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The Amish Bride
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I enjoyed this book and received though net gallery. I am review. I truly enjoyed reading this. I could connect though the Characters of this book. The book starts out with Ella reviving a book from her grandmother. The book is from her Great Grandmother Sarah. There a mystery or code that Ella is asked to break in her great grandmothers book.

Her mother and grandmother and the Grandys want their relationship with Ella and Ezra to change. They Ezra is to go to a farm but Ella decides to go with him. She get a job and a place to live. She forms a friendship with an Amish farmhand named Luke while in Indiana.

There a tragically back at home, with her brother Zed. She goes back home and has to face her past from what she was running way from. I really like this book. The mystery is pulled though out the whole book. It come to lite and helps another family in the process. The mystery is revealed at the end of the book.

So does Ella choose Luke or Ezra to Marry? What is the Mystery in the book that Ella must break the code? To find out these answers I suggest you read the book. I would Recommend it too.
  
OU
Once Upon a Tree
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Once Upon a Tree by Dawn Jarocki, and Soren Kisiel is a encouraging tale about a leaf who struggles to accept and express himself. The leaf is happy being a leaf at the top of a tree until one day when he begins to question his purpose. A bird living in the tree learns to fly, and the leaf wonders if he should also fly. Soon a caterpillar arrives and cocoons itself, later turning into a beautiful butterfly. Again the leaf wonders if he should fly. The bird and butterfly encourage the leaf to look within for the answers, and to trust and follow his feelings. Eventually the leaf decides to fly in his own way by letting go of the tree branch and floating gracefully into the autumn wind.

The watercolor illustrations are soft and gently expressive, and convey a nurturing and encouraging warmth that flows beautifully with the story. The idea that everyone naturally has a unique purpose, and that this is revealed from within when we are ready, is a hopeful and deeply affirming message for children. 

I recommend this book for children and for parents/ teachers/ grandparents to read to children. 

I received an ARC from NetGalley via Parallax Press and Plum Blossom in exchange for an honest review.
  
L is for Lawless
L is for Lawless
Sue Grafton | 2009 | Mystery
9
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Simple Favor Gets Out of Control
Kinsey is taking a rare week off from her PI business for William and Rosie’s wedding, but before she can get too relaxed, Henry asks her for a small favor. One of their neighbors has recently passed, and his family is having a hard time getting the death benefits from the government since they have no record of this man having been in the service during World War II. Kinsey doesn’t intend to get too involved, but when the man’s place is broken into and searched, she becomes curious. Just what is really happening?

I love it when a book takes off in ways I don’t expect, and that’s just what happened with this one. The plot was great, and even when we have most of the answers, there is still the question of what will happen next to Kinsey to keep the pages turning. It is fun to meet the rest of William and Henry’s family, and the character involved in the mystery are as strong as always. A series thread introduced a couple of books back comes into play here again as well. Fans of the series who have missed this one won’t be disappointed.
  
The Last First Date
The Last First Date
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Last First Date by Maggie Wells

Maggie Wells is a new author to me. I read this as part of a 4 book collection through overdrive. The Last First Date was a cute very short novella. As with any other novella I read, well most of them anyway, I am left wanting. This one cut off a little sharper than most so I felt like I needed more answers than normal.

Overall it is a cute short story. Detective Langley “Lang” Sheppard finally has a day off and is having the worst first date of this life. Jessica Vickers is dealing with recent life setbacks and is just trying to get to the New Year to start over fresh. They each are just holding on to their pathetic lives until the clock strikes midnight. A chance stop at a local convenience store finds them in each other’s path and so it begins.

I wish it would have gone a couple more chapters to set up a little more of the story. There are some pretty comical sections that made me laugh out loud. I liked Maggie Wells’ writing style so I probably will give another story of hers a try (after getting through my TBR shelf first ha)
  
The Wolf Wants In
The Wolf Wants In
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sometimes I foolishly put off reading a book because I think it sounds “too smart” or something for me. I made that mistake with The Wolf Wants In, and I was such an idiot! This was such a wonderful, well-written psychological thriller. I don’t know what I was thinking!

Wolf is told from the perspectives of Sadie and Henley, who both live in the same small Kansas town. Sadie has recently lost her brother, Shane, and she’s looking for answers about how he died—even if no one else seems too concerned. Meanwhile eighteen-year-old Henley comes from a long line of known troublemakers: many of whom are drug dealers and users. She’s determined to leave town and her family behind. But events transpire that make that harder than she envisioned. Overshadowing everything is the town’s opioid crisis and the discovery of a child’s skull in the woods.

The characters in Wolf are vivid and nuanced. They have such depth and feeling. McHugh captures small town life so well—as well as how easily addiction can ravage families. What I loved was how she layered a mystery against all of this: the result was a completely compelling read. I was totally captivated by this one: definitely recommend! 4+ stars.
  
I was pleased to learn recently that John Ashdown-Hill is due to be honoured by the Queen - I can't think of anyone who has contributed so much to our understanding of late medieval history or is capable or writing in such a clear and rational style.

This book deals with what is known of The Dublin King - probably what most of us might think of from our school history as 'Lambert Simnel'. There are no easy or clear answers here, but anyone with even a rudimentary understanding must wonder why a genuine Yorkist claimant (The Earl of Lincoln) would support such an obvious pretender as the 'Lambert Simnel' is always shown to be. Ashdown-Hill sifts through contemporary sources to give some thought provoking theories on what was really going on. so much is difficult to prove, which is a little frustrating, but it has been a worthwhile exercise to draw together all the known facts here. There are quite a number of references to his own other works, but then no one else has gone quite as far as he in studies of this period, so in many ways it is inevitable. He has such an accessible style that his books are definetly worth reading.
  
The Letter for the King
The Letter for the King
2020 | Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
6
6.2 (5 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Intriguing concept, beautiful scenery, good cast (0 more)
The characters and relationships were not built up enough and the plot left too many questions without answers (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I love fantasy tv shows, so I was excited to give this one a try. The concept was very intriguing and it was a fun watch. However, the show had a lot of good ideas but the follow-through left it feeling a bit flat. While I thought that the cast did a great job, the script (while not bad) didn't take the time to build up the relationships between characters which meant that emotional moments felt weak. The show also raises a lot of questions but the final episode spent too much time trying to build up a second season, and not enough time giving a satisfying ending. The pacing of the show was also strange. It is only six episodes but the plot seems to move really slowly while the character dynamics move too quickly. I would have like to dig deeper into the characters as they did have interesting setups but the show just didn't give time to that. All in all, the show was fun to watch with my family but left me without strong emotions about it one way or the other.
  
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
2019 | Horror
Not bad, but confused
I'd heard a lot of good things about this and never got round to seeing it at the cinema so was glad to see it had finally made it onto Prime. However whilst it wasnt bad, it was a little disappointing.

My main problem with this film is that it seemed to be very confused about it's audience. Is it a scary kids film like Goosebumps? Or is it a more adult horror? And sadly it never really answers these questions and seems to swing between the childish to adult. As the main characters are children, this leans a lot towards a younger audience especially with their conversation and humour and the basis for the entire story does feel a little younger. However some of the actual scares and horror aspects feel a lot more adult. Some of the monsters are actually rather creepy and there is a bit of violence, which I'm guessing is why this has been given a 15 rating.

I enjoyed the actual stories themselves, especially the monsters as they were very well done and the CGI was quite impressive. The cast were okay and overall the film held my attention and was enjoyable to a point, I just found the mixed audience level rather frustrating.
  
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