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Debbiereadsbook (1166 KP) rated Becoming Magic (Sleight of Hand #5) in Books
Dec 10, 2018
Not really one for me :-(
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I'm jumping straight in here, because this is one of those reviews that is going to be difficult to write!
Overall, I liked this book. Mostly.
It's reasonably well written, from both Carole and Connor's points of view, so that was good. I didn't see any spelling or editing errors to spoil my reading.
It just didn't grab me! I found myself wanting more, from Connor, about that break up with his ex-co-star. From Carole about what happened all those years ago in Hollywood. From them both, about each other, their feelings. . . . I. . . . just . . . .
Wanted MORE!!!! And I can't word just WHAT I wanted, and that's why this is a hard review to write, cos I cannot, for the life of me, find the right words, and you know how much that PAINS me!
It does deal with some difficult topics: being drugged and a sexual assault. It deals with these in a sensitive manner, but needs to be mentioned. I also found the assault story arc a little bit too much like what's going in the the REAL Hollywood right now, with the growing list of high powered Hollywood men being accused of various assaults. Maybe that's where the author got the inspiration from, I dunno, but I found it a little too much like it, you know??
This is book 5 in the Sleight of Hand series, and I have not read the others. I did not feel I was missing anything, by not reading them And although Sabrina and Walter (book4) play a huge part here, I didn't feel I HAD to have read their story before this one.
So, I'm sorry, but not one for me.
3 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I'm jumping straight in here, because this is one of those reviews that is going to be difficult to write!
Overall, I liked this book. Mostly.
It's reasonably well written, from both Carole and Connor's points of view, so that was good. I didn't see any spelling or editing errors to spoil my reading.
It just didn't grab me! I found myself wanting more, from Connor, about that break up with his ex-co-star. From Carole about what happened all those years ago in Hollywood. From them both, about each other, their feelings. . . . I. . . . just . . . .
Wanted MORE!!!! And I can't word just WHAT I wanted, and that's why this is a hard review to write, cos I cannot, for the life of me, find the right words, and you know how much that PAINS me!
It does deal with some difficult topics: being drugged and a sexual assault. It deals with these in a sensitive manner, but needs to be mentioned. I also found the assault story arc a little bit too much like what's going in the the REAL Hollywood right now, with the growing list of high powered Hollywood men being accused of various assaults. Maybe that's where the author got the inspiration from, I dunno, but I found it a little too much like it, you know??
This is book 5 in the Sleight of Hand series, and I have not read the others. I did not feel I was missing anything, by not reading them And although Sabrina and Walter (book4) play a huge part here, I didn't feel I HAD to have read their story before this one.
So, I'm sorry, but not one for me.
3 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Midge (525 KP) rated Batter Off Dead in Books
Dec 11, 2018 (Updated Dec 20, 2018)
Thoroughly enjoyable read (3 more)
I liked the author's descriptive style
Great for foodies - you can almost smell the cakes baking while you are reading!
Good portrayal of the lead character's relationship with her best friend
Absolutely Delightful!
Sophia Cummings, the owner of For Goodness Cakes, is catering for a charity fundraiser at Grape Valley Winery and must make it a successful event to win more catering jobs and pay the bills. Ray Peel, the Winery's landlord, has pledged to pay off a library loan in her hometown of Rumford, however, the event turns sour and Ray is murdered before the loan and Sophia can be paid. Can she figure out who the murderer is before the bakery collapses?
I have never read any of Maymee Bell's novels before, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. I particularly liked the author's descriptive style, especially the many references to the cakes sold at the bakery which were described so well that you could almost smell them baking in the oven! The portrayal of Sophia's relationships, especially Madison, her best friend, and Bitsy, her mother were also very good, although I think that there could have been a little more spark between Sophia and Carter Kincaid, her sheriff boyfriend. You were introduced to many characters very quickly at the start of the book which was a little confusing at first, however, I like that I was kept guessing all the way through as to the identity of the murderer. The ending to the book was finished off very nicely and I will be reading more Maymee Bell novels in the future.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book, supplied by Netgalley.
