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Super Mario Party
Super Mario Party
2018 | Action/Adventure, Music & Party, Platform
A return to familiar territory (2 more)
Clever use of strategic elements
Variety of modes
Requires a single Joy-Con (2 more)
Boards are small and uninteresting
Only 4 boards in the main party mode
Super Mario Party returns to its classic roots, you know, before Mario Party 9. Though at the same time however it's not a 100% reunion. Sure you can move around freely again which is nice; but this party still wants to spice things up. See, they loved what they created on the 3DS, specifically Star Rush because elements of Star Rush make it's way to this classic party. For instance, every character has a unique die, and you can have up to 3 partners as you play. All taken from Star Rush. Heck, there's a team mode that plays very similarly to the main mode of Star Rush. The main mode in Super then is a disappointment. For starters, 4 boards is terrible and actually, this game now officially has the LEAST amount of boards out of any Mario Party game and that's terrible (I do not count Mario Party Advance or The Top 100 because both are completely different). It doesn't help that the boards aren't as fun as the old games. For one, they're all big squares and that's because they use the same 4 boards in the team mode, which turns the 4 boards into a grid design. These 4 boards are uninteresting to play on in my opinion compared to the very creative boards of the GameCube era Mario Parties. Yes, all the elements of a classic Mario Party are here. Collect coins, buy the star, don't get screwed. Even this has changes for the worse. Everything is cheaper so stars now only cost 10 coins. It's so easy to get coins, you might as well make stars free because I'd be very impressed if you couldn't afford a star. Coins basically become meaningless as you can constantly buy whatever item you want and the star at all times unless you have the absolute worst luck. This means you can go to the same corner of the board that sells the golden warp pipe, and use the pipe to get free stars. Items are not randomized in shops so if you know which item shop sells the pipe, then you can always just visit that shop over and over and not even bother actually trying to chase after the star. There is one board that's an exception to all've my complaints, and it's the best board because of it. Overall the main mode is just meh to me. Because this review is getting stupidly long, I'll rush the rest. The other modes are fine. Team mode's great if you liked Star Rush. Rythm Heaven moddme was fun. Water survival would've been better without the minigames. Basically everything else is perfectly fine and save this game from getting any lower. Look, I don't hate this game. I just think it's an ok game and isn't necessarily the return I was hoping for. If you're a fan of Mario Party then sure, get this game. I wouldn't trust my review. I think Mario Party 9 is amazing and I have no idea why anyone loves Mario Party 4 because I think it's one of the worst. Do you really trust my criticism of this one?
  
Unlikely Hero (AUDIO)
Unlikely Hero (AUDIO)
Sean Michael | 2017 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
excellent narration of a great book!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted the audio version of this book.

Brock never got over Eric leaving him, but he understood why Eric needed to go. When Eric calls, 9 years later, Brock drops everything and calls upon his considerable resources to find Eric's 3 year old daughter , who has been kidnapped. But having Eric and Josie under his roof, to keep them safe, has Brock thinking about all the things he missed out on.

I loved this!!

Brock loved Eric, never stopped so of course he's gonna help him find his daughter! I loved that, right from Eric turning up at his office, Brock is calling him baby. I don;'t usually, so it surprised me here that I did love it! I think it surprised Brock too, the first time he did it!

Brock makes no apologies for his wealth and power and he pulls no punches in using both to keep Eric and Josie safe, and in finding out who is doing this.

But we don't get Eric, at all. This is told entirely from Brock's POV in the third person. And I really REALLY needed to hear from Eric at key points along the way: when Josie is first discovered gone; when he walks into Brock's office and when he finds out just who is behind it all. This is the only reason I gave the book 4 stars, because Eric is not given a voice, and he needed one.

I loved the supporting cast, especially Max and Gordon. They have a tale to tell, not least because of what goes down here!

Jeff Gelder narrates. This is the first, as far as I can see, that I have listened to of his work and I was very impressed. His reading voice is deep and even, and his voices consistent and easily identifiable in multi person conversations. Loved his voice for Josie, who sounded just like a 3 year old should, with all the funny things they say. Gelder gets over all of Brock's emotions in all the right places.

