Amanda's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:53:07 -0800 60 Amanda's bookshelf: all 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Golden 691985
Is Timeless

Before Rapunzel's birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future.

After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel's help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely "two nights and the day that falls between" to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed...forever.]]> 192 Cameron Dokey 1416939261 Amanda 0 to-read 3.79 2006 Golden
author: Cameron Dokey
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)]]> 8130423 In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth - a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.]]> 361 Rick Riordan Amanda 2 4.44 2008 The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2023/10/17
shelves:
review:

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

There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Every moment of the game is kill or be killed, and Miki has only the questionable guidance of Jackson Tate, the team's alluring and secretive leader. He evades her questions, holds himself aloof from the others, and claims it's every player for himself. But when he puts himself at risk to watch Miki's back, he leaves her both frustrated and fascinated. Jackson says the game isn't really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival. And the survival of every other person on the planet. She laughs. He doesn't. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.]]> 364 Eve Silver 0062192132 Amanda 5 supernatural-type-stuff 3.88 2013 Rush (The Game, #1)
author: Eve Silver
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/10/06
date added: 2023/07/26
shelves: supernatural-type-stuff
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August]]> 18295861 416 Claire North 0316399612 Amanda 0 to-read 3.93 2014 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
author: Claire North
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics)]]> 562473 Using a fictional narrator who tells engrossing stories to his young relatives on quiet hillsides, in secluded vales, and other attractive settings, Nathaniel Hawthorne draws his readers into the imaginative and ancient world of Greek mythology. There, they meet King Midas, the man with an unusual power, in "The Golden Touch"; Hercules, the legendary hero and strongman, in "The Three Golden Apples"; cruel witches with snakes for hair, in "The Gorgon's Head"; and "The Chimaera," a monster that is part lion, part goat, and part snake. An enchanting account of Pandora and an enticing box is recounted in "The Paradise of Children," while "The Miraculous Pitcher" tells a heartwarming tale about the rewards of hospitality and goodness.
An excellent way to acquaint youngsters with a number of classical heroes and evil-doers, A Wonder Book will enchant readers of all ages.]]> 176 Nathaniel Hawthorne 0486432092 Amanda 5 favorites 3.88 1851 A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics)
author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1851
rating: 5
read at: 2015/01/23
date added: 2020/02/29
shelves: favorites
review:
It was really good. It was an easy quick read and I think it could get young kids interested in mythology.
]]> <![CDATA[Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1)]]> 12954620
As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed... and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

It's the eve of war.... Choose your side.

Princess: Raised in pampered luxury, Cleo must now embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of magic long thought extinct.

Rebel: Jonas, enraged at injustice, lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished. To his shock, he finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Sorceress: Lucia, adopted at birth into the royal family, discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Heir: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, firstborn son Magnus begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword....]]> 412 Morgan Rhodes 1595145842 Amanda 0 currently-reading 3.78 2012 Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1)
author: Morgan Rhodes
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)]]> 8755785
Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!]]> 725 Cassandra Clare 1481426303 Amanda 4 supernatural-type-stuff 4.37 2014 City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/10/17
shelves: supernatural-type-stuff
review:

]]> <![CDATA[City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)]]> 8755776 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.]]> 535 Cassandra Clare 1442416866 Amanda 4 supernatural-type-stuff 4.21 2012 City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/10/17
shelves: supernatural-type-stuff
review:

]]> <![CDATA[City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4)]]> 6752378
But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.]]> 425 Cassandra Clare 1442403543 Amanda 4 supernatural-type-stuff 4.08 2011 City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2017/10/18
date added: 2017/10/17
shelves: supernatural-type-stuff
review:

]]> Linked (Linked, #1) 14999965
Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.

Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.]]> 368 Imogen Howson 1442446560 Amanda 0 currently-reading 3.71 2013 Linked (Linked, #1)
author: Imogen Howson
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Night Study (Soulfinders, #2; Study, #5)]]> 16130759
Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he's quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he's been keeping secrets from Valek...secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger. As they uncover the various layers of the Commander's mysterious plans, they realize it's far more sinister that they could have ever imagined.]]> 400 Maria V. Snyder Amanda 0 4.18 2016 Night Study (Soulfinders, #2; Study, #5)
author: Maria V. Snyder
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/17
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff, favorites, magicky
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #2)]]> 18510457
After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for--his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

THE IRON FEY]]> 384 Julie Kagawa 1460321014 Amanda 0 4.11 2013 The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #2)
author: Julie Kagawa
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6)]]> 31450852
After enduring unspeakable horrors as a child, Yrene Towers has no desire to help the young lord from Adarlan, let alone heal him. Yet she has sworn an oath to assist those in need—and will honor it. But Lord Westfall carries shadows from his own past, and Yrene soon comes to realize they could engulf them both.

In this sweeping parallel novel to the New York Times bestselling Empire of Storms, Chaol, Nesryn, and Yrene will have to draw on every scrap of their resilience if they wish to save their friends. But while they become entangled in the political webs of the khaganate, deep in the shadows of mighty mountains where warriors soar on legendary ruks, long-awaited answers slumber. Answers that might offer their world a chance at survival—or doom them all . . .]]> 660 Sarah J. Maas 1681195771 Amanda 0 to-read 4.25 2017 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I'm Nobody! Who Are You?: Poems of Emily Dickinson for Children]]> 15263430 84 Emily Dickinson 0606043918 Amanda 0 to-read, owned-books 3.84 1978 I'm Nobody! Who Are You?: Poems of Emily Dickinson for Children
author: Emily Dickinson
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/22
shelves: to-read, owned-books
review:

]]> Warcross (Warcross, #1) 29385546 For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life.

The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.]]> 353 Marie Lu 0399547967 Amanda 0 to-read 4.16 2017 Warcross (Warcross, #1)
author: Marie Lu
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/11/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Asylum (Asylum, #1) 13597728 Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.]]> 311 Madeleine Roux 0062220969 Amanda 0 to-read 3.64 2013 Asylum (Asylum, #1)
author: Madeleine Roux
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/11/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In the After (In the After, #1)]]> 12157407
Amy Harris's life changed forever when They took over. Her parents—vanished. The government—obsolete. Societal structure—nonexistent. No one knows where They came from, but these vicious creatures have been rapidly devouring mankind since They appeared. With fierce survivor instincts, Amy manages to stay alive—and even rescues "Baby," a toddler who was left behind. After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope. On the surface, it appears to be a safe haven for survivors. But there are dark and twisted secrets lurking beneath that could have Amy and Baby paying with not only their freedom... but also their lives.]]> 455 Demitria Lunetta 0062105450 Amanda 0 currently-reading 4.06 2013 In the After (In the After, #1)
author: Demitria Lunetta
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns, #3)]]> 11431896 The champion must not waver.
The champion must not fear.
The gate of darkness closes.

