Reading

Arca
Noted •

Arca

by G.R. Macallister

The second book in the Five Queendoms series

The Drought of Girls has ended, but the rift it broke open between the Queendoms is not so easily healed. Queen Heliane of Paxim vows to make her son Paulus the nation’s first ruling King. Scorpican troops amass on the border of Arca. And Arca's young, unready queen finds her court a nest of vipers. As iron and magic clash on the battlefield and powerful women scheme behind the scenes, can anyone stop the chaos from ripping the Queendoms apart?

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Scorpica
Noted •

Scorpica

by G.R. Macallister

The second book of The Five Queendoms series.

Five hundred years of peace between queendoms shatters when girls inexplicably stop being born. A cascade of political and personal consequences expands across all five queendoms. A warrior queen must rise from childbirth bed to fight for her life. A healer in hiding is desperate to protect the secret of her daughter’s explosive power. A queen's desperation to retain control leads her to risk using the darkest magic. And the generation of lastborn girls must bear the hopes and traditions of their nations if the queendoms are to survive.

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Sestia
Noted •

Sestia

by G.R. Macallister

The final book in The Five Queendoms series

The Drought of Girls has ended and a fragile peace has begun to settle across the Five Queendoms. But trouble brews beneath the smooth façade. The first gate between the Underlands, where Eresh rules over the shades of the dead, has already been opened. And the scheming shade of a dead sorcerer has evil plans.

As living women across the Queendoms take desperate action to stay alive, and dead women plot to regain what they’ve lost, five queens gather in the Holy City of Sestia for the most important ritual of their lives.

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All Systems Red
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All Systems Red

by Martha Wells

I hate having emotions about reality

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are shadowed by their Company-supplied SecUnit who has hacked its own governor module. As it tries to sort out living authentically, it refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.”

Scornful of humans, all it wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

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Hollywood, Ending
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Hollywood, Ending

by John Green

Hollywood, Ending artfully blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with an unflinching examination of the insatiable attention economy.

Hollywood, Ending artfully blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with an unflinching examination of the insatiable attention economy. The novel brilliantly juxtaposes the on-screen study of Warhol’s life at the dawn of celebrity culture with the intimate struggles of two young people figuring out who they are, both together and alone. And the ways Talent and Being Human, intersect.

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We Chase Shadows
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We Chase Shadows

by Richard Osman

My note

At sunrise in the Italian hills a body is discovered on the steps of a private villa, bearing a threatening note signed by a mysterious man. Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve jump at the chance to take on what they hope is a straightforward case: find who left the note and bring them to light. ([penguinrandomhouse.com](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/797879/we-chase-shadows-by-richard-osman/))

But the more the trio digs, the more suspects pile up — from Sweden’s most-wanted criminal to a canny ex-wife and a fierce business rival — and the murderer keeps slipping through their fingers. As the team chases a cunning killer through the shadows, their investigation carries them between Italy and Palm Springs (via Barcelona and Steve’s village pub), and danger begins to travel closer to home. The novel is a globe-trotting, page-turning installment in Osman’s We Solve Murders series. ([penguinrandomhouse.com](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/797879/we-chase-shadows-by-richard-osman/))

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Watching

Hippos are only aggressive because they don’t have library cards.