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OutsmartYourShelf
Permadeath: A Gamelit Thriller | Miguel H. Villarreal
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Pickpick

Marcus is a struggling gaming streamer who barely pulls in an audience of two figures on his channel & this is unlikely to change anytime soon. This is bad news as the mortgage payments on his house are overdue, & he's about to lose everything. Then he hears about a new, mysterious online first-person shooter game where 8 streamers are going to be picked to battle it out for a prize of $1M.

OutsmartYourShelf It sounds too good to be true right, but Marcus can't afford to let this chance go. So what if the application form has more questions that the LSAT & it all feels just a bit off? At the start of the game, Marcus's followers hit the thousands & the subscriptions & donations start rolling in, but when the players killed in the game start disappearing in real life, Marcus realises that something is badly wrong.
3h
OutsmartYourShelf This was my last read of 2025 & it was a good one. This technothriller has a really interesting plot, a main character that does begin to grow on you, & plenty of action (both in-game & out). It was a little slow to start but once the tournament begins, the pace picks up & doesn't really slow down again. Yes, there are some things which are too convenient just to further the plotline, 3h
OutsmartYourShelf & I felt that sometimes it leaned too far into the gamer stereotypes, but it hit two major pluses: it was different & it held my attention at all times. 4🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & the author for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review & TWs: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7213672448
Read 30th - 31st Dec 2025
3h
18 likes3 comments
review
julesG
Hell's Heart | Alexis Hall
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Pickpick

As a fan of Alexis Hall's work I was curious about his Sci-Fi debut. Hell's Heart is a typical Alexis Hall novel (funny, sarcastic, surprisingly deep when you least expect it), but it is also closer to his Steampunk novels than his contemporary or historical romances. Also, it is not a romance.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

julesG It is what it says on the tin, a lesbians in space retelling of Moby Dick; slow pacing and lots of meandering included. The world-building is where this story shines. Set in a future of our Solar System that is corrupted by capitalism and with the weirdest versions of patriarchal (mainly Christian) religions that you can imagine. ⬇️⬇️ 9h
julesG Below you can find the thoughts about Hell's Heart I shared with another ARC reader just after finishing the novel:

Lots of "sperm" jokes.
Not as boring as Moby Dick, but those 400+pp are filled with tangents and self-deprecation and horniness and Q talking in Latin.
It's very Alexis Hall by way of Melville.
9h
36 likes2 comments
review
julesG
Untitled | Untitled
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Mehso-so

Purrfect Pop Star is a K-drama in book form; a funny, low stakes, magical realism romance story that sets up the Spotlight&Stars series by Arisa May.

Yuna adopts a stray cat that is actually K-pop star Min-ho who's been cursed by a fan. Subsequently the two of them need to spend a lot of time together to work out how to break the curse before Min-ho turns into a cat for good.

A quick and easy read that will leave you with a smile on your face.

26 likes1 comment
review
julesG
Dom-Com | Adriana Anders
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Panpan

This had a strong start. After a breakup Rae wants to explore the kinky side of life and joins a dom/sub club. She has an interesting experience on her first night there, only to be confronted with her Dom, a company consultant named Grant, when she gets to the office on Monday. What follows is a dom/sub spiced The Hating Game with predictable plot, including the third act break-up.

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

RaeLovesToRead Hold up... Rae did what? Lol 9h
julesG @RaeLovesToRead Yeah, that cracked me up the first few times too. Your namesake has been a wet rag in previous relationships and decided to doll herself up and visit a "pop-up/speed dating Dom/sub event" where she realises she likes to be dominated and that carries over into the office. ?? 9h
RaeLovesToRead Hahaha 🤣🤣 8h
27 likes3 comments
review
julesG
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Mehso-so

I liked the dual timeline/flashbacks, but I didn't like the characters. They didn't read like in their late twenties or early thirties. The plot, in my opinion, was predictable.

Old #ARC off #MountARC
#NetGalley

blurb
BoleyBooks
Big Nobody | Alex Kadis
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Tackle the TBR 🤓📚
#boleybooks #BigNobody #alexkadis #frostbuddy #bookbrew #bookbeast #bookbuds #bookclub #letsread #netgalley
🎉🙌There‘s a Frostbuddy discount portal available for you in my linktree.

33 likes1 stack add
review
kezzlou85
YOUR EVERY MOVE. | SAM. BLAKE
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Pickpick

This was a really good read and had me hooked from the start. I also liked the little posts dotted through the story. It added an extra modern layer to the story. The plot was clever and twisy along the way. The ending was well written and I liked how it all came together. This also touches on the case of Suzy Lamplugh and you can see some similarities but this is its own story. Rosie is instantly likeable. #Netgalley 4*

33 likes1 stack add
review
Breanne1
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Pickpick

Matlin has become a must read author for me. This grabbed me from the first chapter and I was fully invested in Minnows arc. I love Jaws, shark week, all things
"shark" and this book found a way to make a completely unique thriller with sharks playing a central theme. Highly recommend you pick up this book.
Thanks to #netgalley and #bantambooks for this ARC in return for my honest feedback. Book 34 of 2025

Erinreadsthebooks That‘s a fun cover 🤩 2d
7 likes1 comment
review
Read-n-Bloom
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Pickpick

Lisa Waller Rogers wrote a wonderful book of American history. When PeopleWere Things shows us the true history of those who fought for the end of slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a Christian woman who wanted to see the abolishment of slavery in the US as did Abe Lincoln. They & MANY others fought for this because they believed it‘s what God intended for us all & what the Declaration of Independence intended as well.

#netgalley #2025Reads

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julesG
Hell's Heart | Alexis Hall
This post contains spoilers
show me
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Dilara 😂 5d
CarolynM This is one of the main reasons I love Alexis Hall. Who else writes like that? 4d
julesG @CarolynM Right! That was my thought too. 4d
11 likes3 comments