The Astrid Lindgren Reading Group

The story revolves around two entities: a vicious and domineering human girl who hunts down dragons to extinction, and a long-lived dragon sage, who aims to reclaim what was rightfully his. Due to an unforeseen event, they accidentally created a pact that ceased them from exterminating each other, that they ended up using one another for their own benefits instead. ---And the one whose heart falters first is ought to die. One world, two races. Their distinct beliefs set a feud that caused a centuries-year-old war to begin with. Which race will play the role of the meek sheep and who will be the cunning fox? Who will be the predator and who will be the prey? -2021 by _iLied-

My whole family could hear my thoughts. Twenty years after I was abducted, I finally reunited with my family. However, they used the thoughts they could hear to find out my bank account's passwords and PIN codes, all so that they could steal my savings. When they knew I was being stalked by a pervert, they offered me up on a silver platter just for the money he provided. I ended up getting locked up by the pervert and tormented to my death. When I opened my eyes once more, I found myself back to the day when it all began. I was going rabid deep down. 'Did Mom not use all of my money to support Mr. Warner next door?' 'Should I tell Mom and Dad that Alex is actually gambling instead of going to work?' 'I think Dad is attracted to Alex's girlfriend. What do I do?' This time, I want to see them turn against each other and reap the consequences of their own actions.

When Isabella De Rivera runs away from home to escape an arranged marriage to a powerful Filipino-Italian tycoon, she ends up in the arms of a mysterious stranger she meets at a club. He brings her to a hidden place he calls the Red Room, a space filled with sexual equipment chains, whips, sling chairs, and desires she doesn’t yet understand. Drawn to him despite her fear, Isabella gives herself completely to the man who makes her feel seen for the first time. But the next morning, everything changes. Her father’s men find her and drag her home. The wedding will happen whether she wants it or not. Broken and numb, Isabella walks down the aisle in silence… only to freeze when she sees the groom’s face. It’s him—the stranger from the club. The man who took her breath, her trust, and her innocence. Bound by a vow to the man who claimed her body and bought her life, Isabella enters a war zone. Her husband, Sergio "Serg" Medici, harbors a ruthless history he can't bury, including a former wife determined to win him back and a young daughter who doesn’t know Isabella exists.

The day I marry Navy Captain Dean Aldridge, I hear his stepsister Shirley Pierce's inner voice. "Diane is so beautiful and graceful. I wish I could be like her, but I'm nothing more than an unwanted burden in this family… "I really adore her, though. I saved up my allowance to buy her a bracelet as a wedding gift, but I'm afraid she'll think it's unlucky and refuse it." In my last life, those words had filled my heart with pity. I'd accepted the bracelet and even taken Shirley under my wing, teaching her to read and write. But not long after my wedding, my health began to deteriorate for no reason. It wasn't until I lay dying that I discovered the truth—the bracelet Shirley had given me was cursed, and she'd deliberately made me hear her inner voice. She'd long been in love with Dean and was determined to make the Aldridge family hers one day. Now, when I open my eyes again, I find myself back on my wedding day.

A fake heiress exposes her real identity so that I can be found—all because she wants me to marry the crippled man who's supposed to be her husband. She puts on an act before the whole family, wanting to drive a wedge between us. She has no idea we can all hear her thoughts. When she slashes her palm and frames me for it, she's cursing in her heart. "Hit her, you worthless man!" When she falls down the stairs and blames me for it, she's thinking, "Teach her a lesson, you silly old woman!" When she buries herself in my brother's arms and acts aggrieved, she's actually thinking, "He's such a loyal dog." My father, mother, and brother are stunned by what they hear. Then, they're infuriated. I merely laugh and turn away, acting like I don't see anything. I just want to complete this special mission as soon as possible.

