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K.Wielechowski

K.Wielechowski

Joined June 2016

Author. Blogger. Book lover. Cat mom. Wineaux. Nerd.
review
K.Wielechowski
Paladin's Strength | T Kingfisher
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Pickpick

Istvhan was a paladin for the Saint of Steel until his god died. Now he works for the temple of the Rat and is on the trail of a murderous golem. On the trail, Clara, a nun of St Ursa is thrust into his care after she and her fellow nuns were kidnapped from their convent. They agree to help each other while trying to keep their secrets.

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K.Wielechowski
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Mehso-so

Three people attend the McMasters school to learn how to delete (murder) their employers.

I don‘t know if I would‘ve liked it just reading it but the audiobook is very good.

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K.Wielechowski
Paladin's Grace | T Kingfisher
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When the Saint of Steel died, his paladins went berserk, literally. When the dust settled, the temple was in ruins & the remaining seven broken paladins were adopted by the temple of the Rat.
Stephan has dedicated his life to repaying the Rat for taking in him and his fellow paladins, not allowing himself a life outside of his oath. Until he met Grace.
Grace is a talented perfumer who was accused of poisoning the Prince.

15 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
White is for Witching | Helen Oyeyemi
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Bailedbailed

I was pretty ambivalent about the book from about page 6. The formatting is weird, I had no idea what was going on for most of it, and I didn‘t care about the characters. But I wanted to finish it as it was for book club.
When the house used the mannequin to attack the housekeeper, I gave up trying to get through it.

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K.Wielechowski
The Wicked Bargain | Gabe Cole Novoa
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Mar finds out their father made a deal with El Diablo minutes before the demon sinks their pirate ship taking the crew with it.
Mar is the only survivor when they‘re rescued by another pirate ship who accepts them into the crew.
Mar partners with the captain‘s son, Bas, and a demon, Dami, to try to bring their father back.
Audio book is read by Vico Ortiz, highly recommended.

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K.Wielechowski
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Laura was injured on the front while she was serving as a nurse in WWI. She was sent home to Halifax to heal just in time to lose her parents in the Monte Blanc explosion in the harbor. When her brother Freddie‘s belongings are sent to her from the front, she heads back to Europe to figure out what happened to him.
Meanwhile, a mysterious man is luring soldiers to his hotel with wine & fiddle music.
Seriously one of the best books I have ever read

18 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
The Singles Table | Sara Desai
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Zara has a larger-than-life personality while Jay is much more reserved. Zara promises to find Jay his perfect match while they both dodge the meddling aunties during the wedding season.
Zara was a bit much at times but overall it was a cute opposites attract romance.

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K.Wielechowski
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Mehso-so

Rhi is the owner of the next new dating app but only uses it for anonymous hookups, never spending more than one night with a man. Until one changes her mind, then ghosts her, hardening her heart even more. Then, Rhi sees him again months later as the face of a competing dating site.

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K.Wielechowski
Cemetery Boys | Aiden Thomas
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Hands down, this is the best YA book I‘ve ever read.

When trans Yadriel tries to prove himself as a brujo to his family, he accidentally calls forth the spirit of Julian, a boy from Yadriel‘s school.
The characters were beautifully written, the romance was so sweet, and the brujx community and their Dia de los Muertos celebration was wonderful.

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K.Wielechowski
Paladin's Grace | T Kingfisher
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Look, if you can‘t laugh about the homicidal fits that make you a menace to society, what‘s even the point?

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K.Wielechowski
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London felt like limbo to her, the glittering center of the modern world become merely the war‘s antechamber.

Caroline2 I‘m looking forward to this one. 3w
K.Wielechowski @Caroline2 it‘s excellent so far 3w
14 likes1 stack add2 comments
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K.Wielechowski
Wolfsong | Tj Klune
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Mehso-so

When a family of werewolves move in next door, Ox finds himself drawn into their pack.

Overall, I really liked the story but I had some issues with it: age gap - a 10 year old imprinting on a 16 year old and everybody being ok with it is weird, uncomfortable amount of touching, lots of phrases were repeated excessively.

random_michelle I've tried twice to finish this series, and both times I finish the second book, Ravensong, and just can't.
I am desperately glad this is not the first TJ Klune book I read, else I might never have read the books I do adore.
2w
K.Wielechowski Agreed. In the Lives of Puppets is one of my favorites, glad I read it before Wolfsong. 2w
11 likes2 comments
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K.Wielechowski
A Spindle Splintered | Alix E. Harrow
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Zinnia is destined to die before she turns 22 due to a rare illness, then she wakes up in a tower room of a fantasy realm just as a princess is about to prick her finger with a spindle.
Zinnia goes on a quest to save herself and other Sleeping Beauties across the multiverse.
Quick read but packed full of action, detail, and depth.

