In March I read a total of 19 books with only one DNF which I am exceptionally proud of since a lot of these books were massive and I have Discord and Buddy Reads to thank for that and I hope to do better in April.
The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K Hamilton – After a few centuries, the only death ‘big enough’ is a human sacrifice. I know because I’m an animator. My name is Anita Blake. Working for Animators, Inc. is just a job – like selling insurance. But all the money in the world wasn’t enough for me to take on the particular job Harold Gaynor was offering. Somebody else did, though – a rogue animator. Now he’s not just raising the dead… he’s raising Hell. And it’s up to me to stop it.
Journey Into Darkness by John E. Douglas – This is a story of deceit, scandal, and murder. It is a story about good and evil. It is a story of how the lives of twin brothers, Tom and Ted Ridge, influenced their families, friends, and local townspeople, changing the peaceful town of Harpswell into one of unrest and violence.
Dune by Frank Herbert – The Duke of Atreides has been manoeuvred by his arch-enemy, Baron Harkonnen, into administering the desert planet of Dune. Although it is almost completely without water, Dune is a planet of fabulous wealth, for it is the only source of a drug prized throughout the Galactic Empire. The Duke and his son, Paul, are expecting treachery, and it duly comes – but from a shockingly unexpected place. Then Paul succeeds his father, and he becomes a catalyst for the native people of Dune, whose knowledge of the ecology of the planet gives them vast power. They have been waiting for a leader like Paul Atreides, a leader who can harness that force …
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson – The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth…?
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’s mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson – Princess Elisa is a disappointment to her people. Although she bears the Godstone in her navel, a sign that she has been chosen for an act of heroism, they see her as lazy and useless and fat. On her sixteenth birthday, she is bartered off in royal marriage and shipped away to a kingdom in turmoil, where her much-older-and extremely beautiful-husband refuses to acknowledge her as his wife. Devastated, Elisa decides to take charge of her fate and learn what it means to bear the Godstone. As an invading army threatens to destroy her new home, and everyone at court manoeuvres to take advantage of the young princess, Elisa becomes convinced that, not only is her own life in danger, the whole world needs saving. But how can a young girl who has never ridden horseback, never played the game of politics, and never attained the love of a man save the world? Elisa can’t be sure, but she must try to uncover the Godstone’s secret history before the enemy steals the destiny nestled in her core.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness. Gabriel de León, half man, half monster and last remaining silversaint – a sworn brother of the holy Silver Order dedicated to defending the realm from the creatures of the night – is all that stands between the world and its end. Now imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope: The Holy Grail.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman – It’s been a year since Rowan went off-grid. Hunted by the Scythedom, he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. Citra, meanwhile, is forging her path as Scythe Anastasia, gleaning with compassion. However, conflict within the Scythedom is growing by the day, and when Citra’s life is threatened, it becomes clear that there is a truly terrifying plot afoot. The Thunderhead observes everything, and it does not like what it sees. Will it intervene? Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel?
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan – Raised far away on the moon, Xingyin was unaware she was being hidden from the Celestial Emperor – who exiled her mother for stealing the elixir of immortality. But when her magic flares and reveals her, Xingyin is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind. Alone, powerless, and afraid, Xingyin makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. In disguise, she trains alongside the Emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, despite the passion which flames between them. Vowing to rescue her mother, Xingyin embarks on a quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies. But when forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, Xingyin must challenge the ruthless Emperor, leaving her torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos…
The Man With the Golden Mind by Tom Vater – Detective Maier has a new case. This time it is a cold case: investigating the death of Julia Rendel’s father, an East German culture attaché who was killed near a fabled CIA airbase in central Laos in 1976. But before the detective can set off, his client is kidnapped right out of his arms. Maier follows Julia’s trail to the Laotian capital Vientiane, where he learns different parties, including his missing client, are searching for a legendary CIA file crammed with Cold War secrets. The real prize, however, is the file’s author: someone codenamed Weltmeister, a former US and Vietnamese spy and assassin no one has seen for a quarter century. Racing against time, Maier needs to dig deep into the past – including his own – in order to make sense of the present.