I have never read any of Maymee Bell's novels before, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. I particularly liked the author's descriptive style, especially the many references to the cakes sold at the bakery which were described so well that you could almost smell them baking in the oven! The portrayal of Sophia's relationships, especially Madison, her best friend, and Bitsy, her mother were also very good, although I think that there could have been a little more spark between Sophia and Carter Kincaid, her sheriff boyfriend. You were introduced to many characters very quickly at the start of the book which was a little confusing at first, however, I like that I was kept guessing all the way through as to the identity of the murderer. The ending to the book was finished off very nicely and I will be reading more Maymee Bell novels in the future.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book, supplied by Netgalley.
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
<i>Captive</i> is the debut young adult thriller by British author A. J. Grainger. Set in contemporary Britain, sixteen-year-old Robyn, the daughter of the Prime Minister, is kidnapped and held hostage by three animal rights activists. Until the government agrees to release the person accused of the attempted assassination of the PM four month previously, they refuse to free Robyn from captivity. It soon becomes clear that a lot of lies and cover-ups have been occurring and it is difficult to know whom to trust.
The novel gets off to a great start with a lot of action as Robyn and her family is ambushed on their way to visit grandparents. The first half of the book is really exciting as the reader slowly gets to grips with what is going on.
Grainger writes really well with great use of descriptive words and phrases. To keep the reader engaged and to lengthen the story she includes other interesting details that are educational in a way – for example, knowledge about birds.
Unfortunately the second half of the book is not as exciting as the first. A relationship starts developing between Robyn and one of the captors, which is rather unoriginal and predictable.
One thing that I particularly liked about this novel was Robyn’s character. Naturally people may expect daughters of prime ministers to be snobbish and spoilt but Robyn was the complete opposite. She did not care about where her clothes came from or whether or not she went to parties. Robyn was the representation of the average teenage girl preparing for her GCSEs.
Despite the clichéd captor/hostage situation <i>Captive</i> is a very enjoyable novel with a few exhilarating twists in the plot.
<i>Captive</i> is the debut young adult thriller by British author A. J. Grainger. Set in contemporary Britain, sixteen-year-old Robyn, the daughter of the Prime Minister, is kidnapped and held hostage by three animal rights activists. Until the government agrees to release the person accused of the attempted assassination of the PM four month previously, they refuse to free Robyn from captivity. It soon becomes clear that a lot of lies and cover-ups have been occurring and it is difficult to know whom to trust.
The novel gets off to a great start with a lot of action as Robyn and her family is ambushed on their way to visit grandparents. The first half of the book is really exciting as the reader slowly gets to grips with what is going on.
Grainger writes really well with great use of descriptive words and phrases. To keep the reader engaged and to lengthen the story she includes other interesting details that are educational in a way – for example, knowledge about birds.
Unfortunately the second half of the book is not as exciting as the first. A relationship starts developing between Robyn and one of the captors, which is rather unoriginal and predictable.
One thing that I particularly liked about this novel was Robyn’s character. Naturally people may expect daughters of prime ministers to be snobbish and spoilt but Robyn was the complete opposite. She did not care about where her clothes came from or whether or not she went to parties. Robyn was the representation of the average teenage girl preparing for her GCSEs.
Despite the clichéd captor/hostage situation <i>Captive</i> is a very enjoyable novel with a few exhilarating twists in the plot.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Love Hurts in Books
Dec 17, 2018
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Love Hurts is a young adult book containing several stories compiled together by the well-known Malorie Blackman. There are a few new short stories however most are extracts from pre-existing novels. The short stories are written by a variety of different authors such as Susie Day, Lauren Dockrill, Lauren Kate, Catherine Johnson and James Dawson. Many readers will be familiar with these authors as well as some of the books that the extracts are from, for example: More Than This, If I Stay, I Am The Messenger and Northern Lights.