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K.Wielechowski
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Panpan

They grew up together, more enemy than family and avoided each other as adults until they couldn‘t.

Christopher is a jerk, Kate seems to be missing all the skills and fortitude that allowed her to be a globe-trotting photojournalist, the author seems to have forgotten Kate‘s family is close and loving.
I‘m not a fan of age-gap romances and while 6 years isn‘t bad, Christopher‘s habit of constantly comparing adult Kate to child Kate got creepy.

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K.Wielechowski
She Who Became the Sun | Shelley Parker-Chan
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Mehso-so

Zhu is destined for greatness and she will do anything to reach her goals as she moved from near-starvation, living as a monk, joining the rebels, and commanding forces to drive the Mongols out of China.

It‘s a beautifully written book and the internal struggles of gender identity were great. I‘m not a huge fan of morally gray characters and they abound in this book.

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K.Wielechowski
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Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary-Jane

This book chronicles the lives of the five women who were the confirmed victims of Jack the Ripper. Contrary to popular belief, not all the women were sex workers but all had difficult lives, suffered from alcoholism, were subjected to poverty, abuse, and lived on the streets, making them the perfect targets for the monster hunting among Whitechapel‘s vulnerable population.

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K.Wielechowski
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The last person Gareth expected to see walk into the courtroom while he testified against a Marsh smuggler is Kent, his anonymous fling from London. Only Kent isn‘t who he appears, he‘s actually Joss, the leader of the Doomsday smuggling family.
When a competing smuggling family threatens Gareth, Joss extends his protection and help in figuring out what Gareth‘s late father was tangled up in.

10 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
A Marvellous Light | Freya Marske
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Robin is dealing with a new job in the government, taking care of his sister, the death of his parents, and his newly inherited, destitute baronetcy. Then, he finds out there‘s magic and gets whammied with a mysterious, painful curse.
He has no choice but trust his counterpart in the magical government, Edwin, to guide him and keep the curse at bay.
Opposites attract while the two work closely to defeat a villainous sect in the magical community.

11 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
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Panpan

Falco was insufferable, especially in the beginning & his interactions with Sosia were disgusting. Real “written by a man” energy.
I enjoyed the delve into the Roman Empire & Britain altho some of the names felt very Mel Brooks/Monty Python.
Helena was a delight & I have to root for the woman who doesn‘t take any man‘s shit.
My feelings about Falco mellowed by the end. I understood him better but I still didn‘t care for him.

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K.Wielechowski
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Panpan

I really wanted to like this book but I just didn‘t.

The main character‘s primary personality trait is self-sabotage and the love interest has the personality of a mop.
The brother and his girlfriend were fun but didn‘t make up for the rest.
Also, no serial killers.

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K.Wielechowski
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A fantasy You‘ve Got Mail with way more death, gods, and zombies desperate to possess the living.
I loved the world building, especially the religious practices and after-death care the FMC, Mercy, is responsible for as an undertaker.
Hart is a marshal who patrols Tanria, the realm where the zombies are and it‘s his job to make sure they stay put, and collect any humans unlucky enough to die there.

12 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
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Pickpick

This book chronicles the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary and the two men who dedicated their lives to it.
Professor James Murray helmed the collection, organization, and publication efforts of the first comprehensive collection of English words in history.
Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon whose time in the Civil War left deep scars on his mental wellbeing leading to him spending the rest of his life in a mental institution.

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K.Wielechowski
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Sam likes his job selling bed and bath stuff, unfortunately he doesn‘t get along with the owner, Johnathan. When an accident mid-firing leaves Sam with a concussion, he desperately decides to pretend to have amnesia to buy him time to save his and his team‘s jobs.
Johnathan guiltily volunteers to take care of Sam until he gets better but neither of them expect to actually get along. Until the truth comes out.

10 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
Assistant to the Villain | Hannah Nicole Maehrer
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When Evie accidentally gets a job working for The Villain, she‘s alarmed at how quickly torture sounds and severed heads became a normal part of her workday. She finds herself in the crosshairs of The Villain‘s feud with the King more than once but she trusts that her boss will pull her out of the fire.
It‘s cozy, it‘s ridiculous, it‘s hilarious, and I can‘t wait for the second one.

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K.Wielechowski
Bookshops & Bonedust | Travis Baldree
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When Viv is injured, her crew leaves her in the coastal town of Murk to recover while they continue the hunt for an evil necromancer. Bored and needing to stretch her legs, Viv wanders into a failing bookstore, only to discover a love of reading and a new group of friends.
Between helping at the bookstore and romancing a baker, Viv finds herself on the bad end of evil.