The Monsoon Ghost Image by Tom Vater – Dirty pictures, secret wars and human beasts. Detective Maier is back to investigate the politics of murder. When award-winning German conflict photographer Martin Ritter disappears in a boating accident in Thailand, the nation mourns the loss of a cultural icon. A few weeks later, Detective Maier’s agency in Hamburg gets a call from Ritter’s wife. Her husband has been seen alive on the streets of Bangkok. Traveling to Thailand, all Maier finds is trouble and a photograph. But as soon as Maier puts his hands on the Monsoon Ghost Image, the detective turns from hunter to hunted. The CIA, a doctor with a penchant for violence and a mysterious woman known as the Wicked Witch Of The East all want to get their fingers on Ritter’s most important piece of work. From the concrete canyons of the Thai capital to the savage jungles and hedonist party islands of southern Thailand, Maier and his sidekick Mikhail race against formidable foes to discover some of the darkest truths of our time – and save their lives.
The Shadow Cats by Rae Carson – A prequel novella following Elisa’s sister and the tension between Kingdoms.
The Shattered Mountain by Rae Carson – A prequel novella following Mara and her band of survivors as the war begins.
The King’s Guard by Rae Carson – A prequel novella following the childhood of Lord Hector and a mission to protect a King.
Devils You Know by Miles Watson – In this anthology you’ll find horror and drama, warfare and madness and crime, and even the laughs are of the midnight-black variety. You’ll encounter gangsters elbow-deep in the red business of murder, soldiers slogging through physical and moral mud, and supernatural monsters whose pleasures are taken in human blood. You will journey through a dystopian America and a just-liberated Paris, encounter ordinary men descending into madness, and meet a Nazi officer who discovers the hard way that we are all brothers under the skin. Somewhere in these pages you will even meet Satan himself…and discover that sometimes even he can’t take the heat. So sit down, buckle up, and get ready to meet your devils. Just don’t be surprised if they look familiar…
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix – The year is 1988. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act…different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby. Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries—and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
Any Man by Amber Tamblyn – A violent serial rapist is on the loose, who goes by the name Maude. She hunts for men at bars, online, at home– the place doesn’t matter, neither does the man. Her victims then must live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame alienation from their friends and family and the haunting of a horrible woman who becomes the phantom on which society projects its greatest fears, fascinations and even misogyny. All the while the police are without leads and the media hound the victims, publicly dissecting the details of their attack. What is extraordinary is how as years pass these men learn to heal, by banding together and finding a space to raise their voices. Told in alternating viewpoints signature to each voice and experience of the victim, these pages crackle with emotion, ranging from horror to breathtaking empathy.
Tampa by Alyssa Nutting – Celeste Price is an eighth-grade English teacher in suburban Tampa. She is attractive. She drives a red Corvette. Her husband, Ford, is rich, square-jawed and devoted to her. But Celeste has a secret. She has a singular sexual obsession – fourteen-year-old boys. It is a craving she pursues with sociopathic meticulousness and forethought. Within weeks of her first term at a new school, Celeste has lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web – car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack’s house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming encounters in Celeste’s empty classroom between periods. It is bliss. Celeste must constantly confront the forces threatening their affair – the perpetual risk of exposure, Jack’s father’s own attraction to her, and the ticking clock as Jack leaves innocent boyhood behind. But the insatiable Celeste is remorseless. She deceives everyone, is close to no one and cares little for anything but her pleasure.
Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie – A mysterious disease claims the world’s children before bringing them back. To continue surviving, however, they need to ingest human blood. As the blood supply wanes, parents struggle and compete to keep their children alive. In the end, the only source left will be each other. For them, the ultimate question will be: How far would you go for someone you love?
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