LauraMadison's Reading List
17 stories
Skinny Dipping by AliciaMKaye
AliciaMKaye
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Everyone has a fear. Fear of spiders? Arachnophobia. Fear of small spaces? Claustrophobia. And of course, the fear of being tickled by feathers: pteronophobia. Sophie Smart fears drowning. No, her fear isn't some made up malarkey like exposedflabophobia (acute paranoia when wearing a swimsuit and baring pasty thighs and a round bottom). Sophie drowned as a child. She died for three minutes. Her childhood trauma is real. Yet Sophie, hot-shot advertising executive, isn't a child anymore. Now Sophie's most important client, handsome Matthew Silver, is insisting she learn how to swim. She can't blame him really - he's the owner of a chain of swimming centers, and Sophie's in charge of his new advertising campaign. The last thing Sophie wants to do is get in the water, in a clingy swimsuit, with a client she's trying to impress. She's not going to win him over flapping around like an idiot, is she? But with a broken heart from her last relationship, maybe getting into the pool is just what Sophie needs. Maybe she can trust Matthew with her fears. Maybe it's time for her to forget about her past and take the plunge?
Fluke by kennedy_trent
kennedy_trent
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"For a place called Paradise City, this island sucks. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't thought about stabbing the shit out of myself," he said. "Especially since I'm forced to live with you every second of every day." "Sh. I'm trying to science," I said, not looking up from my binoculars. "See anything interesting?" "Not really. My vision's a little clouded from the fog and rain clouds you constantly emit." He laughed. "You never fail to amuse me, Rea." "But you just said-" "I just said you make me want to stab myself. Interpret that however you'd like." With a love for whales and all life (besides maybe humans), Reagan Winebrenner had never even seen an ocean until her senior year in high school. But the moment she saw her first humpback, she knew she had found her passion and future career. A few years later and an invitation to Paradise City in hand, Reagan has her entire summer laid out for her, working on the project of a lifetime. But with five other students completing their projects as well, will they discover something worthwhile, or will they end up a psychology lesson for future generations? A New Adult Watty Winner 2019
The Seam Sorceress by leighheasley
leighheasley
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"There's not a whole lot of magic left anymore, is there? The witches are melted, Cinderella's dead, and the Wolves are endangered. The fey left." ★ "Not all of them," Tilly said with a smile. ★★★ "ABC's 'ONCE UPON A TIME' meets 'SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL'" Hard times have come to Grimland since Queen Cinderella's death nearly 60 years ago, and nobody feels it more than Tilly Lafayette and her family. Despite their propensity for magic, they're just scraping by in Coleville, a deeply superstitious little smudge of a town in the foothills of the Sesmi mountains. When Mama's chronic illness suddenly worsens, Tilly must use her most powerful spell to save her, but to do so she has to leave behind everything she's ever known. ★★★ THE SEAM SORCERESS is a journey through some of the world's most beloved stories, re-imagined through the lens of Appalachian culture and Americana. Leigh Heasley (2017 Watty award winner and author of "Kairos," optioned for a TV series by eOne entertainment) weaves in personal memories and her family's unique history alongside the magic in this deeply personal tale.
The Nymph of Versailles by KateValent
KateValent
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A 2019 Watty Winner. For fans of Allison Pataki and Philippa Gregory, THE NYMPH OF VERSAILLES is based on the true story of Madame Montespan's rise and fall at the court of King Louis XIV. Being the Sun King's mistress is a coveted position in a court full of greedy courtiers vying for power and Athénaïs de Montespan won't let anything stand in the way of her stealing the king's heart-not even poison. When the king's interest in his mistress Louise begins to wane, Montespan sees the position as a possible escape from her husband's mounting debts and loveless marriage. Her strained friendship with Louise doesn't stop her from charming the king. However keeping his heart is tricky in a court full of plotting beauties eager to have him for themselves, especially with her jealous husband bent on ending her seduction. Then her children's governess becomes an unexpected rival for the king's heart and the only woman who can contend with Montespan. With the court swirling with rumors of poison, Montespan finds herself caught in the web of accusations. Her position with the king begins to crumble as she fights to hold on to the life she's built. Without the king's love, she fears she will lose everything as she falls from grace.
The Unseen Hand by inksorcery
inksorcery
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For years, the faceless terror known as the Hand of Fate has been secretly manipulating the port city of Reyza for her shadowy ends. Those she favors rise in status while those who betray her are never heard from again. When the opportunity to eliminate a powerful dynasty presents itself, the Hand of Fate conspires with a sadistic diplomat who shares the king's bed. Together, they hatch a plan to assassinate their rivals. The plan is flawless-every variable calculated-except for one. On the night the Hand of Fate's hired assassin makes his move, a notorious thief is also making his. Jarle Jadien has had it with the gray-haired harpy whom he serves and succumbs to the greatest temptation of all: The Ensther estate is home to the king's betrothed and a fortune in jewels. When the risky heist takes a disastrous turn, Jarle finds himself in possession of a treasure he has no intention of keeping. Avaren Ensther is beauty and intrigue in one, and a keeper of secrets that reach far beyond Jarle's world of whiskey and disrepute. Reyza's infamous thief has had his heart stolen from under his nose, but time will tell if his sirenic temptress proves worthy. Within the city walls, a retired war-hero investigates the conspiracy and attempts to uphold justice, but his efforts may not suffice to prevent an all-out war. Too many vengeful plots have festered; too much blood spilled. As the moons reach a cataclysmic alignment, unleashing the terrible force of the tides, neither hero, criminal, nor all-powerful monarch; can escape the tendrils of fate.
Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure by davidhburton
davidhburton
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Two dads, five siblings, and goggles! Grim Doyle has always known his life was not exactly "normal", and things get even more curious when he discovers a set of stones that sweep him and his family to the fantasy, steampunk world of Verne - a place they had escaped from years ago. Now that they've returned, Grim and his siblings hide from the evil Lord Victor and his minions. And while learning about Jinns, Mystics, and the power of absinth they try to discover who is trying to kill them with the deadly Scourge. "This book is one part J.K. Rowling, one part Lemony Snicket, one part H.G Wells/Jules Verne, and all parts awesome!" - Tiffany's Bookshelf
Gel by Nanomyte
Nanomyte
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A manga style story of survivors in a post-apocalyptic future. As if Mad Max meets Final Fantasy! Sera is a survivor, forged in the fires of the apocalypse and hardened by the world around her. After years of isolation, she makes her way towards a city where peace and civilization are being reborn. But, she's unsure if she'll be able to adjust to that kind of life again. The Armless is the guardian of this city and we see his struggle with keeping out the monsters at his door and staying connected to the people he's trying to protect. These two are set on a collision course and all that stands between them is a wasteland full of dangers- both man and beast! Created by Andrew Kwan (@andrewkwan4) *Contains graphic Violence and Language
Door To Door by defend
defend
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Hudson Ellis is good at his job. Somehow, he manages not to annoy people when he knocks at their doors and asks them to contribute to the charity he works for - instead, he gets them to sign up for sponsoring programmes and fish whatever spare change they have out of their pockets. Even the infamously tough residents of New York City are falling victim to Hudson's easy-going ways and wide smile; that is, until one woman renders him speechless with sarcastic refusals and slams her door in his face. Perhaps Hudson would be able to forget her - if it wasn't for the fact that she lives on the same floor of the next apartment over, and they both have floor-to-ceiling windows that allow for a rather generous view into each other's flats.
The Survivors by AmandaHavard
AmandaHavard
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"It's unlike any paranormal book I've read--very smart, very fresh, and very addictive, and very still in my mind." –And Anything Bookish In 1692, when witch trials gripped the community of Salem, Massachusetts, twenty-six children were accused as witches, exiled, and left for dead. Fourteen of them survived. The Survivors is the first installment of the tantalizing tales of the fourteen ill-fated Survivors and their descendants, who have been content in hiding for over three centuries. Isolated on a Montana mountainside, only Sadie, the rogue daughter, dares to abandon the family’s sacred hiding place. But no matter how far Sadie runs, something always pulls her back. On a muggy summer night in Tennessee, she witnesses a shocking scene that will change her life forever. It is the first in a sequence of events that will drag her from the human world she’s sought to belong to for over a century and send her back to her Puritanical family. Sadie is thrown toward an uncertain future filled with cunning witches, mysterious nosferatu shape-shifters, dangerous eretica and vieczy vampires, millennia-old mythology, and the search for her own mortality. After all… HOW DO YOU KILL A SURVIVOR? The Survivors will steal your heart and invade your mind. Fall into the pages of Sadie’s life, a world so frighteningly similar to your own, you’ll find yourself wanting to go to the Montana mountains to find the Survivors for yourself. And it is only the beginning. "The way Ms. Havard has taken the history of the Salem witches and made it her own is truly fascinating... great debut from a talented writer." –DJ DeSmyter, author of Hunted “[THE SURVIVORS is a…] promising debut and an incredibly unique paranormal romance. Unputdownable, engaging, realistic and dark..." –Fragments of Life Review Blog Can't wait to read the whole story? THE SURVIVORS is available for purchase now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kindle, the Apple iBookstore, and
Supernatural Abilities by upthere
upthere
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Of all the things on Taylor Buckley's agenda, developing superpowers was not one of them. One day she was a normal kid in school with a big secret and the next she was whisked away to a place called Supernatural Abilities that specializes in training people with powers just like her. She is thrown into a world filled with fighting, betrayal, and pain and despite the war going on between her kind and their enemy, a greater secret and power lies in the hands of six Supernaturals. This is the story of Taylor Buckley, the girl who had no idea what she had gotten herself into. BOOK ONE OF THE SUPERNATURAL ABILITIES TRILOGY Reached #2 for fantasy!!