Is going to read

The Price of Salt

Patricia Highsmith · 2011

First Digital Edition; Grier Rating: A*** Therese is nineteen and working in a department store during the Christmas shopping season. She dates men, although not with real enthusiasm. One day a beautiful older woman comes over to her counter and buys a doll. As the purchase is a C.O.D. order, Therese makes a mental note of the customer’s address. She is intrigued and drawn to the woman. Although young, inexperienced and shy, she writes a note to the customer, Carol, and is elated and surprised when Carol invites her to meet. Therese realizes she has strong feelings for Carol, but is unsure of what they represent. Carol, in the process of a bitter separation and divorce, is also quite lonely. Soon the two women begin spending a great deal of time together. Before long, they are madly and hopelessly in love. The path is not easy for them, however. Carol also has a child and a very suspicious husband--dangerous ground for the lovers. When the women leave New York and travel west together, they discover the choices they’ve made to be together will have lasting effects on both their lives. Considered to be the first lesbian pulp novel to break the pulp publishing industry-enforced pattern of tragic consequences for its lesbian heroines, The Price of Salt was written by Patricia Highsmith (under the pseudonym, Claire Morgan) – the author of Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley. As one reviewer wrote in 1952, “Claire Morgan is completely natural. She has a story to tell and she tells it with an almost conversational ease. Her people are neither degenerate monsters nor fragile victims of the social order. They must—and do—pay a price for thinking, feeling and loving ‘differently,’ but they are courageous and true to themselves throughout.”

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Sophie Gonzales · 2025

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Liana Cincotti · 2023

First Echo

Rebecca A. Jackson · 2025

First Echo is an emotional slow-burn romance about identity, pressure, and the fragile, breathtaking moment when two girls who were never meant to matter to each other begin to mean everything.<br/><br/>When perfectionist Brooke Winters reluctantly agrees to tutor popular girl Madeline Hayes in chemistry, she expects nothing but frustration. Madeline represents everything Brooke avoids—superficial popularity, social politics, and the emotional messiness of getting close to others. Since losing her mother to cancer four years ago, Brooke has kept everyone at a distance, finding safety in solitude.<br/>Madeline Hayes has her life perfectly arranged—popular friends, handsome boyfriend, and the carefully cultivated image everyone expects from her. But beneath her confident exterior lies uncertainty and a growing awareness that the person she pretends to be isn't who she really is.<br/>When they go on a senior ski trip with school and end up sharing a room, their carefully constructed walls begin to crumble. Between snowboard lessons, quiet conversations, and moments of unexpected vulnerability, Brooke and Madeline discover a connection neither was looking for—one that challenges everything they thought they knew about themselves and each other.<br/>First Echo is a lyrical, heart-stirring story about grief, identity, and the exhilarating terror of allowing yourself to be truly seen. With authentic characters and emotionally resonant prose, it explores how the most meaningful connections often come from the least expected places—and how sometimes, finding yourself means finding the courage to let someone else in.

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Hallie Parker · 2025

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Nina Varela · 2019

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Lex Croucher · 2024

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Lynette Noni · 2022

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Isabelle Larken · 2025

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Alexandra Christo · 2018

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Marie Rutkoski · 2014

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Ayla Marie · 2022

Vita Nostra

Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko · 2019

Our life is brief . . .<br/>The definitive English language translation of the internationally bestselling Russian novel – a brilliant dark fantasy combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.<br/>‘A book that has the potential to become a modern classic.’<br/>Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians<br/>Our life is brief . . .<br/>While on holiday at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with a sinister air directs her to perform strange and uncomfortable tasks. He rewards her efforts with a strange golden coin.<br/>As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her new domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to enter the Institute of Special Technologies. Though she does not want to go to this unknown town or university, she also feels that somehow it’s the only place she should be. Against her mother’s wishes, Sasha leaves behind all that is familiar and begins her education.<br/>As she quickly discovers, the institute’s ‘special technologies’ are unlike anything she has ever encountered. The books are impossible to read, the lessons maddeningly obscure, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, their families pay a terrible price.<br/>Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of… and suddenly all she could ever want.<br/>A complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and philosophy, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work – brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey – is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Max Barry’s Lexicon, and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, but will transport them to a place fantastical and new.

An Ember in the Ashes

Sabaa Tahir · 2015

<b>BOOK ONE IN THE <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLING SERIES • One of <i>Time Magazine’</i>s 100 Best Fantasy and 100 Best YA Books of All Time • People's Choice Award winner • Bustle's Best Young Adult Book <br> </b><br> <b>“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human—and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.” — <i>The Washington Post<br> </i></b><br><b>The beloved and bestselling fantasy series that “glows, burns, and smolders.” (<i>Huffington Post</i>). <br></b><br> <b>Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.</b><br><br> Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.<br>  <br> It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.<br>  <br> But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.<br>  <br> There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself. <br><br><b>ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM The Wall Street Journal • Buzzfeed • LA Weekly • Bustle • Paste Magazine • Indigo • Suspense Magazine • The New York Public Library • Popsugar • Hypable</b>

The Shard and the Serpent

Jinapher Hoffman · 2025

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Keelin Schafer · 2024

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Aparna Verma · 2025

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Hannah Nicole Maehrer · 2023

The Rose Bargain

Sasha Peyton Smith · 2025

*An instant New York Times bestseller! Vying for the hand of one brother. Falling in love with the other. A new Victorian-inspired romantasy, perfect for fans of Bridgerton, The Selection, and The Cruel Prince. “If you’re looking for the next YA sensation, here it is.” —Adalyn Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Belladonna London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire. As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could. Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven comes a tale that will leave readers eager to bargain for a sequel.

Wings of Starlight

Allison Saft · 2025

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Marissa Meyer · 2012

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Kelsey Impicciche · 2025

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Chloe Gong · 2025

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Marie Lu · 2020

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Nelle Nikole · 2023

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Charlie Higson · 2010

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S. K. Ali · 2024

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Alexis Patton · 2023

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Alyssa Villaire · 2025

An unputdownable gothic contemporary fantasy with the feuding families of Romeo and Juliet, the dark magic of Krystal Sutherland and a love triangle to rival The Inheritance Games.<br/><br/>The locals of Idlewood whisper of a tragic love story that began a decades long blood feud.<br/><br/>For as long as anyone can remember, the De Luca witches and the wealthy Barrion family have been sworn enemies. Ever since the curse that changed their fates forever. Now, if a Barrion falls in love with you, you’ll die.<br/><br/>But when Penny Emberly’s mother becomes the curse’s latest victim, she must bring together two bitter rivals, Alonso and Corey, in order to save her mum’s life and stop the feud for good.<br/><br/>But as the trio navigates unpredictable magic, the tangled web of their family histories, and complicated attractions, it becomes clear that there’s more than dark secrets at play.<br/><br/>Can Penny find a way to break the curse . . . without losing her heart in the process?

If You Could See the Sun

Ann Liang · 2022

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Ruby Frisenda · 2024

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Kate Crew · 2025

Angels & Demons

Dan Brown · 2005