Elisa is a fugitive.

Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness. Her country is on the brink of civil war, with her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lucero-Elisa né Riqueza de Vega, bearer of the Godstone, will lead her three loyal companions deep into the enemy's kingdom, a land of ice and snow and brutal magic, to rescue Hector and win back her throne. Her power grows with every step, and the shocking secrets she will uncover on this, her final journey, could change the course of history.

But that is not all. She has a larger destiny. She must become the champion the world has been waiting for.

Even of those who hate her most.]]> 433 Rae Carson 0062026542 Amanda 4 4.19 2013 The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns, #3)
author: Rae Carson
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)]]> 16096824
At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.]]> 419 Sarah J. Maas 1619634449 Amanda 5 4.16 2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations]]> 1958785 A generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."

A growing movement of young people is rebelling against the low expectations of today's culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God. And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.

Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life. Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.]]> 242 Alex Harris 1601421125 Amanda 0 owned-books, to-read 4.04 2008 Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations
author: Alex Harris
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: owned-books, to-read
review:

]]> The Forgotten Sisters 17983740
Instead of returning to her beloved Mount Eskel, Miri is ordered to journey to a distant swamp and start a princess academy for three sisters, cousins of the royal family. Unfortunately, Astrid, Felissa, and Sus are more interested in hunting and fishing than becoming princesses.

As Miri spends more time with the sisters, she realizes the king and queen’s interest in them hides a long-buried secret. She must rely on her own strength and intelligence to unravel the mystery, protect the girls, complete her assignment, and finally make her way home.

Fans of Shannon Hale won’t want to miss this gorgeously woven return to this best-selling, award-winning series.]]> 324 Shannon Hale Amanda 0 fantasy-type-stuff, favorites 4.07 2015 The Forgotten Sisters
author: Shannon Hale
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff, favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lockdown (Escape from Furnace, #1)]]> 6420846
Furnace Penitentiary: the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries. Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison.

Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.
]]> 273 Alexander Gordon Smith 0374324913 Amanda 3 4.13 2009 Lockdown (Escape from Furnace, #1)
author: Alexander Gordon Smith
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves:
review:

]]> Nano (Pia Grazdani, #2) 13593529 Death Benefit, decides to take a year off from her medical studies and escape New York City. Intrigued by the promise of the burgeoning field of medical technology and the chance to clear her head, Pia takes a job at Nano, LLC, a lavishly funded, security-conscious nanotechnology insititute in the picturesque foothills of the Rockies. Nano, LLC is ahead of the curve in the competitive world of molecular manufacturing, including the construction of microbivores, tiny nano-robots with the ability to gobble up viruses and bacteria.

But the corporate campus is a place of secrets. She's warned by her boss not to investigate the other work being done at the gigantic facility, nor to ask questions about the source of the seemingly endless capital that funds the institute's research. And when Pia encounters a fellow employee on a corporate jogging path, suffering the effects of a seizure, she soon realizes she may have literally stumbled upon Nano LLC's human guinea pigs. Is the tech giant on the cusp of one of the biggest medical discoveries of the twenty-first century—a treatment option for millions—or have they already sold out to the highest bidder?]]> 436 Robin Cook 0399160825 Amanda 0 3.18 2012 Nano (Pia Grazdani, #2)
author: Robin Cook
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin, #3)]]> 20522640
She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...]]> 444 Robin LaFevers 0547628404 Amanda 5 4.09 2014 Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin, #3)
author: Robin LaFevers
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff, favorites, magicky
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, #2)]]> 9943270
The convent has returned Sybella to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?]]> 387 Robin LaFevers 0547628382 Amanda 4 4.13 2013 Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, #2)
author: Robin LaFevers
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff, magicky, favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)]]> 9565548 Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?]]> 549 Robin LaFevers 054762834X Amanda 5 3.89 2012 Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)
author: Robin LaFevers
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: favorites, fantasy-type-stuff, magicky
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dreamer's Pool (Blackthorn & Grim, #1)]]> 17305016
In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help.

Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.

With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.]]> 434 Juliet Marillier 0451466993 Amanda 5 3.96 2014 Dreamer's Pool (Blackthorn & Grim, #1)
author: Juliet Marillier
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: magicky, supernatural-type-stuff
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 Amanda 4 3.63 2015 The Heir (The Selection, #4)
author: Kiera Cass
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: anything-dystopian-post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> <![CDATA[False Memory (False Memory, #1)]]> 10194494
Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically-altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But adjusting to her old life isn’t easy—especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can’t remember loving.

Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run. Suddenly her past doesn’t seem to matter... when there may not be a future.

Dan Krokos’ debut is a tour-de-force of non-stop action that will leave readers begging for the next book in this bold and powerful new series.]]> 336 Dan Krokos 1423149769 Amanda 4 supernatural-type-stuff 3.75 2012 False Memory (False Memory, #1)
author: Dan Krokos
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/02
date added: 2016/07/02
shelves: supernatural-type-stuff
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Song Rising (The Bone Season, #3)]]> 28260402 The third book in the New York Times bestselling Bone Season series.

Following a fierce battle for the Rose Crown, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over the clairvoyant syndicate of London. But with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilizing the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.

As Paige rallies her army of criminals, she continues to meet in secret with her former enemy, Arcturus Mesarthim. Should they be discovered, the fragile alliance with the Ranthen will fail.

But all bets are off when Scion introduces Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for clairvoyants. Now Paige must race against the clock to stop her reign ending in blood.]]> 384 Samantha Shannon 1632866242 Amanda 0 to-read 4.15 2017 The Song Rising (The Bone Season, #3)
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/06/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Midnight Star (The Young Elites, #3)]]> 28588345 There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all she’s gained.

When a new danger appears, Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds, putting not only herself at risk, but every Elite. In order to preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.]]> 316 Marie Lu 0399167854 Amanda 0 to-read 4.10 2016 The Midnight Star (The Young Elites, #3)
author: Marie Lu
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/04/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Black Key (The Lone City, #3)]]> 28512427
And while Violet knows she is at the center of this rebellion, she has a more personal stake in it—for her sister, Hazel, has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return, to save not only Hazel, but the future of the Lone City.]]> 295 Amy Ewing 0062235842 Amanda 0 to-read 3.91 2016 The Black Key (The Lone City, #3)
author: Amy Ewing
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rule of Mirrors (The Vault of Dreamers, #2)]]> 23310692 Forge Show star, and she’s pregnant.

Far from the Chimera Centre, in a secret vault, the sleeping body of Rosie Sinclair is captive to the doctors who mine her dreams. Heavily sedated, Rosie struggles to awaken and manipulate her keeper for a chance to escape. She knows what she’ll do once she’s free—wreak vengeance on Dean Berg, the man who stole her dreams and turned her life into a nightmare.

