melli
𝓛𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓪. 𝓘𝓝𝓣𝓙. 𝓹𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱 𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓭. 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻. 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓯𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓴𝓮𝓻.
472 points
0% overlap
My Taste
Reading...
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
melli started reading...
1w
Molka
Monika Kim
THE NEW NOVEL BY THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE EYES ARE THE BEST PARTmolka (n): the Korean term for spy cameras secretly and illegally installed, often to capture voyeuristic images and videosDahye can't believe her luck when she finds herself in a whirlwind romance with handsome, charismatic Hyukjoon, the heir to a multi-million dollar fortune.But then a shocking revelation threatens the couple has been caught on a spycam amid Korea's growing molka epidemic, and the video is all over the internet. When Hyukjoon flees the country to avoid the intense public scrutiny, Dahye is left to grapple with the ramifications on her own; and the demons from her childhood, long dormant, begin to surface.Amid the chaos, she catches the attention of Junyoung, a nerdy, introverted IT tech at work. Junyoung harbours a dark he has been spying on the women at work with his own hidden cameras. As Dahye's life begins to unravel, she unknowingly becomes the sole target of Junyoung's perverse obsession.When the facts surrounding the invasion of her privacy come to light, Dahye is faced with the humiliating truth. Her pain and hurt turn to rage as she faces her past. Her desire for vengeance is insatiable, and she will not rest until the men who have wronged her have paid in blood...Praise for THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART:'I was enticed from the first line' OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE, author of MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER'An outstanding debut' THE NEW YORK TIMES'Darkly funny' FERN BRADY, author of STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER'Smartly written . . . A writer to watch' BIG ISSUE
0
0Reply
melli wrote a review...
1w
I was not a fan. I’m not sure if it was the writing or the subject but I found myself bored and disinterested. Typically I enjoy books on cult and mystery but this one was not it.
0
0Reply
melli finished a book
1w
Paper Cut
Rachel Taff
A compelling suspense debut about a woman infamous for escaping a cult as a teenager, whose future is threatened when dangerous secrets come back to haunt her—perfect for fans of Jessica Knoll and The Girls.
Lucy Golden is a true-crime icon, infamous for the murder she committed while escaping a California cult twenty years ago. But as everyone in Los Angeles knows, fame is fleeting, and Lucy and her story are always just one news cycle away from obscurity. Not to mention, she’s fending off a stalker and moderating an icy feud between her acclaimed photographer mother and her scandalous rock star sister. Worst of all, online trolls are asking increasingly threatening questions about the legendary crime. Questions that could tear her life apart.
So when a hotshot documentarian makes her case the subject of his next film, Lucy sees a chance to silence any doubters once and for all. But as filming begins, she must return to the California desert and come face-to-face with a cast of players from her torrid history. Of course, the past is never what it seems, and long-buried secrets soon collide with present-day threats. Can Lucy stop her doubters from digging up the truth before it’s too late? And how far will she go to protect the story she’s been telling—and selling—all along?
Told in a narrative split between the present day and Lucy’s hit memoir about her fated summer in the cult, Paper Cut combines psychological suspense with coming-of-age Californian cult noir and a sharp examination of the true-crime phenomenon. As incisive as it is propulsive, this mesmerizing debut will keep readers hooked until the last page.
0
0Reply
melli wrote a review...
2w
spoilers
View spoiler
0
0Reply
melli finished a book
2w
Fever Dream
Samanta Schweblin
Experience the blazing, surreal sensation of a fever dream…
A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He’s not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family.
Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale. One of the freshest new voices to come out of the Spanish language and translated into English for the first time, Samanta Schweblin creates an aura of strange psychological menace and otherworldly reality in this absorbing, unsettling, taut novel.
0
0Reply
melli started reading...
2w
Fever Dream
Samanta Schweblin
Experience the blazing, surreal sensation of a fever dream…
A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He’s not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family.
Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale. One of the freshest new voices to come out of the Spanish language and translated into English for the first time, Samanta Schweblin creates an aura of strange psychological menace and otherworldly reality in this absorbing, unsettling, taut novel.
1
0Reply
melli wrote a review...
4w
Overall: 2.75/5 Donut Mention: 5/5 Self-Deprecating Jokes: 4.5/5 Low Self-Esteem: 5/5
I received an ARC of Donut Girl and the Bosshole by Abby London from NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early. This review reflects my honest opinions.
