668022532 Aurora 4 own
This book was very reminiscent of an adult version of Pretty Little Liars, in an interesting way. I've never read anything of Frick's before, although I've had one of her books on my TBR, and I enjoyed this book enough that I think I'll be picking up some of her other books soon. The setting was beautiful, with interesting descriptions of the luxury that the characters found themselves immersed in, which was a definite plus.

I will say that I didn't really find any of the characters except for Harper sympathetic, which made them difficult to root for or feel fully immersed in their stories. Out of all the secrets they were hiding, Harper's secret really wasn't anything that she had been ultimately responsible for, whereas the other three had secrets that pretty significantly damaged their sympatheticness.

I also wish that the ending had tied things up more conclusively. It did a decent job of tying up most of what happened, but the final POV character presents some assumptions about how things are going to go now that everything is resolved that I'm not sure are realistic. This additionally damages my ability to sympathize with them.

Overall, though, the writing was strong and the author did a good job of keeping up the mystery and with pacing. I would recommend this book. ]]> 3.70 Friends and Liars
author: Kit Frick
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.70
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/19
date added: 2025/06/19
shelves: own
review:
It's been five years since the death of their close friend when Sirina, David, Luca and Harper receive invitations to a week-long memorial in celebration of her life, at a luxurious palazzo in Italy. The four friends are all nervous to attend because they are keeping secrets that they ultimately believe led to Clare taking her life, but they all attend anyway. When they are there, they begin to receive pointed "gifts" and threatening notes indicating that someone knows what happened to Clare, and that there may be more to her death than they thought.

This book was very reminiscent of an adult version of Pretty Little Liars, in an interesting way. I've never read anything of Frick's before, although I've had one of her books on my TBR, and I enjoyed this book enough that I think I'll be picking up some of her other books soon. The setting was beautiful, with interesting descriptions of the luxury that the characters found themselves immersed in, which was a definite plus.

I will say that I didn't really find any of the characters except for Harper sympathetic, which made them difficult to root for or feel fully immersed in their stories. Out of all the secrets they were hiding, Harper's secret really wasn't anything that she had been ultimately responsible for, whereas the other three had secrets that pretty significantly damaged their sympatheticness.

I also wish that the ending had tied things up more conclusively. It did a decent job of tying up most of what happened, but the final POV character presents some assumptions about how things are going to go now that everything is resolved that I'm not sure are realistic. This additionally damages my ability to sympathize with them.

Overall, though, the writing was strong and the author did a good job of keeping up the mystery and with pacing. I would recommend this book.
]]> Glass Girls 217078787 In this “electrifying” debut (Kathryn Harlan), a former child medium is called home to help protect her niece from possession, forcing a reckoning with the traumas of her past and the magic she left behind.

When thirty-four-year-old Alice Haserot learns she’s pregnant, she isn’t sure if she wants to keep the baby. Long estranged from her family, Alice is haunted by memories of her own abusive mother. Not only that, but her lineage is burdened by a curse, one that she’s almost managed to convince herself she no longer believes Girls for the gifts, boys for the grave.

Alice’s gift—channeling ghosts—has often felt like its own curse. Is she willing to risk passing on a similar fate to a daughter, or one even worse to a son? Amidst this internal reckoning Alice’s sister Bronwyn tracks her down. One of Bronwyn’s daughters is possessing the other and she delivers an ultimatum to come home to free them, or I’ll tell our mother where you are.

When Alice agrees, she finds herself once again caught up in the life she tried to escape sixteen years before and the night she’s tried her hardest to forget. And as the haunting escalates to dangerous proportions, Alice must decide whom to trust, how far she will go to end the curse, and if she’s willing to risk motherhood given all her family legacy entails. For lovers ofMexican GothicandWeywardcomes a darkly captivating debut about family, female autonomy, and the bonds that endure across lifetimes.]]> 336 Danie Shokoohi 1638931909 Aurora 5 own
I really enjoyed reading this thriller. It’s a combination of paranormal, horror, and mystery as well, and balances all the genres well. A key theme in this book is trauma and the way it impacts us when we are older, as is seen by the quote from Bessel van der Kolk, psychologist and author of The Body Keeps the Score in the opening of the novel. This is the best-written debut novel I’ve read in a long time.

The novel goes between reflective descriptions of the pasts of the girls in the novel and the trauma they endured at the hands of their mother, Gisele, and tense plot-focused sections. I think it did a great job of highlighting how someone who is traumatized can be utterly transported from their everyday life by intrusive flashbacks. Although Gisele does horrible things to her children and grandchildren, you can easily see how the generational curse and her own mothering warped her into behaving the way that she did. She’s certainly not likeable — I’m actually not sure I’d say any of the adult characters in this novel are likeable, so if that is a turn off for you I’d advise staying away — but you do eventually understand why she turned out the way she did.

This novel is very potentially triggering with graphic descriptions of child abuse and of self-harm, so that is also something to be wary of. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel regardless, though, and I don’t believe any of the descriptions were excessive. Sometimes authors shy away from fully showing the horrors of the things they are writing about, and that was not the case in this book.

Glass Girls will be published by Gillian Flynn Books on June 24th. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance reader’s copy. ]]> 4.37 2025 Glass Girls
author: Danie Shokoohi
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/17
date added: 2025/06/17
shelves: own
review:
Isabeau was once a child medium in a family of witches, but she ran away from her past and changed her name to Alice. Now, she lives a privileged life with a normal boyfriend, but her life is upended when her sister finds her and threatens her so that she will return home and help deal with the ghost of her niece. Alice and Bronwyn must confront their past and shared trauma in order to save Bronwyn’s still-living daughter.

I really enjoyed reading this thriller. It’s a combination of paranormal, horror, and mystery as well, and balances all the genres well. A key theme in this book is trauma and the way it impacts us when we are older, as is seen by the quote from Bessel van der Kolk, psychologist and author of The Body Keeps the Score in the opening of the novel. This is the best-written debut novel I’ve read in a long time.

The novel goes between reflective descriptions of the pasts of the girls in the novel and the trauma they endured at the hands of their mother, Gisele, and tense plot-focused sections. I think it did a great job of highlighting how someone who is traumatized can be utterly transported from their everyday life by intrusive flashbacks. Although Gisele does horrible things to her children and grandchildren, you can easily see how the generational curse and her own mothering warped her into behaving the way that she did. She’s certainly not likeable — I’m actually not sure I’d say any of the adult characters in this novel are likeable, so if that is a turn off for you I’d advise staying away — but you do eventually understand why she turned out the way she did.

This novel is very potentially triggering with graphic descriptions of child abuse and of self-harm, so that is also something to be wary of. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel regardless, though, and I don’t believe any of the descriptions were excessive. Sometimes authors shy away from fully showing the horrors of the things they are writing about, and that was not the case in this book.

Glass Girls will be published by Gillian Flynn Books on June 24th. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance reader’s copy.
]]> This Vicious Hunger 222196613 From the author of Wild and Wicked Things comes a dark gothic fantasy about intoxication, obsession and a desperate hunger for knowledge—whatever the cost.

Thora Grieve finds herself destitute and an outcast after the sudden death of her husband, but a glimmer of hope arrives when a family friend offers her the chance to study botany under a famed professor. Once at the university, Thora becomes entranced by a mysterious young woman, Olea, who emerges each night to tend to the plants in the private garden below her window.

Hungry for connection, Thora befriends Olea through the garden gate and their relationship quickly and intensely blossoms. Intoxicated, Thora throws herself into finding a cure for Olea's ailment and sinks deeper into a world of beauty, poison, and obsession. She's finally found the freedom to pursue her darkest desires, but will it be worth the price?]]> 419 Francesca May 0316287989 Aurora 0 to-read 3.36 2025 This Vicious Hunger
author: Francesca May
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Mist and Fury (Part 2 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)]]> 61117474
Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she’s now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.

As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre’s hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world in turmoil.]]> Sarah J. Maas 1685085393 Aurora 4 4.78 2022 A Court of Mist and Fury (Part 2 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.78
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/01
date added: 2025/06/13
shelves: favorites, currently-reading, own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Spells (Private, #0.5)]]> 7775665 302 Kate Brian 1442412364 Aurora 0 currently-reading 3.78 2010 The Book of Spells (Private, #0.5)
author: Kate Brian
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Where There's Room For Us 217421247
When her brother unexpectedly inherits an English estate, the outspoken and infamously daring poet, Ivy, swaps her lively New York life for the prim and proper world of high society, and quickly faces the challenges of its revered traditions–especially once she meets the most sought-after socialite of the courting season: Freya Tallon.

Freya’s life has always been mapped out for her: marry a wealthy lord, produce heirs, and protect the family’s noble status. But when she unexpectedly takes her sister’s place on a date with Ivy, everything changes. For the first time, she feels the kind of spark she’s always dreamed of.

As Ivy and Freya’s connection deepens, both are caught between desire and duty. How much are they willing to risk to be true to themselves—and to each other?

Inspired by Hayley Kiyoko’s own experiences and classic favorites like Little Women and Pride and Prejudice, Where There’s Room for Us is a romance set in a world where society’s expectations are everything—but love is so much more.]]> 320 Hayley Kiyoko 1250356318 Aurora 4
Set in a Regency-era England where gay marriage is legal and relatively normalized, Where There's Room for Us follows Freya, a daughter of a lord who has yet to have an heir, and Ivy, an American-Japanese poet and sister of a viscount. Freya is preparing to be courted by a duke when she meets Ivy at a ball and sparks fly, but she's caught between her duty to marry a man and produce an heir for her father and desire for the first woman she's ever had feelings for.

I was pleasantly surprised by how historically accurate and realistic this book felt, despite the significant diversion from British history. It made sense to me that sapphic women were not allowed to pass titles down to their adoptive children, although it was interesting to see the efforts being made in-universe to change that. There was one small inaccuracy where one of the characters referred to men who love other men as achillean men, despite "achillean" as a term for gay men not being popularized until the 2010s. It would have made more sense for the historical term uranian to be used, or even for the character to just use the term queer men, since the term queer had already been used earlier in the book. Other than that, though, it did a good job of feeling period-accurate. (Technically queer probably wasn't being used in 1880 yet, but since in this universe gay marriage had been legal for longer, it makes sense that the term could've come about a decade earlier.)

The characters in the story all felt vivid, and you could really see the close sisterly relationship between the Tallon sisters, and even with their parents, despite the conflict. I agree with some other reviewers in wishing that the plotline about the inheritance and rights for sapphic women had been more resolved somehow, but maybe that leaves room for a sequel. I'd like to read something set in the same universe from the perspective of Dani, the youngest and wildest Tallon sister.

The relationship between Ivy and Freya was sweet, a bit on the instalove side but it made sense in context with Ivy's tendency to fall fast and hard. I appreciated the conflict in their relationship between Freya's sense of duty and her desire to follow her heart, it was well-written and felt realistic.

Where There’s Room for Us will be released on November 4th by Wednesday Books. Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books and Hayley Kiyoko for the advance reader’s copy.

Representation: Lesbian FMC, bisexual FMC, half-Japanese FMC, sapphic side characters, nonbinary/intersex (not specified, but they use they/them pronouns) side character]]> 3.87 Where There's Room For Us
author: Hayley Kiyoko
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.87
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/11
date added: 2025/06/12
shelves:
review:
“But a flower raised in a glasshouse knows nothing of the meadow outside. It has no storm to weather. Its only purpose: to bloom and be beautiful no matter the season.”

Set in a Regency-era England where gay marriage is legal and relatively normalized, Where There's Room for Us follows Freya, a daughter of a lord who has yet to have an heir, and Ivy, an American-Japanese poet and sister of a viscount. Freya is preparing to be courted by a duke when she meets Ivy at a ball and sparks fly, but she's caught between her duty to marry a man and produce an heir for her father and desire for the first woman she's ever had feelings for.

I was pleasantly surprised by how historically accurate and realistic this book felt, despite the significant diversion from British history. It made sense to me that sapphic women were not allowed to pass titles down to their adoptive children, although it was interesting to see the efforts being made in-universe to change that. There was one small inaccuracy where one of the characters referred to men who love other men as achillean men, despite "achillean" as a term for gay men not being popularized until the 2010s. It would have made more sense for the historical term uranian to be used, or even for the character to just use the term queer men, since the term queer had already been used earlier in the book. Other than that, though, it did a good job of feeling period-accurate. (Technically queer probably wasn't being used in 1880 yet, but since in this universe gay marriage had been legal for longer, it makes sense that the term could've come about a decade earlier.)

The characters in the story all felt vivid, and you could really see the close sisterly relationship between the Tallon sisters, and even with their parents, despite the conflict. I agree with some other reviewers in wishing that the plotline about the inheritance and rights for sapphic women had been more resolved somehow, but maybe that leaves room for a sequel. I'd like to read something set in the same universe from the perspective of Dani, the youngest and wildest Tallon sister.

The relationship between Ivy and Freya was sweet, a bit on the instalove side but it made sense in context with Ivy's tendency to fall fast and hard. I appreciated the conflict in their relationship between Freya's sense of duty and her desire to follow her heart, it was well-written and felt realistic.

Where There’s Room for Us will be released on November 4th by Wednesday Books. Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books and Hayley Kiyoko for the advance reader’s copy.

Representation: Lesbian FMC, bisexual FMC, half-Japanese FMC, sapphic side characters, nonbinary/intersex (not specified, but they use they/them pronouns) side character
]]> <![CDATA[Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy]]> 28186015 But as mathematician and data scientist Cathy O'Neil reveals, the mathematical models being used today are unregulated and uncontestable, even when they're wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination--propping up the lucky, punishing the downtrodden, and undermining our democracy in the process.]]> 259 Cathy O'Neil 0553418815 Aurora 0 to-read 3.86 2016 Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
author: Cathy O'Neil
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Alice Chen's Reality Check 218461924 Love is hell, even in paradise. A reality show contestant must fake date her rival while solving a murder in this sizzling romcom set on a tropical island.

Perfect for fans of Dial A for Aunties and One to Watch, this swoonworthy rivals-to-lovers romance with a murder mystery twist is your next must-read.

Alice Chen doesn’t believe in true love, but she does believe in cold, hard cash. Buckling under the weight of student debt and her mother’s medical bills, Alice will do anything to make bank–even star on Dawn Tay’s Inferno, the hot new reality TV show designed to push couples to their breaking point. 

The show is Alice’s chance to sip cocktails on the beach and win a cash prize of a million dollars. Everything is going according to plan…until her jerk fiancé breaks up with her during the second week of filming. To stay in the game, Alice agrees to fake-date the other newly single her high school rival and sworn enemy, Daniel Cho. 

But it turns out that all’s fair in love and reality TV, and Alice isn’t the only one who will do whatever it takes to win. When a dead body turns up, Alice and Daniel are faced with uncovering the secrets of the cast and crew to catch the killer–all while playing the loving couple on camera. As the reality show spirals out of control, Alice must confront her true feelings and crack the case if she wants to make it off the island alive.

Starring a murder mystery twist, plenty of reality show drama, and a thrilling romance, this debut by up-and-coming Asian American writer duo Kara Loo and Jennifer Young is the ultimate beach read.]]> 384 Kara Loo 1683694775 Aurora 4 own
The novel centers on Alice, a math teacher who joins a reality TV show with her fiancé because she needs to pay off her mother’s medical bills. Unfortunately, while on the show, her fiancé Chase cheats on her and she’s forced into a fake relationship with her high school rival, Daniel, by the producers because they need more couples. While falling in love with Daniel, it becomes clear there’s foul play on the set when a dead body shows up. The two team up with a sound tech, Lex, to solve the murder mystery and hopefully survive while doing so.

I was a little confused by how far into the novel the murder mystery portion of the plot starts. The novel overall is definitely heavier on the rivals-to-lovers fake dating romance than the mystery aspect, which may be important for prospective readers to know. There’s a lot of the typical reality TV drama, which can be fun to read, but with a mostly surprisingly mature cast. The girl that Chase cheats on with Alice, Selena, actually ends up being an important amount of the plot and not as one-dimensional as the “other woman” frequently is in novels. I did like that, especially because Selena is Latina and it would otherwise be awkward if the only Latina in the cast was an evil man-stealing witch.

It felt at some points like the transitions were rushed between scenes, which made things flow less well. I did enjoy the snippets of behind-the-scenes notes from the producers, episodes and online discussion of the show that were included at the end of every chapter. The authors also did a creative job of including a trigger warning for the Gluttony challenge without breaking up the flow of the novel, including a note from production about needing a trigger warning for vomiting and food sensitivity on the episode. It was a really inventive way to include a trigger warning without breaking immersion, which I appreciate. It was something that could easily be triggering to people with food issues, so it makes sense that they included that portion. The “meta”-ness of the production notes were also interesting, and in the end made the fictional TV show feel more real. ]]> 3.90 Alice Chen's Reality Check
author: Kara Loo
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/09
date added: 2025/06/10
shelves: own
review:
I’ve previously read Kara Loo and Jennifer Young’s writing on the visual novel app Choices several years ago, as they were authors of The Freshman, The Royal Romance, Rules of Engagement and several other Choices book. I was excited to read a full-length novel from them, and I wasn’t disappointed by Alice Chen’s Reality Check.

The novel centers on Alice, a math teacher who joins a reality TV show with her fiancé because she needs to pay off her mother’s medical bills. Unfortunately, while on the show, her fiancé Chase cheats on her and she’s forced into a fake relationship with her high school rival, Daniel, by the producers because they need more couples. While falling in love with Daniel, it becomes clear there’s foul play on the set when a dead body shows up. The two team up with a sound tech, Lex, to solve the murder mystery and hopefully survive while doing so.

I was a little confused by how far into the novel the murder mystery portion of the plot starts. The novel overall is definitely heavier on the rivals-to-lovers fake dating romance than the mystery aspect, which may be important for prospective readers to know. There’s a lot of the typical reality TV drama, which can be fun to read, but with a mostly surprisingly mature cast. The girl that Chase cheats on with Alice, Selena, actually ends up being an important amount of the plot and not as one-dimensional as the “other woman” frequently is in novels. I did like that, especially because Selena is Latina and it would otherwise be awkward if the only Latina in the cast was an evil man-stealing witch.

It felt at some points like the transitions were rushed between scenes, which made things flow less well. I did enjoy the snippets of behind-the-scenes notes from the producers, episodes and online discussion of the show that were included at the end of every chapter. The authors also did a creative job of including a trigger warning for the Gluttony challenge without breaking up the flow of the novel, including a note from production about needing a trigger warning for vomiting and food sensitivity on the episode. It was a really inventive way to include a trigger warning without breaking immersion, which I appreciate. It was something that could easily be triggering to people with food issues, so it makes sense that they included that portion. The “meta”-ness of the production notes were also interesting, and in the end made the fictional TV show feel more real.
]]> <![CDATA[Delilah Green Doesn't Care (Bright Falls, #1)]]> 54756850
Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her.
 
When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.
 
Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really know each other—so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to...]]> 375 Ashley Herring Blake 0593336402 Aurora 0 to-read 4.05 2022 Delilah Green Doesn't Care (Bright Falls, #1)
author: Ashley Herring Blake
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Princess of Glass (The Princesses of Westfalin Trilogy, #2)]]> 7199667 Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other's countries in the name of better political alliances--and potential marriages. It's got the makings of a fairy tale--until a hapless servant named Eleanor is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince. Ballgowns, cinders, and enchanted glass slippers fly in this romantic and action-packed happily-ever-after quest from an author with a flair for embroidering tales in her own delightful way.
]]> 266 Jessica Day George 1599904780 Aurora 0 to-read 4.06 2010 Princess of Glass (The Princesses of Westfalin Trilogy, #2)
author: Jessica Day George
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1984 5470 328 George Orwell Aurora 0 4.15 1949 1984
author: George Orwell
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1949
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves: must-read, why-do-i-love-formulaic-dystopians, should-ve-read-in-school, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Her Royal Highness (Royals, #2)]]> 41734205
Millie can't believe her luck when she's accepted into one of the world's most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Everything about Scotland is different: the country is misty and green; the school is gorgeous, and the students think Americans are cute.

The only problem: Mille's roommate Flora is a total princess.

She's also an actual princess. Of Scotland.

At first, the girls can barely stand each other--Flora is both high-class and high-key--but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Even though Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, Millie knows the chances of happily ever afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn't a fairy tale . . . or is it?]]> 274 Rachel Hawkins 1524738263 Aurora 0 currently-reading 3.73 2019 Her Royal Highness (Royals, #2)
author: Rachel Hawkins
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Last Christmas: A Private Christmas]]> 2943733 As the snow transforms Easton into a winter wonderland, Ariana finds herself falling for Thomas. But someone is watching their clandestine romance unfold, someone intent on turning their holiday weekend into a nightmare...

Last Christmas reveals the secret of what really happened before Private began -- and the shocking truth will change everything for fans of Kate Brian's bestselling series.

]]> 263 Kate Brian 1416913696 Aurora 3 3.99 2008 Last Christmas: A Private Christmas
author: Kate Brian
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/06
date added: 2025/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The True Happiness Company: How a Girl Like Me Falls for a Cult Like That]]> 215361994 In this wrenching, darkly funny memoir, a young Indian American woman’s quest for mental health is derailed by a charismatic alternative therapist who pulls her into his Mormon self-help cult.

It is hard for Veena Dinavahi to live while her classmates keep dying. The high-achieving daughter of loving Indian immigrants, she lives in a white American suburb like any other—except for its unusually high suicide rate. Veena tries everything to cure her own depression, but nothing works. Then, on one late-night Google search, her mom finds Bob Lyon—a sixty-year-old man in the backwoods of Georgia who says he can make Veena want to live again. He calls himself “The True Happiness Company” and, as their relationship progresses . . . “Daddy.”

As Veena is sucked into his strangely close-knit community, Bob’s “suggestions” start to feel less and less optional. Before she knows it, she’s a college dropout, a married mother of three, and a Mormon convert who has gotten way too good at dismissing her gut feeling that something is wrong. But when Bob finally pushes her too far, Veena knows she has to cut ties with him. Driven to understand her journey, she re-enrolls in college, studies psychology, and begins to understand that true happiness cannot be one-size-fits-all.

Told with unflinching clarity and shot through with incisive wit, The True Happiness Company is a singular tale of learning to trust your intuition in a world determined to annihilate it.]]> 320 Veena Dinavahi 0593447654 Aurora 0 to-read 4.18 2025 The True Happiness Company: How a Girl Like Me Falls for a Cult Like That
author: Veena Dinavahi
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cruel Love (Privilege, #6) 9673193
The Privilege series comes to and end with all the suspense, romance, drama and, wherever Ariana is concerned, murder you'd expect.]]> 218 Kate Brian 1442407883 Aurora 2 4.10 2011 Cruel Love (Privilege, #6)
author: Kate Brian
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2025/06/01
date added: 2025/06/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Pure Sin (Privilege, #5) 7841497 A Simon & Schuster eBook
]]> 191 Kate Brian 1442407867 Aurora 3 4.11 2010 Pure Sin (Privilege, #5)
author: Kate Brian
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/01
date added: 2025/06/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Sweet Deceit (Privilege, #4) 7120132 224 Kate Brian 1416967621 Aurora 4 4.13 2010 Sweet Deceit (Privilege, #4)
author: Kate Brian
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/31
date added: 2025/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Burn For Me [Dramatized Adaptation] (Hidden Legacy #1)]]> 226039806
Nevada Baylor runs a small-time detective agency in Houston, Texas, busting scammers, exposing cheaters, and dealing with petty criminals. She's very good at her job–helped by a magical ability to sense when someone tells the truth or lies. But when she's forced into accepting a case to find a radical pyrotechnic who can conjure heat and fire at will, Nevada knows she's out of her league. To bring him to justice, she'll have to join forces with someone who wields an even more dangerous power.

Connor “Mad” Rogan is a former combat mage, a telekinetic singularly responsible for mass destruction in war-torn countries, and a member of one of the most powerful magic families in the world. His nephew has been kidnapped by the fugitive pyromaniac, and Nevada is his best chance at finding them both. But unlike Nevada, Connor could care less about societal law and order, and has no qualms about extinguishing his family's enemy.

Bound by their mission, Nevada and Connor clash over their tactics and moral beliefs, even as things undeniably heat up between them. But the man they're chasing is involved in a darker conspiracy that threatens to destroy the city–and destabilize the balance of power the elite magical families use to influence every nation on Earth.

Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!]]> 9 Ilona Andrews Aurora 3 hated-love-interest 4.40 Burn For Me [Dramatized Adaptation] (Hidden Legacy #1)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/31
date added: 2025/05/31
shelves: hated-love-interest
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 Aurora 0 did-not-finish 4.27 2014 Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/31
shelves: did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Places I've Cried in Public]]> 44004352
Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn to get over him.]]> 368 Holly Bourne Aurora 5 own 3.97 2019 The Places I've Cried in Public
author: Holly Bourne
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/30
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language]]> 220458608 A viral linguist’s account of the ways our vocabularies are evolving, the Internet’s influence on communication, and what our use of language reveals about the modern world

From the rise of leetspeak and words such as unalive to the trend of adding “-core” to different influencer aesthetics, the Internet has ushered in an unprecedented linguistic upheaval. We’re entering an entirely new era of etymology, heralded by the invisible forces driving social media algorithms. Thankfully, Algospeak is here to explain. As a professional linguist, Adam Aleksic understands the gravity of language and the way we use he knows the ways it has morphed and changed, how it reflects society, and how, in its everyday usage, we carry centuries of human history on our tongues. As a social media influencer, Aleksic is also intimately familiar with the Internet’s reach and how social media impacts the way we engage with one another. New slang emerges and goes viral overnight. Accents are shaped or erased on YouTube. Grammatical rules, loopholes, and patterns surface and transform language as we know it. Our interactions—and our social norms and habits—shift into something completely different.

