This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

 This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (224 Pages)

Summary: Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?

Opinion: This book is so good, not what I expected, but so good. This is talked about as a sci-fi book and it is, but really it is a romance book at its core. While the sci-fi aspect is important to the context of the story, the relationship building between Red and Blue is the story. In particular, I loved the writing in this novel, especially the letters between the two main characters which were especially profound. This book is only 200 pages, but it took a while to read as this book constantly makes one think about the true meaning of the authors' words. Would highly recommend. 

Raven Flight

Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier | 416 pages | 2013

Neryn has finally found the rebel group at Shadowfell, and now her task is to seek out the elusive Guardians, vital to her training as a Caller. These four powerful beings have been increasingly at odds with human kind, and Neryn must prove her worth to them. She desperately needs their help to use her gift without compromising herself or the cause of overthrowing the evil King Keldec.

Neryn must journey with the tough and steadfast Tali, who looks on Neryn's love for the double agent Flint as a needless vulnerability. And perhaps it is. What Flint learns from the king will change the battlefield entirely—but in whose favor, no one knows. 

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, Stephen King’s extraordinary novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, tells a powerful tale of crushing despair and liberating hope through the eyes of Ellis “Red” Redding. Red’s a guy who can get you whatever you want here in Maine’s corrupt and hard-edged Shawshank State Penitentiary (for a price, of course), but the one thing he doesn’t count on is an unexpected friendship forged with fellow inmate Andy Dufresne—an inscrutable one-time banker perhaps falsely convicted of brutal, calculated murder who will go on to transform everyone’s lives within these prison walls.

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister -- 366 pages

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position.

When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through.

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - 305 pages

 The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan

Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate—if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home.

But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting. She’s all too familiar with Theo’s good looks and smooth talk, and his uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s a treasure that needs locating.

Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside. Mirren knows that Jamie’s grandfather, the castle’s most recent laird, had been a book collector, a hoarder, and a great lover of treasure hunts. Now they must unpuzzle his clues, discovering the secrets of the house—forming and breaking alliances in a race against time.

Holly by Adalyn Grace

Holly by Adalyn Grace -- 384 pages

Something strange is happening at Wisteria Gardens, the magical manor that Blythe and Aris call home. All they want is a peaceful holiday season with their family, but a group of restless spirits is determined to threaten their festivities. With a new mystery to solve, Signa, Death, Blythe, and Fate must uncover what happened to Wisteria’s ghostly inhabitants and help the spirits move on before it’s too late.

Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston by Jessica Fletcher

 Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston by Jessica Fletcher - 304 pages

Jessica is invited to deliver a lecture at the Boston Public Library around the same time Seth is headed to Boston to give a lecture for an old med school buddy.  They decide to travel together and see some sites while they are there.  Jessica is excited to plan to see some local friends including PI  Harry McGraw.  What they didn't plan was to get caught up in investigating a murder that the local pub bartender's daughter is accused of.   I enjoyed the book.  Looking forward to another.