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Excuse me while I find a train headed to Alaska...THIS book makes me want to visit Alaska even more than I did before. The beauty and the majestic land is captured in a way that speaks to the adventurous corners of my heart. Denali in all its wonder, is a sight that I want to see with my own eyes. Tracie and Kimberley have brought us an incredible story of faith and forgiveness set in the heart of the frontier of Alaska. The dangers, beauty, and awe of the land are expressed in detail on every page.

 
There are multiple viewpoints in this book which I love, but can be maddening at times. As the reader we can see ALMOST the whole picture, there are a few details that must work themselves out as we read. But in other situations, I just wanted to slap the characters and tell them what was REALLY going on. That being said, I really do enjoy the specific viewpoints that the authors highlighted.

In the Shadow of Denali is filled with so many emotions. Heartbreak, unforgiveness, hatred towards God, jealousy, greed, and yet we also see tender love, strong family bond, sweet surrender to Christ, forgiveness, and inner beauty. This is a journey that I am excited to continue! Travel back to 1923 and experience the mountain for yourself. The book ends with a tender, romantic scene that simply took my breath away. I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment of Heart of Alaska.

I received a complimentary copy of In the Shadow of Denali from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
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Kelly (279 KP) rated Dumplin' (2018) in Movies

Dec 12, 2018  
Dumplin' (2018)
Dumplin' (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Drama
Great casting (1 more)
Strong female characters
A feel good movie
Contains spoilers, click to show
‘Dumplin’’ is an overweight teenager with a little bit of a Dolly Parton obsession - not your usual hero for a movie. She is overshadowed by her mother, a former beauty pageant winner, and current judge, played by Jennifer Aniston. The movie tells the story of Willowdean’s (Dumplin’), journey into discovering her own sense of worth after signing up to a beauty pageant planned by her mother, alongside a small group who are protesting against the standard perceived norms.

I really enjoyed the film, and felt that Jennifer Aniston in particular played a really good role, portraying a mother who really loves her daughter but can never foresee her in the pageant world- there is a really touching scene at the end where she tells Willowdean how proud she is of her, which was believable and brought a lump to my throat.

Danielle Macdonald, who played Willowdean did so masterfully, showing us what it would really be like to be an overweight teenager in a community obsessed with thin beauty queens.

I felt the introduction of the Dolly Parton drag queen acts were a touch of genius adding an element of lightheartedness to the movie. I personally would have liked to see more from this group, particularly around the preparation of our small group of pageant underdogs, and felt that their role in building the self esteem of the characters was very much underplayed.

I also enjoyed the fact that although the group were recognised within the pageant (one winning second place), they didn’t actually win overall. I think if this had of happened it would have made the film less realistic, as is often the case with Hollywood movies.

Overall, this was a very good film, and well worth the watch.
  
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Mirror, Mirror (includes In Death, #37.5)
J.D. Robb | 2013
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The J.D. Robb story, "Taken In Death," was enjoyable - a nice thing, since it's the reason I bought the anthology. In it, Dallas takes on a kidnapper in a rebelling of Hansel and Gretel. I skipped the stupid coin story by Mary Blayney. I read one of her coin stories once and it was just too clichéd and predictable for me to ever put myself through that again. I do wonder, though, if she ever writes anything else? I went ahead and read "Beauty, Sleeping" by Elaine Fox, to see if the rest if the book would be worth reading.. While Fox's piece was okay, it was more romance than anything else. It had a supernatural twist, and it was a reworking of Sleeping Beauty, but in the end it was a romance. And to be honest, I just didn't trust the editors any more at that point. They chose Blayney and then the Fox piece, and one Robb story didn't outweigh them. I suppose if I'm ever truly hard up for something to read, I might try the other two stories in the book - but I would probably read one of the many free novels available before then.
  
Wolves and Roses (Fairy Tales of the Magicorum book 1)
Wolves and Roses (Fairy Tales of the Magicorum book 1)
Christina Bauer | 2017 | Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed this book. It follows the story of Bryar Rose a human girl who should be following a Sleeping Beauty life template, however Bryar has different ideas.

This book is not a re telling of Sleeping Beauty it has lots of different elements that make the story unique. The story has quite a few secrets and mysteries which was good as the reveals were often a surprise. The story was quite fast paced which kept it engaging and the ending was not rushed.

I liked Bryar’s character as I found her a realistic teenage girl. She gets a bit boy crazy but not to the point that she loses her character. She likes to ignore/ put off some of her problems and pretend she is normal when things get a bit too crazy. I enjoyed seeing her friendship with Elle as it did show her more mature side.


This book is part of a series so most of Bryar’s story is resolved there is a novella and another book left of Bryar before we move onto Elle’s story. So I imagine the big storyline which effects other characters will still take a while to finish.