books i mourned before finishing
the books i grieved while reading because i was so into them
Items in this hypelist
Books
A Stage Set for Villains
Shannon J. Spann · 2026
Arcana Academy
Elise Kova · 2025
Alchemised
SenLinYu · 2025
In the Veins of the Drowning
Kalie Cassidy · 2025
Dance of Thieves
Mary E. Pearson · 2018
<p>“A brilliant fantasy with a boldly beating heart. Mary E. Pearson is a fearless storyteller—I’m still trying to catch my breath from this book.” —Stephanie Garber, <i>New York Times</i>–bestselling author of <i>Caraval</i> and <i>Legendary</i> <br><br>"The slow-burning, seductive romance never overwhelms the intricate plot, which is built with layers upon layers of twists, reveals, and double-crosses." —<i>Booklist<br></i><br>"This novel has it all—romance, conflict, danger, and humor." —<i>School Library Journal<br></i><br>"Pearson is a gifted storyteller and spinner of eminently satisfying romances and fantasy." —<i>Publishers Weekly</i><b><br><br>A stunning new young adult adventure set in the kingdoms of the Remnant, by the author of the <i>New York Times</i>-bestselling Remnant Chronicles and the Jenna Fox Chronicles.<br></b><br>A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations.<br><br>A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power.<br><br>Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen's premier guard.<br><br>A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself.<br><br>A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent.<br><br>When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.<br><br><u><b>The Remnant Chronicles</b></u><br><i><b>The Beauty of Darkness</b></i><br><i><b>The Heart of Betrayal</b></i><br><i><b>The Kiss of Deception</b></i><br><br>Praise for <i>Dance of Thieves</i>:<br><br>"Pearson is a gifted storyteller and spinner of<b> eminently satisfying romances and fantasy</b>. <b>Fans will thrill at these newest protagonists</b>, especially the women warriors, who are equal partners in the play for power." —<i>Publishers Weekly</i><br><br>"This novel has it all—<b>romance, conflict, danger, and humor</b>. A must-have for all fantasy YA shelves." —<br><i>School Library Journal</i></p>
Gleam
Raven Kennedy · 2022
Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 3)
Suzanne Collins · 2010
A Touch of Gold and Madness (Celestials of Arcadia)
K.L. DeVore · 2023
Fairytales are for the naive.<br/>Princess Assassin Gray Monroe is ordered by her father to kill the villainous prince responsible for starting a war that threw the world into a post-apocalyptic society. In a decrepit landscape where two magical species war with one another, while a human militia hunts them all, Gray has only one thing on her mind: vengeance.<br/>With a single focus on killing the man who murdered her first love, she believes nothing will stop her. That is until she hesitates when she comes face-to-face with her nemesis at long last.<br/>Unable to complete the task, Gray must return to the King’s Palace empty-handed for her annual birthday celebration to a court of vipers who lie in wait for her to slip in her icy façade. When a sinister plot is revealed to assassinate the princess, she must flee into a world where she’s now the hunted and fight to survive to get the revenge she’s owed.<br/>Prince Griffin Silas is on a mission of his own: to kill the king. The problem is he’s suffering from an affliction that robs him of his sanity while making him crave violence and death. But first, he needs the princess in his hands, no matter the cost. In a race against his spiraling affliction, who will achieve their goal first?<br/>As the first installment in the Celestials of Arcadia, “A Touch of Gold and Madness” is a story about moving through a lifetime of trauma while also packed with action, secrets, betrayal, and a tension full of slow-burning steam. It will keep you turning the pages to discover the long-buried truths concealed by those who seek ultimate power.
Alluring Darkness (Kings of Blackwater)
Raven Wood · 2023
★ Alluring Darkness is a STANDALONE dark college bully romance about an unhinged villain who meets his match. ★<br/><br/>The deadliest man on campus is out for blood. And I have just painted a giant target on my back.<br/><br/>Hitman. Assassin. Contract killer. Hired murderers have many names. And Blackwater University trains them all.<br/><br/>My brother is the last chance my family has to restore our name after a devastating failure. He was on track to become one of the best hitmen of his year, but he made a mistake. He crossed Eli Hunter. The most dangerous student on the entire campus.<br/><br/>So I made a desperate choice. I enrolled in Blackwater University to take my brother’s place as Eli's target. Every wicked and depraved act he was going to inflict on my brother, I will endure instead.<br/><br/>Eli Hunter is going to do everything he can to drag me into the depths of hell. But little does he know that hell is about to become my own personal playground.<br/><br/>Please note: This book is a dark college bully romance, which means that it contains themes that are not to everyone’s liking. If you are uncertain, please check the content warnings before reading.
Till Death (The Never Sky)
Miranda Lyn · 2024
Book one in an interconnected series of STANDALONES.<br/><br/>Beyond the realm of gods, two cities stand at the brink of despair, and a dark destiny awaits Death's newest Maiden.<br/>Long ago, Requiem was plagued by war and abandoned by the gods but Death saved the suffering people, giving each soul a hundred years of immortality. With that grace, he also sent two Maidens. One of Life, for healing and comfort, and one of Death, the only person in the world with the ability to kill.<br/><br/>Generations later, the Life Maiden is missing and Princess Deyanira is nothing more than a trained weapon. A hunter. A murderer wrenched into Death's dark court to have the name of her next victim seared onto her palm.<br/>She is the enemy of this land. But, when she's given the chance to bring peace through marriage and finally show her father's kingdom her worth, she is viciously tricked into marrying the wrong man, ruining the future of the damaged realm. Her only hope to give something back to the world is to find the missing Life Maiden.<br/>Now, eternally bound to her enemy and dragged into the dark burlesque show her new husband is bound to, she must fight to keep herself free. And her heart. Especially when she becomes the hunted.<br/><br/>"A deliciously sinful experience centered around a show of life and death at the hands of the Maiden. Fans of Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Wicked and Stephanie Garber's Caraval will love this story of the Death Maiden's one chance to defy Death himself, combined with a searing romance that adds an irresistible layer of passion." - Jessica, @books_and_crafts
The Things They Carried
Tim O'Brien · 1998
One of the first questions people ask about The Things They Carried is this: Is it a novel, or a collection of short stories? The title page refers to the book simply as "a work of fiction," defying the conscientious reader's need to categorize this masterpiece. It is both: a collection of interrelated short pieces which ultimately reads with the dramatic force and tension of a novel. Yet each one of the twenty-two short pieces is written with such care, emotional content, and prosaic precision that it could stand on its own.<br/><br/>The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and of course, the character Tim O'Brien who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. They battle the enemy (or maybe more the idea of the enemy), and occasionally each other. In their relationships we see their isolation and loneliness, their rage and fear. They miss their families, their girlfriends and buddies; they miss the lives they left back home. Yet they find sympathy and kindness for strangers (the old man who leads them unscathed through the mine field, the girl who grieves while she dances), and love for each other, because in Vietnam they are the only family they have. We hear the voices of the men and build images upon their dialogue. The way they tell stories about others, we hear them telling stories about themselves.<br/><br/>With the creative verve of the greatest fiction and the intimacy of a searing autobiography, The Things They Carried is a testament to the men who risked their lives in America's most controversial war. It is also a mirror held up to the frailty of humanity. Ultimately The Things They Carried and its myriad protagonists call to order the courage, determination, and luck we all need to survive.
The Throne of Broken Gods (Gods & Monsters)
Amber V. Nicole · 2023