Told in alternating points of view between the girl who has Rosie’s consciousness in a new, pregnant body, and the girl whose shattered subconscious rules Rosie’s old body, the second installment of The Vault of Dreamers trilogy is an intricate, psychologically thrilling novel about layers of identity, what lies in the mirror, and the link between body and soul.]]> 418 Caragh M. O'Brien 1596439408 Amanda 0 to-read 3.77 2016 The Rule of Mirrors (The Vault of Dreamers, #2)
author: Caragh M. O'Brien
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, #1)]]> 28448239
The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy . . . and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo just wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.

Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . . .]]> 437 Rosamund Hodge 0062369415 Amanda 0 to-read 3.27 2016 Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, #1)
author: Rosamund Hodge
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Crown (The Selection, #5) 26074181
Eadlyn didn’t think she would find a real partner among the Selection’s thirty-five suitors, let alone true love. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and now Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more difficult—and more important—than she ever expected.]]> 278 Kiera Cass 0062392174 Amanda 0 to-read 3.61 2016 The Crown (The Selection, #5)
author: Kiera Cass
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly 17185496 With a harrowing poetic voice, this contemporary page-turner is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Julie Berry's All The Truth That's in Me, and the works of Ellen Hopkins.

The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust.

And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is a hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in oneself.]]> 400 Stephanie Oakes Amanda 0 to-read 3.95 2015 The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
author: Stephanie Oakes
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shadow Study (Soulfinders, #1; Study, #4)]]> 16130758 Librarian's Note: This is an alternate-cover edition for ISBN 9780778317401

Once, only her own life hung in the balance…

When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. She survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia.

Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.
Suddenly, though, dissent is rising. And Valek’s job—and his life—are in danger.
As Yelena tries to uncover her enemies, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked.And now she must find a way to keep not only herself but all that she holds dear alive.

A CHRONICLES OF IXIA NOVEL]]> 384 Maria V. Snyder Amanda 5 fantasy-type-stuff, favorites 4.05 2015 Shadow Study (Soulfinders, #1; Study, #4)
author: Maria V. Snyder
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff, favorites
review:
My favorite characters back in a new book series? Yes please! It was just as awesome as I thought it would be, although that ending has me waiting for the next one.
]]> <![CDATA[The Other Life (The Other Life, #1)]]> 9554790 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world.

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?]]> 315 Susanne Winnacker 1409536084 Amanda 0 3.70 2012 The Other Life (The Other Life, #1)
author: Susanne Winnacker
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Feedback (Variant, #2) 12942010
Or so he thought.

But now Benson is trapped in a different kind of prison: a town filled with hauntingly familiar faces. People from Maxfield he saw die. Friends he was afraid he had killed.

They are all pawns in the school’s twisted experiment, held captive and controlled by an unseen force. As he searches for answers, Benson discovers that Maxfield Academy’s plans are more sinister than anything he imagined—and they may be impossible to stop.]]> 310 Robison Wells 0062026100 Amanda 5 3.55 2012 Feedback (Variant, #2)
author: Robison Wells
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Goliath (Leviathan, #3) 9918083
While on their top-secret mission, Alek finally discovers Deryn's deeply kept secret. Two, actually. Not only is Deryn a girl disguised as a guy...she has feelings for Alek.

The crown, true love with a commoner, and the destruction of a great city all hang on Alek's next--and final--move.

The thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series, which was called "sure to become a classic" (SLJ).]]> 543 Scott Westerfeld 1416971777 Amanda 0 Just great. 4.22 2011 Goliath (Leviathan, #3)
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves:
review:
Just great.
]]> Life: An Exploded Diagram 10794589
Can love survive a lifetime? When working-class Clem Ackroyd falls for Frankie Mortimer, the gorgeous daughter of a wealthy local landowner, he has no hope that it can. After all, the world teeters on the brink of war, and bombs could rain down any minute over the bleak English countryside - just as they did seventeen years ago as his mother, pregnant with him, tended her garden. This time, Clem may not survive. Told in cinematic style by acclaimed writer Mal Peet, this brilliant coming-of-age novel is a gripping family portrait that interweaves the stories of three generations and the terrifying crises that define them. With its urgent sense of history, sweeping emotion, and winning young narrator, Mal Peet's latest is an unforgettable, timely exploration of life during wartime.]]> 416 Mal Peet 076365227X Amanda 4 3.71 2011 Life: An Exploded Diagram
author: Mal Peet
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves:
review:
It started out pretty slow. Actually the whole book was kinda slow. Oh well, I still enjoyed it and that's what counts? It was a kind of odd book that I found weirdly compelling and enjoyable.
]]> Behemoth (Leviathan, #2) 7826116
Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what's ahead.]]> 481 Scott Westerfeld 1416971750 Amanda 5 fantasy-type-stuff 4.17 2010 Behemoth (Leviathan, #2)
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff
review:
Amazing. I think practically any one can read these and enjoy them.
]]> Leviathan (Leviathan, #1) 6050678
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.]]> 440 Scott Westerfeld 1416971734 Amanda 5 fantasy-type-stuff 3.92 2009 Leviathan (Leviathan, #1)
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff
review:
I started this book completely on a friend recommendation. I didn't even read the dust jacket before I read it, I just dived in. It was amazing. Great story and cool characters. I looked it and actually marathoned all three in as many days.
]]> Reconstructing Amelia 15776309 Reconstructing Amelia, the stunning debut novel from Kimberly McCreight, Kate's in the middle of the biggest meeting of her career when she gets the telephone call from Grace Hall, her daughter’s exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Amelia has been suspended, effective immediately, and Kate must come get her daughter—now. But Kate’s stress over leaving work quickly turns to panic when she arrives at the school and finds it surrounded by police officers, fire trucks, and an ambulance. By then it’s already too late for Amelia. And for Kate.

An academic overachiever despondent over getting caught cheating has jumped to her death. At least that’s the story Grace Hall tells Kate. And clouded as she is by her guilt and grief, it is the one she forces herself to believe. Until she gets an anonymous text: She didn’t jump.

Reconstructing Amelia is about secret first loves, old friendships, and an all-girls club steeped in tradition. But, most of all, it’s the story of how far a mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she couldn’t save.

Fans of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will find Reconstructing Amelia just as gripping and surprising.]]> 382 Kimberly McCreight 006222543X Amanda 0 to-read 3.82 2013 Reconstructing Amelia
author: Kimberly McCreight
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes]]> 20663432 Kat inspected rows of the same old cupcakes. They seemed to blink back at her, as if they knew she was capable of so much more.

Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie's bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single.

But when Lucas Brannen, Kat's best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary . . . and a job at a famous bakery in New York.

As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself, her, is suddenly in danger of slipping away.

