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Greed (Seven Princes of Sin #4)
Greed (Seven Princes of Sin #4)
S.N. Hunt | 2023 | Contemporary, Erotica, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
GREED is the fourth book in the Seven Princes of Sin series and more than one person meets their mate in this one!

Isabel and her two sons, Brandon and Will, were left with nothing when her husband died. He had used all her money and given everything to his mistress. Then she finds out her apartment is being condemned and they will have nowhere to live. With no other options, she goes to Club Greed to see if they can help. The help she receives is nothing like she expected and everything like she needed.

This series just keeps getting better and better. It is dark, in places, which just makes you appreciate the softer moments even more. Michael... gah, I can't wait to see what happens to him. He really is a piece of work. Well, they all are, but you know what I mean!

The overall story arc continues to move along and Lucifer remains an enigma. I would highly recommend you start from the beginning and work your way through, just to ensure you don't miss anything. GREED is a great addition to the series and is definitely 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, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 1, 2023
  
Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective
Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective
Katie Siegel | 2023 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
For a Non-Detective, Charlotte is Busy Detecting
Growing up, Charlotte Illes gained fame as a child detective, solving cases everywhere she went. However, Charlotte is trying to put that behind her now that she is an adult. The trouble is, she doesn’t know what comes next job wise. When her brother’s girlfriend starts getting notes on their apartment door, Charlotte reluctantly agrees to investigate. The case takes an unexpected turn when kidnapping and murder get involved. Can Charlotte figure out what is going on?

Since I read about fictional child detectives as a kid, the premise of this one sounded like fun. I don’t think I was the target audience since many of the characters are queer Millennials, but for the most part, that wasn’t an issue. Still, there were a few moments that made me prickle a little. But that was minor. Charlotte and her two best friends make a fun trio, and I enjoyed watching them grow as the book progressed. The rest of the cast is great, too. The pacing was uneven in the middle, but we still reached a logical conclusion with several twists along the way. There was plenty of humor, quite often coming from the banter of the main trio. There are quite a few four letter words, but as long as you know that, you’ll be fine. Overall, this really was a fun debut, and I’m glad I picked it up.
  
Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery #1)
Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery #1)
Elizabeth Crowens | 2024 | Humor & Comedy, Mystery
3
3.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Old Hollywood with a Dash of Mystery
The year in 1940, and Babs Norman and Guy Brandt have set up a detective agency. But it is struggling to bring in any money, which is why Babs has just been evicted from her apartment. But the potential for positive cash flow comes when they learn that Hollywood isn’t going to the dogs since their dogs are disappearing. Basil Rathbone’s dog has been kidnapped as has the dog that plays Asta in the Thin Man movies. Since a new Thin Man movie is supposed to start production soon, the studio is desperate to get their canine star back. Can Babs and Guy figure out what is going on?

The draw for this book is old Hollywood, and it is fun spending time with the stars. They are an active part of the plot and at times outnumber the fictional characters. Sadly, the plot is uneven with too much time spent on the antics of the stars. While it does reach a satisfactory conclusion, the plotting is clunky with elements introduced roughly. And there’s a subplot that feels forced and isn’t really resolved. While most of the book felt right historically, I did find a blatant historical error early on. The writing kept us at arm’s length, making the characters thin. This is a book to read for the old stars. If you want a good mystery, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
  
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Jazzy Jeff (7 KP) rated REC (2007) in Movies

Jan 6, 2018  
REC (2007)
REC (2007)
2007 | Horror
9
7.5 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Zombies (2 more)
Suspenseful
Tense zombie chases
Shaky found footage (0 more)
My favorite horror film
Contains spoilers, click to show
The film offers newbies to the horror genre the kick they are looking for within the horror genre. Suspenseful, intense, scary, and gory, it is without a doubt one of the best Horror movies of the past decade, if not of all time, and one i have remembered. 2007 had not seen a whole lot of found footage movies, or those of memorable ones other than cloverfield and the blair witch project, so this style was relatively new, and it's yet to have been done better. We follow a young reporter and her cameraman (who represents us as the audience) as they become unwillingly quarantined in an apartment with its residents, pleading with the outside for their escape. An outbreak is turning those infected into flesh eating "zombies" carried within the people as a standard illness at first. This film creates the "you are there" experience like nothing you have seen or will see before, and that you are just as desperate to escape as the camera crew. Nothing within this film feels staged, the emotions feel raw and geniune. The scariest moments are things that are happening in the frame but not front and centre, those things lingering in the dark or the corner of your eye. As the story slowly gets revealed, you get more unnerved by the events unfolding. There are brilliant and terrifying scenes that will stay with you for life.

