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  • Archives - The Craft Sea

The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams

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Title: The Secret, Book & Scone Society (Secret, Book & Scone Society #1)

Author: Ellery Adams

Publisher: Kensington Books 2017

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 285

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme

Strangers flock to Miracle Springs hoping the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. If none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked “comfort” scone, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book. That’s Nora’s special talent—prescribing the perfect novel to ease a person’s deepest pain. So when a visiting businessman reaches out for guidance, Nora knows exactly how to help. But before he can keep their appointment, he’s found dead on the train tracks . . .
 
Stunned, Nora forms the Secret, Book, and Scone Society, a group of damaged souls yearning to earn redemption by helping others. To join, members must divulge their darkest secret—the terrible truth that brought each of them to Miracle Springs in the first place. Now, determined to uncover the truth behind the businessman’s demise, the women meet in Nora’s cozy bookstore. And as they untangle a web of corruption, they also discover their own courage, purpose, and a sisterhood that will carry them through every challenge—proving it’s never too late to turn the page and start over . . .

Meh. After finishing this book, that’s my reaction. Just meh. It was a decent attempt at a cozy mystery, but everything really fell flat for me. I disliked the writing style (it felt very immature at times). The tone was all over the place but definitely too serious in parts. I couldn’t really figure out the motivations of the main characters in solving the murder (why did they care so much?). I felt like the murder mystery was really an afterthought to the main plot of the book. Finally, the book references felt very shoe-horned into the pages. They just didn’t land with me. I don’t think I will be picking up the second in the series.

Secret, Book & Scone Society

  • #1 The Secret, Book & Scone Society

  • #2 The Whispered Word

  • #3 The Book of Candlelight

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: mystery, Ellery Adams, Monthly Theme, library, 3 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 03.13.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

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Title: An Unkindness of Ghosts

Author: Rivers Solomon

Publisher: Akashic Books 2017

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 340

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme

Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, she'd be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remains of her world.

Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship's leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot--if she's willing to sow the seeds of civil war.

This book has been on my radar for awhile but I somehow never picked it up. I decided to add it to my short list for February and immediately started reading after finishing Kindred. The two books ended up being a great pairing. Both deal with racial issues by using science fiction to highlight the problems. I loved reading Kindred that mainly dealt in the past and how it relates to the modern, but this book took it further in dealing in the future to highlight the present. Plus we get commentary on power structures, gender divides, trans issues, class issues, and even education and knowledge. There are so many layers to this book! There are so many different topics being addressed that I don’t think I caught everything. I may have to reread this book in a few years. Beyond all the interesting topics, we get a great fast-paced plot centering on Aster’s uncovering the meaning behind her mother’s suicide and the overall mystery of the ship and where it’s headed. I was definitely along for the ride! I even loved the ending. I’m still thinking on many of the issues highlighted days later. So good!

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Rivers Solomon, science fiction, Monthly Theme, library, 5 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 03.07.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Kindred by Octavia Butler

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Title: Kindred

Author: Octavia Butler

Publisher: 1979

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 287

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme - February

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

Such a powerful story! I’ve been meaning to read this one for years, but it kept getting shoved down my TBR pile. Finally picked it up and sped through it. It’s a fast paced plot with great characters. But more importantly, the book dives into very hard situations and questions what’s right and wrong in any given situation. I really found Dana’s inner turmoil over her place both in the 1800s and in 1976 challenging. The passages detailing violence were very difficult to read but important to confront past (and sometimes current) injustices. Even though the book was written 40 years, the topics touched upon feel very relevant to today.

Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: science fiction, Octavia Butler, Monthly Theme, 4 stars
categories: Books
Friday 03.06.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Revenge of Lord Eberlin by Julia London

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Title: The Revenge of Lord Eberlin (The Secrets of Hadley Green #2)

Author: Julia London

Publisher: Pocket Books 2012

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 404

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; Monthly Theme - February; Goodreads Random

Tobin Scott, otherwise known as Count Eberlin of Denmark, has returned to Hadley Green, the site of his father’s hanging for thievery fifteen years ago. He has but one goal in mind, and that is to avenge his father, who he believes was innocent of stealing the Countess of Ashwood jewels. Now a wealthy man, Tobin intends to exact his revenge by destroying the Ashwood estate and the Countess of Ashwood, who as a young girl testified against his father.

Lily Boudine has become the Countess of Ashwood through a very surprising twist of fate. She is even more surprised when a vaguely familiar looking man calls and tells her he is Tobin Scott, whom she knew as a boy, and that he intends to destroy her or Ashwood. He leaves the choice to her. Because so many people depend on Ashwood, Lily chooses herself, thinking that she can hold him at bay long enough to remove Ashwood from his clutches. But as they play the game of seduction, and she slowly discovers that he is not the cold, heartless man he would like to present to her, she also believes that Tobin is right—his father did not steal the jewels. And if she can find them, she can help restore his family’s honor—but not before she discovers another shocking secret.

