
chericheri TBR'd a book
3h

The Halfling's Harvest
S.L. Rowland
When pumpkins glow and cider flows, behold the harvestās magic. For most halflings, the annual harvest festival is a time to revel in life's simple pleasuresāhearty feasts, flowing wine, and warm hospitality. But for Marigold Bramblefoot, owner of the Dew Drop Inn and Vineyard, itās the busiestāand most stressfulātime of the year. Juggling an inn full of quirky guests, preparing for the bustling festivities, and managing her vineyard would be enough to overwhelm anyone. But Marigold has her sights set on something winning first place in the annual wine competition and finally stepping out of her fatherās shadow. The only problem? Her rival, Darkroot Cellars, has dominated the competition for a decade thanks to the druidic magic behind their wines. With her hands full and her heart set on success, Marigold must balance the chaos of the festival, a budding romance, and unraveling the vineyard's hidden mysteries, all while discovering what it truly means to craft her own legacy. Because in Willowbrook, the harvest festival is more than a celebrationāitās a season for transformation, and Marigoldās is long overdue. About the Welcome to the enchanting world of Tales of Aedrea, where small-scale stories, low-stakes adventure, and cozy fantasy come to life within an epic, high-fantasy realm.

chericheri is interested in reading...
3h

Azarinth Healer: Book One (Azarinth Healer, #1)
Rhaegar Rhaegar
Ilea likes punching things. And eating. Unfortunately, there arenāt too many career options for hungry brawlers. Instead, the plan is to quit her crappy fast-food job, go to college, and become a fully functioning member of society. Essentially - a fate worse than death. So maybe it's lucky that she wakes up one day in a strange world where a bunch of fantasy monsters are trying to kill her...? On the bright side, ākilling those monsters right backā is now a viable career path! For she soon discovers her new home runs on a set of game-like rules that will allow her to punch things harder than in her wildest dreams. Well, maybe not her wildest dreams, but itās close. With no quest to follow, no guide to show her the way, and no real desire to be a Hero ā Ilea embarks on a journey to discover a world full of magic. Magic she can use to fight even bigger monsters. Sheās struggling to survive, has no idea what will happen next, and is loving every minute of it. Except, and sometimes also, when sheās poisoned and/or has set herself on fire. Itās complicated.

chericheri is interested in reading...
3d

The Incandescent
Emily Tesh
Naomi Novik's Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. "Look at you, eating magic like you're one of us." Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions. Walden is good at her jobāno, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. Itās her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And itās possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe fromāis herself.

chericheri TBR'd a book
3d

Knit One, Heist One: A charming cosy mystery where crafty seniors stitch up the perfect plan
Donna Moore
Janus Lodge isnāt your typical retirement community. Sylvia Abercrombie and her knitting-obsessed gang of octogenarians are feisty, foul- mouthed, and fiercely protective of their home. So when a shady developer plots to evict them and build a 'gentlemenās club', they hatch an audacious plan to save their sanctuary ā by starting a secret knitwear empire with a scandalous twist. As sales skyrocket, secrets unravel, and Sylviaās ex-husband lurks in the shadows, the gang must pull off the ultimate heist to protect their beloved Lodge. Hilarious and heartfelt, Knit One, Heist One is a riotous romp proving that age is no barrier to action.

chericheri TBR'd a book
3d

QualityLand
Marc-Uwe Kling
In the near-future, all decision-making is automated, until one man makes a brazen choice of his own, with global consequences. Welcome to QualityLand, the best country on Earth. Here, a universal ranking system determines the social advantages and career opportunities of every member of society. An automated matchmaking service knows the best partners for everyone and helps with the break up when your ideal match (frequently) changes. And the foolproof algorithms of the biggest, most successful company in the world, TheShop, know what you want before you do and conveniently deliver to your doorstep before you even order it. In QualityCity, Peter Jobless is a machine scrapper who can't quite bring himself to destroy the imperfect machines sent his way, and has become the unwitting leader of a band of robotic misfits hidden in his home and workplace. One day, Peter receives a product from TheShop he absolutely, positively knows he does not want, and which he decides, at great personal cost, to return. The only problem: doing so means proving the perfect algorithm of TheShop wrong, calling into question the very foundations of QualityLand itself.

chericheri TBR'd a book
3d

Deadly Animals
Marie Tierney
Finding a dead body is not normal. But Ava is not a normal teenager. In this chilling debut mystery, only the obsessive spirit of youth can save a sleepy town from the savagery within. Fourteen-year-old Ava Bonney is unlike other children. She has an obsessive interest in the rate at which dead animals decompose. The motorway she lives by regularly offers up roadkill, and in the dead of night, Ava likes nothing more than to pull her latest discovery into her roadside den and record her findings. One night, she stumbles across the body of her classmate Mickey Grant, and fearing that her secret ritual could be revealed, she makes an anonymous call to the police. When Detective Seth Delahaye is given the case, Ava wonāt step backānot when teenagers in her sleepy South Birmingham town are going missing. How hard can it be to track a killer? Marie Tierney's debut, Deadly Animals, is a beautiful novel about a small communityās descent into devastation and desperationāand the bravery of youth in the face of darkness.

chericheri TBR'd a book
3d

Cards on the Table
Agatha Christie
A flamboyant party host is murdered in full view of a roomful of bridge players! Mr. Shaitana was famous, as were his parties. He was also a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation of cards and viewing Shaitanaās private art collection. Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogetherā¦

chericheri started reading...
5d

Cinder
Marissa Meyer
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earthās fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. Sheās a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsisterās illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kaiās, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her worldās future.