As Aleksic uses original surveys, data, and Internet archival research to usher us through this new linguistic landscape, he also illuminates how communication is changing in both familiar and unprecedented ways. From our use of emojis to sentence structure to the ways younger generations talk about sex and death (see unalive in English and desvivirse in Spanish), we are in a brand-new world, one shaped by algorithms and technology. Algospeak is an energetic, astonishing journey into language, the Internet, and what this intersection means for all of us.]]> 256 Adam Aleksic 0593804074 Aurora 4 own
You do definitely have to keep in mind when reading this book that it is from the perspective of a social media influencer, and Aleksic does very little to distance the content in the book from that perspective. There's a pretty significant amount of defense of how social media algorithms are good because they allow for diversity of content on social media and for minorities and poorer people to speak about what they experience, which is odd because the book also discusses how those people are frequently censored by the algorithms. It's also a little weird for that defense to be coming from a straight white guy who graduated from an Ivy League university. Personally, even though he's talking about how useful social media and algorithms can be, I finished the book even more glad that I don't use TikTok and am not a person who spends lots of time on social media. I don't really like his comment on the fluidity of sexuality, since only one of the "big" sexualities (bisexuality) is... actually fluid. Most straight men who talk about the fluidity of sexuality don't have good intentions. I was wondering when the book would get to discussion of queer identities being discussed online, and I'm glad it was discussed a little bit, even if it was only a paragraph or so. I do think maybe since he has a clear commitment to how sexuality can be fluid, it's actually a good thing he didn't spend much time discussing gay people.

I found the insight into how social media influencers manipulate audiences for attention interesting, and it's refreshing for an influencer to admit it as straightforwardly as Aleksic did in this book.

Thank you to Knopf, Adam Aleksic and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. ]]> 4.13 Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language
author: Adam Aleksic
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/29
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: own
review:
I think this book could have been longer and still been just as interesting, if not more. It covers a large breadth of topics, from gang language to Swiftie dialects, and it's all very interesting. I've heard a lot of the words discussed in this book offline, and not being a TikTok user, I didn't know that all of the words that were popularized by TikTok were popularized by TikTok.

You do definitely have to keep in mind when reading this book that it is from the perspective of a social media influencer, and Aleksic does very little to distance the content in the book from that perspective. There's a pretty significant amount of defense of how social media algorithms are good because they allow for diversity of content on social media and for minorities and poorer people to speak about what they experience, which is odd because the book also discusses how those people are frequently censored by the algorithms. It's also a little weird for that defense to be coming from a straight white guy who graduated from an Ivy League university. Personally, even though he's talking about how useful social media and algorithms can be, I finished the book even more glad that I don't use TikTok and am not a person who spends lots of time on social media. I don't really like his comment on the fluidity of sexuality, since only one of the "big" sexualities (bisexuality) is... actually fluid. Most straight men who talk about the fluidity of sexuality don't have good intentions. I was wondering when the book would get to discussion of queer identities being discussed online, and I'm glad it was discussed a little bit, even if it was only a paragraph or so. I do think maybe since he has a clear commitment to how sexuality can be fluid, it's actually a good thing he didn't spend much time discussing gay people.

I found the insight into how social media influencers manipulate audiences for attention interesting, and it's refreshing for an influencer to admit it as straightforwardly as Aleksic did in this book.

Thank you to Knopf, Adam Aleksic and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.
]]> Off Script 137643776 You're invited... to a weekend of magic and book themed revelry. A fantasy ball beyond your wildest dreams. A book convention with some of today's hottest new authors, and now YOU...

An epic fantasy adventure through the wild streets of Portland Oregon, OFF SCRIPT follows Sadie Hawthorne, a lonely, 30-year-old fantasy author, who was invited to a fantasy ball for a magical weekend of beautiful dresses and wonderful stories. She gets more magic than she bargained for when Inez, a very real warrior from Sadie's very made-up kingdom of Sherbrooke, shows up demanding her help. Unfortunately for the girls, Inez isn't the only one who made it out of Sadie's story... When their worlds collide and a villain emerges bent on their destruction, will they be able to come together in time to save both Portland and Sherbrooke?

Get your books, gowns, and crowns ready for a weekend you won't forget.]]> 316 Sarah Zane Aurora 0 to-read 3.63 Off Script
author: Sarah Zane
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.63
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beautiful Little Fool (Beautiful Fools Duet #1)]]> 60650248
Daisy put everything on the line for love, only to be left broken and alone when her love shipped out to the Great War without so much as a goodbye. Now her parents plan to marry her off to the next rich man who looks her way and she doesn't have the fight left in her to protest...

Until Jordan comes along.

Jordan is unapologetically bold. She knows what she wants and always goes after it... until she falls hard for the girl next door, who happens to be her best friend. Speaking up could cost her everything, especially if Daisy doesn't feel the same, but staying silent has a high price, too. Her happiness.

Both stand to lose everything... including each other.

With stakes this high, will they find the courage to go after what they want, or will they follow societal expectations straight to miserable ever after?]]> 0 Sarah Zane Aurora 0 did-not-finish 3.26 Beautiful Little Fool (Beautiful Fools Duet #1)
author: Sarah Zane
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.26
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: did-not-finish
review:

]]> Under Lock and Key 209220768
Delphine has a deadly secret that she keeps safely locked away. Cursed to be a danger to anyone she falls in love with, she has done everything she could to protect herself and others by staying isolated at her inn in a cozy, forgotten corner of Somerset. She was lonely, but she was safe and content.
Until a gorgeous girl with her own dark secret wanders into her inn and into her life, and cursed or not, Delphine is determined to keep her.

One thing is for certain, at the Sapphire Siren Inn, some doors are better left unopened.]]> 112 Sarah Zane Aurora 4 own 3.40 Under Lock and Key
author: Sarah Zane
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.40
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating]]> 50266871
Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.]]> 352 Adiba Jaigirdar Aurora 0 to-read 4.08 2021 Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating
author: Adiba Jaigirdar
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Heir (The Selection, #4) 22918050
But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.]]> 342 Kiera Cass Aurora 0 did-not-finish 3.64 2015 The Heir (The Selection, #4)
author: Kiera Cass
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: did-not-finish
review:

]]> The One (The Selection, #3) 20572939 323 Kiera Cass 0007466714 Aurora 2 4.13 2014 The One (The Selection, #3)
author: Kiera Cass
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: hated-love-interest, to-finish-eventually, tried-so-hard-to-like-this, why-do-i-do-this-to-myself, terrible-sequels, books-about-fame, chick-lit, gary-stu, mary-sue, romance, special-snowflake-syndrome, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Perfect Fit (Bridge City Beats #1)]]> 202212106 Portland, Oregon, 1995. Their stars are both shining.But offstage, revenge is worth killing for…

Tomorrow Mourning frontman Tyler Hall is riding high on the success of his band’s world tour. But reality comes crashing down when he returns home to discover the nasty tabloid rumors about his personal life are true.

Punk guitarist Charlotte Ross has put the trauma of her stalker behind her, and her career is taking off. When her friend Tyler reaches out for support, the feelings that she’s kept under wraps for too long threaten to resurface.

After an innocent moment between them is photographed, the spotlight turns against them. Suddenly, Charlotte is reliving her stalking nightmare, while Tyler’s private life becomes a public disaster.

Forced to confront their true feelings while the whole world watches on, their past scars aren’t the only thing that could tear them apart. Because someone else is watching, waiting. And they’re planning on getting away with murder…

A Perfect Fit is a steamy second chance, friends-to-lovers romantic suspense novel that kicks off the Bridge City Beats series. Immerse yourself in the legendary music scene of the mid-nineties when raw musical talent, rebellion, sex, drugs, and fame were to die for.]]> 398 Stephanie Louise Aurora 0 own, finish-eventually 4.13 A Perfect Fit (Bridge City Beats #1)
author: Stephanie Louise
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: own, finish-eventually
review:

]]> Lady Chatterley’s Lover 32049 376 D.H. Lawrence 039460430X Aurora 0 finish-eventually 3.56 1928 Lady Chatterley’s Lover
author: D.H. Lawrence
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1928
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: finish-eventually
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults]]> 517614
Lalich's fascinating discussion includes her in-depth interviews with cult devotees as well as reflections gained from her own experience as a high-ranking member of the Democratic Workers Party. Incorporating classical sociological concepts such as "charisma" and "commitment" with more recent work on the social psychology of influence and control, she develops a new approach for understanding how charismatic cult leaders are able to dominate their devotees. She shows how members are led into a state of "bounded choice," in which they make seemingly irrational decisions within a context that makes perfect sense to them and is, in fact, consistent with their highest aspirations.

In addition to illuminating the cult phenomenon in the United States and around the world, this important book also addresses our pressing need to know more about the mentality of those true believers who take extreme or violent measures in the name of a cause.]]> 353 Janja Lalich 0520240189 Aurora 0 own, finish-eventually 3.83 2004 Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults
author: Janja Lalich
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: own, finish-eventually
review:

]]> Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]> 393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 Aurora 0 finish-eventually 4.22 2018 Circe
author: Madeline Miller
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: finish-eventually
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Healer's Apprentice (Hagenheim, #1)]]> 7826101 Two Hearts. One Hope.

Rose has been appointed as a healer's apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter's daughter like her. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean returning home to marry the aging bachelor her mother has chosen for her—a bloated, disgusting merchant who makes Rose feel ill.

When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to understand emotions she's never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. As Rose's life spins toward confusion, she must take the first steps on a journey to discover her own destiny.]]> 272 Melanie Dickerson 0310721431 Aurora 0 did-not-finish, own 3.84 2010 The Healer's Apprentice (Hagenheim, #1)
author: Melanie Dickerson
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: did-not-finish, own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Perfect Mistake (Privilege, #3)]]> 6301671

Ariana Osgood has everything she's ever wanted. A place at elite Atherton-Pryce boarding school. Fabulous friends. A new crush. And most importantly, a new identity. Now that she's officially become Briana Leigh Covington, Ariana's troubled past is dead and buried.

Or is it?

When the one person who knows her secret arrives on campus, Ariana decides it's time to say good-bye to her ex-best friend -- forever. From the author of the bestselling PRIVATE novels comes a series about the dark world of wealth, secrets, and PRIVILEGE.]]> 240 Kate Brian 1416967613 Aurora 3 4.06 2009 Perfect Mistake (Privilege, #3)
author: Kate Brian
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/29
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Up in Molten Lights (The Crimson Curtain, #2)]]> 216000959 In a twisted web of magical secrets, betrayal, and tyranny, a con artist and a revolutionary risk life and love for revenge in E.B. Golden’s thrilling sequel to Behind the Crimson Curtain.

Luisonn’s citizens are finally united, but they don’t see the monster behind President Hulei’s lies. Firin does. He destroyed her life and turned the only man she’s ever loved against her. Now presumed dead, she resurfaces with a new face and a thirst for vengeance. The president must die.

Bregan lost everything to rebellion and his family, his theater, and now Firin. When gruesome murders rise in the city’s shadows—with many of the victims children—and clues implicate the president, Bregan starts investigating. He must set something right, even if it won’t bring Firin back from the dead.

On their paths for revenge and justice, both Firin and Bregan encounter Guilo—a striking and mysterious magician with his own reasons for seeking vengeance against Hulei. To save the children of Luisonn and stop tyranny, Firin forces the two men to work together. But as she grows an unexpected bond with Guilo, a devastating secret comes to light. When the fate of the nation’s most vulnerable is tied to Firin’s heart, who will she choose? And at what cost?]]> E.B. Golden 1662523254 Aurora 5 own
I loved this twisty, sensual, romantic fantasy novel. I finished book one, Behind the Crimson Curtain, the same day I started reading Up in Molten Lights, and it was a really satisfying conclusion to the duology. I read on the author's blog that the series would be a duology, but I would really enjoy reading something else in the world of this series, as I feel like there is so much more to explore. Maybe Suri's story? She's a very interesting side character, so many of the side characters are compelling.

There was a bit of a dark romance in the love triangle in this book. I'm usually not a fan of cliffhangers, love triangles, or final-act new POV switches, so it says a lot that I still enjoyed this book and the first in the series so much. I expected to be very frustrated when I saw that Chapter Seventy-Five out of 79 chapters was from Ruanti's POV, since I usually don't like new POVs being added so late into the book, but it worked out surprisingly well. I would say give the novel a chance, even if you see that in the table of contents and are frustrated. I wasn't surprised by all of the twists in the novel, but they were still very fun.

I know a lot of people were surprised that theater managed to be combined so well with revolutionaries in this series, but I don't think it's surprising at all. Art has always been provocative and political, and theater is a very "in your face" form of art, so it makes sense that an underground theater troupe would become involved with the revolutionaries. There's also a nice amount of nonbinary representation (two characters) and sapphic representation (two characters) in this book, which seems realistic with how many LGBTQIA+ people are drawn to theater as a form of self-expression. I was not surprised by the characters who turned out to be sapphic and in love with each other — I actually thought in the first book that they probably were former lovers. I'm happy I'm right and it was not just me reading the book with lesbian googles!

I don't really understand Firin saying that she's as bad as Hulei (who traffics and tortures children), but I honestly also wonder if that's part of her "unreliable narrator" charm. Maybe she doesn't actually believe she's as bad as all that, and is just performing guilt for the reader. She's a very compelling unreliable narrator, and the plot twists in conjunction with her having that role in the book are interestingly done.

I would love to see more of what happens in the world of this series after the ending. There's so much promise in this universe, and for seeing what the rebuilding is like.
]]> 4.80 Up in Molten Lights (The Crimson Curtain, #2)
author: E.B. Golden
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.80
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/26
date added: 2025/05/26
shelves: own
review:
Maybe seeking control, especially of those you loved, was just a prison of its own kind. By using those around me, I only had more to be ashamed of than ever before — and this time I couldn't blame Father or the Stav. I couldn't even blame Hulei.

