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The Hidden (The Secret Tales #4)
The Hidden (The Secret Tales #4)
Sanna Brand | 2026 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Romance
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
loved how the relationship built.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 4 in The Secret Tales series, but it can be read as a stand alone to the other three. I really enjoyed them all, though, so from a personal point of view, I do recommend them all. Books 1and 2 got 5 stars and book 3 dipped to 4.

But book 4 jumps straight back up to 5 stars. I loved this book!

I'm big enough and ugly enough to admit this: I love that these books are clean! I will always read a steamy book, and be happy about it, but I'm finding THESE books do not need it. The point is delivered beautifully!

I will admit, I knew something was off when Alex returned, as soon as he did. I did not see that playing out how it did, so well played there, Ms Brand. I do like being kept on my toes.

I loved how the relationship between Amalie and Richard grew naturally. After that first shocking encounter, they both found themselves pulled to the other and I loved that there was some pushing against the rules of the time.

I loved the animals in this book! The descriptions of the dogs and the ferret were fabulous and I could see those animals doing what was said on the page.

I loved the supporting cast: Jenny and George are Richard's siblings and they are an absolute cracker of a pair.

Both Amalie and Richard get a say, and a single chapter for a third person. Not saying who, though. But their book is next and I can't wait to read it, especially after reading the short snippet at the end of this one!

I can honestly say, I loved this book and if you like clean, historical romances, these books are for you.

5 full and shiny stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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ClareR (6256 KP) rated Sundial in Books

Mar 26, 2022  
Sundial
Sundial
Catriona Ward | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Horror
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book just blew my mind.

I read Sundial with my heart in my mouth, horrified, not knowing what could possibly happen next. Honestly, I thought I knew what type of story would be coming my way after reading The Last House on Needless Street, but this is nothing like that, yet at the same time, it’s still totally Catriona Ward! Everything seems a little off kilter, a bit strange. People don’t behave in quite the same way as ‘normal’ people would.

I mean, a bonding experience in the Mojave desert between a mother and her daughter, in the childhood home where her parents experimented on dogs (this is a horror book. Horrible things happen to not just the people, but the animals as well). How could anything possibly go wrong, I ask you!

I hadn’t read horror in quite a while before I read Needless Street, and now I seem to be on a roll. This book reminds me why I read a lot of this genre as a teenager. It’s that feeling of being transfixed, unable to turn away whilst horrific things happen. The mind games as well!

Love, love, loved this.

And now I need to go and read Ward’s backlist, and make sure I read whatever comes next!

Thanks to the marvellous Pigeonhole yet again for an amazing serialisation!! Keep it up please!
  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Brood (1979) in Movies

Sep 4, 2020 (Updated Sep 4, 2020)  
The Brood (1979)
The Brood (1979)
1979 | Horror, Sci-Fi
They're Waiting For You
Man i love David Cronenberg, his horror films are disturbing, disgusting, gory, burtal, horrorfying and terrorfying. All of those words describe this film.

The plot: follows a man and his mentally-ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by a psychologist known for his controversial therapy techniques. A series of brutal unsolved murders serves as the backdrop for the central narrative.

Conceived by Cronenberg after his own acrimonious divorce, he intended the screenplay as a meditation on a fractured relationship between a husband and wife who share a child, and cast Eggar and Hindle as loose facsimiles of himself and his ex-wife. He would later state that, despite its incorporation of science fiction elements, he considered it his sole feature that most embodied a "classic horror film".

Written in the aftermath of writer-director Cronenberg's divorce from his wife, The Brood has been noted by critics and film scholars for its prominent themes surrounding fears of parenthood, as well as corollary preoccupations with repression and the treatment of mental illness in women.

The Brood is my version of Kramer vs. Kramer, but more realistic." —Cronenberg commenting on his concept of the film, 1979.

In retrospect, Cronenberg stated that he felt The Brood was "the most classic horror film I've done" in terms of structure.

The Brood had cuts demanded for its theatrical release in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. Eggar conceived of the idea of licking the new fetuses that her character Nola Carveth has spawned. "I just thought that when cats have their kittens or dogs have puppies (and I think at that time I had about 8 dogs), they lick them as soon as they’re born. Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick…," Eggar said.

However, when the climactic scene was censored, Cronenberg responded: "I had a long and loving close-up of Samantha licking the fetus […] when the censors, those animals, cut it out, the result was that a lot of people thought she was eating her baby. That's much worse than I was suggesting.

Its a distubing film but a excellent film.
  
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Hanging with Daddy (Pride Pet Play 2023)
Hanging with Daddy (Pride Pet Play 2023)
JP Sayle | 2023 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
HANGING WITH DADDY is part of the Pride Pet Play 2023 multi-author series and, to my delight, we return to a character already known - Austin. If you have read A Little Christmas: Terrence then you will know Austin was the one who pushed Warner to help Terrence, cheering them on from the sidelines. Well, now it's his turn and Oh. My. Word!!!

Austin and Gaines are just a perfect couple. Austin is open-minded enough to try things he's never considered before. In this case, being a handler for a very flexible Koala. The scenes with both of them are HOT! The scenes where it's just one give a greater insight into their feelings and emotions, as well as moving the story along. I love Warner and Terrence making an appearance and how Terrence is being drawn into their friendship group. But there's one in that group that I now need a story for - Matty!

I am thoroughly enjoying the Pet Play series and have read some very different stories with different animals. I love the dogs and cats but I have to admit, this koala was so cute! The characteristics, the costumes; I love it all.

No matter how many books I read by this author, I always want more! HIGHLY recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 5, 2023