The bright lights of reality cooking wars and the chance at a successful career dazzle Kat's senses and Lucas is faced with a difficult choice: help his friend achieve her dreams . . . or sabotage her chances to keep her in Louisiana.]]> 313 Betsy St. Amant 031033845X Amanda 0 to-read 3.47 2014 All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes
author: Betsy St. Amant
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Den of Wolves (Blackthorn & Grim, #3)]]> 22567184 Feather bright and feather fine, None shall harm this child of mine...

Healer Blackthorn knows all too well the rules of her bond to the fey: seek no vengeance, help any who ask, do only good. But after the recent ordeal she and her companion, Grim, have suffered, she knows she cannot let go of her quest to bring justice to the man who ruined her life.

Despite her personal struggles, Blackthorn agrees to help the princess of Dalriada in taking care of a troubled young girl who has recently been brought to court, while Grim is sent to the girl’s home at Wolf Glen to aid her wealthy father with a strange task—repairing a broken-down house deep in the woods. It doesn’t take Grim long to realize that everything in Wolf Glen is not as it seems—the place is full of perilous secrets and deadly lies...

Back at Winterfalls, the evil touch of Blackthorn’s sworn enemy reopens old wounds and fuels her long-simmering passion for justice. With danger on two fronts, Blackthorn and Grim are faced with a heartbreaking choice—to stand once again by each other’s side or to fight their battles alone...]]> 435 Juliet Marillier 0451467035 Amanda 0 to-read 4.33 2016 Den of Wolves (Blackthorn & Grim, #3)
author: Juliet Marillier
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn & Grim, #2)]]> 22567177 The Blackthorn & Grim series continues as a mysterious creature holds an enchanted and imperiled ancient Ireland in thrall.

Disillusioned healer Blackthorn and her companion, Grim, have settled in Dalriada to wait out the seven years of Blackthorn’s bond to her fey mentor, hoping to avoid any dire challenges. But trouble has a way of seeking out Blackthorn and Grim.

Lady Geiléis, a noblewoman from the northern border, has asked for the prince of Dalriada’s help in expelling a howling creature from an old tower on her land—one surrounded by an impenetrable hedge of thorns. Casting a blight over the entire district, and impossible to drive out by ordinary means, it threatens both the safety and the sanity of all who live nearby. With no ready solutions to offer, the prince consults Blackthorn and Grim.

As Blackthorn and Grim begin to put the pieces of this puzzle together, it’s apparent that a powerful adversary is working behind the scenes. Their quest is about to become a life and death struggle—a conflict in which even the closest of friends can find themselves on opposite sides.]]> 415 Juliet Marillier 0451467019 Amanda 0 to-read 4.15 2015 Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn & Grim, #2)
author: Juliet Marillier
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Broken Skies (Broken Skies, #1)]]> 20764638 Thirty years ago, civilization collapsed. Few survived.
Ten years ago, the aliens arrived…and stayed.
One year ago, I killed two men and went a little crazy.
Today, the aliens took my brother and I will do anything to get him back.

In seventeen-year-old Jax Mitchell's world, humans are nearly extinct and alien settlers have arrived.

Until recently, the E’rikon have remained segregated in their city and ignored the few humans who have tried to engage them… but now they have taken Jax’s brother. To rescue him, she forms an uneasy alliance with a teenage E’rikon left stranded in the woods. She agrees to guide him to the city if he sneaks her past the human-proof barrier. Too bad it’s not that simple.

Jax, who cannot stand to be touched, finds that she’s drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales on his back. And he’s equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn’t know the alien’s true motives and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.

With the aliens and the humans at odds, the connection forming between the two teens has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets a chain of events in motion which threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself.]]> 371 Theresa Kay 1495468895 Amanda 0 to-read 4.09 2014 Broken Skies (Broken Skies, #1)
author: Theresa Kay
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra]]> 23014801
"Helen Rappaport paints a compelling portrait of the doomed grand duchesses." ― People magazine

"The public spoke of the sisters in a gentile, superficial manner, but Rappaport captures sections of letters and diary entries to showcase the sisters' thoughtfulness and intelligence." ― Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Days of the Romanovs and Caught in the Revolution , The Romanov Sisters reveals the untold stories of the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra.

They were the Princess Dianas of their day―perhaps the most photographed and talked about young royals of the early twentieth century. The four captivating Russian Grand Duchesses―Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Romanov―were much admired for their happy dispositions, their looks, the clothes they wore and their privileged lifestyle.

Over the years, the story of the four Romanov sisters and their tragic end in a basement at Ekaterinburg in 1918 has clouded our view of them, leading to a mass of sentimental and idealized hagiography. With this treasure trove of diaries and letters from the grand duchesses to their friends and family, we learn that they were intelligent, sensitive and perceptive witnesses to the dark turmoil within their immediate family and the ominous approach of the Russian Revolution, the nightmare that would sweep their world away, and them along with it.

The Romanov Sisters sets out to capture the joy as well as the insecurities and poignancy of those young lives against the backdrop of the dying days of late Imperial Russia, World War I and the Russian Revolution. Helen Rappaport aims to present a new and challenging take on the story, drawing extensively on previously unseen or unpublished letters, diaries and archival sources, as well as private collections. It is a book that will surprise people, even aficionados.]]> 544 Helen Rappaport 1250067456 Amanda 0 to-read 4.08 2014 The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra
author: Helen Rappaport
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)]]> 13226194
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.]]> 284 Susan Ee 0983597014 Amanda 0 to-read 4.18 2011 Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)
author: Susan Ee
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Choosing (Seer, #1) 23627067
Like all citizens since the Ruining, Carrington Hale knows the importance of this day. But she never expected the moment she’d spent a lifetime preparing for—her Choosing ceremony—would end in disaster. Ripped from her family, she’ll spend her days serving as a Lint, the lowest level of society. She knows it’s her duty to follow the true way of the Authority.

But as Carrington begins this nightmare, rumors of rebellion rattle her beliefs. The whispers contradict everything she’s been told; yet they resonate deep within.

Then Carrington is offered an unprecedented chance at the life she’s always dreamed of, but she can’t shake the feeling that it may be an illusion. With a killer targeting Lints and corruption threatening the highest levels of the Authority, Carrington must uncover the truth before it destroys her.]]> 464 Rachelle Dekker 1496402243 Amanda 0 to-read 4.00 2015 The Choosing (Seer, #1)
author: Rachelle Dekker
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/05/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hexed (The Witch Hunter, #1) 13597755
Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.]]> 384 Michelle Krys 0385743378 Amanda 0 to-read 3.56 2014 Hexed (The Witch Hunter, #1)
author: Michelle Krys
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/04/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Leap of Faith 17299264 Can true love be built on lies? A teen on the run seeks relief and redemption in this gripping, romantic read.