The aim of this anthology is to explore what love means. Love is not a simple, straightforward concept. There is love lost and love found, bitter love and sweet love. Each story focuses on a different perspective. Some are about teenagers, some are about adults. Some are about homosexuality and others are not.
Love Hurts is an interesting concept and it is interesting to see different authors' understanding on the term "love". The biggest problem with this book however is due to most of the entries being snippets of other stories as it is often difficult to understand what was going on and who the characters were.
Another issue for me was I found some of the stories uninteresting and difficult to get into; and as they were short there was not a lot of time to appreciate the different concepts and styles of writing.
Although it would have been a challenge, it would have been better for all the stories to be brand new and unique. On he other hand, Malorie Blackman has done an excellent job at sourcing all the content.
Love Hurts is a young adult book containing several stories compiled together by the well-known Malorie Blackman. There are a few new short stories however most are extracts from pre-existing novels. The short stories are written by a variety of different authors such as Susie Day, Lauren Dockrill, Lauren Kate, Catherine Johnson and James Dawson. Many readers will be familiar with these authors as well as some of the books that the extracts are from, for example: More Than This, If I Stay, I Am The Messenger and Northern Lights.
The aim of this anthology is to explore what love means. Love is not a simple, straightforward concept. There is love lost and love found, bitter love and sweet love. Each story focuses on a different perspective. Some are about teenagers, some are about adults. Some are about homosexuality and others are not.
Love Hurts is an interesting concept and it is interesting to see different authors' understanding on the term "love". The biggest problem with this book however is due to most of the entries being snippets of other stories as it is often difficult to understand what was going on and who the characters were.
Another issue for me was I found some of the stories uninteresting and difficult to get into; and as they were short there was not a lot of time to appreciate the different concepts and styles of writing.
Although it would have been a challenge, it would have been better for all the stories to be brand new and unique. On he other hand, Malorie Blackman has done an excellent job at sourcing all the content.
David McK (3372 KP) rated Mockingjay in Books
Jan 28, 2019
The third and final book in Suzanne Collin's <i>The Hunger Games</i> trilogy, in which the (I found) the whole proved to be greater than the sum of its parts.
Like the previous two entries, this is again told in the first-person immediate sense, and is again a 'true' sequel - don't even bother trying to read this without the first two!
Picking up from the end of <i>Catching Fire</i>, Katniss (and some other victors) has been rescued from the 75th annual Hunger Games by the previously-thought-to-be-a-myth survivors of District 13. Not all have made it out, however, Peeta (and two other victors) have been captured by the Capitol, who are now in the process of torturing them for information as the other Districts (1 through 12) rise up against teh Capitol.
This, then, is pretty much a war story, and doesn't shy away from the realities of such (albeit also somewhat sanitized), with characters dropping left, right and centre in unexpected moments, and with Katniss suffering further mental scarring as a result.
But if the Capitol falls, what will rise to replace it?
As a series over-all, I'll admit I wasn't too sure about it at first, and that it took a while for me to get used to the format in which it was told. The every-chapter-must-end-on-a-cliffhanger approach might have been a bit too much for my tastes, but in the end you just had to go with it (think of it like those old TV episodes that did the same!). Individually, the stories were enjoyable enough but nothing special, but put together as one whole arc (and read back to back) I have to say, it proved to be better than I was expecting.
Like the previous two entries, this is again told in the first-person immediate sense, and is again a 'true' sequel - don't even bother trying to read this without the first two!
Picking up from the end of <i>Catching Fire</i>, Katniss (and some other victors) has been rescued from the 75th annual Hunger Games by the previously-thought-to-be-a-myth survivors of District 13. Not all have made it out, however, Peeta (and two other victors) have been captured by the Capitol, who are now in the process of torturing them for information as the other Districts (1 through 12) rise up against teh Capitol.
This, then, is pretty much a war story, and doesn't shy away from the realities of such (albeit also somewhat sanitized), with characters dropping left, right and centre in unexpected moments, and with Katniss suffering further mental scarring as a result.
