What I'm Reading

Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

What if your first language wasn’t spoken, but signed? Do you have friends, family, or clients who feel stuck on the outside? Do you long to cultivate inclusive, compassionate relationships both personally and professionally?

In Raised in Silence, Maria Gallucci invites you into the vivid, rarely seen world of growing up as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults). With humor, heart, and unflinching honesty, she shares what it’s like to bridge the gap between cultures from the moment you can walk: the Deaf world of her parents and the hearing world outside their door.

From interpreting medical diagnoses before she could spell “mortgage,“ to building a thriving career as a top-producing real estate professional, Maria’s journey is both deeply personal and universally inspiring. Her life motto, “Just Try,“ echoes through every page, offering readers the courage to step into discomfort, embrace resilience, and connect across differences.

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Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

Surviving your forties requires coffee, good friends, and a morally flexible relationship with illegal magic.

Tovah Silver runs Mad Queens Inc., an unlicensed magical problem-solving agency with her three best friends. They’ve built their reputation on grit, loopholes, and unrepentant competence, ignoring those who think their perimenopausal magic tops out at party tricks.

They’re wrong but correcting them would be a felony. Every one of the Queens has a forbidden second magic buried deep—until an assassin golem forces Tovah to unleash hers.

She thinks she got away with it. Then Nikolai Azarov shows up.

Vancouver’s only golem maker would call her story creative if he wasn’t too busy calling BS. Worse, once he figures out what she actually did to that golem, he doesn’t turn her in. He names his price.

Now Tovah must honor a dangerous bargain with a man who’s already insufferable without leverage, outmaneuver the magic cops circling her agency, and hunt down whoever left a hand-delivered clay effigy on her bed.

Middle age isn’t a crisis. It’s a weapon.

Perfect for fans of paranormal women’s fiction, slow-burn romance with banter, and found family who’d help you hide a body.

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Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

A twisted act of love, relentless politics, and multiple poisonings pit neighbour against neighbour in what was once a serene, West Coast retirement community. From the beginning, Suzanne Rickson is confident that her nemesis, Regina Snow, has murdered the HOA treasurer. All she has to do is prove it.When a rumour re-surfaces that her husband was having an affair with the deceased, Suzanne realizes that everyone, including the police, considers her the prime suspect. Can Suzanne establish her own innocence as evidence is rapidly pilling up against her?

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More than just a ‘self-help’ book, it wraps in the story of the author’s dad being buried alive to help drive some of the points home. The first thing about this book that grabbed my attention was its explanation that it’s not always about choosing a side. It’s about finding balance between the two, because life is a spectrum. I also learned something new with the concept of entropy, something that had never been explained before.

One of my favourite sections was the discussion of self-worth, specifically the line, “Self-worth is a gift given to you, by you, and for you”. It’s something we often forget, and humans tend to look outside ourselves for validation when, really, self-worth starts with us.

Each chapter ends with thought-provoking questions, giving you a chance to stop, reflect, and really think about how the ideas apply to your own life. The end-of-chapter sections also do a great job of wrapping everything up.

If you enjoy a real life self-help book this is the book for you.

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Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

“I didn’t see Rebecca die the second time.”

David Blake was a small-town bookseller—until the day his world ended. When a zombie outbreak hits Fall Creek, Colorado, he loses everything he loves. But his survival makes him valuable. Recruited by a top-secret military group that’s been hunting the undead since 1873, David becomes a reluctant consultant in a war the public doesn’t even know exists.

Now part of AEGIS, he faces terrifying truths: evolving walkers, government cover-ups, and a collapsing civilization. As the infection spreads and the dead grow faster and more dangerous, David must navigate brutal missions, a growing love for his commanding officer, and a revelation that breaks his mind—and reshapes his mission.

With the world falling into chaos, the last hope for humanity is buried deep underground. Reaching it might cost David everything… again.

Get END today to experience a zombie thriller packed with action, emotion, and the final flickers of hope.