Leah Kurtz has finally found a place to call home, a town where she and baby Addy can live in peace, far from the drug-infested place she grew up. Chris is one of the best parts of her new life, the only person who's ever made her feel safe. And now that she's found him, there's no way she can tell the truth:

Her real name is Faith, not Leah. She's seventeen, not nineteen. And the baby isn't hers—Faith kidnapped her.

Faith's history catches up with her when a cop starts asking questions and Chris's aunt spots her picture in the newspaper. She knows it's time to run again, but if Faith leaves, she'll lose Chris. If Chris is in love with a lie, though, did Faith ever really have him in the first place?]]> 240 Jamie Blair 1442447133 Amanda 5 favorites 3.80 2013 Leap of Faith
author: Jamie Blair
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2015/04/21
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: favorites
review:
I was surprised, I don't usually like romance that much and this book was pretty much purely romance. I was caught by the idea she had kidnapped a baby. And I ended up loving the book. Well done.
]]> <![CDATA[The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)]]> 20821111 I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.]]> 355 Marie Lu 0399167838 Amanda 5 3.86 2014 The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)
author: Marie Lu
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/04/21
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: anything-dystopian-post-apocalyptic, favorites, fantasy-type-stuff
review:
Totally unique idea! I love how she went at it from an anti-hero's point of view. It was a great read, and I am so excited for the next book.
]]> <![CDATA[Poison Dance (Midnight Thief, #0.5)]]> 18518522 94 Livia Blackburne 1940584000 Amanda 0 to-read 3.65 2013 Poison Dance (Midnight Thief, #0.5)
author: Livia Blackburne
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief, #1)]]> 17566814
But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

In her arresting debut novel, Livia Blackburne creates a captivating world where intrigue prowls around every corner—and danger is a way of life.]]> 376 Livia Blackburne 1423176383 Amanda 5 favorites, fantasy-type-stuff 3.73 2014 Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief, #1)
author: Livia Blackburne
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/04/21
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: favorites, fantasy-type-stuff
review:
I absolutely loved this. I wasn't sure going into the book whether I would like it or not, but it is a new favorite of mine.
]]> Variant (Variant, #1) 10433900 373 Robison Wells 0062026089 Amanda 5 favorites 3.94 2011 Variant (Variant, #1)
author: Robison Wells
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2015/04/21
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Etherworld (Elusion, #2) 22539894 Elusion, three teens fight a virtual reality program that threatens to destroy their minds. Dangerous secrets and lies add up to a thrilling futuristic fantasy with an Inception-inspired twist.


Elusion was hailed as an exciting leap in technology—until users began to disappear amid rumors of addiction. Regan’s search for the truth led her and her new love interest, Josh, to Etherworld. Etherworld is a dimension hidden deep beyond Elusion's firewall, where players can hide, and ultimately fight back. Regan's father and others are here working to destroy Etherworld, but the longer they stay the less likely they'll be able to return to the real world alive.

Escape means attacking Elusion from within the program. It's dangerous and it’s a puzzle. And even if they manage it, how will they be able to stop Orexis from distributing Elusion to the masses when the people who run it are corrupt?]]> 340 Claudia Gabel 0062122444 Amanda 0 to-read 3.57 2015 Etherworld (Elusion, #2)
author: Claudia Gabel
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Elusion (Elusion, #1) 12369550
A new technology called Elusion is sweeping the country. An app, visor and wristband will virtually transport you to an exotic destination where adventure can be pursued without the complications—or consequences—of real life.

Regan is an Elusion insider. Or at least she used to be. Her father invented the program, and her best friend, Patrick, heir to the tech giant Orexis, is about to release it nationwide. But ever since her father’s unexpected death, Regan can’t bear to Escape, especially since waking up from the dream means crashing back to her grim reality.

Still, when there are rumors of trouble in Elusion—accusations that it’s addictive and dangerous— Regan is determined to defend it. But the critics of Elusion come from surprising sources, including Josh, the handsome skeptic with his own personal stakes. As Regan investigates the claims, she discovers a disturbing web of secrets. She will soon have to choose between love and loyalty…a decision that will affect the lives of millions.

Suspense, thrills, and romance fuel this near-future story about the seductive nature of a perfect virtual world, and how far one girl will go to uncover the truth behind the illusions.]]> 382 Claudia Gabel 006212241X Amanda 4 3.56 2014 Elusion (Elusion, #1)
author: Claudia Gabel
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/21
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: anything-dystopian-post-apocalyptic
review:
This was really good, I enjoyed it.
]]> Lost to Me 22731127
Now, Lauren relives the events leading up to prom, unraveling the clues that should have warned her of the trauma to come. Like Kolton ’s malicious ex-girlfriend, who’ll do anything to rip them apart. Or Kolton’s mentally unstable brother.

After the tragedy, Lauren wants to hide, disfigured inside and out, while Kolton drowns in a sea of guilt. Only together can the two of them lay rest to the past and heal each other, through a love too strong to break.]]> 236 Jamie Blair Amanda 0 to-read 3.59 2014 Lost to Me
author: Jamie Blair
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/04/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Outlander (Outlander, #1) 10964
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.]]> 850 Diana Gabaldon 0440242940 Amanda 0 to-read 4.26 1991 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
author: Diana Gabaldon
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/04/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Iron Trial (Magisterium, #1)]]> 13608989 295 Holly Black 0857532502 Amanda 0 to-read 3.89 2014 The Iron Trial (Magisterium, #1)
author: Holly Black
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mindwar (Mindwar, #1) 18850680
Rick's high school football team couldn't be stopped when he was leading them as their quarterback. He was going to Syracuse on a scholarship. But then his dad abandoned them and a terrible accident left him crippled.

Certain his old life is completely lost, Rick spends months hiding away in his room playing video games. He achieves the highest scores on so many games that he's approached by a government agency who claims to be trying to thwart a cyber attack on America that would destroy the technological infrastructure of the entire country. The agents say that the quick-thinking of a quarterback coupled with Nick's gaming experience make him perfect for this assignment. The problem is that there are no extra lives and this isn't just a game . . . but Rick doesn't have many other options at the moment.

Entering "The Realm" gives Rick the one thing he thought he'd never have again: a body that's as fast and as strong as he ever was before the accident. But the more time he spends in The Realm, the more questions he has. What secrets are these agents keeping from him? What really happened to his father? How many others have gone into The Realm already . . . and failed? And perhaps most important, is he the hero they think he is?]]> 336 Andrew Klavan 1401688926 Amanda 5 favorites 3.75 2014 Mindwar (Mindwar, #1)
author: Andrew Klavan
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/04/10
date added: 2015/04/10
shelves: favorites
review:
It was pretty good. I was expecting a lot it being an Andrew Klavan book, but I honestly picked it up knowing nothing about the plot. I read solely because of the author. That said, it met my expectations. Really good. I did see some of the twists coming, though they were well done. Overall a great read.
]]> <![CDATA[The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting]]> 22533460 Apparently I'm boring. A nobody.
But that's all about to change.
Because I am starting a project.
Here. Now. For myself.
And if you want to come along for the ride then you're very welcome.