But if the Capitol falls, what will rise to replace it?
As a series over-all, I'll admit I wasn't too sure about it at first, and that it took a while for me to get used to the format in which it was told. The every-chapter-must-end-on-a-cliffhanger approach might have been a bit too much for my tastes, but in the end you just had to go with it (think of it like those old TV episodes that did the same!). Individually, the stories were enjoyable enough but nothing special, but put together as one whole arc (and read back to back) I have to say, it proved to be better than I was expecting.
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Siphon in Books
Jan 31, 2019
A. A. Medina’s Siphon is not for the feint of heart. With gruesome and stomach curdling descriptions, Medina’s prose gives a new spin on an ancient creature–at least, that’s how I interpret it. In this short novella, prepare to be disgusted.
Siphon is fairly short, coming in at only 112 pages. Often, a novella can be hit or miss and that’s because for some writers, pacing can be an issue. We see this in books where the first eighty percent drags on, only for the last twenty to fly by at breakneck speed. Medina doesn’t have this problem. Each scene takes just enough time to get the necessary point across–whether it be as simple as advancing Dr. Phillips’s affliction or as complex as establishing the depths of his madness.
Normally I want to connect with the characters in a story in some form or fashion. This allows me to become more emotionally involved than I might otherwise. However, in Siphon the perspective is third-person limited and Medina remains extremely faithful to this. We never know what other characters are thinking, nor do we get a taste for what they feel besides the physical descriptions of fear, as Dr. Phillips sees it.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I received an arc of Siphon courtesy Hindered Souls Press, but in the move to a new Kindle, I lost it. That said, I obtained the copy I am reviewing through Kindle Unlimited. Because of this, I ended up with a final edit. In it, I noticed several errors which prevent me from giving this novella a perfect score. Nonetheless, if you enjoy grisly reads, I highly recommend it.
Siphon is fairly short, coming in at only 112 pages. Often, a novella can be hit or miss and that’s because for some writers, pacing can be an issue. We see this in books where the first eighty percent drags on, only for the last twenty to fly by at breakneck speed. Medina doesn’t have this problem. Each scene takes just enough time to get the necessary point across–whether it be as simple as advancing Dr. Phillips’s affliction or as complex as establishing the depths of his madness.
Normally I want to connect with the characters in a story in some form or fashion. This allows me to become more emotionally involved than I might otherwise. However, in Siphon the perspective is third-person limited and Medina remains extremely faithful to this. We never know what other characters are thinking, nor do we get a taste for what they feel besides the physical descriptions of fear, as Dr. Phillips sees it.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I received an arc of Siphon courtesy Hindered Souls Press, but in the move to a new Kindle, I lost it. That said, I obtained the copy I am reviewing through Kindle Unlimited. Because of this, I ended up with a final edit. In it, I noticed several errors which prevent me from giving this novella a perfect score. Nonetheless, if you enjoy grisly reads, I highly recommend it.
Enjoyable thriller
This is a page turner of a thriller. It takes a little to get to grips with the time jumping but it helps that it uses rewind, pause and fast forward as chapters to give you some baring and once you get it it’s fine and kinda fun in a novel way. This book lends itself to being a great easy read with enough going on to keep you engaged but without being too taxing on the old noggin - perfect for holiday reading.
Natalie is a social media influencer and I did find the beginning of the book was throwing a bit too much jargon about this area at us; along with describing click bait journalist Audery’s world it felt like a real push to be “with it”. It is however a great area to explore as opening yourself up to the world like that gives a whole huge potential for weirdo exposure. When Natalie visits the remote Irish village of Shanamore she gets to meet even more odd characters in the form of holiday cottage manager Andrew with a real Norman Bates feel to him and other locals. There is definitely an air of creepy, in a skin crawling fashion, about them.
I didn’t find there to be much mystery in this book with it all being too evident who was responsible as soon as they began to appear. The multitude of POVs and the moving around in time did hamper any real development of feeling invested in the characters. All in all an enjoyable quick thriller read without too much thought required.