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Synopsis (Taken from Amazon)

Racism, climate change, and violence are in the past. The new world values respect and collaboration with others. But are there secrets lurking in the shadows of the Land of Hope? What truth about the past is being covered up?

When fifteen-year-old Fania returns from Immersion, she is shattered to learn that the next phase of her education is at home with Alicia, her granny. She had hoped for something far grander that would prepare her for an important role with the Earth Project. Their two strong personalities clash as Fania begins to learn more about the past and her family’s role in it.

As Fania grows in confidence and power, she starts to wonder exactly what secrets Alicia is keeping in her underground lab. After Fania discovers the truth, she finds her calling: one that has the power to change everything.

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Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

ANCIENT HATRED NEVER DIES.

For two centuries, the Der’geron have waited.

Exiled after the great elven war, they have nursed their vengeance in silence. Now, as unrest fractures the Northern Kingdom and alliances weaken, the long-shadowed enemy begins to rise.

Callum Walker never asked for destiny.

But when he and his companion Jax attempt to repair the failing veil between realms, they are captured and dragged into the hellish grotto beneath Elfarian. Forced to labor or die, Callum uncovers a terrifying truth:

This will not be a war.

It will be a reckoning.

Tempted by dark magic and haunted by his own buried anguish, Callum must decide whether to embrace a power that may save the realm—or destroy his soul.

For readers who love epic fantasy with political tension, reluctant heroes, and magic that comes at a cost.

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Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

She came home for a fresh start. She found a body instead.

After a divorce, an empty nest, and a life that no longer fit, interior designer Minna Halonen returns to the lakeside town she grew up in — ready to trade city stress for flickering candles, pine forests, and the quiet rhythm of Nordic living.

Taking over her mother’s beloved home décor shop and transforming a rundown lakeside property into Hygge House — a cozy retreat for workshops and gatherings — Minna is finally building something that feels like hers.

Then a body turns up on her doorstep. On opening morning.

With whispers spreading through Lakewood’s tight-knit community and her dream business under suspicion, Minna has no choice but to put her designer’s eye for detail to a very different use. Because someone in this charming little town isn’t as cozy as they appear.

Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, Laura Childs, and anyone who loves a mystery wrapped in hygge warmth.

The Hygge House Mystery Series — where Scandinavian comfort meets small-town secrets.

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Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

Experience the beginning of a thrilling epic fantasy series in RANGER’S OATH, where friendship fights failure – and the monsters thought to be only legends.

The barrier between worlds is broken. Only he knows the truth…

Magic has protected Tarsynium for a thousand years, shielding its people from being ravaged by bloodthirsty demons. When a young ranger’s apprentice named Owyn Lund discovers that the Arc of Radiance has been breached, he tries to warn anybody who will listen.

But legends aren’t supposed to be real.

When a village is mysteriously destroyed, rangers, mages, and rebels all point the finger, blaming each other for the demons’ brutality. However, Zara Dennel, a mage’s ward, has heard Owyn’s tale—and she’s inclined to believe him.

Together, they must prove that friendship is greater than intolerance, unity is more important than division, and that even the most powerful magic can sometimes not be enough.

Failure means the end of all things. A second—and lasting—Doom.

Experience the beginning of a thrilling Epic Fantasy series suitable for all ages.

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Synopsis

A prelude to the Kingdom Journals…The Edict of Châteaubriant, signed 27 June 1551 by King Henry II of France, censored Protestant rhetoric and enabled seizure of funds for punishment. The Edict of Compiègne, of 24 July 1557, allowed the death penalty for crimes of heresy. The witch community, garbed in the Catholic faith, hunted and killed vampires under the guise of bringing the pagans to justice. Anne’s family is among the vampires targeted by the witches. She escapes with the help of a loyal friend and they hide among the humans. At seventeen, another atrocity ignites her passion for justice. Anne circumvents the globe in a quest to unite her people and build peace. Although she attracts powerful enemies, her friends number many, including a mysterious hero. In a war for survival love feels elusive and extravagant, and even heroes don’t always prevail. Can she best her enemy and find happiness at last?

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