I cannot fault the narration. Gelder is firmly on my to listen list!

4 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration.
4.5 (rounded down to 4) overall.

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
S(
Strings (Hard Rock Harlots, #1)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
12/6/2017 Review:

So I finally decided to reread this series and I still really enjoyed it. I obviously didn't enjoy it as much the second time around but I still love how outrageous this book is. What I find funny is how I read this book around the same time 4 years ago. The characters are still funny, and I'm looking forward to rereading the next in the series even though it doesn't compare to Strings. For those of you who are on the fence about this book please know that it is absolutely outrageous, you cannot take it seriously, it's not for the faint of heart, and it is steamy in a weird sort of way.

12/5/2013 Review:

Okay, so... this is not my typical book and I usually would only give this kind of book a 3 1/2 Stars but I have to say this definitely made me laugh!

I would actually give this book 4 1/2 stars so I rounded up. The description of this book is very accurate. The plot is kind of there but not amazing, Characters lacked depth, but the characters were hilarious, and I do mean HILARIOUS!

If you get offended by sex or curse words than you should definitely not read this book. Every sentence is filled with creative (and I do mean creative) descriptive words and a lot of cursing.

This book had me laughing, weirded out, & smiling the whole time. I found Kendall Grey's writing to be unique and that was exactly what I was looking for.
  
Home Skillet (Culinary Kings #1)
Home Skillet (Culinary Kings #1)
Cate Ashwood, Sandra Damien | 2018 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
4 solid stars.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

James finds himself with a divorce, and the loss of his precious restaurant so he runs to the only place, the only person, he ever really called home. Ben has loved James forever, but having him crashing on his couch is playing havoc with his well built walls. But is what Ben feels as one sided as he thinks??

For the most part, I enjoyed this. I just found James a little much to deal with at times!

And I am left with questions that didn't get answered. I'm NOT going to voice them here, because if you read reviews before buying you might be left with the same questions and it might spoil it for you. It did NOT spoil my reading experience, not at all, I'm just left wondering about a few things.

I did like that James came to the realization of his feelings for Ben before Ben made a move. I did like that, once they decided to do this, James and Ben go ALL in, especially on James' part, since he's been in the closet all this time.

It was a lovely read, a perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. A little longer than the usual hang over cure, but I used it as such.

A not overly complicated, well written tale, with just a few things missing.

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
NS
Night Shadows: Queer Horror
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I found this book whilst browsing the shelves at my local library, the front cover intrigued me and the genre even more so. I love horror novels and when I noticed that this had a LGBT theme I thought 'how brilliant!', I didn't hesitate to pick this up. Once I got the book home I decided to look up some reviews and noticed that the majority were 4 and 5 stars...I was excited as I thought I had found a gem. Well...I'm the minority.

Me whilst reading <i>Night Shadows</i>...

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/qh14c.gif"; width="320" height="160"/>

I was so disappointed and really thought I must have missed something due to all of the glowing reviews but I only liked 4 out of the 14 stories. My favourite was definitely <i>'Ordinary Mayhem'</i> which was the longest story in the book. I thought it was gripping, gruesome and positively twisted. Unfortunately I couldn't give this book any more than 2 stars because as a collection this was pretty poor. I don't recommend purchasing this book. As far as I know <i>'Ordinary Mayhem'</i> is being released as a full length novel so I highly recommend just waiting for that (I wish I did).

I found the majority of the stories either confusing, repetitive, dry or just plain pointless to be honest...the ones that were a couple of pages in length just had me sighing in frustration.
This, for me, would not be a re-read.
  
This book was tough to give the 3 stars too, I was torn between 3 or 4 it's more 3 1/2 stars.

I did enjoy the book, it was readable and it started off really well.
During the flash back story with the grandma in nazi Germany made me cry and only one other book has done that (the green mile) however after that point things started to get a bit samey, lots of finding inner peace, visions, darkness, sins it was just a little much and also there was one bit that made no sense, I won't say to much as don't want to ruin it but it was a guest that visited cynthia and I really didn't see the reason why it happened, it was never mentioned again, it was very out there but not in a good way.
I think the story was to make you think about karma, kindness, doing what's right for yourself and others but it did get a little in your face.
As I said it was readable but not something I would recommend as it's just too much religion for me I think.
  