Mate. Something every werewolf looks forward to. The thought of finding someone tailor-made by the moon goddess for you alone in the entire world is exhilarating. At least it was for me. For a while. I waited for what felt like forever. Everyone finds their mate once they turn eighteen. I'll be eighteen in a few days. I wanted to keep myself for my mate. To be pure but who was I kidding. Nobody could have prepared me for who my mate was. Not even my adoptive parents. The alpha's son. Maverick Tatum. The same boy I used to think of as a scum after watching how he treats the female in the pack. That same boy was my mate. I'm Ares Powers. My parents said they found me in the woods with my name engraved in the wood of the beads I was wearing. They have tried taking off the beads multiple times when I was growing up. They couldn't. They took me to the pack seer and he said only my true mate can help me remove the beads and unlock my wolf's highest potential. I wonder why my birth parents would want to keep my powers locked. The day I found out Maverick was my mate was the same day he rejected me. In front of everyone. The next day, I was banished from the pack. I swore to get my revenge then. But until then, I have to find a way to unlock my wolf's full potential because my mate turned out to be unreliable.

My sister-in-law, Esmerelda Black, hates that her mother, Ruth Jennings, favors me. To make things worse, she has the ability to hear Ruth's thoughts. And she uses that gift against me. When I tell Ruth to have more vegetables to stay healthy, Esmerelda says, "Clara is such a cheapskate not to buy you meat. She doesn't ask her own mom to eat more vegetables." When I encourage Ruth to exercise more to build strength, she says, "Mom, you're already old. You should be taking it easy. Clara wants you to work yourself to death." Slowly, Ruth grows to hate me. In the end, Esmerelda acquires the family business, seizes the fortune, and trafficks me to North Maldia to die. However, when I open my eyes again, I have her gift too—I can also hear Ruth's thoughts.

Hilda Oakley, the charity case Mom and Dad take in, steals my family right out from under me. She slips drugs into me, driving me into a bipolar disorder. She turns me into someone who snaps and screams at Mom and Dad without meaning to. She paints me as someone rotten inside, as the bully at school, and as someone who'd shove her down the stairs at home. And because of that, my whole family turns on me. Mom calls me a bad seed. Dad says I'm no daughter of his. Then, they adopt Hilda and throw me out in the dead of winter. My bipolar flares. Naked, I sprint onto the rooftop and jump to my death. When I'm reborn, I realize I can make the thoughts in other people's heads audible. So, at the dinner table, I let Hilda's thoughts spill right before Mom and Dad. 'I kept that witch Valerie drugged for three years. She finally broke! They still don't suspect that Alex isn't really her brother. He's Susan's son. Once we poison Valerie's parents, the Coopers' fortune will belong to us.'

After confirming I was pregnant, I suddenly heard my husband’s inner voice. “This idiot is still gloating over her pregnancy. She doesn’t even know we switched out her IVF embryo. She’s nothing more than a surrogate for Elle. If Elle weren’t worried about how childbirth might endanger her life, I would’ve kicked this worthless woman out already. Just looking at her makes me sick. “Once she delivers the baby, I’ll make sure she never gets up from the operating table. Then I’ll finally marry Elle, my one true love.” My entire body went rigid. I clenched the IVF test report in my hands and looked straight at my husband. He gazed back at me with gentle eyes. “I’ll take care of you and the baby for the next few months, honey.” However, right then, his inner voice struck again. “I’ll lock that woman in a cage like a dog. I’d like to see her escape!” Shock and heartbreak crashed over me all at once because the Elle he spoke of was none other than my sister.

Astrid, a strong-willed and determined young woman, is forced to return to her pack after a decade away. She has encountered animosity and bitterness, especially from her father, the alpha of the pack. Astrid has a hard time adjusting to her new life in the pack. She meets Kaidën, a mysterious and brooding person who seems to be hiding secrets, and she gets to see her childhood friend Evelyn again. Kaidën's mate, Xylara, is presented as a stunning but ruthless and cunning person. Under the full moon, Astrid and Kaidën have a tense but fascinating encounter. Astrid starts to suspect Kaidën is involved in the weird happenings in the pack. Astrid is left feeling shaken by her encounter with Kaidën. She meets Alpha Eric, her arranged mate, and is repulsed by his behavior. When Kaidën steps in, Astrid is drawn to him. Xylara's hostility toward Astrid becomes more and more obvious. When Xylara tries to suffocate her while she is sleeping, Astrid learns of her true motivations. Astrid also finds Lucas, a pack member, tied up and gagged. Astrid is warned to keep away by Kaidën, who is attempting to shield her from himself. Xylara's evil character is further revealed as Astrid starts to solve the pack's mysteries.