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K.Wielechowski
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Mehso-so

When rock duo Steel Birds broke up, it left fans begging for more, even thirty years later. The band‘s success and mysterious end shaped Beat (son of the lead singer) and Melody‘s (daughter of the lyricist/guitarist) entire lives.
When they sign on to a reality show to convince their mothers to do a reunion show, sparks fly.
Melody is funny, Beat‘s motivation is weird, miscommunication tropes abound.

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K.Wielechowski
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Mehso-so

Tragedy forces Delphine from her home in post-war Paris to Harlem, NY, then onto Havana, Cuba. She is an aspiring writer trying to follow in the footsteps of Hemingway, the man she believes is her father.

While Delphine shows amazing growth by the end of the book, I found her insufferable and selfish for most of it.

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K.Wielechowski
Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir
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Pickpick

Gideon is pissed about the hand she was dealt in life and has no qualms making it everybody‘s problem. When she‘s forced into the cavalier job for necromancer Harrow, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and her mortal enemy, she turns her anger towards whatever is picking off necro/cav pairs.

Dark humor, a bit graphic, and confusing at times. Read it slowly, refer to the guides in the front and the back, and consider reading it a second time.

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K.Wielechowski
Three Holidays and a Wedding | Marissa Stapley, Uzma Jalaluddin
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Mehso-so

If you like improbable Hallmark Christmas movies, this is the book for you.
When their flight to Toronto is diverted to the Christmas-loving small Canadian town of Snow Falls, strangers Maryam and Anna become friends, tackle challenges- big and small, and fall in love with two lucky men.
I think I would‘ve liked it more if it was just Maryam‘s story as I found Anna and Josh a bit annoying, but that might‘ve been an audiobook issue.

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K.Wielechowski
Payback's a Witch | Lana Harper
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Emmy returns to her hometown after a decade of self-imposed exile, just in time to preside over the traditional spellcasting tournament her family arbitrates. And join up with her bestie, Lin, and town bad girl, Talia, to get a little revenge on Gareth, the magical golden boy who broke her heart in high school.
Kinda like the Ex Hex, but better. And sapphic!

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K.Wielechowski
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Great book! Bradbury discusses his writing processes, inspirations, and gives advice for aspiring writers. It is also part-memoir as he talks about how/why he became a writer and his early struggles.

Just… don‘t use the inflation calculator when he talks about how much he was paid for his first books. 😩

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K.Wielechowski
X | Sue Grafton
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Panpan

Read this as my X book for the alphabet challenge. I haven‘t read any of the others in the series so my review might be colored by that.
The blurb mentioned that Kenzie, a PI, is on the case of a serial killer. That doesn‘t happen until the very end of the book. The first 90% is about possible art theft, light fraud, and her landlord‘s water usage. She also makes some questionable safety choices for someone who calls herself a hardened detective.

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K.Wielechowski
One Corpse Open Slay | Dakota Cassidy
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Hal and Hobbs are officially official, just in time for the third murder to shake Marshmallow Hallow, this time, it was a swarmy judge at the ice carving competition. The psychic witch and cute Texan are on the case and find out a little bit more about their friends than they ever wanted.
Picture Murder She Wrote set in a Hallmark Christmas movie starring Sabrina the Teenaged Witch.

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K.Wielechowski
Hogfather | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

When the Hogfather disappears, Death steps in to make sure all the presents are delivered to all the good little boys and girls, which sets off a series of madness that Death‘s granddaughter sets out to fix with the help of the god of hangovers, a sassy raven, and the Death of mice.
I nearly DNF but once I leaned into the ridiculousness, I really enjoyed it.

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K.Wielechowski
The Queen's Gambit | Walter Tevis
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When 8 yr old Beth‘s parents are killed in a car crash, she is sent to an orphanage where she struggles to acclimate, develops a dependency on tranquilizers, & discovers a talent for chess. When her adopted mother realizes her talent (& the prize money she can win), she supports Beth‘s desire to compete.
Throughout the book, Beth struggles with substance abuse, loss, & competing in a “man‘s” sport.
You don‘t have to know chess to enjoy this book.

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K.Wielechowski
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The stories of five generations of Métis women intertwined with tales of bison, pets, and the land itself. They talk about dealing with generational trauma, substance abuse, and forgiving yourself in order to move on.

Not going to lie, it took a while for me to get into the story because of all the different POVs but by the end I was really enjoying it.

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K.Wielechowski
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A short story collection, all original pieces inspired by the Brontë line, “Reader, I married him,” from Jane Eyre.
Some were very enjoyable, others were very odd. Overall a solid collection.