My thanks to the author, publisher Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Natalie is a social media influencer and I did find the beginning of the book was throwing a bit too much jargon about this area at us; along with describing click bait journalist Audery’s world it felt like a real push to be “with it”. It is however a great area to explore as opening yourself up to the world like that gives a whole huge potential for weirdo exposure. When Natalie visits the remote Irish village of Shanamore she gets to meet even more odd characters in the form of holiday cottage manager Andrew with a real Norman Bates feel to him and other locals. There is definitely an air of creepy, in a skin crawling fashion, about them.
I didn’t find there to be much mystery in this book with it all being too evident who was responsible as soon as they began to appear. The multitude of POVs and the moving around in time did hamper any real development of feeling invested in the characters. All in all an enjoyable quick thriller read without too much thought required.
My thanks to the author, publisher Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) in Movies
Jul 4, 2019 (Updated Jul 30, 2019)
It's all just a bit...meh
The Last Stand is not completely awful, but there is an absolutely huge setback here - the writers tried to cram the epic Dark Phoenix saga into one film.
Couple this with an interrupted production and you have a messy result.
A fair amount of what is likable about the first two is still intact - the strongest asset here being the strong cast, doing their absolute best with a sub par script and story.
As for newcomers - Kelsey Grammer is a welcome addition as Beast, as is Ellen Page as Shadowcat - unfortunately Angel is pretty wasted here, as are characters like Psylocke, who is relegated to an extended cameo. Whoever decided to cast Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut deserves a good slapping.
The Dark Phoenix storyline in the comics is pretty epic, a lot of it takes place in space, and the tragedy of the X-Men fighting one of their own is fleshed out very well - something that the movie adaption practically ignores. After being hinted at the end of X2, Jean Grey is promptly bought back, and turns to the dark side very quickly, without any real build up.
Some character story arcs are concluded abruptly and in emotionless ways, as the film just sort of limps along to a pretty underwhelming conclusion.
Bryan Singer left production midway through to helm Superman Returns, and it shows.
The slickness and solid narrative of X2 is replaced by a choppy mess, full of quips that don't land ("I'm the Juggernaut bitch" anyone!?), and Brett Ratners involvement was just a misfire.
This particular comic arc deserves so much better (and judging by what I've heard about the 2019 effort, this is still the case!)
Couple this with an interrupted production and you have a messy result.
A fair amount of what is likable about the first two is still intact - the strongest asset here being the strong cast, doing their absolute best with a sub par script and story.
As for newcomers - Kelsey Grammer is a welcome addition as Beast, as is Ellen Page as Shadowcat - unfortunately Angel is pretty wasted here, as are characters like Psylocke, who is relegated to an extended cameo. Whoever decided to cast Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut deserves a good slapping.
The Dark Phoenix storyline in the comics is pretty epic, a lot of it takes place in space, and the tragedy of the X-Men fighting one of their own is fleshed out very well - something that the movie adaption practically ignores. After being hinted at the end of X2, Jean Grey is promptly bought back, and turns to the dark side very quickly, without any real build up.
Some character story arcs are concluded abruptly and in emotionless ways, as the film just sort of limps along to a pretty underwhelming conclusion.
Bryan Singer left production midway through to helm Superman Returns, and it shows.
The slickness and solid narrative of X2 is replaced by a choppy mess, full of quips that don't land ("I'm the Juggernaut bitch" anyone!?), and Brett Ratners involvement was just a misfire.
This particular comic arc deserves so much better (and judging by what I've heard about the 2019 effort, this is still the case!)
Anne (15117 KP) rated Tiger Queen in Books
Nov 4, 2019
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this ARC.
This book was amazing and well written. I loved it. It was a fabulous 5 star read that you don't want to miss out on. It reminded me of The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson and of The Remnant Chronicles by Mary Pearson.
It is also a retelling of a short story called "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton, which I didn't know until after I read it, but regardless, I really enjoyed this story and am now curious about the original short story as well.