Bree is by no means popular. Most of the time, she hates her life, her school, her never-there-parents. So she writes.

But when Bree is told she needs to stop shutting the world out and start living a life worth writing about, The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting is born. A manifesto that will change everything...

...but the question is, at what cost?]]> 448 Holly Bourne 1409562182 Amanda 0 to-read 3.78 2014 The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting
author: Holly Bourne
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Soulmates 16099393
Enter Poppy, the 17-year-old cynic with a serious addiction to banana milk, and Noah, the heart-throb guitarist; residents of mediocre Middletown, sometime students, and…soulmates.

After a chance meeting at a local band night, Poppy and Noah find themselves swept up in a whirlwind romance unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. But with a secret international agency preparing to separate them, a trail of destruction rumbling in their wake, (and a looming psychology coursework deadline), they are left with an impossible choice between the end of the world, or a life without love…]]> 544 Holly Bourne 1409557502 Amanda 0 to-read 3.81 2013 Soulmates
author: Holly Bourne
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Girl's Guide to Fitting in Fitness]]> 15815618 128 Erin Whitehead 1936976307 Amanda 4 3.60 2013 Girl's Guide to Fitting in Fitness
author: Erin Whitehead
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/03/25
date added: 2015/03/25
shelves:
review:
It was interesting and very informative.
]]> <![CDATA[Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him]]> 10393675 A heartwarming dog story like no other: Tuesday, a lovable golden retriever, changes a former soldier's life forever.

A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalván never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, however, his physical wounds and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. He wondered if he would ever recover.

Then Luis met Tuesday, a sensitive golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys, and he found it difficult to trust in or connect with a human being--until Luis.

Until Tuesday is the story of how two wounded warriors, who had given so much and suffered the consequences, found salvation in each other. It is a story about war and peace, injury and recovery, psychological wounds and spiritual restoration. But more than that, it is a story about the love between a man and dog, and how, together, they healed each other's souls.]]> 252 Luis Carlos Montalván 1401324290 Amanda 5 favorites, owned-books 4.16 2011 Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him
author: Luis Carlos Montalván
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2015/03/25
date added: 2015/03/25
shelves: favorites, owned-books
review:
How is this not a hugely popular book? I am in love with this book and his story. I think probably everyone should read this book. At least everyone in the US, because all too often we forget about our veterans and don't realize and recognize them and their problems. That said I think it was also a fantastic read. Very easy to read and quick (at least for me). Tuesday and Lius are so sweet and their story is amazing.
]]> <![CDATA[The Rose Society (The Young Elites, #2)]]> 23846013 Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.

Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she flees Kenettra with her sister to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.

But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good when her very existence depends on darkness?

Bestselling author Marie Lu delivers another heart-pounding adventure in this exhilarating sequel to The Young Elites.]]> 398 Marie Lu 0399167846 Amanda 0 to-read 4.02 2015 The Rose Society (The Young Elites, #2)
author: Marie Lu
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/03/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of Dusk (Midnight Thief, #2)]]> 22678141
Though she’s formed a tentative alliance with the Palace, Kyra must keep her identity a secret or risk being hunted like the rest of her Demon Rider kin. Tristam and the imprisoned assassin James are among the few who know about her heritage, but when Tristam reveals a heartbreaking secret of his own, Kyra’s not sure she can trust him. And with James’s fate in the hands of the palace, Kyra fears that he will give her away to save himself.

As tensions rise within Forge’s Council, and vicious Demon Rider attacks continue in surrounding villages, Kyra knows she must do something to save her city. But she walks a dangerous line between opposing armies: will she be able to use her link to the Demon Riders for good, or will her Makvani blood prove to be deadly?

In this spellbinding sequel to Midnight Thief, Kyra and Tristam face their biggest battle yet as they grapple with changing allegiances, shocking deceit, and vengeful opponents.]]> 384 Livia Blackburne 1484722086 Amanda 0 to-read 3.95 2015 Daughter of Dusk (Midnight Thief, #2)
author: Livia Blackburne
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/03/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cry, the Beloved Country 6150 Cry, the Beloved Country, the most famous and important novel in South Africa’s history, was an immediate worldwide bestseller in 1948. Alan Paton’s impassioned novel about a black man’s country under white man’s law is a work of searing beauty.

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

The eminent literary critic Lewis Gannett wrote, “We have had many novels from statesmen and reformers, almost all bad; many novels from poets, almost all thin. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country the statesman, the poet and the novelist meet in a unique harmony.”

Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.]]> 316 Alan Paton 074326195X Amanda 0 to-read 3.92 1948 Cry, the Beloved Country
author: Alan Paton
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1948
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/03/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mime Order (The Bone Season, #2)]]> 17901125
As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on the dreamwalker, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take centre stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner.

Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.]]> 510 Samantha Shannon 1408857391 Amanda 5 4.18 2015 The Mime Order (The Bone Season, #2)
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/03/05
date added: 2015/03/05
shelves:
review:
How can I even describe how great this book is? Anyone who read the first book and isn't sure about reading this one, do it! It is incredible and just as good as the first.
]]> Feral 15782742
It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….]]> 432 Holly Schindler Amanda 4 3.33 2014 Feral
author: Holly Schindler
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/03/05
date added: 2015/03/05
shelves:
review:
It was not what I expected, what I was promised from the dust-jacket. I expected a story about her finding love and herself in a small town as she recovered from a beating. It eluded to there being a small mystery and lots of cats. What the book actually had in store for me was way better. At least in my opinion. It was a great book illustrating mental problems and how hard they can be to see from the outside. It was about justice too, how she wanted justice for a girl she had never met, yet felt so very connected to. It was haunting, and at times a hard read just for the fact that I wanted to shake the main character. It is a great book with awesome writing.
]]> <![CDATA[The White Rose (The Lone City, #2)]]> 24585267
But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm.

But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

The White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments.]]> 308 Amy Ewing 0062235818 Amanda 0 to-read 3.90 2015 The White Rose (The Lone City, #2)
author: Amy Ewing
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1)]]> 10874177 It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.]]> 307 Gail Carriger 031619008X Amanda 4 spys-crime-and-mystery 3.82 2013 Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1)
author: Gail Carriger
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/02/17
date added: 2015/02/17
shelves: spys-crime-and-mystery
review:
This was a very well written book. I did enjoy it, although I feel as though it is more juvenile than YA. It is a very young book, there is no romance and there is very little action. I would recommend this to younger readers.
]]> <![CDATA[A Book of Spirits and Thieves (Spirits and Thieves, #1)]]> 22571365
Worlds collide in this suspenseful, page-turning Falling Kingdoms spin-off series, which explores a whole new side of Mytica—and an even darker version of its magic.