I loved this twisty, sensual, romantic fantasy novel. I finished book one, Behind the Crimson Curtain, the same day I started reading Up in Molten Lights, and it was a really satisfying conclusion to the duology. I read on the author's blog that the series would be a duology, but I would really enjoy reading something else in the world of this series, as I feel like there is so much more to explore. Maybe Suri's story? She's a very interesting side character, so many of the side characters are compelling.

There was a bit of a dark romance in the love triangle in this book. I'm usually not a fan of cliffhangers, love triangles, or final-act new POV switches, so it says a lot that I still enjoyed this book and the first in the series so much. I expected to be very frustrated when I saw that Chapter Seventy-Five out of 79 chapters was from Ruanti's POV, since I usually don't like new POVs being added so late into the book, but it worked out surprisingly well. I would say give the novel a chance, even if you see that in the table of contents and are frustrated. I wasn't surprised by all of the twists in the novel, but they were still very fun.

I know a lot of people were surprised that theater managed to be combined so well with revolutionaries in this series, but I don't think it's surprising at all. Art has always been provocative and political, and theater is a very "in your face" form of art, so it makes sense that an underground theater troupe would become involved with the revolutionaries. There's also a nice amount of nonbinary representation (two characters) and sapphic representation (two characters) in this book, which seems realistic with how many LGBTQIA+ people are drawn to theater as a form of self-expression. I was not surprised by the characters who turned out to be sapphic and in love with each other — I actually thought in the first book that they probably were former lovers. I'm happy I'm right and it was not just me reading the book with lesbian googles!

I don't really understand Firin saying that she's as bad as Hulei (who traffics and tortures children), but I honestly also wonder if that's part of her "unreliable narrator" charm. Maybe she doesn't actually believe she's as bad as all that, and is just performing guilt for the reader. She's a very compelling unreliable narrator, and the plot twists in conjunction with her having that role in the book are interestingly done.

I would love to see more of what happens in the world of this series after the ending. There's so much promise in this universe, and for seeing what the rebuilding is like.

]]> <![CDATA[Behind the Crimson Curtain (The Crimson Curtain #1)]]> 205965455 A magical con artist and an actor turned revolutionary fight for freedom in an atmospheric fantasy debut where layered secrets and daring love clash on a stage of war.

On the coal-choked island of Luisonn, the tyrannical Stav Regime breeds rebellion among the working class. Firin, a face-changing con artist trained by her domineering father, dances between fake lives to escape punishment for her crimes—until armed rebels topple the regime. With freedom finally within her grasp, she discovers one of the heroes is her former lover, Bregan, who introduced her to her second the theater.

As the flames of revolt settle, Firin joins Bregan on the stage. She’s determined to create a life with the honorable man she never forgot. But like the past, love and truth are hard to hide—especially when one of Firin’s victims, now president, chooses Bregan as his right-hand man. Haunted by the sacrifices of revolution and devoted to the new government’s success, Bregan quickly rises in its ranks…

In a web of war and false identities, Firin must choose a side. But is the price of freedom her heart?]]> 434 E.B. Golden 1662523238 Aurora 5 own 3.58 2024 Behind the Crimson Curtain (The Crimson Curtain #1)
author: E.B. Golden
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/24
date added: 2025/05/24
shelves: own
review:

]]> I Am You 230614734 In 1600s Amsterdam, two women—a painter and her assistant—defy the norms of their time as they take on the male-dominated art world and fall in love—from “fantastic prose writer” (Vulture) and “true master” (Guernica), Victoria Redel.

“I loved it in a way that is no doubt different than other books I have loved. The period and touches on time, sexual politics, art, history, class, women’s rights and the significance of Amsterdam and all the details the author shares of this particularly rich period kept me thoroughly engaged and is a brilliant backdrop to Gerta and Maria’s story.” —Sarah Jessica Parker, SJP Lit

At seven years old, Gerta’s hair is lopped off and she’s sent to work for the Oosterwijcks under the name Pieter because it’s a boy they need. As Pieter, she splits wood, minds the hens and rabbits, scrubs the wooden floors of the house, and tends the garden—all while the family’s teenage daughter, Maria, looks on, sketching Pieter’s every movement. A few years later at the dinner table Maria lays Gerta’s deception open alongside a demand that Gerta accompany her to Utrecht, where Maria will apprentice in the workshop of a famous painter. 
    In Utrecht, Maria learns to paint skilled still lives—though she is the only woman in her workshop and because of her gender will never be accepted into the painters’ guild. As Maria ascends to great heights of skill and fame, the relationship between maid and employer deepens and shifts, and it becomes clear that Gerta, too, possesses abilities far beyond what society expects.
    Inspired by the little that is known about Maria van Oosterwijck’s actual life, I Am You is a love story, a meditation on gender—the ways it binds and frees us—and an ode to artistic creation. As beautifully wrought as Oosterwijck’s paintings delicate, blazing in color, and at times enveloped in shadow, Victoria Redel’s new novel brings to life the copious spoils of Amsterdam’s Golden Age, and the perils that lay hidden within them for women like Maria and Gerta.]]> 304 Victoria Redel 1638932069 Aurora 0 to-read 4.50 I Am You
author: Victoria Redel
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Tribute of Fire (The Eye of the Goddess, #1)]]> 208920886 The fate of a cursed nation depends on a princess who must outwit a mortal enemy and outlast the trials of a death-defying ritual in a thrilling adventure by USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson.

Lia is the princess of Locris, a dying desert nation cursed centuries ago by an earth goddess—one still worshipped by the thriving and adversarial nation of Ilion. Every year, Ilion offers the goddess a sacrifice: two Locrian maidens forced to compete in a life-and-death race to reach her temple. In a millennium, no maiden has made it out of Ilion alive. This year, Lia is one of the hunted.

An education in battle gives her a fighting chance, but the challenges are greater than she feared: Lia’s beloved but untrained sister Quynh has been put in the path of danger. The winding streets of Ilion itself have been transformed into a labyrinthine maze of countless choices and dead ends. And if the risks weren’t significant enough, Lia is reluctantly drawn to the commandingly attractive Jason, an Ilionian sailor she loathes to trust and desires like no man before.

The tribute game is on. It’s up to Lia to lift the goddess’s curse, restore Locris to its former glory, and change the fate of every young woman destined to follow in her path.]]> 524 Sariah Wilson 1662525133 Aurora 0 to-read 4.12 2024 A Tribute of Fire (The Eye of the Goddess, #1)
author: Sariah Wilson
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Impostors (Impostors, #1) 37825397 407 Scott Westerfeld 1338151517 Aurora 4 3.93 2018 Impostors (Impostors, #1)
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/21
date added: 2025/05/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism]]> 54646323 'A clear, concise, easy-to-read account of the issues between sex, gender and feminism . . . an important book' Evening Standard 'A call for cool heads at a time of great heat and a vital reminder that revolutions don't always end well' Sunday Times Material Girls is a timely and trenchant critique of the influential theory that we all have an inner feeling known as a gender identity, and that this feeling is more socially significant than our biological sex.Professor Kathleen Stock surveys the philosophical ideas that led to this point, and closely interrogates each one, from De Beauvoir's statement that, 'One is not born, but rather becomes a woman' (an assertion she contends has been misinterpreted and repurposed), to Judith Butler's claim that language creates biological reality, rather than describing it. She looks at biological sex in a range of important contexts, including women-only spaces and resources, healthcare, epidemiology, political organization and data collection.Material Girls makes a clear, humane and feminist case for our retaining the ability to discuss reality, and concludes with a positive vision for the future, in which trans rights activists and feminists can collaborate to achieve some of their political aims.]]> 432 Kathleen Stock 0349726590 Aurora 4 4.19 2021 Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism
author: Kathleen Stock
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/22
date added: 2025/05/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Men Who Hate Women 48635408
Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes eye-opening interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back.

Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many hate-fueled misogynistic attacks online. At first, the vitriol seemed to be the work of a small handful of individual men... but over time, the volume and consistency of the attacks hinted at something bigger and more ominous. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.
In the book, Bates explores:

Extreme communities like incels, pick-up artists, MGTOW, Men's Rights Activists and more
The hateful, toxic rhetoric used by these groups
How this movement connects to other extremist movements like white supremacy
How young boys are targeted and slowly drawn in
Where this ideology shows up in our everyday lives in mainstream media, our playgrounds, and our government

By turns fascinating and horrifying, Men Who Hate Women is a broad, unflinching account of the deep current of loathing toward women and anti-feminism that underpins our society and is a must-read for parents, educators, and anyone who believes in equality for women.]]> 366 Laura Bates Aurora 4
What surprised and frustrated me was that for all of her comparisons between radicalization into extreme Islamic viewpoints and radicalization into alt-right viewpoints, Bates failed to mention the extreme misogyny present in the very extreme portions of Islam. It certainly deserves a mention that ISIS also propagates extremist misogynistic viewpoints, but Bates seemed more interested in discussing how Islamic terrorism is unfairly focused on more than alt-right terrorism. I agree that alt-right and misogynistic terrorism needs to be focused on more, of course, but I don’t understand why a book about men who hate women that discusses Islamic extremism wouldn’t mention the misogyny that’s a significant part of Islamic extremism.

It also frustrated me that Bates recommended ContraPoints as a resource to de-radicalize
men who are being radicalized into PUA/MGTOW/incel extremism. ContraPoints certainly does have plenty of useful videos, but she’s also had a controversy for selling merchandise with lizard people pictured on it with the caption “David Icke was right”, prior to the publication of this book1, which she is still selling with a different caption now (David Icke being an antisemitic conspiracy theorist who believes in lizard people). This doesn’t seem an appropriate person to recommend to de-radicalize people, especially given her points about YouTube’s algorithm pushing people towards more and more extreme views via the recommendations. After viewing a video by someone like ContraPoints, who knows what sort of more openly antisemitic content YouTube might recommend next?

Overall, Bates’ book is useful, especially for those who were previously unaware of the extent to which the “manosphere” has influenced public policy and opinion, but I’m hesitant to fully recommend it. ]]> 4.34 2020 Men Who Hate Women
author: Laura Bates
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/21
date added: 2025/05/21
shelves: abuse-presented-as-abuse, nonfiction, should-ve-read-in-school
review:
A lot of people are unaware of the issues Laura Bates discusses in this book. I was somewhat aware of the issues, as a feminist myself, but I still learned some important things from reading this book. I did not know that men were radicalized online into extreme misogynist movements, but it isn’t entirely surprising to discover that. I also did not know the details of some of the mass shootings that Bates discussed in this book. I’m sure she is right that the mainstream media is hesitant to cover the misogynist motivations of mass shooters, instead shoving it under the rug as “mental illness”, which is later used to demonize innocent mentally ill people, including women who develop mental illness as a result of abuse.

What surprised and frustrated me was that for all of her comparisons between radicalization into extreme Islamic viewpoints and radicalization into alt-right viewpoints, Bates failed to mention the extreme misogyny present in the very extreme portions of Islam. It certainly deserves a mention that ISIS also propagates extremist misogynistic viewpoints, but Bates seemed more interested in discussing how Islamic terrorism is unfairly focused on more than alt-right terrorism. I agree that alt-right and misogynistic terrorism needs to be focused on more, of course, but I don’t understand why a book about men who hate women that discusses Islamic extremism wouldn’t mention the misogyny that’s a significant part of Islamic extremism.

It also frustrated me that Bates recommended ContraPoints as a resource to de-radicalize
men who are being radicalized into PUA/MGTOW/incel extremism. ContraPoints certainly does have plenty of useful videos, but she’s also had a controversy for selling merchandise with lizard people pictured on it with the caption “David Icke was right”, prior to the publication of this book1, which she is still selling with a different caption now (David Icke being an antisemitic conspiracy theorist who believes in lizard people). This doesn’t seem an appropriate person to recommend to de-radicalize people, especially given her points about YouTube’s algorithm pushing people towards more and more extreme views via the recommendations. After viewing a video by someone like ContraPoints, who knows what sort of more openly antisemitic content YouTube might recommend next?

Overall, Bates’ book is useful, especially for those who were previously unaware of the extent to which the “manosphere” has influenced public policy and opinion, but I’m hesitant to fully recommend it.
]]> Extras (Uglies, #4) 493456
Fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse is no exception. But Aya’s face rank is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance at stardom is to kick a wild and unexpected story.

Then she stumbles upon a big secret. Aya knows she is on the cusp of celebrity. But the information she is about to disclose will change both her fate…and that of the brave new world]]> 417 Scott Westerfeld 1416951172 Aurora 4 own 3.60 2006 Extras (Uglies, #4)
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/05/21
shelves: own
review:

]]> All the Scattered Stars 233889646
Koru knows better than to trust anyone but her own. Hidden deep in the winding twists of Venice's narrow alleys, Koru and her found family must disguise themselves to survive. They are Rhunlokni, an ethnic minority gifted with the ability to channel the power of the Earth, their Goddess. They have long been vilified and prosecuted for their strange abilities—and Koru's gift is the strongest of her generation.