This one started out strong… and then it fell. Hard.
The premise had potential, and I was genuinely hooked in the beginning. But as the story progressed, it felt like it became more about donut references and repetitive puns than actual character development. The humor leaned heavily on self-deprecating jokes, and while that can work in small doses, it started to overshadow emotional growth.
The third-act breakup felt unnecessary and forced, adding drama without meaning. There was also no real resolution with the FMC’s family, which made the ending feel incomplete. Everything wrapped up quickly, but without the depth or emotional closure I was hoping for.
There’s the foundation of a good story here. It just never fully rises.
0
0Reply
melli finished a book
4w
Donut Girl and the Bosshole
Abby London
New from Abby London comes a banter-filled, enemies-to-lovers billionaire romcom with some spice and lots of laughs. I was unemployed, broken hearted, and broke, living off the generosity of my BFF. So when Knight Advertising offered me the job of a lifetime, I pushed my I’m-not-good-enough fears aside and jumped at the chance.The only problem?The too-hot, not-safe-for-work bosshole running the show.Curtis Knight was not, as his name suggested, a knight in shining armor. He was more like the knight who wanted to skewer me with his jousting stick… and that wasn’t a euphemism, unfortunately. I managed to make a disastrous first impression by spilling my coffee and squashing my donut all over his expensive shirt. Have I mentioned I also copped an unexpected—but appreciated—feel of his firm pec?Since then, he made my life hell. And I needed the money too badly to quit. Complicating matters, clients were abandoning the firm, and his father blamed Curtis. When management told me to spy on him or lose my job, I made my choice. Now he taunts me by criticizing my document margins and orders me to be online for 2:00 a.m. client meetings.I needed to uncover what was going on before I either strangled him or fell for him. I wanted this to be over with ASAP because I’ve been down this road before, and falling for the bosshole would be a mistake I might never recover from. Includes scenes of workplace seduction, accidental donut attacks, and a hero who looks way too good in a suit for everyone’s sanity.
0
0Reply
melli started reading...
5w
Donut Girl and the Bosshole
Abby London
New from Abby London comes a banter-filled, enemies-to-lovers billionaire romcom with some spice and lots of laughs. I was unemployed, broken hearted, and broke, living off the generosity of my BFF. So when Knight Advertising offered me the job of a lifetime, I pushed my I’m-not-good-enough fears aside and jumped at the chance.The only problem?The too-hot, not-safe-for-work bosshole running the show.Curtis Knight was not, as his name suggested, a knight in shining armor. He was more like the knight who wanted to skewer me with his jousting stick… and that wasn’t a euphemism, unfortunately. I managed to make a disastrous first impression by spilling my coffee and squashing my donut all over his expensive shirt. Have I mentioned I also copped an unexpected—but appreciated—feel of his firm pec?Since then, he made my life hell. And I needed the money too badly to quit. Complicating matters, clients were abandoning the firm, and his father blamed Curtis. When management told me to spy on him or lose my job, I made my choice. Now he taunts me by criticizing my document margins and orders me to be online for 2:00 a.m. client meetings.I needed to uncover what was going on before I either strangled him or fell for him. I wanted this to be over with ASAP because I’ve been down this road before, and falling for the bosshole would be a mistake I might never recover from. Includes scenes of workplace seduction, accidental donut attacks, and a hero who looks way too good in a suit for everyone’s sanity.
0
0Reply
melli wrote a review...
5w
Overall: 3.25/5 Cheating: 5/5 Football Mention: 5/5
I received an ARC of Abby Offsides from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This was a hell of a book. It hit close to home in ways I wasn’t fully prepared for. At its core, it’s a story about rebuilding, starting over, and navigating the messy reality of cheating on both sides.
This feels like the “mistress story” the one where we’re asked to see her side, understand her perspective, and maybe even feel sorry for her. We’re also meant to feel relief when the original marriage falls apart. There’s very little real discussion of the emotional cheating beyond simply labeling it, which left me wanting more depth and accountability.
My favorite character was the best friend. He was the only one willing to tell the FMC the truth, and try to stick to morals and ethics.
If you’re okay with exploring the other woman’s side of the story, this might work really well for you.