In this story, Princess Kateri is the heir to the kingdom of Achra, but she has to fight in the arena to prove herself to her father the King and to be able to take over and rule the kingdom and also to keep her promises to her late mother about taking care of the people who are suffering in the drought. She always is trying to figure out how to prove herself to her father and feeling like she's failing and unworthy of love, wanting him to love her.
When it comes down to her last fight and she finds out who she's supposed to defeat, she knows she needs help to win and seeks it out in the desert where the Desert Boys are hiding for refuge with the drought. After things seem dark, Princess Kateri finds the strength she needs to face her last opponent, also finds hope and love that she didn't think existed or she would ever find or be deserving of in the desert.
I highly recommend this. Everyone should make sure to read this, it's a wonderful story that no one should miss out on.
This book was amazing and well written. I loved it. It was a fabulous 5 star read that you don't want to miss out on. It reminded me of The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson and of The Remnant Chronicles by Mary Pearson.
It is also a retelling of a short story called "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton, which I didn't know until after I read it, but regardless, I really enjoyed this story and am now curious about the original short story as well.
In this story, Princess Kateri is the heir to the kingdom of Achra, but she has to fight in the arena to prove herself to her father the King and to be able to take over and rule the kingdom and also to keep her promises to her late mother about taking care of the people who are suffering in the drought. She always is trying to figure out how to prove herself to her father and feeling like she's failing and unworthy of love, wanting him to love her.
When it comes down to her last fight and she finds out who she's supposed to defeat, she knows she needs help to win and seeks it out in the desert where the Desert Boys are hiding for refuge with the drought. After things seem dark, Princess Kateri finds the strength she needs to face her last opponent, also finds hope and love that she didn't think existed or she would ever find or be deserving of in the desert.
I highly recommend this. Everyone should make sure to read this, it's a wonderful story that no one should miss out on.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Between the Stops: The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus in Books
Nov 17, 2019
A disjointed look into the life and mind of a modern-day icon.
Sandi does start this “memoir” off by stating it’s not going to be your run of the mill standard life story and that was undoubtedly true. Set along the route of the number 12 bus we get a mixture of Sandi’s life recollections, historical facts about London and observations about the people on the bus. An inventive idea to say the least and despite some truly interesting recollections, I didn’t find the format as a whole worked for me.
Each chapter roughly focuses on an area on the number 12 bus route but from there we jump almost in each paragraph between historical facts, recollections, and observations. It fails to develop any flow and where we do get some lovely passages of insight into Sandi’s fascinating life and experiences we are drawn all too quickly out of the experience to find out what used to be sold in this particular part of London in the dim and distant past, or what terrible bus habit another passenger may be exhibiting.
This book just was too all over the place as a sit down read, it would make a great addition to any toilet library though (and I truly mean that in the nicest way) as all the little titbits of facts and anecdotes are individually interesting they just don’t seem to flow together. I could easily read a more standard memoir from the ever amazing and inspiring Sandi based on the passages in this book that focused on her. Equally, I could read a book on the neglected women through history written by her or a general history of London but changing focus every paragraph or so was not for me.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
Each chapter roughly focuses on an area on the number 12 bus route but from there we jump almost in each paragraph between historical facts, recollections, and observations. It fails to develop any flow and where we do get some lovely passages of insight into Sandi’s fascinating life and experiences we are drawn all too quickly out of the experience to find out what used to be sold in this particular part of London in the dim and distant past, or what terrible bus habit another passenger may be exhibiting.
This book just was too all over the place as a sit down read, it would make a great addition to any toilet library though (and I truly mean that in the nicest way) as all the little titbits of facts and anecdotes are individually interesting they just don’t seem to flow together. I could easily read a more standard memoir from the ever amazing and inspiring Sandi based on the passages in this book that focused on her. Equally, I could read a book on the neglected women through history written by her or a general history of London but changing focus every paragraph or so was not for me.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.