However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
  
What's the next best thing to a new Falco novel? I suspect it must be this latest offering from Lindsey Davis who, with her tongue firmly in cheek, introduces us to the next generation in the form of Falco's adopted daughter, Flavia Albia, who is all grown up (and indeed widowed) and, guess what? Working as a private informer out of an apartment in Fountain Court!

If you liked the Falco novels, you'll like this, but if you haven't read any then you will be able to pick this up without any confusion about the back story. We've moved on from the somewhat benign Vespasian through the short lived Titus and on to mad, bad and dangerous to know Domitian. Falco and Helena are cautiously keeping their heads down!

Davis always has a knack from bringing ancient Rome to life so you get a bit of an history lesson without even realising it.

I was quite pleased with myself for picking out the culprit about halfway in. To start with, they seem to be random, senseless killings, but all is explained by the time you turn the final page - which seems to come all too soon. There were still some surprises in there that I didn't see coming too!

My favourite bit? A throwaway remark from Albia that her dad has seem some things so secret that he probably won't be able to publish his memoirs for a couple of thousand years.... Great stuff; bring on the next instalment!
  
The Mister
The Mister
E.L. James | 2019 | Erotica, Fiction & Poetry, Romance
6
5.9 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
Alessia Demachi has left her country of Albania in order to avoid being married to a violent man and is now in London. She is working for Maxim Trevelyan as his cleaner. She comes and does her job and then leaves. When she first spots Mister Maxim naked across his bed, she can't believe her eyes. And he has this wonderful piano in his apartment that she enjoys playing when he is not there. But life is not easy for Alessia and she is constantly looking over her shoulder so she is not found by the people who brought her here and are trying to traffic her.

Maxim has just lost his brother and inherited the keys to the Earldom. This is not the life he wanted, but it is the life he now has. When he meets Alessia, he is at first shocked, since he didn't know she was now working for him and then intrigued by her beauty. Will he be able to maintain the employer/employee relationship, or will this develop into something else?

I know this book isn't a literary masterpiece, but for the most part, I enjoyed it. I wanted to know what was going to happen and when. I liked this a little better than Fifty Shades since it didn't have all the BDSM associated with it. If you like 50 Shades, you should like this one too.

One of my biggest problems with this book is that the main character's name is so much like my daughter's. Other than that, it was a quick read.
  
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ClareR (5849 KP) rated Lock Every Door in Books

Jul 27, 2019  
Lock Every Door
Lock Every Door
Riley Sager | 2019 | Thriller
9
8.0 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lock the Door had me wanting to leave the building, never mind locking the door!
Lock the Door had me wanting to leave the building, never mind locking the door! This suspense-filled thriller by Riley Sager is about a young woman called Jules who finds a job as an apartment sitter in one of New York’s most exclusive buildings. She is jobless, penniless and homeless after an acrimonious split with her boyfriend, and this job comes along at just the right time. It’s a job for three months, and there are rules. They’re not terrible rules (other than no visitors, and absolutely no overnight guests), and the pay is too good to be true - and as it turns out, that really is the case.

This had my heart in my mouth for most of the book: there are definite echoes of Rosemary’s Baby (without the baby). An old building with strange, unfriendly inhabitants, a new tenant who feels like she might be going mad with all the strange goings-on. There the similarity ends though.

The writing terrified me in places: who knew that a dumb waiter could have the same effect as a horror movies cellar (I won’t be using either for the foreseeable future!)? And it’s a twisty, turny read with some really good red herrings along the way.

I loved every minute of this, and highly recommend it - maybe it’s best not to be read just before you go to bed, though!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for another fantastic serialisation.