gracereadsaudio
Finding & sharing the best stories to my ears! ALC & ARC review creator 🎧 Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Thriller 📍Belgium 📩 gracereads@proton.me
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Whispers of the Lake
Shanora Williams
A marriage on the rocks, a missing friend, an investigative journalist, a tangle of shocking lies, and a peaceful North Carolina lakefront cottage converge in this irresistibly twisty new psychological thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author—perfect for readers of Liv Constantine, Tarryn Fisher, Kellye Garrett, and Caroline Kepnes. At the peak of her career, investigative reporter Rose Howard is exhausted from trying to manage her seemingly perfect life. With her marriage to her one true love collapsing, she desperately needs to rest, regroup, and decide which way to go next. The direction becomes clear when she discovers that her former best friend, Eve Castillo, isn't responding to attempts to contact her at the North Carolina cottage where she's vacationing. Rose knows Eve can be flaky and irresponsible—that’s why they fell out. Still, Rose heads to the tranquil small town of Sage Hill . . . Rose soon discovers that Eve has vanished without her purse and passport—even after booking a trip abroad. The personable cabin owners’ accounts of Eve's stay just don’t to add up . . . and most of the town's initially hospitable inhabitants becoming increasingly less helpful . . . Rose's instincts tell her the solution lies somewhere in Eve's—and Sage Hill's—past. To get answers, she’ll have to ask inconvenient questions, rattle long-buried skeletons . . . and face vicious attempts on her life. But some truths are best left alone. And secrets Rose never saw coming could easily sink her and her future without a trace . . .
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The Unworthy
Agustina Bazterrica
The long-awaited new novel from the author of global sensation Tender Is the Flesh: a thrilling work of literary horror about a woman cloistered in a secretive, violent religious order, while outside the world has fallen into chaos.
From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe—cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe.
But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past—and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can’t she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?
A searing, dystopian tale about climate crisis, ideological extremism, and the tidal pull of our most violent, exploitative instincts, this is another unforgettable novel from a master of feminist horror.
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The Unworthy
Agustina Bazterrica
The long-awaited new novel from the author of global sensation Tender Is the Flesh: a thrilling work of literary horror about a woman cloistered in a secretive, violent religious order, while outside the world has fallen into chaos.
From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe—cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe.
But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past—and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can’t she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?
A searing, dystopian tale about climate crisis, ideological extremism, and the tidal pull of our most violent, exploitative instincts, this is another unforgettable novel from a master of feminist horror.
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40w
Hammajang Luck
Makana Yamamoto
HAMMAJANG | adjective. Definition: In a disorderly or chaotic state; messed up. Chiefly in predicative use, esp. in all hammajang. Etymology: A borrowing from Hawaiian Pidgin. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person - costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most.
And it's all Angel's fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station - of home - to spend the best part of a decade alone.
But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting - and she has an offer.
One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time. There's just one thing Edie needs to do - trust Angel again - which also happens to be the last thing Edie wants to do. What could possibly go all hammajang about this plan?
Ocean's 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawai'i about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one - unmissable for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
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Trans Rights Readathon 2025 suggestion list
by gracereadsaudio
//
37 books
🏳️‍⚧️
🎧
đź“š
3
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41w
Legendborn (The Legendborn Cycle, #1)
Tracy Deonn
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
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46w
The Night Masquerade (Binti, #3)
Nnedi Okorafor
The concluding part of the highly-acclaimed science fiction trilogy that began with Nnedi Okorafor's Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning Binti.
Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse.
Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her.
Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene—though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives—and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all.
Don't miss this essential concluding volume in the Binti trilogy.
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46w
Home (Binti, #2)
Nnedi Okorafor
It’s been a year since Binti and Okwu enrolled at Oomza University. A year since Binti was declared a hero for uniting two warring planets. A year since she abandoned her family in the dawn of a new day.
And now she must return home to her people, with her friend Okwu by her side, to face her family and face her elders.
But Okwu will be the first of his race to set foot on Earth in over a hundred years, and the first ever to come in peace.
After generations of conflict can human and Meduse ever learn to truly live in harmony?
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46w
This Ends in Embers (Divine Traitors, #2)
Kamilah Cole
Perfect for fans of Raybearer and Fourth Wing, this astonishing sequel to the bestselling novel So Let Them Burn doesn't hold back. After all, there are no easy endings in war—especially when sisters are forced to fight on opposite sides.
Faron Vincent was once the saint of San Irie. Now, she’s done the unthinkable: betrayed her country. Alone, disgraced, and kidnapped, Faron is forced to help Iya grow his bloody empire. With her soul bonded to a ruthless killer, Faron has become an enemy to her people… and she fears they might be right.
Elara Vincent—the new Empyrean—must undo the damage her sister has caused. San Irie has been brought back to the brink of war as Iya proclaims no nation will be safe from his brutal invasion. But how can Elara save her sister, her best friend, her country, and her world when she’s already cracking under the pressure?
This heart-pounding conclusion to the Divine Traitors duology pushes these unforgettable heroines to their breaking point and beyond. Because when the lines between hero and villain are blurred, deadly sacrifices must be made.
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46w
Losing Sight
Tati Richardson
What if a mysterious pair of glasses helped you to see life—and love—clearly?Sports reporter Tanika “Nikki” Ryan is at the top of her game until she isn’t. Squinting at the teleprompter and flubbing lines, she loses her coveted Thursday Night football spot to a younger, less qualified woman—and that’s only the start of her troubles. After her impaired sight leads to an accident nearly costing her life, Tanika finds herself in the office of handsome widowed optometrist Gideon Miles. There, mysterious circumstances lead Tanika to an enchanted pair of glasses, changing her world—and Gideon’s—forever. With help from her “boss chick village” and a bit of magic, Tanika finally learns to see the love that’s right in front of her eyes. In this high-heat and hilarious rom-com that harkens to the golden age of Black romance, celebrated novelist Tati Richardson proves life is sweeter after age forty, and gives readers of all ages a reason to believe in second chances.
