Books I’ve Read 2022

Books

From bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair comes a dark and enthralling reimagining of the Hades and Persephone Greek myth. "Let me worship you," he said.She remembered the words she had whispered to him in the back of the limo after La Rose. "You will worship me, and I won't even have to order you." His request felt sinful and devious, and she reveled in it.She answered, "Yes."Persephone is the Goddess of Spring in title only. Since she was a little girl, flowers have only shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hoped to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. All of that changes when she sits down in a forbidden nightclub to play a hand of cards with a hypnotic and mysterious stranger.Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. But nothing has ever intrigued him as much as the goddess offering him a bargain he can't resist.After her encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead, and his terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. The bet does more than expose Persephone's failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—a love that is both captivating and forbidden.

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A gripping, dark enemies to lovers LGBTQ+ YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island home.Every year on St. Walpurga's Eve, Caldella's Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking.Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen's attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice.Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won't make the same mistake. She's willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas's freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other as water floods Caldella's streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice.Perfect for fans of:The Wicked Deep and A Curse So Dark and LonelyWitchy talesDark fantasy fictionLGBTQ booksEnemies to lovers romancePraise for The Dark Tide:"Striking the perfect balance, The Dark Tide demands to be read in one held breath as its tide bears down on all."—Foreword, Starred Review"A dark scenic adventure, sensitively written for romantics, Jasinska's debut novel is a fantasy of promises, betrayal, unrequited love, and black magic."—School Library Journal, Starred Review"The Dark Tide is the dark, queer fantasy of your dreams that's part beauty and the beast, part something entirely new and original... a lush world that begs to be lived in... It's beautiful, and fast paced, and everything I ever want from a fairy tale."—Cat VanOrder, Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, NC)"Fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope will be ecstatic with this book...The Dark Tide offers an exciting and immersive story with a strong feminist slant that subverts common YA tropes and forges its own original path."—The Nerd Daily

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An instant USA Today bestseller! From fan-favorite Scarlett St. Clair, the bestselling author of the Hades & Persephone series, comes a new fantasy filled with danger, darkness, and insatiable romance. Their union is his revenge.Isolde de Lara considers her wedding day to be her death day. To end a years-long war, she is to marry vampire king Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, and kill him.But her assassination attempt is thwarted, and Adrian threatens that if Isolde tries to kill him again, he will raise her as the undead. Faced with the possibility of becoming the thing she hates most, Isolde seeks other ways to defy him and survive the brutal vampire court.Except it isn't the court she fears most—it's Adrian. Despite their undeniable chemistry, she wonders why the king—fierce, savage, merciless—chose her as consort.The answer will shatter her world.

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Persephone's relationship with Hades has gone public and the resulting media storm disrupts her normal life and threatens to expose her as the Goddess of Spring. Hades, God of the Dead, is burdened by a hellish past that everyone's eager to expose in an effort to warn Persephone away. Things only get worse when a horrible tragedy leaves Persephone's heart in ruin and Hades refusing to help. Desperate, she takes matters into her own hands, striking bargains with severe consequences. Faced with a side of Hades she never knew and crushing loss, Persephone wonders if she can truly become Hades' queen.

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets The L Word in this fresh, sizzling New York Times bestselling rom-com by Lana Harper. Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one--in part because she hasn't been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoore, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams. But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She's determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago. On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov--an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts--who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden--unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in? But most concerning of all: Why can't she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov?