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Sourcebook in the Mathematics of Medieval Europe and North Africa
Victor J. Katz, Barnabas Hughes, Menso Folkerts and Roi Wagner
Book
Medieval Europe was a meeting place for the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic civilizations, and the...
A Strange Business: Making Art and Money in Nineteenth-Century Britain
Book
Britain in the nineteenth century saw a series of technological and social changes which continue to...
High-Density Magnetic Recording and Integrated Magneto-Optics: Materials and Devices: Volume 517
James Bain, Miguel Levy, Joseph Lorenzo and Tom P. Nolan
Book
This book discusses high-density magnetic recording which continues to be one of the fastest growing...
The Methods of Sergeant Cluff
Book
After battling for justice, at great personal risk, in his first recorded case, Sergeant Caleb Cluff...
The Silk Road in World History
Book
The Silk Road was the current name for a complex of ancient trade routes linking East Asia with...
Humiliation: And Other Essays on Honor, Social Discomfort and Violence
Book
How do we feel when our friend turns up with a holiday present and we have nothing ready to give in...
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated A Brand New Ending in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
I really wanted to enjoy this book especially since I enjoy books that are set in an asylum. For the first half, I really enjoyed the book, but the second half read more like an erotica, and I just couldn't finish it once I got to about 71%.
After being abused by her step-father since 15, Phoenix attempts to kill herself after jumping off a bridge. She is placed in an asylum to make sure she gets better. There she meets Braeden and feels drawn to him. Braeden also feels drawn to Phoenix and doesn't know why.
I thought the title was an interesting one. It definitely caught my attention! I love it!
The cover is a bit bland, but it still caught my attention. The lost girl on the front is what I loved about it.
I think the world building would have been a lot better had there not been insta-love. Phoenix and Braeden instantly feel drawn to each other, and they're automatically in love. This really annoyed me! Also, if an aide in an asylum pursues a relationship with a patient, that aide could/would be fired for misconduct. However, Braeden never gets in trouble even though a lot of people know about him and Phoenix.
The pacing goes back and forth between being slow and decent. For the most part, it is decent, but there were a few bits where the pacing slows down a lot, especially as we keep getting told how much Braeden and Phoenix "love" each other. Their feelings for each other are mentioned a lot which I felt was quite redundant.
The plot of the damsel in distress and the knight in shining armor has been done before, and I liked the fact it was set in an asylum. I'm always intrigued by mental disorders and what not. That was the plot for the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, the plot just went to how much sex could Braeden and Phoenix have.
In the second half, all Braeden and Phoenix did was have sex...graphically!! I felt like I was reading a whole different book! I felt like this book went from a sweet contemporary romance to an erotica book! It seemed every other sentences was about them having sex or thinking sexual thoughts. This is what really put me off the book, so at 71%, during another erotic sex scene, I stopped reading. I don't do erotica books. I really wish I had known this book has very graphic sex scenes and a lot of them because then I wouldn't have even bothered wasting my time.
I couldn't really connect to the characters. I kind of liked Phoenix, but there was just something missing with her. I really couldn't feel anything emotionally when it came to her. I did at the beginning, but she just became sort of a dull character. Braeden just annoyed me for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that his swearing was over the top or that he abused his position of authority. He tried to hard to come across as a bad boy a lot of the time, and it just wasn't working. I did like Rain though, and I would've loved to hear more about her.
The dialogue wasn't working. There was way too much swearing, and most of it didn't feel natural. Braeden was the one who swore the most, and it was like every other word was the f word. Braeden's friends swore, Phoenix swore, the doctor/Braeden's father swore...practically every character mentioned in this book swore. With all the swearing, the majority of the dialogue felt very forced and very fake.
Overall, A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls just didn't do it for me. The dialogue felt too forced, and I felt like I had picked up an erotica novel even though it's not labelled as such. However, this book has got a lot of great reviews, so perhaps I'm just too much of a prude.
I'd only recommend this book to those who are 18+ who enjoy reading erotica.
<b>I'd give A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls a 1.5 out of 5. </b>
(I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review).
I really wanted to enjoy this book especially since I enjoy books that are set in an asylum. For the first half, I really enjoyed the book, but the second half read more like an erotica, and I just couldn't finish it once I got to about 71%.
After being abused by her step-father since 15, Phoenix attempts to kill herself after jumping off a bridge. She is placed in an asylum to make sure she gets better. There she meets Braeden and feels drawn to him. Braeden also feels drawn to Phoenix and doesn't know why.
I thought the title was an interesting one. It definitely caught my attention! I love it!
The cover is a bit bland, but it still caught my attention. The lost girl on the front is what I loved about it.
I think the world building would have been a lot better had there not been insta-love. Phoenix and Braeden instantly feel drawn to each other, and they're automatically in love. This really annoyed me! Also, if an aide in an asylum pursues a relationship with a patient, that aide could/would be fired for misconduct. However, Braeden never gets in trouble even though a lot of people know about him and Phoenix.
The pacing goes back and forth between being slow and decent. For the most part, it is decent, but there were a few bits where the pacing slows down a lot, especially as we keep getting told how much Braeden and Phoenix "love" each other. Their feelings for each other are mentioned a lot which I felt was quite redundant.
The plot of the damsel in distress and the knight in shining armor has been done before, and I liked the fact it was set in an asylum. I'm always intrigued by mental disorders and what not. That was the plot for the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, the plot just went to how much sex could Braeden and Phoenix have.
In the second half, all Braeden and Phoenix did was have sex...graphically!! I felt like I was reading a whole different book! I felt like this book went from a sweet contemporary romance to an erotica book! It seemed every other sentences was about them having sex or thinking sexual thoughts. This is what really put me off the book, so at 71%, during another erotic sex scene, I stopped reading. I don't do erotica books. I really wish I had known this book has very graphic sex scenes and a lot of them because then I wouldn't have even bothered wasting my time.
I couldn't really connect to the characters. I kind of liked Phoenix, but there was just something missing with her. I really couldn't feel anything emotionally when it came to her. I did at the beginning, but she just became sort of a dull character. Braeden just annoyed me for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that his swearing was over the top or that he abused his position of authority. He tried to hard to come across as a bad boy a lot of the time, and it just wasn't working. I did like Rain though, and I would've loved to hear more about her.
The dialogue wasn't working. There was way too much swearing, and most of it didn't feel natural. Braeden was the one who swore the most, and it was like every other word was the f word. Braeden's friends swore, Phoenix swore, the doctor/Braeden's father swore...practically every character mentioned in this book swore. With all the swearing, the majority of the dialogue felt very forced and very fake.
Overall, A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls just didn't do it for me. The dialogue felt too forced, and I felt like I had picked up an erotica novel even though it's not labelled as such. However, this book has got a lot of great reviews, so perhaps I'm just too much of a prude.
I'd only recommend this book to those who are 18+ who enjoy reading erotica.
<b>I'd give A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls a 1.5 out of 5. </b>
(I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review).
Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Place Called Winter in Books
May 28, 2017
Loosely based on truth
This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Loosely based upon a true story, one of Patrick Gale’s ancestors in fact, A Place Called Winter follows the life of Harry Cane during the early 1900s. The book begins with Harry being transferred from a mental asylum to a therapeutic community called Bethel Ranch. The story then backtracks to Harry’s life as a young, nervous, motherless boy and the time he met his future wife, Winnie.
Throughout the book the reader is trying to guess the reason Harry eventually finds himself at Bethel Ranch. Gale describes Harry’s marriage, his discovery of homosexuality and his move to Canada to his final stop at a homestead in a place called Winter. Does Harry develop a mental illness or is it something to do with his scandalous desires? Or, does something else happen later in the book?
After moving to Canada, Harry does not exactly have it easy and the reader feels for him as he perseveres with his new life style. We watch him grow from a timid young man into someone with his own farm and independence. It makes it all the more upsetting to read when certain things take a turn for the worse.
In this historical novel, Patrick Gale emphasizes on the way homosexuality was regarded in society. Entire families cut people out of their lives at the slightest hint of a scandal. Gale also touches on the techniques used within mental asylums during this period as well as racial discrimination.
Occasionally, the story was difficult to read as it alternated between being really interesting and then slightly dull. Overall, regardless of how much was based on actual events, it was a good storyline, and once you have started reading you feel the need to continue to find out what happens to Harry. I have only read one other book by Patrick Gale – Notes From an Exhibition – that I struggled with a little. A Place Called Winter, however, was a lot better than I was expecting.
Loosely based upon a true story, one of Patrick Gale’s ancestors in fact, A Place Called Winter follows the life of Harry Cane during the early 1900s. The book begins with Harry being transferred from a mental asylum to a therapeutic community called Bethel Ranch. The story then backtracks to Harry’s life as a young, nervous, motherless boy and the time he met his future wife, Winnie.
Throughout the book the reader is trying to guess the reason Harry eventually finds himself at Bethel Ranch. Gale describes Harry’s marriage, his discovery of homosexuality and his move to Canada to his final stop at a homestead in a place called Winter. Does Harry develop a mental illness or is it something to do with his scandalous desires? Or, does something else happen later in the book?
After moving to Canada, Harry does not exactly have it easy and the reader feels for him as he perseveres with his new life style. We watch him grow from a timid young man into someone with his own farm and independence. It makes it all the more upsetting to read when certain things take a turn for the worse.
In this historical novel, Patrick Gale emphasizes on the way homosexuality was regarded in society. Entire families cut people out of their lives at the slightest hint of a scandal. Gale also touches on the techniques used within mental asylums during this period as well as racial discrimination.
Occasionally, the story was difficult to read as it alternated between being really interesting and then slightly dull. Overall, regardless of how much was based on actual events, it was a good storyline, and once you have started reading you feel the need to continue to find out what happens to Harry. I have only read one other book by Patrick Gale – Notes From an Exhibition – that I struggled with a little. A Place Called Winter, however, was a lot better than I was expecting.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated If I Fall, If I Die in Books
May 10, 2018
Will Cardiel and his mother live together in Thunder Bay. To Will's knowledge, he has never been outside of his house. He has never been to school, never had a friend, and has never been to a family members for the holiday. His mother has taught him everything; how to create masterpieces on canvas, how to write a check and how to answer the door for all the different delivery people who visit their house.
When Will hears a loud bag Outside, he is determined to find out what it is and why his mother insists he stays Inside. Will's Mom, Diane, is agoraphobic and the idea of Will or herself going Outside sends her to a place, Will calls the Black Lagoon. When Will finally makes it Outside, he's not sure what the big deal is. He find himself on the Outside more and his mom gets sucked deeper into the Black Lagoon.
Michael Christie writes an interesting quirky novel that keeps the reader guessing about where they are. While the location of most of the book takes place in the town of Thunder Bay in Canada, but the Cardiel's have named each room in their house after a major city. The Basement is Toronto, the Kitchen is Paris, Will's Room is New York, Diane's Room is San Francisco, the Living Room is Cairo and the Bathroom is Venice. Inside and Outside are capitalized throughout the book as if they also are their own little towns.
I have never met anyone who has agoraphobia before. Diane reminded me of Joan Cusak's character on the show Shameless. When she was first introduced into the show, she could not leave her house.
While Will is Outside, Diane tries all she can to relax. Will these two be able to both live their lives in a reasonable manner? Is there any way for Will to enjoy the Outside without sending his mother so far into the Black Lagoon, she may never return. This is a beautifully written book, but it gave me many mixed emotions throughout.
**I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.**
When Will hears a loud bag Outside, he is determined to find out what it is and why his mother insists he stays Inside. Will's Mom, Diane, is agoraphobic and the idea of Will or herself going Outside sends her to a place, Will calls the Black Lagoon. When Will finally makes it Outside, he's not sure what the big deal is. He find himself on the Outside more and his mom gets sucked deeper into the Black Lagoon.