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gracereadsaudio started reading...
46w
Hammajang Luck
Makana Yamamoto
HAMMAJANG | adjective. Definition: In a disorderly or chaotic state; messed up. Chiefly in predicative use, esp. in all hammajang. Etymology: A borrowing from Hawaiian Pidgin. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person - costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most.
And it's all Angel's fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station - of home - to spend the best part of a decade alone.
But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting - and she has an offer.
One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time. There's just one thing Edie needs to do - trust Angel again - which also happens to be the last thing Edie wants to do. What could possibly go all hammajang about this plan?
Ocean's 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawai'i about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one - unmissable for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
1
0Reply
gracereadsaudio started reading...
46w
Legendborn (The Legendborn Cycle, #1)
Tracy Deonn
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
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gracereadsaudio DNF'd a book
46w
The Last Hour Between Worlds (The Echo Archives, #1)
Melissa Caruso
Follow a star investigator and her rival as they journey through layers of reality to save the world as they know it in this whip-smart adventure fantasy about rival guilds, reality-bending magic and unexpected mystery.
Kembral Thorne is spending a few hours away from her newborn, and she's determined to enjoy the party no matter what. But when the guests start dropping dead, Kem has no choice but to get to work. She's a member of the Guild of Hounds, after all, and she can't help picking up the scent of trouble.
She's not the only one. Her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is on the prowl. They quickly identify what's causing the mayhem: a mysterious grandfather clock that sends them down an Echo every time it chimes. In each strange new layer of reality, time resets and a sinister figure appears to perform a blood-soaked ritual.
As Kem and Rika fall into increasingly macabre versions of their city, they'll need to rely on their wits - and each other - to unravel the secret of the clock and save their city.
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gracereadsaudio DNF'd a book
46w
Love Delayed
Anna Black
A second-chance love connection for book romantics in which former college sweethearts reunite at an airport counter upon their flight cancellation, sparking a night of reflection and what could have been. When Zamora Hill made the decision to follow her childhood dreams of being a chef, she didn’t know that losing the love of her life would be the price she’d have to pay. Excited about going to culinary school, things took a crazy turn with her boyfriend Marcus, who doesn’t support her decision and calls things off, leaving Zamora not only bewildered, but heartbroken. Defeated, she moves out and moves on. Hotel and business owner Marcus Coleman is a family man and is very close to the ones he loves. Hospitality was all he knew, being a fourth-generation hotel owner, and he did all he could to please his parents. Accustomed to making sacrifices, Marcus was blindsided with the news that his college love, Zamora, would be going away for thirteen months to attend culinary school. Driven by ego, he ends their entire relationship before thinking it through. Ten years later, as fate would have it, Zamora and Marcus are both in Las Vegas heading back to Chicago on the very same flight that gets delayed, and eventually canceled. They have one night to catch up, and one night is all it takes for them to realize that they still harbor old feelings for each other.
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gracereadsaudio finished reading and wrote a review...
46w
I’m gonna be honest with the fact that if it wasn’t for the arc of book two I would’ve DNFd this series. HOWEVER! Book 2 saved it for me.
This book had more action and a little more complexity added to the characters.
I enjoy when characters are struggling with their actions not aligning with their morals.
I did not care for Faron until about 30%-40% into this book.
I love Elara and Sydney 🫶🏾 the depiction of their relationship in this book felt very realistic and relatable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for providing an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Audiobook Review 🎧 | NetGalley ALC
Narration Overall: 3.5
Voice: 4 Energy: 4 Pacing: 3 Emotions: 3
Story/Writing Overall: 3.25
Prose: 3 Entertainment: 3.5 Emotions: 3 Storyline: 3.5
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46w
The Stardust Grail
Yume Kitasei
Save one world. Doom her own.
From the acclaimed author of The Deep Sky comes a thrilling anti-colonial space heist to save an alien civilization.
Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. For ten years, she returned stolen artifacts to alien civilizations—until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology, but she’s haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future.
Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can’t refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren’t the only ones hunting for it.
Maya sets out on a breakneck quest through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. But the farther she goes, the more her visions cast a dark shadow over her team of friends new and old. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself.
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CW: violence and gore, xenophobia, xenocide, colonization, vomit, torture, war, infertility, chronic illness, confinement, suicidal thoughts (minor), pandemic, migraines
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gracereadsaudio finished reading and wrote a review...
46w
gracereadsaudio
Feb 03, 2025
Feb 03, 2025
5.0
Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
đź«
🫢
🤯
If you had the opportunity to extend your life for an unknown amount of time, while sacrificing your love, would you take it?
“Would you want to live for ever?” To me is an ambitious debut novel, speculative fiction navigating topics around “immortality” or “longevity”, ageism, racial disparity and love.
The pairing with this narrator made it even more compelling! I could not stop listening to the book and read it in one day. It left me pensive, a bit sad and curious to see what other books this author will have to offer.
This book is going to be on my mind for a long time!
Audiobook Review 🎧 | NetGalley ALC
Narration Overall: 5
Voice: 5 Energy: 5 Pacing: 5 Emotions: 5
Story/Writing Overall: 5
Prose: 5 Entertainment: 5 Emotions: 5 Storyline: 5
Spice level: 🍦
Thank you to NetGalley and Octopus Audio for providing an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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