An enjoyable Regency romance. I did really like Lily and Tobin as a couple. And the overall mystery of the missing jewels is a great connection. These novels really are my comfort reads. I just wished that we got a bit more of the resolution. But it’s that what I say about all these romance novels? Yes, yes it is.

The Secrets of Hadley Green

  • #1 The Year o fLiving Scandalously

  • #1.5 The Christmas Secret

  • #2 The Revenge of Lord Eberlin

  • #3 The Seduction of Lady X

  • #4 The Last Debutante

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Julia London, UnRead Shelf, romance, Monthly Theme, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 02.28.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

I was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib

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Title: I was Their American Dream

Author: Malaka Gharib

Publisher: Clarkson Potter 2019

Genre: Graphic Novel Memoir

Pages: 160

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme

I Was Their American Dream is at once a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid.

Malaka Gharib's triumphant graphic memoir brings to life her teenage antics and illuminates earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised. Malaka's story is a heartfelt tribute to the American immigrants who have invested their future in the promise of the American dream.

I picked this one up on recommendation from the local library. While I was engaged in the story of identity and culture, I couldn’t help but compare it to other books and specifically graphic novel memoirs I have read. I kept being reminded of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. That volume really gutted me. This one felt a little too comedic to have the impact that I thought it should have. I wanted a bit more gravity to the story than I actually got. Beyond the comparisons, this was a interesting volume, just not quite something I would love.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Malaka Gharib, 3 stars, library, graphic novel, memoir, Monthly Theme
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 02.19.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

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Title: Brown Girl Dreaming

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books 2014

Genre: Middle Grade

Pages: 368

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme - February

Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

I’ve seen this book on so many Best Of lists and it won so many awards. it’s been on my To Read list for years and I finally got around to reading this one. I’m not usually one for books in verse, but this one really struck me. I loved turning every page to find out more about Woodson’s life. I loved the little snippets of memories and stories. I loved the imagery she evokes on every page. The constant callbacks to her family and ancestors were beautiful. This was such a great book. I would love to see this on required reading lists for middle schoolers. Perfect age to dive in to discussions.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Jacqueline Woodson, memoir, 5 stars, library, Monthly Theme
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 02.15.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Year of Living Scandalously by Julia London

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Title: The Year of Living Scandalously (The Secrets of Hadley Green #1)

Author: Julia London

Publisher: Pocket Books 2010

Genre: Fiction - Romance

Pages: 423

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; Monthly Theme - February

When Declan O’Connor, Earl of Donnelly, arrives at Hadley Green to meet with Lily Boudine, the new countess of Ashwood, he knows instantly that the lovely woman who welcomes him is not who she pretends to be. In an attempt to avoid an unwanted marriage, Keira Hannigan has assumed her cousin’s identity and is staying at the estate while Lily is abroad. When Declan threatens to expose her, Keira convinces him to guard her secret, then enlists him in her investigation of the missing jewels, for she now believes an innocent man was hanged.

Unable to deny the beautiful, exasperating Keira—or their simmering passion—Declan reluctantly agrees. But neither is prepared for the dangerous stranger who threatens to reveal Keira’s lies . . . and Declan knows he must protect Keira at all costs, for she is the woman who now owns his heart.

I started another Regency romance series from my shelves. I definitely enjoyed the overall story and characters. Keira and Declan are a great couple. I love the Pride and Prejudice vibes I got from this book. Great dislike to love story. I was less enamored with the overall deception Keira engages in throughout the book. Things were not going to end well, and Keira’s insistence that they would got a bit annoying. Beyond that bit, I did enjoy the overall mystery set up in this volume. And the side characters were interesting. Most definitely I’ll be reading the rest of the series.

The Secrets of Hadley Green

  • #1 The Year of Living Scandalously

  • #1.5 The Christmas Secret

  • #2 The Revenge of Lord Eberlin

  • #3 The Seduction of Lady X

  • #4 The Last Debutante

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Julia London, romance, Monthly Theme, UnRead Shelf, 4 stars, Regency
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 02.14.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara

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Title: The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick

Author: Mallory O’Meara

Publisher: Hanover Square Press 2019

Genre: Nonfiction - Biography

Pages: 368

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Theme - January

As a teenager, Mallory O’Meara was thrilled to discover that one of her favorite movies, Creature from the Black Lagoon, featured a monster designed by a woman, Milicent Patrick. But for someone who should have been hailed as a pioneer in the genre, there was little information available. For, as O’Meara soon discovered, Patrick’s contribution had been claimed by a jealous male colleague, her career had been cut short and she soon after had disappeared from film history. No one even knew if she was still alive.