So when the police arrive in St. Mark's Square to arrest Koru for a crime she didn't commit, she does the only thing she can—she runs. Though Koru manages to escape the police, a larger threat is drawing near. Koru must figure out what the Goddess is trying to tell her, protect those she loves, and uncover the truth of her past before it's too late—because Venice is sinking. Tonight.]]> 266 Via Luino 1963869575 Aurora 0 to-read 4.00 All the Scattered Stars
author: Via Luino
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Rose Bargain 211742041 The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.

Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.

High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.

But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin… and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.

Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.

Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.]]> 389 Sasha Peyton Smith 0063372525 Aurora 3 3.94 2025 The Rose Bargain
author: Sasha Peyton Smith
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/17
date added: 2025/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sexy But Psycho: How the Patriarchy Uses Women’s Trauma Against Them]]> 58465797
Utilising decades of research, real case studies and new data from her own work, Dr Taylor's book will critically analyse the way we label women with personality disorders. Why are women and girls pathologized for being angry about oppression and abuse? How have so many women been duped into believing that they are mentally ill, for having normal and natural reactions to their experiences? Sexy But Psycho argues that there is a specific purpose to convincing women and girls that they are mentally ill, as the world avoids addressing violence against women and their centuries of ignored trauma.]]> 368 Jessica Taylor 1472135490 Aurora 5 3.80 2022 Sexy But Psycho: How the Patriarchy Uses Women’s Trauma Against Them
author: Jessica Taylor
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/17
date added: 2025/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Out of the Window 202715527
It begins when Ursula, the indulged daughter of an affluent middle-class doctor living in a village in Cheshire, attends a neighbour’s party. There she meets Kenneth, an engineer from Manchester, who is raising money for the wives and children of local miners striking for better working conditions; he is ‘absurdly good looking… the other men in the room seemed limp and colourless beside him.’ The two of them marry against their parents’ wishes but, when they return from honeymoon, they soon realise that marriage does not only involve love, but also housework.

Out of the Window is full of revealing detail about Manchester in the 1920s, not least social inequality and the role of the trade unions; it is about women’s lives not long before the watershed of WWII; and it is also steeped in what we at Persephone Books call ‘Domestic Feminism’. The main theme, however – and it is no coincidence that Out of the Window was written the year after Lady Chatterley’s Lover was not published – is whether sexual attraction is a sensible basis for marriage. As Ursula observes a few months after her wedding, “You know, there ought to be some other solution for girls in love. It isn’t fair that they should be tied all their lives and have children, just because they once felt passionate about some man and were blind to everything else. The marriage service should be postponed until they had lived together for a while and the glamorous side of it had got less.” Hear, hear, we shout from the twenty-first century.

The author of Out of the Window, Madeline Linford, was the first editor of the Guardian’s or, as it was then, the Manchester Guardian’s Women’s Page. She joined the paper in 1913 when she was 18 and a decade later was appointed an editor. Yet somehow, in addition to her journalism, she also found time to write five novels, including Out of the Window.]]> 284 Madeline Linford 1910263389 Aurora 0 to-read 4.10 1930 Out of the Window
author: Madeline Linford
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1930
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Comfort Food and Covert Magic: A Short Story (Sweethearts, A Collection of Valentine's Day Standalones)]]> 227838731
Despite her excitement, Aurora can’t let her guard down. If any of the mortals discover she's a witch, she could surely be burned at the stake.

And even worse, if the high priestess discovers she traveled to the forbidden mortal realm, she will be put on magical probation and endlessly haunted by Whimsica’s self-appointed, intolerable busy-body Rufus.

When her trip through the portal causes her to get sick right before the date, she struggles to keep her magic in check. What kind of chaos can be caused by a sick witch in an overbooked restaurant on the most romantic night of the year? And will Aurora be able to stop it from ruining her date?




This short story originally appeared in Recipes for A Sweet Valentine's Day Anthology published by And You Press, an imprint of Nicole Frail Books, released in February 2025. This ebook contains supplemental material from the author.]]> 42 S.B. Rizk 1965852297 Aurora 3 own 3.06 Comfort Food and Covert Magic: A Short Story (Sweethearts, A Collection of Valentine's Day Standalones)
author: S.B. Rizk
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.06
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/13
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sophie and the Sea: Lost at Sea with My Worst Enemy]]> 215786512
Vickie's best friend is her twin sister, Margo. They get along in almost everything—everything except Margo's other best friend, Sophie. Vickie's hated Sophie for more than a decade.

Vickie takes the motorboat out far from shore one afternoon to enjoy some quiet time on the water when a belt breaks on her motor. Margo enlists Sophie's help on the sailboat to pick up Vickie before a dangerous storm system moves in. In the rush to beat the storm back to shore, Margo stays behind to fix the motorboat while Sophie uses her expert sailing skills to get herself and Vickie back before the gale force winds hit—but they're too late. Lost in the middle of the ocean with their boat damaged, how will Sophie and Vickie find a way past their differences to find shore and save themselves?]]> 198 Cassidy Langue Aurora 4 own 3.54 Sophie and the Sea: Lost at Sea with My Worst Enemy
author: Cassidy Langue
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.54
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/13
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[She Loves to Serve: Mel Asks the Volleyball Girls for Domination (The Volleyball Towel Girl Book 2)]]> 230753014 They need to use her.

Mel loves being the towel girl for her college volleyball team, serving the giantess athletes. But the girls are too nice- Mel needs them to be more dominant. To help them win the national championship, she'll do whatever it takes. She’ll eat and please the whole team as their servant.

This can be read as a standalone short. 3K words.]]> 15 Maya Quinn Aurora 3 own 3.14 She Loves to Serve: Mel Asks the Volleyball Girls for Domination (The Volleyball Towel Girl Book 2)
author: Maya Quinn
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.14
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/11
date added: 2025/05/12
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Play Dirty: An Enemies to Lovers Erotic Romance]]> 198520539
Determined to take Aiden down a peg, she sends him an anonymous download link of a groundbreaking, fully immersive virtual reality adult game and then ambushes him with her smoking hot avatar. What starts out as a prank evolves into an emotionally intense experience as the two engage in some naughty BDSM play.

When Aiden finds out her true identity, he invites her to FanXXXpo, the biggest erotic convention happening in San Diego. She’s bent on getting him out of her system once and for all—but will he break her first?

Play Dirty is an erotic romance novella with a dash of BDSM.]]> 115 Cyra Wilde Aurora 3 own 3.63 Play Dirty: An Enemies to Lovers Erotic Romance
author: Cyra Wilde
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.63
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/11
date added: 2025/05/12
shelves: own
review:

]]> Hollow Bones 208707856 An eerie Appalachian town. A fatal fire. Three women whose fates intertwine . . .Essa Montgomery and her brother Clyde were brought up in New Hope, a serpent-handling church in Vintera, West Virginia, until the shocking deaths of both their parents closed the church down. Now twenty, reclusive Essa lives alone in her childhood home in the shadow of New Hope, which to her horror has been taken over by a new charismatic, unsettling pastor who continues the dangerous practice. So when the church burns down, she's glad - until she learns that two people died in the blaze, and her brother's the prime suspect . . .Life has made Juliet Usher, who scratches a living as a psychic medium, both assertive and ruthless. With a baby on the way, it's the worst possible time for her partner Clyde to be arrested. She'll do anything to survive and keep him out of prison - no matter what it takes!Merrit Callahan has always been ambitious. A striving news reporter, she's willing to go the extra mile and break the rules to get the big scoop. And in small-town Vintera, she thinks she might have found the story that will be the making of her career.Fans of Angie Kim's Miracle Creek and Eli Cranor's Ozark Dogs will love this gripping and creepy mystery novel inspired by Shakespeare's Measure for Measure using a contemporary setting filled with shocking twists and turns!]]> 208 Erica Wright 1448313945 Aurora 4 3.68 Hollow Bones
author: Erica Wright
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/09
date added: 2025/05/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Roommate From College: Cheating With Another Woman]]> 227983072 What happens when my biggest mistake comes back to…bite me?

I was still in college when I got engaged to Rod. I never told him I’d been fooling around with my roommate, Claire. Just kissing, but even that would get me disowned. Excommunicated. So I took the safe option.

Claire broke off contact the instant I said yes. I haven’t seen her since.

Now fate is the one fooling around, bringing her back into my life, in bizarre circumstances.

She’s more beautiful than ever—and no surprise, she’s angry. As hard as I try to make peace, somehow, that becomes making out. And that’s just the beginning…

This short story is ~4,500 words of spicy cheating wife lesbian sex. Reader discretion advised.]]> 28 Kitty Keen Aurora 2 3.76 My Roommate From College: Cheating With Another Woman
author: Kitty Keen
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.76
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/05/10
date added: 2025/05/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lost & Found (Seduced By The Lesbian Babysitter)]]> 215630557 And lately, those dreams have taken me into uncharted territory. Lesbian territory. Always with the same young, anonymous blonde woman.
When another lame night out together ends early, Dan and I are shocked to walk in and find our 18-year-old babysitter, Jelena, in a…compromising position. Using one of my toys.
As always with confronting moments, my husband begs off, leaving me to deal with the matter.
Only I don’t really know how. Because it’s only now I realize Jelena is who I’ve been dreaming about. And it’s clear the girl is hot for me, too.
Oh, god. Am I asleep right now? Or have I finally found what I’m looking for?]]> 33 Kitty Keen Aurora 1 3.70 Lost & Found (Seduced By The Lesbian Babysitter)
author: Kitty Keen
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.70
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2025/05/10
date added: 2025/05/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[First Time: A Spicy FFF Sapphic Short Romance (College Dorm Girls)]]> 209745296 A #1 Best Seller in Lesbian Erotica.

Angel is a heavy sleeper - she even sleeps through her roommate's early morning lovemaking sessions. Little does she know, they wish she'd wake up and join them...But when she does, they realize this will be Angel's first time. Hailee and Olivia are more than happy to guide their friend.

This is a spicy FFF sapphic short romance for mature audiences.]]> 30 Gemma Addison Dove Aurora 4 3.37 First Time: A Spicy FFF Sapphic Short Romance (College Dorm Girls)
author: Gemma Addison Dove
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.37
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/10
date added: 2025/05/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Just Dinner: Part Two: A Spicy FFF Sapphic Short Romance (College Dorm Girls)]]> 210554987
Just Dinner, Part Two is a spicy FFF sapphic romance short story with a polyamorous/why choose HEA. This short story can be enjoyed as a standalone, but will be better if you read Just Dinner, Part One first.]]> 31 Gemma Addison Dove Aurora 5 3.57 Just Dinner: Part Two: A Spicy FFF Sapphic Short Romance (College Dorm Girls)
author: Gemma Addison Dove
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/10
date added: 2025/05/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Just Dinner: Part One: A Spicy FF Sapphic Short Romance (College Dorm Girls)]]> 210357955
This is a spicy FF sapphic short romance for mature audiences.]]> 33 Gemma Addison Dove Aurora 5 3.51 Just Dinner: Part One: A Spicy FF Sapphic Short Romance (College Dorm Girls)
author: Gemma Addison Dove
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.51
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/10
date added: 2025/05/10
shelves:
review:

]]> Follow Me 216997496 Heathers meets The Stepford Wives in this creepy and frighteningly funny dark thriller about a woman who will do anything to find her missing sister. Even pretend to be one of them.

After her twin sister, Chiara, goes missing at a mom-fluencer weekend, Adrienne Shaw will find her no matter what it takes. They may have been on the outs, but no one comes for her sister and gets away with it.

It’s been a year, the authorities have no answers, and her brother-in-law is useless in the matter. It’s time for Adrienne to take the case into her own hands. Following in Chiara’s last footsteps, Adrienne goes undercover, infiltrating the same influencer retreat as the last thing she wants to an Instamommy.

The remote ranch in Northern California is certainly welcoming—in a cult-adjacent kind of way. A charismatic leader, communal crafts, fixed smiles—and a lot of dead eyes.

Going on gut instinct and chasing a wild theory—that Chiara came here and never left—Adrienne is determined to uncover the truth before the too-perfect-to-believe women figure out who Adrienne really a threat to be eliminated.]]> 271 Elizabeth Rose Quinn 1662524803 Aurora 2 own
Thanks to the author and publishing house for making this available on First Reads. ]]> 3.49 2025 Follow Me
author: Elizabeth Rose Quinn
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/05/06
date added: 2025/05/09
shelves: own
review:
I'm probably not the target audience for this because I'm not a mom, but I still found it interesting. I liked Chiara's POV a lot more than Adrienne's. I think the book was a little too short. It very much turned from thriller to something like a satire of a slasher horror at the end, which was a confusing change. This is very much a modern book, and if you're annoyed by hashtags I would not advise reading it as there are so many hashtags in it, a truly excessive amount of hashtags, probably because it's trying to be some sort of satire. There is also casual lesbophobia/homophobia in the book and a lot of other casual bigotry, so if you're uncomfortable with that sort of thing I would not advise reading this book. It's odd to me that Adrienne, who is apparently some sort of gay herself, does not seem to react much to the casual lesbophobia, but maybe she's just used to it? I'm not sure she would be, since she comes from California.

Thanks to the author and publishing house for making this available on First Reads.
]]> Nobody in Particular 217420712 Young Royals meets The Prince and Me when a disgraced princess falls for a new student at their all-girls boarding school, but the two must hide their forbidden love at all costs.