The Body Finder (The Body Finder, #1)
The Body Finder (The Body Finder, #1)
Kimberly Derting | 2011 | Thriller
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Okay, so I didn't fall in love with this book right away. For awhile, I thought I was going to rate the book 2, maybe 3 stars. However, about 2/3 of the way into the book, it became really good, and it definitely got boosted to 4 stars.

I loved, loved, loved the relationship between Jay & Violet. I thought it was really sweet =) I loved how protective he was of her, not in the "she's a girl so she can't take care of herself" way but because he genuinely cared for her.

The character of Chelsea made me laugh. I loved her sarcasm =)

It did have a hint of Mean Girls in it though. The character of Claire reminded me a lot of Amanda Seyfried's character in the film. And there is the mention of a Queen Bee.

I loved the plot as well. I've never read anything like it. I like the way the author brought together the elements of suspense, crime, romance, and paranormal. They all blended very well.

I'd definitely recommend this book. It does take a long time to get going, as I've said before, but once it does, it definitely drags you in!
  
Goodreads: Book Reviews
Goodreads: Book Reviews
Book, Social Networking
9
8.8 (453 Ratings)
App Rating
I love using Goodreads. It helps me keep track of all of my reading year by year. I like being able to see my yearly progress and compare it to previous reading years. You can follow other users and keep updated on what they are reading and thinking about a book. Along those lines Goodreads is a great way to keep up to date with your favourite authors, publications dates, cover releases. Basically anything you could want. The app is very easy to navigate and simple to use. The website has more options. For example stats, giveaways, finding book groups. Goodreads do lots of book giveaways for free. No review needed to win.
 My only gripe is you can only rate a book up to 5 stars. This doesn’t give you a lot of leeway. For example I recently read a book that was not as bad as others I had rated 3 stars but not as good as my 4 star ratings. So what should I do? That is just me being picky. Goodreads is a fantastic way to keep track of you reading and if you are an avid reader I would highly recommend using Goodreads.
  
No Time for Goodbye
No Time for Goodbye
Linwood Barclay | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wow. This book had it's moments where I really couldn't put the book down.

It lived up to its thriller genre. It was fast paced and it was written from an interesting point of view. I figured it would be written from Cynthias view as it really was her story to tell but instead it was her husband's view. This made it difficult to judge her as a character as you weren't in her head. This made her even become a suspect in her own families disappearance. But this kept you on your toes so you never really learnt who done it as they say until the final bit of the book.

I have only awarded the 4 stars as dispite the final twist I was disappointed with the outcome with her family. I guess part of me wanted a happy ending not the bitter ending it had. I know it created closure but it would have been nice to have a tiny bit more happy too.

I would recommend this book to anyone and others would likely give it 5 stars it's just my personal preference to have had a bit more of an alternative ending.
  
Resolute (The Lost Fleet Outlands #2)
Resolute (The Lost Fleet Outlands #2)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Entry number 2 (of 3) in Jack Campbell's 'The Lost Fleet: Outlands' series, which itself is a follow-up to both 'The Lost Fleet' series (consisting of 6 entries) and 'The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier2 (a further five) and even 'The Lost Stars' series (a further 4).

So maybe not the best jumping-on point for any newcomers.

Although, having said that, I do feel that enough background was given.

Anyway, this still follows (as did both 'The Lost Fleet' and 'The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier') 'Black Jack' Geary, rescued and awoken from hypersleep a century after the outbreak of war between The Alliance and The Syndicate Worlds and now, having brought about an end to that war and the fall of The Syndicate Worlds (some of which are in 'The Lost Stars' series) is heading a diplomatic mission into deep space and (uninvited) into the realm of the mysterious Dancers, but who has to contend with both political and military attempts at sabotage along the way.

As before, I did enjoy the read, and am looking forward to the next - and, I believe, final - entry in the series.