Crystal Hatcher, Modern-day Toronto: It’s a normal afternoon in her mother’s antique bookshop when Crys witnesses the unthinkable: her little sister Becca collapses into a coma after becoming mesmerized by a mysterious book written in an unrecognizable language.

Maddox Corso, Ancient Mytica: Maddox Corso doesn’t think much of it when he spots an unfamiliar girl in his small village. Until, that is, he realizes that she is a spirit, and he is the only one who can see or hear her. Her name is Becca Hatcher, and she needs Maddox to help get her home.

Farrell Grayson, Modern-day Toronto: Rich and aimless Farrell Grayson is thrilled when the mysterious leader of the ultra-secret Hawkspear Society invites him into the fold. But when he learns exactly what he has to do to prove himself, Farrell starts to question everything he thought he knew about family, loyalty, and himself….

Fate has brought these young people together, but ancient magic threatens to rip them apart.]]> 359 Morgan Rhodes 1595147594 Amanda 0 to-read 3.94 2015 A Book of Spirits and Thieves (Spirits and Thieves, #1)
author: Morgan Rhodes
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Orphan's Song (The Songkeeper Chronicles, #1)]]> 23263425
Every generation has a Songkeeper – one chosen to keep the memory of the Song alive. And in every generation, there are those who seek to destroy the chosen one.

When Birdie's song draws the attention of a dangerous Khelari soldier, she is kidnapped and thrust into a world of ancient secrets and betrayals. Rescued by her old friend, traveling peddler Amos McElhenny, Birdie flees the clutches of her enemies in pursuit of the truth behind the Song’s power.

Ky is a street–wise thief and a member of the Underground—a group of orphans banded together to survive . . . and to fight the Khelari. Haunted by a tragic raid, Ky joins Birdie and Amos in hopes of a new life beyond the reach of the soldiers. But the enemy is closing in, and when Amos’ shadowed past threatens to undo them all, Birdie is forced to face the destiny that awaits her as the Songkeeper of Leira. Book one of the Songkeeper Chronicles.]]> 304 Gillian Bronte Adams 1621840352 Amanda 0 to-read 4.18 2014 Orphan's Song (The Songkeeper Chronicles, #1)
author: Gillian Bronte Adams
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fire Starter (Fluorescence, #1)]]> 23842767
Alice was a normal teenager until a dying race of aliens chose her and handful of other teens to help preserve an endangered form of DNA known as Fluorescence. Now she and the others must hide their secret from the rest of the world, while trying to uncover the truth about the mysterious living light.

Each volume in the Fluorescence series is narrated by a different character, driving the story forward in a new and exciting way. Fluorescence evolves from a quiet beginning into a gritty and unabashed look at real-life limitations and struggles these teenagers face while coping with a life-changing secret.]]> 262 P. Anastasia 0986256706 Amanda 0 to-read 3.63 2015 Fire Starter (Fluorescence, #1)
author: P. Anastasia
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Rogue (Talon, #2) 23168406
Deserter. Traitor. Rogue.

Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can’t forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he’d signed his own death warrant.

Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order’s headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember’s own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George.

A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?]]> 444 Julie Kagawa 0373211465 Amanda 0 to-read 3.88 2015 Rogue (Talon, #2)
author: Julie Kagawa
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)]]> 22529162 Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.]]> 464 Sabaa Tahir Amanda 0 to-read 4.26 2015 An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)
author: Sabaa Tahir
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange, #1)]]> 3064985 Midsummer Night's Dream could be her lucky break—if she can pull it off. But when she meets the handsome Sonny Flannery, Kelley has to face the shocking truth that the world of Faeries is all too real—and that she is an unwitting part of it. Sonny warns Kelley that she is no mere mortal, and that she is being haunted by powerful forces from the Faerie realm. Now, Kelley must come to terms with her heritage—and her growing feelings for Sonny—if she wants to save not only herself, but also the human world that she holds dear.]]> 327 Lesley Livingston 1554682746 Amanda 0 to-read 3.71 2008 Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange, #1)
author: Lesley Livingston
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Defriended (Point Horror) 13316292 248 Ruth Baron 0545423570 Amanda 4 owned-books 3.47 2013 Defriended (Point Horror)
author: Ruth Baron
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/02/08
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: owned-books
review:
It was very enjoyable, and a quick read
]]> Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1) 518848
With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.]]> 496 Garth Nix 0064471837 Amanda 0 to-read 4.17 1995 Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)
author: Garth Nix
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hero and the Crown (Damar, #2)]]> 77366
It was the story of her mother, the witchwoman who enspelled the king into marrying her, to get an heir that would rule Damar; and it was told that she turned her face to the wall and died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son.
Aerin was that daughter.

But there was more of the story yet to be told; Aerin's destiny was greater than even she had dreamed--for she was to be the true hero who would wield the power of the Blue Sword...]]> 240 Robin McKinley 0441328091 Amanda 0 to-read 4.21 1984 The Hero and the Crown (Damar, #2)
author: Robin McKinley
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)]]> 11500217
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.]]> 326 Susan Ee 144477851X Amanda 0 to-read 4.19 2011 Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)
author: Susan Ee
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Crown Duel (Crown & Court, #1-2)]]> 21060 Battle on and off the field, with sword and fan, with might and manners...

It begins in a cold and shabby tower room, where young Countess Meliara swears to her dying father that she and her brother will defend their people from the growing greed of the king. That promise leads them into a war for which they are ill prepared, a war that threatens the homes and lives of the very people they are trying to protect.

But war is simple compared to what follows, when the bloody fighting is done and a fragile peace is at hand. Although she wants to turn her back on politics and the crown, Meliara is summoned to the royal palace. There, she soon discovers, friends and enemies look alike, and intrigue fills the dance halls and the drawing rooms. If she is to survive, Meliara must learn a whole new way of fighting--with wit and words and secret alliances. In war, at least, she knew whom she could trust. Now she can trust no one.

The Firebird edition of Crown Duel combines the hardcover editions of Crown Duel and Court Duel-and features a never-before-published story by Sherwood Smith!]]> 471 Sherwood Smith 0142301515 Amanda 0 to-read 4.19 2002 Crown Duel (Crown & Court, #1-2)
author: Sherwood Smith
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Magicians' Guild (The Black Magician Trilogy, #1)]]> 28249
This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work-—until one enraged girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated invaders...and effortlessly penetrates their magical shield.