Princess Rosemary of Henland can’t afford distractions. She’s working tirelessly to repair her image following a scandal that lost the trust of both her country and her best friend. Unfortunately, when a beautiful and funny new student joins her boarding school, Rose finds herself quite distracted indeed.

Attending Bramppath College on a music scholarship, talented pianist Danni expects to be an outcast amongst the wealthy children of the elite, but she is pleasantly surprised to be taken in by the ex-best friend of the princess. The more Danni gets to know her new classmates, the more intrigued she becomes by Rose.

When somebody sees something they shouldn’t and rumors circulate throughout Henland, Rose and Danni must either find a way to deflect the ever-increasing eyes on their relationship, or end it altogether. Because one thing is clear: if Rose’s fragile reputation takes any more hits, the palace will do whatever they must to separate Rose and Danni. Forever.]]> 352 Sophie Gonzales 1250352495 Aurora 5 own
The characters all felt well-rounded and realistic (even the antagonist, unfortunately their behavior was also fairly realistic) and the relationship between Rose and Danni developed in such an adorable way.

It felt similar to Red, White and Royal Blue, which I've watched the movie of, and I'm so glad that a sapphic royal romance was published. I also like that the gay characters referred to themselves with specific identity labels like bisexual and lesbian, as I really do feel like there is an under-representation of lesbians as sympathetic characters in media these days.

The unique issues that gay people experience, such as bisexual people being assumed to be non-monogamous and gay people overall being outed against their will, were explored well in the book as well. It was also interesting to see the book touch on deportation.

This book wasn't only a romance, it felt like a book that touched on serious issues as well. I didn't anticipate the grief and alcohol/drug use to be such a significant theme of a book like this, but that was also handled well. I think it was also realistic that teenage intimacy was depicted a little bit, since it's not like sexual attraction suddenly shows up when someone turns 18, and attraction to other females can especially be stigmatized. It was tasteful, and certainly not particularly more explicit than what is depicted between heterosexual couples in YA. The emphasis on sexuality and drugs and alcohol definitely puts this book in the upper YA category for me, although some reviewers have confusingly said that it is young for YA. That doesn't make sense to me, since the characters are all fairly mature both emotionally and in their behaviors with drugs and alcohol. ]]> 4.08 2025 Nobody in Particular
author: Sophie Gonzales
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/08
date added: 2025/05/08
shelves: own
review:
I adored this book!

The characters all felt well-rounded and realistic (even the antagonist, unfortunately their behavior was also fairly realistic) and the relationship between Rose and Danni developed in such an adorable way.

It felt similar to Red, White and Royal Blue, which I've watched the movie of, and I'm so glad that a sapphic royal romance was published. I also like that the gay characters referred to themselves with specific identity labels like bisexual and lesbian, as I really do feel like there is an under-representation of lesbians as sympathetic characters in media these days.

The unique issues that gay people experience, such as bisexual people being assumed to be non-monogamous and gay people overall being outed against their will, were explored well in the book as well. It was also interesting to see the book touch on deportation.

This book wasn't only a romance, it felt like a book that touched on serious issues as well. I didn't anticipate the grief and alcohol/drug use to be such a significant theme of a book like this, but that was also handled well. I think it was also realistic that teenage intimacy was depicted a little bit, since it's not like sexual attraction suddenly shows up when someone turns 18, and attraction to other females can especially be stigmatized. It was tasteful, and certainly not particularly more explicit than what is depicted between heterosexual couples in YA. The emphasis on sexuality and drugs and alcohol definitely puts this book in the upper YA category for me, although some reviewers have confusingly said that it is young for YA. That doesn't make sense to me, since the characters are all fairly mature both emotionally and in their behaviors with drugs and alcohol.
]]> <![CDATA[The Complete Illustrated Fairy Tales of The Brothers Grimm]]> 40051258
Together with the well-known tales of Rapunzel, The Goose-Girl, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel and Snow White, there are the darker tales such as Death's Messengers which deserve to be better known, and which will appeal not only to all who are interested in the history of folklore, but also to all those who simply love good story-telling.]]> 1008 Wilhelm Grimm Aurora 0 currently-reading 4.11 The Complete Illustrated Fairy Tales of The Brothers Grimm
author: Wilhelm Grimm
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dreams in Time (Spicy Romantasy Fairy Tales)]]> 216208240 A sleeping princess, a handsome prince, and a dark time travel romance...
I'm a librarian with a passion for history. I lead a quiet life. I get my adventures from the books I read, and I'm okay with that.
Until I'm suddenly transported back in time.
For as long as I can remember, my nights have been haunted by vivid dreams of a medieval kingdom and a beautiful princess trapped in eternal slumber.
But one fateful night, my dreams transport me back in time, where I awaken in the body of Princess Aveline, who has been cursed to sleep forever.
All the books in the world couldn't prepare me for the realities of medieval life.
To make matters worse, I have to pretend to be the princess I've replaced.
And then there's the dashing and determined Prince Alaric. He's handsome and everything I ever dreamed a prince would be, but how can I get close to him while he believes he's falling in love with someone else? And how do I keep my own feelings in check?
I know I somehow have to break the curse that binds the real Princess Aveline—both for her sake and my own.
But I might break my heart in the process.
Dreams in Time is a captivating retelling of Sleeping Beauty, filled with romance, fantasy, and adventure. If you enjoyed the magic and romance of 'The Selection' series, you'll love this timeless tale of true love and sacrifice.

✨ DREAMS IN TIME ✨ is a spicy novella perfect for fans

• fairy tale retellings
• new adult romantasy
• friends to lovers
• mystery with high stakes
• time travel romance
• a bit of magic
• witty banter
• Irish mythology and faerie tales
• heart-pounding adventure
• forced proximity
• who did this to you
• he falls first
• fated mates
• dark fantasy vibesGet ready to dive headfirst into sinful, heart-pounding romantic fantasies that drag you into wild, untamed worlds of medieval kingdoms, forbidden forests, and raw elemental magic. Picture fierce heroines tangled up with brooding, dangerous men who’d burn the world to keep them. These twisted, spicy fairy tale retellings turn the stories you know into something dark, obsessive, and deliciously irresistible. Magic crackles, passions ignite, and destinies collide—romantasy lovers, these dark fairy tale re-tellings are for you.]]> 65 Kenzie Skye Aurora 3 fairytales 3.14 Dreams in Time (Spicy Romantasy Fairy Tales)
author: Kenzie Skye
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.14
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/06
date added: 2025/05/06
shelves: fairytales
review:
It was okay. I didn't find the sex scenes to be very well-written. I didn't like that the MC praised Neil Gaiman since this was published after the allegations came out, but it was only very shortly after so the author may not have heard about it yet.
]]> <![CDATA[Her Rival Dragon Mate (Crescent Lake Shifters #1)]]> 61407542
When they’re forced to work together on a case, tension grows between the two women as the stakes get higher. Can Kendra and Alisha look past their ambitions and find common ground or will their rivalry break them apart?

-

Her Rival Dragon Mate is a fated mates paranormal romance featuring an alpha dragon shifter and her feisty mate. It includes a standalone f/f rivals to lovers romance and a dash of steamy goodness. It is part of the Crescent Lake Shifters series.]]> 110 Arizona Tape Aurora 3 own 3.71 Her Rival Dragon Mate (Crescent Lake Shifters #1)
author: Arizona Tape
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/05
date added: 2025/05/05
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death Row (Alibis Collection, #1)]]> 230824619
Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering her husband. She had an alibi and no known motive, yet Talia’s unwavering protestations of innocence have always been ignored. Then one day in the visiting area, she sees a recognizable stranger she’s certain is her husband. It turns out the man she’s been convicted of killing may not be dead after all. But as the days tick away toward Talia’s execution, what will it take for her to be believed?

Freida McFadden’s Death Row is part of Alibis, a collection of stories about lies, truth, and deception. It’s just a matter of what you can get away with. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.]]> 74 Freida McFadden 1662532261 Aurora 4 own 3.61 2025 Death Row (Alibis Collection, #1)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/04
date added: 2025/05/05
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Her Beloved Dragon Mate (Crescent Lake Shifters #6)]]> 63219342 Only the full moon can reveal the truth about her mate.

Dragon shifter, Ruby, can’t wait to spend the rest of her life with Hannah but without knowing if they’re fated, she’s not sure if she’s ready to commit.

Everything about Drakefield is elusive and new to Hannah, but she’s ready to embrace this hidden world and its unusual customs. Or so she thinks…

Will Hannah and Ruby discover they’re meant for each other or will the truth break their hearts?

Her Beloved Dragon Mate is a fated mates paranormal romance featuring a dragon shifter and her mate. It includes a standalone f/f romance and a dash of steamy goodness. It is a quick read in the Crescent Lake Shifters series.]]> 80 Arizona Tape Aurora 4 own 3.57 Her Beloved Dragon Mate (Crescent Lake Shifters #6)
author: Arizona Tape
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/04
date added: 2025/05/04
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fairy Festival (The Griffin Sanctuary)]]> 63208985
-

The Fairy Festival is a prequel to the Griffin Sanctuary, a modern fantasy following mythical creatures and the keepers who tend to them with a sapphic main character.]]> 32 Ariana Jade Aurora 4 own 3.69 The Fairy Festival (The Griffin Sanctuary)
author: Ariana Jade
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.69
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/03
date added: 2025/05/04
shelves: own
review:

]]> Who We Thought We Were 231757463
Then she lands an almost-too-good-to-be-true housing a luxurious room in an upscale neighborhood for an unbelievably low cost. If there’s a catch, Josie will happily stay ignorant. But her new address reopens a door Adam’s been trying to keep shut. Now, caught between a long-buried promise to his mother and the return of something he thought he’d left behind, Adam is forced to confront the only secret he’s ever kept from Josie. As Adam begins to pull away, Josie finds herself floundering without the one person she’s always relied on.

For the first time, the two find themselves on opposite sides of a divide neither knows how to cross.

Perfect for fans of messy, heartfelt friendships, emotional self-discovery, and the complicated ways love—platonic or otherwise—can shape us, Who We Thought We Were is a sharp, moving novel about finding yourself when the person who’s always been by your side isn’t there anymore.]]> 293 Alex Hoeft Aurora 3 own
I did genuinely think I might find Adam more sympathetic than Josie due to us both being gay, but that did not end up being the case for me. Adam becomes less flawed in the end and shows significant character development, but he was a difficult character to read about. It seemed like the other characters brushed off all of the unsympathetic choices he made because he was gay and that meant he gets to be selfish without much criticism. In comparison, Josie is constantly berated by all of the characters. Perhaps that's realistic for how women are treated, but it wasn't necessary in my opinion for a book categorized as literary, that intended to have characters who explored the human condition.

I also found it odd that for all of Josie's pressure of Adam and controlling behavior that was talked about as having occurred and consistently occurring (but never really shown in the book itself), she never mentioned anything about the sex abuse allegations against Joseph Smith. It would have been very in-character for her to mention them as an example of Mormonism's hypocrisy, but there's nothing. There really… isn't even that much pressure against Adam or against Mormonism?

I also find the framing of Josie's decision at the end of the book to be odd. It seems to be supposed to serve to make her more sympathetic, but all it really seems like is her giving in and acting against her nature as a stubborn character. It doesn't feel realistic that she'd do it, unless it was because she did it primarily for Adam, which isn't a good message to send to young women. Even if a female character isn't making choices that seriously change her career path and future because of a boy she's in love with, she's still making those choices because of a boy she loves, not because of what's best for her.

I also don't really know how I feel about the author promoting her plan to release additional short stories from the POVs of the main characters when a certain number of reviews are posted on 카지노싸이트 and Amazon in the book itself. I know indie authors need publicity, but it just seems kind of scammy. I guess the author does think everyone will like Adam more and anticipate content about him more, because his short story is the final one that will be posted, not Josie's.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]]> 4.31 Who We Thought We Were
author: Alex Hoeft
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/03
date added: 2025/05/03
shelves: own
review:
The author of this book heavily favored one of the protagonists in terms of her sympathy, and it was quite obvious. I had hoped that the acknowledgements saying that Adam was easy to love and Josie wasn't wouldn't mean the author fell into the trap of treating flawed female characters as far worse than flawed male characters, but it unfortunately did.

I did genuinely think I might find Adam more sympathetic than Josie due to us both being gay, but that did not end up being the case for me. Adam becomes less flawed in the end and shows significant character development, but he was a difficult character to read about. It seemed like the other characters brushed off all of the unsympathetic choices he made because he was gay and that meant he gets to be selfish without much criticism. In comparison, Josie is constantly berated by all of the characters. Perhaps that's realistic for how women are treated, but it wasn't necessary in my opinion for a book categorized as literary, that intended to have characters who explored the human condition.

I also found it odd that for all of Josie's pressure of Adam and controlling behavior that was talked about as having occurred and consistently occurring (but never really shown in the book itself), she never mentioned anything about the sex abuse allegations against Joseph Smith. It would have been very in-character for her to mention them as an example of Mormonism's hypocrisy, but there's nothing. There really… isn't even that much pressure against Adam or against Mormonism?