10 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
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Mehso-so

There‘s one lesson you will definitely learn from this book: save everything you write.

Otherwise it‘s pretty basic, definitely written for a younger crowd with good advice for new young writers.

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K.Wielechowski
A Holly Jolly Diwali | Sonya Lalli
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Mehso-so

When uptight Niki is laid off, she decides to take her severance and book a last-minute flight to Mumbai for her best friend‘s wedding. There, she meets Sam, a musician who helps her loosen up and be spontaneous.

Niki is described as type-A but that didn‘t really come through. Also, there were nearly a dozen will-they-won‘t-they moments that got to be annoying rather than building the anticipation.

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K.Wielechowski
Braiding Sweetgrass | Robin Wall Kimmerer
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I loved this book! I learned so much.
Kimmerer is a biologist who has spent her life learning and teaching about plants and their place in the world. She relates her knowledge back to her Potawatomi roots and lessons she learned from her grandmother and other members of the Indigenous community.

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K.Wielechowski
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I think the size intimidated me, it took months to finish.
An incredibly unique magic system based on silver and matched pairs of words in different languages is a word nerd dream.
Set in an alternate Victorian England, Robin Swift is brought to Oxford from China to study at Babel, the linguist department in charge of keeping the country running. When he is recruited by the Hermes society, he learns of their plans to bring down the empire.

GondorGirl This was such a stunning book! 3mo
14 likes1 comment
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K.Wielechowski
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Liya has a stormy relationship with her parents who spring a set-up on her at a family dinner. She runs from it only to find out the guy is Jay, the new lawyer at her work brought in to save the company. While their rocky start gradually turns into a comfortable friendship, Liya‘s past rears its ugly head and threatens to not only tear them apart, but oust her from the community all together.

10 likes1 stack add
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K.Wielechowski
Dracula Bram Stoker | Bram Stoker
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Mehso-so

Told in a series of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles, letters, and telegrams, we follow John and Mina Harker, Lucy Westenra, Dr. Seward, and Professor Van Helsing as they investigate strange happenings, Lucy‘s mysterious illness and eventual death, and folklore while trying to stop the dangerous newcomer, Count Dracula.

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K.Wielechowski
The Widow Queen | Elzbieta Cherezinska
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During the 10th century, Duke Mieszko was working to expand the kingdom of Poland and using his children as pawns in his politics games. He married his daughter, Świętosława to the king of Sweden and his other children to important allies to cement his authority.
When Scandinavia erupts in war, Świętosława is caught in the middle, new alliances are forced, and family ties are pushed to the edge.

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K.Wielechowski
Shoot the Moon | Isa Arsn
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Mehso-so

Ever since Annie was a little girl, the moon had been her destiny. Her father was a scientist who worked on the atomic bomb but he wanted something more positive for her.
After college, Annie gets a job at NASA, starting in the secretary pool. When she corrects an engineer‘s calculations, he recommends her for a position that changes her life forever.

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K.Wielechowski
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Will has been in love with his best friend Vanessa for years & his well-meaning friends have just given him the perfect moment to tell her, but her life‘s messy & she doesn‘t need more complications.
Vanessa‘s childhood was plagued by a distant mother & an emotionally abusive father. She & her sister worked hard to distance themselves but when Van decides to get her hedgewitch‘s license, she needs her dad to sign off & his games start anew.

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K.Wielechowski
The Plus One: A Novel | Mazey Eddings
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Since they were kids, Indira had always fought with her brother‘s best friend, Jude. It stopped mattering when Jude joined a doctors abroad program that sent him to war torn countries and areas of disaster.
When Dira catches her boyfriend cheating and needs a place to live, she runs into Jude again when they both crash at her brother‘s house.
Their fighting picks back up where they left off but it‘s different and they both starting feeling more.

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K.Wielechowski
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A sweeping epic that follows two young sisters, Emma and Joan Lew and their Aunt Go, during their lives in Hong Kong, starting from the early days of WWII and their childhood in Macao to their adulthood separated by an ocean.

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K.Wielechowski
Big Little Spells | Hazel Beck
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After her unwilling return to St. Cyprian, Rebekah Wilde is forced to face the Joywood, the ruling coven who had banished her ten years earlier.
Rebekah and her sister are forced to redo the magical training and testing they had supposedly failed in high school. Rebekah turns to the only witch in town who can help her, the immortal Nicholas Frost, the same man who turned away from her a decade earlier.

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K.Wielechowski
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Fridland discusses the evolution of spoken language and how various verbal ticks like “um,” and “like” are not the end-all-be-all of English when they‘re actually evidence of growth and evolution.
Very interesting study of language.

8 likes1 stack add