chericheri TBR'd a book
2w

An Academic Affair
Jodi McAlister
From the āmasterlyā (The New York Times) Jodi McAlister, a charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationshipā¦only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized. Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position. When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. Itās a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through. Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez, and Kayla Olson, An Academic Affair brings Jodi McAlisterās āsmart, scorching, and emotionally resonantā (Freya Marske, author of A Restless Truth) writing to the forefront and demonstrates her talent as one of todayās best rom-com authors.

chericheri started reading...
4w

Absolutely Not in Love (Sweater Weather, #7; Appies, #2)
Jenny Proctor
My requirements for a man are simple. Must love books. Must NOT love hockey. Which is why I will never be interested in my neighbor, the aloof and mysterious Felix Jamison, no matter how many books I see him hauling into his apartment. Unless he loses his pro hockey skates, Iām out. But then he shows up at my symphony concert. And I catch the sweet strains of Bach floating across the hall. Have I mentioned how incredible he looks in his game day suit? Still, my history with hockey is complicated. My older brother played, and letās just say he stole enough limelight to land a plane at midnight. I was forced to be a part of that world for so long, now that I have a choice, itās the last thing I want. But something tells me Felix is about to change my mindā¦
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)
Matt Dinniman
2/3 of the way through and weāre only on the second floorā¦did anyone else go into this not realizing it was like a 10 book series, or is that just me? š

chericheri is interested in reading...
4w

Unsteady
Peyton Corinne
Rhys Koteskiy is back ā at least, he's supposed to be. During last yearās Frozen Four, the Waterfell University hockey captain, and NHL legacy, took a brutal hit that left him with a concussion and a new discomfort on the ice. Plagued by nightmares and panic attacks every time he attempt to skate, Rhys wonders if heāll ever play again ā if heāll ever want to. Sadie Brown is staying focused this semester ā no matter what. Currently drowning in debt, custody hearings for her younger brothers and skating practices, she's just trying to make it to the next day. A spitfire figure skater known for her bad attitude and frequent disappearing acts, she has a reputation on campus. And itās not a pretty one. When she accidentally witnesses one of the golden boy hockey captainās panic attacks and attempts to help him, a strange sort of understanding strikes up between them. No questions asked. Just comfort. But Rhys finds himself drawn to Sadie. Where he feels empty, a shell of the man and player he was before, Sadie is so full of everything it bursts from her; every emotion she feels seems like itās blasted at max. Rhys is desperate to feel anything, Sadie wants to stop feeling so much. But healing doesnāt mix with secrets, and theyāre both skating a thin line, unsteady .
Holding the Reins (Silver Pines Ranch, #1)
Paisley Hope
Iām really liking this book so far, but the narrators are just not. it. I think Iāll finish this out and continue the series reading with my eye holes instead.

chericheri commented...
4w
this is so me,, sometimes you just gotta pause something you know you will like but that it's not for you at that time,, fun quick reads are such a good thing in between the heavy hitters


readswithtea paused reading...
4w

The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story
John Freeman
A selection of the best and most representative contemporary American short fiction from 1970 to 2020, including such authors as Ursula K. LeGuin, Toni Cade Bambara, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sandra Cisneros, and Ted Chiang, hand-selected by celebrated editor and anthologist John Freeman. IN THE PAST fifty years, the American short story has changed dramatically. New voices, forms, and mixtures of genres have brought this unique US genre a thrilling burst of energy. This rich anthology celebrates this avalanche of talent. Beginning in 1970, it culls together a half century of powerful American short stories from all genres, including--for the first time in a literary anthology--science fiction, horror, and fantasy, placing writers such as Usula Le Guin, Ken Liu and Stephen King next to some of the often-taught geniuses of the form--Grace Paley, Toni Cade Bambara, Sandra Cisneros, and Denis Johnson. Culling widely, Freeman, the former editor of Granta and now of his own literary annual, brings forward some astonishing work to be regarded in a new light. Often overlooked tales by Dorothy Allison, Charles Johnson, and Toni Morrison will recast the shape and texture of today's enlarging atmosphere of literary dialogue. Stories by Lauren Groff and Ted Chiang raise the spectre of engagement in ecocidal times. Short tales by Tobias Wolff, George Saunders, and Lydia Davis rub shoulders with near novellas by Susan Sontag and Andrew Holleran. This book will be a treasure trove for readers and teachers alike.

This was overall a really cute read! Way more emptional in some parts than I thought it would be. It hit deep.
We love a man that goes to therapy (albeit he did fight about it at first) Mitch's growth in the book is one of the things I loved the most. I started this book thinking I may find him annoying and have to DNF and I ended it really liking him.
Another thing I lovedātho I wished it was talked about a bit moreāwas the whole family dynamic between Andie and Noah. Their growth together, figuring stuff out, it touched me deeply. Andie, you're doing okay sweetie, more than okay.
Ronda is an icon and my favourite character btw

chericheri finished a book
4w

Desire or Defense (Hooked on a Feeling, #1)
Leah Brunner
Iām not the hero in this story. Iām the villain... The notoriously angry, grouchy, D.C. Eagles defenseman that just canāt keep his temper in check. The temper that leads to a fifteen game suspension from the NHL. As if thatās not bad enough, I'm forced into a short term youth-hockey coaching gig. Which my manager swears will ārebuild my image.ā But what I didnāt expect was for a gorgeous, spunky blonde to stomp onto the ice on day one and lecture me about being rude to her little brother. Something about this spitfire of a woman, and the boy sheās so protective of, has my defenses melting. And if Iām not careful, Iāll burst into flames, forever melting the ice Iāve carefully kept around my heart. (This is a closed-door romcom with mild language. Trigger warnings include: parental substance abuse & dealing with grief/loss of parents).