0
0Reply
melli finished a book
5w
The Phone Swap
Lia Louis
Allie Lake is a scientist is on a held-up flight travelling home from a job when she is seated next to troubled movie star Milo Ford. She is in no mood to talk to him, whoever he might be. Her most recent project at a research station has just come to an end and she's about to move in with her sister and her love life is non-existent. As for Milo, he wants nothing more than to be at home hiding out with a little normality. Instead, he has to go and film a movie in the Romanian mountains... all the while, the press are getting closer, circling his most closely guarded secret. Post-flight, they both quickly realise they've accidentally swapped phones with their fellow passenger. Easily rectified, except Milo's about to be on a remote set for a month... and Allie has no idea who Milo is, only that he is the keeper of her entire digital life.As they trade back and forth on each other's phones, they can't help but notice there's more to their chat than practicalities...
0
0Reply
melli finished a book
6w
Unprecedented Times
Malavika Kannan
Malavika Kannan establishes herself as the literary voice of Gen Z in this piercing coming-of-age narrative Which comes experience or narrative? Rishi thinks she knows the answer as she arrives on campus for her first year at Stanford. Her narrative is set—she’s going to leave behind the strict trappings of her Indian-American childhood in Florida, embrace her queer identity, experiment with love, and write all about it. Within a few months, she gets a new tattoo, makes her first real best friend, falls in love with her un-labeled situationship, and even gets her heart broken. Rishi’s first semester Asian American Autofiction final practically writes itself.What is not a part of Rishi’s plan, however, is the onset of the COVID pandemic. As the outside world becomes a terrifying place, she finds more and more solace in the friendships she’s made. In lieu of virtual college, Rishi and her classmates join a farm collective and grapple with America’s political situation and growing disillusionment…along with sexual tension and responsibility. It’s only when those relationships, too, start fracturing under the stress of careless decisions, unrequited crushes, jealousies, and, yes, the unprecedented times, that Rishi begins to question her own story.Unprecedented Times captures the beauty, frustration, love, and pain that exists in relationships between best friends, between lovers, between mothers and daughters, and between storytellers and themselves. Malavika Kannan’s fresh, arresting novel captures the excitement and the terror of modern young adulthood through the eyes of an unforgettable, flawed, and lovable narrator.
0
0Reply
melli TBR'd a book
11w
The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)
R.F. Kuang
When Rin aced the Keju — the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies — it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard — the most elite military school in Nikan — was even more surprising.
But surprises aren’t always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power — an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive — and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.
For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away.
Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity ... and that it may already be too late.
0
0Reply
melli is interested in reading...
11w
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë
When Mr. Earnshaw, master of Wuthering Heights, returns from a trip with an unkempt orphan in tow, he announces that the child, Heathcliff, is now a member of the family. While young Catherine Earnshaw becomes close with Heathcliff, her older brother, Hindley, sinks into bitter resentment. As Catherine and Heathcliff mature, and their affection blossoms into desire, Hindley’s resentment boils over into hatred, setting the stage for a tragic drama whose aftermath will shake the foundations of their world.
0
0Reply
melli TBR'd a book
11w
Babel
R.F. Kuang
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .
Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?
0
0Reply
melli TBR'd a book
11w
Alchemised
SenLinYu SenLinYu
In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy—and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.
“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.”
Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.
In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile, undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.
According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?
To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.
0
0Reply
melli TBR'd a book
11w
Final Girls
Riley Sager
Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout's knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media's attempts, they never meet. Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past. That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy's doorstep. Blowing through Quincy's life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa's death come to light, Quincy's life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam's truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.
0
0Reply
melli started reading...
11w
Bat Eater
Kylie Lee Baker
Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. The bloody messes don't bother her, not when she's already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister being pushed in front of a train.
Before fleeing the scene, the murderer whispered two words: bat eater.
Months pass, the killer is never caught, and Cora can barely keep herself together. She pushes away all feelings, disregards the bite marks that appear on her coffee table, and won't take her aunt's advice to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open.
Cora tries to ignore the rising dread in her stomach, even when she and her weird co-workers begin finding bat carcasses at their crime scene clean-ups. But Cora can't ignore the fact that all their recent clean-ups have been the bodies of East Asian women.
Soon Cora will learn: you can't just ignore hungry ghosts.
0
0Reply