As a young woman working in the horror film industry, O’Meara set out to right the wrong, and in the process discovered the full, fascinating story of an ambitious, artistic woman ahead of her time. Patrick’s contribution to special effects proved to be just the latest chapter in a remarkable, unconventional life, from her youth growing up in the shadow of Hearst Castle, to her career as one of Disney’s first female animators. And at last, O’Meara discovered what really had happened to Patrick after The Creature’s success, and where she went.

A true-life detective story and a celebration of a forgotten feminist trailblazer, Mallory O’Meara’s The Lady from the Black Lagoon establishes Patrick in her rightful place in film history while calling out a Hollywood culture where little has changed since.

Why have I sat on this book for almost a year? I have no idea. I was so excited about this one coming out that I even preordered it and then it sat on my Kindle for almost a year before I picked it up (this is why I really need to prioritize books I own). Anyway… I really enjoyed this biography of Milicent Patrick crossed with Mallory O’Meara’s own sexist experiences in the film industry. We flip back and forth from Patrick’s life to O’Meara’s anecdotes and experiences while working as a film producer and author. My favorite parts were strictly about Milicent Patrick and her very interesting varied career. I loved diving into a fascinating woman at a very strange time in Hollywood. I was less impressed with the feminist asides. Mostly it was a rehashing of a lot of information I already knew. Those passages didn’t open my eyes to anything really, but I think they were necessary for the overall story O’Meara was attempting to tell. Overall this was a very interesting biography. I might just want to own it in physical form (the paperback version is releasing in March).

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: movies, nonfiction, Mallory O'Meara, ebook, Monthly Theme, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 02.05.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Wool by Hugh Howey

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Title: Wool (Silo #1)

Author: Hugh Howey

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2013

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 528

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Theme

In a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside.

His fateful decision unleashes a drastic series of events. An unlikely candidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic with no training in law, whose special knack is fixing machines. Now Juliette is about to be entrusted with fixing her silo, and she will soon learn just how badly her world is broken. The silo is about to confront what its history has only hinted about and its inhabitants have never dared to whisper. Uprising.

This series has been on my list for awhile now. Overall I did enjoy the story, but I was slightly confused about the form. I thought it would be one continuous story. Instead we get a bit of jumping in characters and timelines. In the end, I did enjoy the story and the world created. The silos are an interesting concept. I had hoped to learn more about the apocalypse. Maybe in the continuing stories.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: science fiction, 4 stars, Hugh Howey, ebook, Monthly Theme
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 01.31.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Billie Holiday by Carlos Sampayo and Jose Munoz

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Title: Billie Holiday

Author: Carlos Sampayo and Jose Munoz

Publisher: NBM Publishing 2017

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 80

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Themes January

Born in Philadelphua in 1915, and dead too early in New York in 1959, Billie Holiday became a legendary jazz singer, even mythical. With her voice even now managing to touch so many people, we follow a reporter on the trail of the artist on behalf of a New York daily. Beyond the public scandals that marred the life of the star (alcohol, drugs, violence...), he seeks to restore the truth, revisiting the memory of Billie. Through this investigation, Muñoz and Sampayo trace, through the undertones of racism, and in the wake of the blues, the slow drift of a singer who expressed the deepest emotions in jazz. By internationally renowned Argentine artists, featuring Muñoz' strikingly raw heavy blacks, this is not just a biography but a spell-binding art book tribute.

This was a recommendation from the Omaha library for a biographical comic. Billie Holiday was a musical genius who led a very harsh life. I thoroughly enjoyed this comic interpretation of his life and work. This is certainly an adult comic with adult themes. I could only digest a few pages in one sitting. But it was oh so good. Put me in the mind to listen to some Billie Holiday and drink a cocktail.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: biography, graphic novel, music, Carlos Sampayo, Jose Munoz, 4 stars, Monthly Theme
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 01.22.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

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Title: Wither (The Chemical Garden #1)

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2011

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual; Monthly Theme January

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years—leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

This one has been on my list for years at this point. I finally dove in and read this story in just a few days. I wouldn’t say that I absolutely loved this book, but it was a solid young adult science fiction book. Rhine is a decent heroine put in an impossible situation. Even though I like Rhine, I loved Jenna and Cecily. They are great side characters. Linden is a wet blanket, but I guess that’s his role in the story. I just wished that Gabriel was a more compelling character and love interest for Rhine. Maybe in book two? I think I’ll continue the series, but I’m not going to rush out right now.

The Chemical Garden

  • #1 Wither

  • #2 Fever

  • #3 Sever

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Lauren DeStefano, 4 stars, science fiction, young adult, perpetual, Monthly Theme
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 01.18.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 
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