What the Magicians' Guild has long dreaded has finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with a force she cannot yet control.]]> 467 Trudi Canavan 1841493139 Amanda 0 to-read 3.98 2001 The Magicians' Guild (The Black Magician Trilogy, #1)
author: Trudi Canavan
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Betrayal (Trinity, #1) 450695 585 Fiona McIntosh 0732270235 Amanda 0 to-read 3.88 2001 Betrayal (Trinity, #1)
author: Fiona McIntosh
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dark Eyes (Dark Eyes, #1) 11782143
Now the sixteen-year-old is beautiful and hardened, and she's just stumbled across the possibility of discovering who she really is. She'll stop at nothing to find her birth mother before Klesko - her darkeyed father - finds her. Because Klesko will stop at nothing to reclaim the fortune Wally's mother stole from him long ago. Even if that means murdering his own blood. But Wally's had her own killer training, and she's hungry for justice.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens, this debut thriller introduces our next big series heroine!]]> 383 William Richter 1595144579 Amanda 5 3.63 2012 Dark Eyes (Dark Eyes, #1)
author: William Richter
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2015/02/01
date added: 2015/02/01
shelves: favorites, spys-crime-and-mystery
review:
It was packed full of action and betrayal. It was great.
]]> Red Queen (Red Queen, #1) 22328546 This is a world divided by blood—red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance—Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.]]> 388 Victoria Aveyard 0062310631 Amanda 0 to-read 3.97 2015 Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)
author: Victoria Aveyard
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/01/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nil (Nil, #1) 17225463
Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.

Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.]]> 384 Lynne Matson 0805097724 Amanda 4 3.92 2014 Nil (Nil, #1)
author: Lynne Matson
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/28
date added: 2015/01/28
shelves:
review:
I enjoyed it, but it could have used more action
]]> <![CDATA[Broken Skies (Broken Skies, #1)]]> 22799344 Thirty years ago, civilization collapsed. Few survived.
Ten years ago, the aliens arrived…and stayed.
One year ago, I killed two men and went a little crazy.
Today, the aliens took my brother and I will do anything to get him back.

In seventeen-year-old Jax Mitchell's world, humans are nearly extinct and alien settlers have arrived.

Until recently, the E’rikon have remained segregated in their city and ignored the few humans who have tried to engage them… but now they have taken Jax’s brother. To rescue him, she forms an uneasy alliance with a teenage E’rikon left stranded in the woods. She agrees to guide him to the city if he sneaks her past the human-proof barrier. Too bad it’s not that simple.

Jax, who cannot stand to be touched, finds that she’s drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales down his back. And he’s equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn’t know the alien’s true motives and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.

In this world where alien and human are at odds, the connection forming between the two has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets a chain of events in motion which threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself.]]> 370 Theresa Kay Amanda 0 to-read 3.86 2014 Broken Skies (Broken Skies, #1)
author: Theresa Kay
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/01/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Fault in Our Stars 11870085
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.]]> 313 John Green Amanda 5 favorites, owned-books 4.13 2012 The Fault in Our Stars
author: John Green
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2014/05/05
date added: 2015/01/17
shelves: favorites, owned-books
review:
I thought it was great. I loved the characters. It all felt very real and it made me cry, which admittedly is easy for books to do, but I really felt it. I felt so sad for the characters. And I was so scared he was going to end the book like An Imperial Affliction. So glad he didn't.
]]> Nil Unlocked (Nil, #2) 22718810
Raiders have grown bolder, supplies are dwindling, and non-human inhabitants have taken a turn toward the deadly. New arrivals cause rifts within the City, putting the Search system at risk, and calling everything Rives knows into question. Desperate for answers, he teams up with the only other person searching for them: Skye, a new arrival with a mysterious past of her own. Soon the duo find themselves locked in a desperate race to save all the residents of Nil—and possibly destroy the island forever. But at what cost? And who will pay the price?]]> 432 Lynne Matson 1627792937 Amanda 0 to-read 4.13 2015 Nil Unlocked (Nil, #2)
author: Lynne Matson
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Benefactor: A Novel in Episodes]]> 18851821 318 Erin Fry 1477817425 Amanda 5 favorites 3.66 2013 The Benefactor: A Novel in Episodes
author: Erin Fry
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/01/15
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Monsters (Ashes Trilogy, #3) 15947841
When her parents died, Alex thought things couldn't get much worse-until the doctors found the monster in her head.

She headed into the wilderness as a good-bye, to leave everything behind. But then the end of the world happened, and Alex took the first step down a treacherous road of betrayal and terror and death.

Now, with no hope of rescue-on the brink of starvation in a winter that just won't quit-she discovers a new and horrifying truth.

The Change isn't over.
The Changed are still evolving.
And...they've had help.

With this final volume of The Ashes Trilogy, Ilsa J. Bick delivers a riveting, blockbuster finish, returning readers to a brutal, post-apocalyptic world where no one is safe and hope is in short supply.

A world where, from these ashes, the monsters may rise.]]> Ilsa J. Bick 1455857408 Amanda 5 3.73 2013 Monsters (Ashes Trilogy, #3)
author: Ilsa J. Bick
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2015/01/13
date added: 2015/01/13
shelves: anything-dystopian-post-apocalyptic, favorites
review:
I thought this was a great book, and the ending was fantastic. I would totally recommend others read them.
]]> <![CDATA[Moose & Midge: Breakup Blues (Archie New Look Series)]]> 6972535 112 Melanie J. Morgan 1879794454 Amanda 0 to-read, owned-books 3.47 2009 Moose & Midge: Breakup Blues (Archie New Look Series)
author: Melanie J. Morgan
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/01/08
shelves: to-read, owned-books
review:

]]> The Archies' 6640329 96 Frank Doyle 1879794373 Amanda 0 to-read, owned-books 4.26 2008 The Archies'
author: Frank Doyle
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/01/08
shelves: to-read, owned-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Archie Freshman Year Book 1 (The Highschool Chronicles Series)]]> 5675116 120 Batton Lash 1879794403 Amanda 0 to-read, owned-books 3.70 2009 Archie Freshman Year Book 1 (The Highschool Chronicles Series)
author: Batton Lash
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/01/08
shelves: to-read, owned-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)]]> 60400 249 John Flanagan 0142406635 Amanda 5 4.25 2004 The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)
author: John Flanagan
name: Amanda
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/01/08
shelves: fantasy-type-stuff, favorites, owned-books
review:

]]> Blood and Chocolate 30324
Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He’s fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.

Vivian’s divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really—human or beast? Which tastes sweeter—blood or chocolate?]]> 288 Annette Curtis Klause 0440226686 Amanda 3 3.81 1990 Blood and Chocolate
author: Annette Curtis Klause
name: Amanda
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2014/04/12
date added: 2015/01/08
shelves: supernatural-type-stuff, owned-books
review:
I am still so conflicted on whether I liked this book or not. There were elements in it I didn't like, and some I loved. I liked the overall feel of the book. But I'm still not totally sure about it.
]]>