I also find the framing of Josie's decision at the end of the book to be odd. It seems to be supposed to serve to make her more sympathetic, but all it really seems like is her giving in and acting against her nature as a stubborn character. It doesn't feel realistic that she'd do it, unless it was because she did it primarily for Adam, which isn't a good message to send to young women. Even if a female character isn't making choices that seriously change her career path and future because of a boy she's in love with, she's still making those choices because of a boy she loves, not because of what's best for her.

I also don't really know how I feel about the author promoting her plan to release additional short stories from the POVs of the main characters when a certain number of reviews are posted on 카지노싸이트 and Amazon in the book itself. I know indie authors need publicity, but it just seems kind of scammy. I guess the author does think everyone will like Adam more and anticipate content about him more, because his short story is the final one that will be posted, not Josie's.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
]]> <![CDATA[The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold (The Blonde Identity, #2)]]> 221345606
Six years ago, he left the game.

Five years ago, they fell in love.

One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back.

And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark.

They don’t know where they are. They don’t know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants.

The only thing that’s clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they’re going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don’t kill each other first.)]]> Ally Carter 0063386992 Aurora 3 own
That being said, I found this book pretty confusing. The alternating timelines were interesting, but I think it would have been easier to follow if the book didn't also alternate POVs. It did also seem at times that the author had a difficult time staying in the POV of the character she was ostensibly writing the POV of — she would describe the inner feelings of a character that the POV character wouldn't have necessarily known, without saying something like "Kingsley guessed that (insert speculation on Alex's feelings here)".

I also found it odd that a certain character was described as frail and ill the entire book, and then at the climax of the book said character is able to come in and help save the day in a very physical way that would have been difficult for a character with the implied disability they had. I know that spy books aren't always the most realistic, but it felt less like speculative fiction-style unrealistic writing and more like lack of research-style unrealistic writing.

I did enjoy the characters, and I didn't see the twists coming at the end. I think all of the twists could have been explained a bit more, but maybe that's partially because I haven't read The Blonde Identity. ]]> 4.19 2025 The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold (The Blonde Identity, #2)
author: Ally Carter
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/02
date added: 2025/05/02
shelves: own
review:
So I will preface this by saying that I didn't read the book that this is in the same universe as (The Blonde Identity), so my review is coming from that perspective. Other reviewers said it could be read as a standalone, though, and the marketing didn't indicate it needed to be read as a sequel, so I didn't read The Blonde Identity first.

That being said, I found this book pretty confusing. The alternating timelines were interesting, but I think it would have been easier to follow if the book didn't also alternate POVs. It did also seem at times that the author had a difficult time staying in the POV of the character she was ostensibly writing the POV of — she would describe the inner feelings of a character that the POV character wouldn't have necessarily known, without saying something like "Kingsley guessed that (insert speculation on Alex's feelings here)".

I also found it odd that a certain character was described as frail and ill the entire book, and then at the climax of the book said character is able to come in and help save the day in a very physical way that would have been difficult for a character with the implied disability they had. I know that spy books aren't always the most realistic, but it felt less like speculative fiction-style unrealistic writing and more like lack of research-style unrealistic writing.

I did enjoy the characters, and I didn't see the twists coming at the end. I think all of the twists could have been explained a bit more, but maybe that's partially because I haven't read The Blonde Identity.
]]> <![CDATA[Dead of Winter (The Arcana Chronicles, #3)]]> 18746546 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole’s Arcana Chronicles, a nonstop action tale of rescue, redemption, and a revenge most wicked.

Heartbreaking decisions
Evie was almost seduced by the life of comfort that Death offered her—until Jack was threatened by two of the most horrific Arcana, the Lovers. She will do anything to save him, even escape Death’s uncanny prison, full of beautiful objects, material comforts…and stolen glances from a former love.

Uncertain victory
Despite leaving a part of her heart behind with Death, Evie sets out into a perilous post-apocalyptic wasteland to meet up with her allies and launch an attack on the Lovers. Such formidable enemies require a battle plan, and the only way to kill them may mean Evie, Jack, and Death allying. Evie doesn’t know what will prove more impossible: surviving slavers, plague, Bagmen and other Arcana—or convincing Jack and Death to work together.

Two heroes returned
There’s a thin line between love and hate, and Evie just doesn’t know where she stands with either Jack or Death. Will this unlikely trio be able to defeat The Lovers without killing one another first...?]]> 336 Kresley Cole Aurora 5 give-it-to-me-now, revenge 4.31 2015 Dead of Winter (The Arcana Chronicles, #3)
author: Kresley Cole
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/29
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: give-it-to-me-now, revenge
review:

]]> Lies That Princess Told You 105673521
Never one to back down, Roselyn forges ahead anyway, pushing through any guilt or remorse her actions may cause. So what if she leaves a few tears in her wake? The risk of not acting is too great. Life, after all, is not a fairy tale, and wickedness is in the eye of the beholder.]]> 227 Caitlin Rush Aurora 0 to-read 4.54 Lies That Princess Told You
author: Caitlin Rush
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles, #2)]]> 16175040 This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN B00BAWBLLY.

In this seductive follow-up to Poison Princess, #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole takes us deeper into the dark world of the Arcana Chronicles.

Shocking secrets
Evie has fully come into her powers as the Tarot Empress, and Jack was there to see it all. She now knows that the teens who've been reincarnated as the Tarot are in the throes of an epic battle. It's kill or be killed, and the future of mankind hangs in the balance.

Unexpected allies
With threats lurking around every corner, Evie is forced to trust her newfound alliance. Together they must fight not only other Arcana, but also Bagmen zombies, post-apocalyptic storms, and cannibals.

Gut-wrenching treachery
When Evie meets Death, things get even more complicated. Though falling for Jack, she's drawn to the dangerous Endless Knight as well. Somehow the Empress and Death share a history, one that Evie can't remember--but Death can't forget...]]> 320 Kresley Cole Aurora 5 4.39 2013 Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles, #2)
author: Kresley Cole
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/28
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: abusive-relationship, antag-was-fave-charrie, bad-boy, bad-characters-amazing-plot, best-plot-twist-ever, everyone-dies-well-not-really, fangirling, fantastic-sequels, gary-stu, hated-love-interest, inner-beast, love-triangle, nsfw, paranormal-romance, romance, too-sexy, web-of-lies, hey-look-sociopaths, favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)]]> 38447
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.]]> 311 Margaret Atwood 038549081X Aurora 0 4.15 1985 The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: must-read, should-ve-read-in-school, why-do-i-love-formulaic-dystopians, to-read
review:

]]> House of Light 178965
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day" (one of the poems in this volume)

Winner of a 1991 Christopher Award

Winner of the 1991 Boston Globe Lawrence L. Winship Book Award]]> 80 Mary Oliver 080706811X Aurora 5 own 4.32 1990 House of Light
author: Mary Oliver
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Purim Fling (Yom Tov Romance #1)]]> 44164211 Jenna is stuck. It’s been nine months since she graduated college and moved in with her parents. She hasn’t had a hint of romance for even longer. That changes when she meets Asher, who’s in town for a business meeting, at the Temple’s annual Singles Purim Party.
Asher is bored. He’s doesn't do relationships, especially with women who want the suburban white picket fence life. That changes after a drunken hook up with Jenna; he can’t get her out of his head and wants more.
A quick fling is just what they both need to find themselves again. The Purim Fling is a fun story about learning about who you really are and standing up for what you really want.]]> 80 Sara Marks 1950188051 Aurora 2 own 2.43 The Purim Fling (Yom Tov Romance #1)
author: Sara Marks
name: Aurora
average rating: 2.43
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/26
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beltane Magic (Magical Midlife, #0)]]> 195530448 It was magic when they got together. Until it wasn’t…

Growing up as part of the infamous Rosewater family of witches is a lot of pressure, but now that Sage is on her own, she’s ready to be a “normal”. She has one incredible night with a guy she meets at a college party, but when she wakes up, suddenly she actually is a “normal”. The guy she gave her virginity to somehow drained her magic and disappeared!

Edward has been searching for his lost soulmate for four years. When he suddenly has a psychic vision of her kissing another man, he heads out to the town of Greysden to find her and claim her forever. It’s love at first sight – again – but Sage doesn’t want to be with a man who makes her lose her witchcraft, no matter how good things are between them.

Fortunately, it’s Beltane and the local coven just might have a plan to help Sage keep her magic and be with her soulmate too.

“Beltane Magic” is a funny, short, and steamy prequel to the “Magical Midlife” series. This small-town paranormal romance includes a matchmaking mother, friendly shifters, and an unconventional solution to a little...performance issue.]]> 43 Rose Bak Aurora 3 own 3.24 Beltane Magic (Magical Midlife, #0)
author: Rose Bak
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.24
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/26
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Belladonna (A Virtue & Vice Prequel)]]> 123224492
What will Bella do when two innocent young ladies walk into her parlor seeking answers about their father?

Set in Victorian London, the Virtue & Vice series is for readers who cried when Harlots was canceled, binged Bridgerton , and anxiously await the further adventures of Miss Scarlet and the Duke. Try the steamy Victorian romance prequel for FREE!]]> 44 Carrie Lomax Aurora 3 own 3.62 Belladonna (A Virtue & Vice Prequel)
author: Carrie Lomax
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.62
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/26
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: own
review:

]]> After I Do 18775359 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781476712840.

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.]]> 352 Taylor Jenkins Reid Aurora 3 3.91 2014 After I Do
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: abandoned, abusive-relationship, did-not-finish
review:

]]> The Wishing Game 62926992
Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher’s aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.

But be careful what you wish for. . . .

Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.

For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.

. . . You might just get it.]]> 278 Meg Shaffer 0593598830 Aurora 0 to-read 4.01 2023 The Wishing Game
author: Meg Shaffer
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Her Unforgotten Bear Mate (Crescent Lake Bears #5)]]> 196768221 60 Arizona Tape Aurora 3 own 3.35 Her Unforgotten Bear Mate (Crescent Lake Bears #5)
author: Arizona Tape
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.35
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)]]> 218515947 The gorgeous collector’s hardcover edition of Blood of Hercules contains full color customized artwork, exclusive bonus content, and gold foil sprayed edges, foil casing, and metallic cover treatment.

I’m just a girl. And it turns out, I’m Hercules.

I’m struggling to survive in a Titan infested world where Spartans, immortals from twelve royal families who have god-like powers and obscene wealth, rule over all. A shy-stammering foster child with nothing, I keep my head down, cover my scars, and focus on excelling in school. At least, I try to. Then it happens.

My blood test reveals I’m part of the powerful elite. I’m one of them. A Spartan.

Forced to attend the Spartan War Academy, I undergo the most harrowing test of all time to see if I have what it takes to be an immortal. There’s just a few problems. Achilles and Patro are my scary mentors. Kharon, the ferryman of death, and Augustus, the son of war, are my terrifying professors. Also, I’m pretty sure either someone’s stalking me everywhere I go, or my sanity’s slipping––I have a bad feeling both are true.

I’m surrounded by Villains and they’re smothering me with their hate, obsession, and dark possessiveness. Too bad for them, they have no clue just who they’re messing with.

Perfect for readers who love:
• "Who did this to you?"
• Extreme Enemies to Lovers
• Morally Gray Alpha Heros
• Stories where the Villains get the girl
• Greek Myths and War Academies]]> 512 Jasmine Mas 1335474730 Aurora 0 did-not-finish 3.93 2024 Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)
author: Jasmine Mas
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: did-not-finish
review:

]]> The Let Them Theory 216351768
If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated with where you are, the problem isn't you. The problem is the power you give to other people. Two simple words—Let Them—will set you free. Free from the opinions, drama, and judgments of others. Free from the exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and everyone around you. The Let Them Theory puts the power to create a life you love back in your hands—and this book will show you exactly how to do it.

In her latest groundbreaking book, The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins—New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's most respected experts on motivation, confidence, and mindset—teaches you how to stop wasting energy on what you can't control and start focusing on what truly YOU. Your happiness. Your goals. Your life.

Using the same no-nonsense, science-backed approach that's made The Mel Robbins Podcast a global sensation, Robbins explains why The Let Them Theory is already loved by millions and how you can apply it in eight key areas of your life to make the biggest impact. Within a few pages, you'll realize how much energy and time you've been wasting trying to control the wrong things—at work, in relationships, and in pursuing your goals—and how this is keeping you from the happiness and success you deserve.

Written as an easy-to-understand guide, Robbins shares relatable stories from her own life, highlights key takeaways, relevant research and introduces you to world-renowned experts in psychology, neuroscience, relationships, happiness, and ancient wisdom who champion The Let Them Theory every step of the way.

Learn how

Stop wasting energy on things you can't control Stop comparing yourself to other peopleBreak free from fear and self-doubtRelease the grip of people's expectationsBuild the best friendships of your lifeCreate the love you deservePursue what truly matters to you with confidenceBuild resilience against everyday stressors and distractionsDefine your own path to success, joy, and fulfillment. . . and so much more.

The Let Them Theory will forever change the way you think about relationships, control, and personal power. Whether you want to advance your career, motivate others to change, take creative risks, find deeper connections, build better habits, start a new chapter, or simply create more happiness in your life and relationships, this book gives you the mindset and tools to unlock your full potential.