Michael Christie writes an interesting quirky novel that keeps the reader guessing about where they are. While the location of most of the book takes place in the town of Thunder Bay in Canada, but the Cardiel's have named each room in their house after a major city. The Basement is Toronto, the Kitchen is Paris, Will's Room is New York, Diane's Room is San Francisco, the Living Room is Cairo and the Bathroom is Venice. Inside and Outside are capitalized throughout the book as if they also are their own little towns.
I have never met anyone who has agoraphobia before. Diane reminded me of Joan Cusak's character on the show Shameless. When she was first introduced into the show, she could not leave her house.
While Will is Outside, Diane tries all she can to relax. Will these two be able to both live their lives in a reasonable manner? Is there any way for Will to enjoy the Outside without sending his mother so far into the Black Lagoon, she may never return. This is a beautifully written book, but it gave me many mixed emotions throughout.
**I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.**
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Nail's Crossing (Bill Maytubby & Hannah Bond Mystery #1) in Books
May 16, 2018
As seen on <a href="http://theghastlygrimoire.com/"; target="_new">The Ghastly Grimoire</a>
Nail’s Crossing is a fast-paced police procedural from debut author Kris Lackey. Set in Southeastern Oklahoma, the novel dips into Arkansas (my stomping grounds) and Louisiana. Some scenes take place in Oklahoma City, in neighborhoods I know well and the locales depicted in this book are precisely why when I received an email regarding it, I absolutely had to read it.
This book is in the first in a series centered around Bill Maytubby, a reservation police officer, and Hannah Bond, a sturdy, no-bullshit female officers from the county. In these two and the many side characters, Lackey proves adept at making his cast realistic and relateable – which is something I find wanting in other books far too often.
The plot of Nail’s Crossing deals with the aftermath of a young woman’s murder and a varied group of individuals that are responsible for her death. By focusing on the apprehension of the criminals, rather than the psychology behind why they killed the woman make this title a refreshing read, especially after all the books I’ve read lately that try and compare themselves to Gone Girl.
I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently, so the fact I devoured Lackey’s book in only a couple sittings speaks volumes to his ability to maintain a constant flow of action. Unlike many books I’ve read where the author refers to stereotypes to depict certain demographics, Lackey’s portrayal of poverty-stricken southerners is accurate. Considering I live in one of Arkansas’s poorest counties, this meant a lot to me. Lackey has given those without voices one within the pages of his novel that, if you’re looking for it, remind readers that we’re our own culture as well (and not by clinging to Confederate rhetoric like the ones of today seem to).
I look forward to more books in this series, that’s for sure. I’d like to thank Blackstone Audiobooks for providing me with a free copy of this book at no charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Nail’s Crossing is a fast-paced police procedural from debut author Kris Lackey. Set in Southeastern Oklahoma, the novel dips into Arkansas (my stomping grounds) and Louisiana. Some scenes take place in Oklahoma City, in neighborhoods I know well and the locales depicted in this book are precisely why when I received an email regarding it, I absolutely had to read it.
This book is in the first in a series centered around Bill Maytubby, a reservation police officer, and Hannah Bond, a sturdy, no-bullshit female officers from the county. In these two and the many side characters, Lackey proves adept at making his cast realistic and relateable – which is something I find wanting in other books far too often.
The plot of Nail’s Crossing deals with the aftermath of a young woman’s murder and a varied group of individuals that are responsible for her death. By focusing on the apprehension of the criminals, rather than the psychology behind why they killed the woman make this title a refreshing read, especially after all the books I’ve read lately that try and compare themselves to Gone Girl.
I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently, so the fact I devoured Lackey’s book in only a couple sittings speaks volumes to his ability to maintain a constant flow of action. Unlike many books I’ve read where the author refers to stereotypes to depict certain demographics, Lackey’s portrayal of poverty-stricken southerners is accurate. Considering I live in one of Arkansas’s poorest counties, this meant a lot to me. Lackey has given those without voices one within the pages of his novel that, if you’re looking for it, remind readers that we’re our own culture as well (and not by clinging to Confederate rhetoric like the ones of today seem to).
I look forward to more books in this series, that’s for sure. I’d like to thank Blackstone Audiobooks for providing me with a free copy of this book at no charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.