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory now and discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words.]]> 311 Mel Robbins 1401971377 Aurora 1 did-not-finish Edit: Apparently it is plagiarized from Cassie Phillips. Reducing rating.

I really thought I would like this book better than I did.

There were some useful parts of this, but I really think it would have been a better book if the author just cut off the book at 2/3 of the way through. The first part is much better than the second part.

What really bothered me in the second part is the author's misuse of psychological research and terminology. How can she state that she definitively knows adulthood begins at 25? (By the way, I'm 26, so this is not just a young adult complaining about not being considered an adult by the author.) That research has been debunked — neuroplasticity research proves that the brain is always developing to some extent, because that's just how the brain works. Additionally, how on earth is it gaslighting for an adult child to not let their parent speak to their therapist when they're paying for the adult child's therapy? It's not intended to make them doubt their reality, nor would it make anyone but the most already dissociated and mentally unstable parent doubt their reality. It is simply intended to set a boundary. Let them set that boundary. Parents of adult children are not entitled to their children's behavioral health records/information, by law. Not signing a release for your therapist to talk to your parents is not gaslighting, it's a legal right.

I honestly feel bad for everyone in this author's personal life based on how she talks about how she behaves and how she feels about people. This book epitomizes toxic American/Western individualism. Yes, you have to let people make their own choices, but she seems to completely not understand the danger and even risk of death that can happen to someone who goes to jail or becomes homeless.

Also, this is petty to be annoyed by, I guess, but there are typos, so I think it could've done with more editing.]]> 4.12 2024 The Let Them Theory
author: Mel Robbins
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: did-not-finish
review:
Edit: Apparently it is plagiarized from Cassie Phillips. Reducing rating.

I really thought I would like this book better than I did.

There were some useful parts of this, but I really think it would have been a better book if the author just cut off the book at 2/3 of the way through. The first part is much better than the second part.

What really bothered me in the second part is the author's misuse of psychological research and terminology. How can she state that she definitively knows adulthood begins at 25? (By the way, I'm 26, so this is not just a young adult complaining about not being considered an adult by the author.) That research has been debunked — neuroplasticity research proves that the brain is always developing to some extent, because that's just how the brain works. Additionally, how on earth is it gaslighting for an adult child to not let their parent speak to their therapist when they're paying for the adult child's therapy? It's not intended to make them doubt their reality, nor would it make anyone but the most already dissociated and mentally unstable parent doubt their reality. It is simply intended to set a boundary. Let them set that boundary. Parents of adult children are not entitled to their children's behavioral health records/information, by law. Not signing a release for your therapist to talk to your parents is not gaslighting, it's a legal right.

I honestly feel bad for everyone in this author's personal life based on how she talks about how she behaves and how she feels about people. This book epitomizes toxic American/Western individualism. Yes, you have to let people make their own choices, but she seems to completely not understand the danger and even risk of death that can happen to someone who goes to jail or becomes homeless.

Also, this is petty to be annoyed by, I guess, but there are typos, so I think it could've done with more editing.
]]> <![CDATA[Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment, #2)]]> 127280062 Torn apart by war. Reunited by love?

Two weeks have passed since Iris returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over.

Roman is missing, lost behind enemy lines, with no memory of his past, or Iris. Hoping his memories return, he begins to write again – but this time for the enemy.

When a strange letter arrives through his wardrobe door, he strikes up a correspondence with a penpal who seems at once mysterious… and strangely familiar.

As their connection deepens, the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war.]]> 420 Rebecca Ross 1250857457 Aurora 5 3.98 2023 Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment, #2)
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Aurora
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Wild Reverence 222376906
Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life―begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. When his request went unanswered, Vincent moved on, becoming the hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda. That is, until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him.

As Fate would have it, Matilda and Vincent were destined to find each other beyond dreams. There may be a chance for Matilda to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, but at immense sacrifice. She will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: to be vulnerable, and to allow herself to finally be loved.]]> 544 Rebecca Ross 1250373352 Aurora 0 to-read 4.59 2025 Wild Reverence
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Soul of Shadow (Soul of Shadow #1)]]> 217387643 A thrilling Norse mythology inspired contemporary romantasy sure to excite fans of The Vampire Diaries and Atlas Six.

Charlie Hudson just wants to get through junior year. Since the death of her twin sister two years earlier, she’s drifted through life, going through the motions at school and parties and even at home. The spark that once burned so brightly within her has all but flickered out.

Until her classmate goes missing in the forest, leaving nothing behind but a pair of shoes and strange symbols carved into a tree.

Drawn to the disappearances by forces she can’t explain, she finds herself investigating the mysterious, alluring newcomer in town, Elias Everhart. With piercing eyes and sharp wit, he dances around her questions, only intriguing her further. Elias has a secret. More than one.

But what Charlie doesn’t know is that those secrets will lead her to a place she never a world hiding in plain sight, made of magic, gods, and monsters - and a first love fated to fall apart.

In Emma Noyes's Soul of Shadow, truths and temptations lurk in the darkness, and for Charlie, the only thing more dangerous than facing her past, is the boy with the power to change her future.]]> 352 Emma Noyes 1250342961 Aurora 3 own Charlie sighed. If only her classmates knew the truth: that there was nothing romantic about this situation, that Elias was using this as a way to bully her into being his date, which allowed him to keep a close eye on her.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I really feel like the marketing was all wrong on this one. It's marketed as a romantasy, and I guess there technically is romance, but it really just feels like a horrifically domestically abusive relationship given a fantasy coating. I know a lot of things that are not romantic are normalized as romantic in society, but the things Elias does to her are flat-out inexcusable. I've read dark romance with serial killers and mafia love interests, but for me, there is no grovel that can in any way make up for what he has done to her over the course of the first book. This book feels like that meme on Instagram/Tiktok that pretends to be advertising a hardcore dark romance enemies-to-lovers book and says "if you want to read about these tropes you need... therapy" instead of naming a book, or something like that. I'd never say someone needs therapy just because of the tropes they enjoy reading about, because that feels mean-spirited and like it's weaponizing the mental health system to shame someone, which I don't think is appropriate, but the way Elias behaves towards Charlie is so wildly not within the romance genre that I don't understand the way this book is marketed at all, and it feels like a bait-and-switch.

Anyway, the story was fun to read. I'm not bothered by the illegal activities done by the teenagers like some other reviewers are, because teenagers do in fact drink and do drugs, it's a huge social problem so of course it shows up in books. Some of the side characters seemed more annoying than quirky, but that is again, also teenagers for you. It incorporated Norse mythology in an interesting way, although I don't understand why the author decided to have the Valkyries be chosen by Odin instead of by Freyja? There didn't seem to me that there was a particular reason for that particular diversion from the original myths. The book frustrated me at times, but I'm curious what the second book would be like. I hope Elias actually deals with some consequences for his actions, because... wow.

Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books and Emma Noyes for the ARC. ]]> 4.01 2025 Soul of Shadow (Soul of Shadow #1)
author: Emma Noyes
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/20
date added: 2025/04/20
shelves: own
review:
Charlie sighed. If only her classmates knew the truth: that there was nothing romantic about this situation, that Elias was using this as a way to bully her into being his date, which allowed him to keep a close eye on her.


I enjoyed reading this book, but I really feel like the marketing was all wrong on this one. It's marketed as a romantasy, and I guess there technically is romance, but it really just feels like a horrifically domestically abusive relationship given a fantasy coating. I know a lot of things that are not romantic are normalized as romantic in society, but the things Elias does to her are flat-out inexcusable. I've read dark romance with serial killers and mafia love interests, but for me, there is no grovel that can in any way make up for what he has done to her over the course of the first book. This book feels like that meme on Instagram/Tiktok that pretends to be advertising a hardcore dark romance enemies-to-lovers book and says "if you want to read about these tropes you need... therapy" instead of naming a book, or something like that. I'd never say someone needs therapy just because of the tropes they enjoy reading about, because that feels mean-spirited and like it's weaponizing the mental health system to shame someone, which I don't think is appropriate, but the way Elias behaves towards Charlie is so wildly not within the romance genre that I don't understand the way this book is marketed at all, and it feels like a bait-and-switch.

Anyway, the story was fun to read. I'm not bothered by the illegal activities done by the teenagers like some other reviewers are, because teenagers do in fact drink and do drugs, it's a huge social problem so of course it shows up in books. Some of the side characters seemed more annoying than quirky, but that is again, also teenagers for you. It incorporated Norse mythology in an interesting way, although I don't understand why the author decided to have the Valkyries be chosen by Odin instead of by Freyja? There didn't seem to me that there was a particular reason for that particular diversion from the original myths. The book frustrated me at times, but I'm curious what the second book would be like. I hope Elias actually deals with some consequences for his actions, because... wow.

Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books and Emma Noyes for the ARC.
]]> Tales of Deltora 25249517 0 Emily Rodda 0439817110 Aurora 5 own 4.06 2005 Tales of Deltora
author: Emily Rodda
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/20
shelves: own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Chasing An Obsession (Masked Men I Love #3)]]> 225436983
The bar is packed, the air buzzing with laughter and mindless chatter, but I only have eyes for my obsession. She commands my attention without trying, every move hypnotic, every glance a new addiction. There's no stopping myself tonight from intervening—I’d burn the whole place down before letting another man monopolize her time. In fact, I’ve been trying to accomplish just that. She has no clue I’ve memorized, and cataloged each curve of her body.

One bribe, and her date disappears. One mask, and my identity becomes merely a mystery. I need a date for my brother’s wedding, and after one night with her, I’ll stop at nothing to make sure she’s mine forever.

Until I realize—she’s been watching me, too, and little do I know she's harboring secrets of her own.

This game was never one-sided. The obsession was never just mine. Love was never meant to be a fair fight.

Can we survive each other, or will we succumb to the secrets we're desperate to hide?]]> 280 Des Sweet Aurora 4 own
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]]> 4.38 2025 Chasing An Obsession (Masked Men I Love #3)
author: Des Sweet
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/19
date added: 2025/04/19
shelves: own
review:
I enjoyed this book and the romance between Maddox and Colt. It was a little cliché, but still enjoyable. I wish the book had gotten more into the details of what was going on with the crime empire — it kind of just feels like the mafia/organized crime element was there to make Colt edgier and more interesting, and the author didn't seem interested in explaining what was even going on with Colt's brother. For a character who was so important to Colt, whose wedding was part of the reason the plot kicked off in the first place, that seems like a bit of an omission.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
]]> Lines Between Stars 230678562
A century ago, the Zodiacs were condemned to one day be reborn onto Earth. Stripped of their immortality, magic and astrological memories. Their crime? A prophecy foretelling the rise of one of their own alongside the God of Darkness.

Reclusive Reyna Peréz has never belonged anywhere. Which suits her fine, considering the deadly abilities she's possessed since birth. When a night out with her only friend goes horribly wrong, Reyna is rescued by a band of strangers who claim she's one of them.

A reincarnated Zodiac.

Reyna soon finds herself bound for the celestial island of her origins and into the arms of fellow Zodiac and cocky con man, Brax Riggs. Reyna lives in isolation so others might stay alive. Brax has spent his mortal existence running from those who'd rather see him dead. After a lifetime of shutting others out, both are hungry to let someone in.

But the more Reyna uncovers about her own disturbing connection to the Dark God, the more lines blur between who she is and who she'll need to become.

Forbidden desires will be tested.
Alliances annihilated.
And the difference between light and darkness, shattered forever.]]> 454 A.J. Lexa Aurora 4 own
I love books about reincarnation and urban fantasy books, and Lines Between Stars did not disappoint. It reminded me in some ways of House of Earth and Blood, in a good way (the story kicks off with the main character losing her best friend — it's not a murder mystery like House of Earth and Blood, but it does also have evil gods.) I think it was good that it was written as a standalone though. I think the author could do a good job writing a fantasy series if she wanted to, but the book works better as a standalone to me.

The book does unfortunately fall a bit into the "bury your gays" trope, but it's done in an ambiguous way. I do think that the death quite obviously furthered the narrative, and a death was necessary to fit in as a mythology retelling/mythology based book, but it's a little awkward.

I found some of the worldbuilding confusing, and I think some things could have been more clear. It was still a very interesting story though.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]]> 4.56 Lines Between Stars
author: A.J. Lexa
name: Aurora
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: own
review:
"An illusion." She stared at the faux leather. "Fear is an illusion to keep us from our full potential. It's what traps Dredgers so they can't be free. What traps us in within their nightmares. But a nightmare is an illusion of what could be. Not what is. Once the fear is gone, it's not a nightmare anymore."

I love books about reincarnation and urban fantasy books, and Lines Between Stars did not disappoint. It reminded me in some ways of House of Earth and Blood, in a good way (the story kicks off with the main character losing her best friend — it's not a murder mystery like House of Earth and Blood, but it does also have evil gods.) I think it was good that it was written as a standalone though. I think the author could do a good job writing a fantasy series if she wanted to, but the book works better as a standalone to me.

The book does unfortunately fall a bit into the "bury your gays" trope, but it's done in an ambiguous way. I do think that the death quite obviously furthered the narrative, and a death was necessary to fit in as a mythology retelling/mythology based book, but it's a little awkward.

I found some of the worldbuilding confusing, and I think some things could have been more clear. It was still a very interesting story though.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
]]>