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Cat Sense: The Feline Enigma Revealed
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From John Bradshaw, one of the world's leading experts on animal behaviour, and the author of the...
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated Hart Broken (Cale & Mickey #1) in Books
Oct 6, 2017
Hart Broken (Cale & Mickey #1) oh where do I start with this amazingly different love story.
This is one book I was really looking forward to devouring and then to realise it's part of a series, well it just made my day.
So Hart Broken is the tale of Mickey Hart and Cale Windermere, it begins when Cale rescues an inebriated Mickey one night and after the encounter, he falls fast.
Mickey herself is a screwed up mess, but she really does like her wickedly handsome knight who just happens to be in a wheelchair.
Hart Broken follows these two lovers as they traverse the rocky road to a HEA.
So I really loved this book it certainly helped that our two main characters were exceptionally likeable and yummy.
So to give my take on these two, let's start with Cale, I adored his sense of humour and lopsided smile, it was super cute and adorable how he thought of Mickey "This Girl"
I loved how capable Cale was and that he didn't wallow in what if's, just takes his hand in life and gets on with it.
I also adored the peek we got of his vulnerable side, the glimpse into his head showcased his inner insecurities, whatever the face he put on to the outside world. It humanised Cale to the reader.
Also, his relationship with his parents and brother show such an appealing picture looking in.
Now, Mickey, she's a bit of a flake, an enchanting one, a bit all over the place, but she does mean well. Mickeys past and her enormous mountain of baggage is definitely impacting her here and now.
So Hart Broken starts by lulling you into a false sense of security, everything's puppies and roses Mickey and Cale are all loved up then wham Mickey self-sabotages herself, Lots of Baggage from Mickey sigh.
The rest of this novel traverses the path and obstacles these two lovers have to overcome to fully connect again.
I really enjoyed the way this was written the dialogue had a punchy feel to it that was easy to immerse yourself in.
If I had to find a criticism of Hart Broken it would be the sex, I would have liked to know more about the mechanics of the act, I was actually and still am a bit confused as to the how.
I know that Cale took something to enable him, but then it mentioned he could feel nothing below the waist, so was this just for Mickey's benefits?
mmm, Some clarity on this would be much appreciated.
I actually won an E-Copy of Hart Broken in a Facebook giveaway so glad I did As I really enjoyed this and am so looking forward to reading the next instalment, its definitely on my HUGE TBR pile.
So would I recommend this, of course, it's a hot sexy read whats not to love.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
This is one book I was really looking forward to devouring and then to realise it's part of a series, well it just made my day.
So Hart Broken is the tale of Mickey Hart and Cale Windermere, it begins when Cale rescues an inebriated Mickey one night and after the encounter, he falls fast.
Mickey herself is a screwed up mess, but she really does like her wickedly handsome knight who just happens to be in a wheelchair.
Hart Broken follows these two lovers as they traverse the rocky road to a HEA.
So I really loved this book it certainly helped that our two main characters were exceptionally likeable and yummy.
So to give my take on these two, let's start with Cale, I adored his sense of humour and lopsided smile, it was super cute and adorable how he thought of Mickey "This Girl"
I loved how capable Cale was and that he didn't wallow in what if's, just takes his hand in life and gets on with it.
I also adored the peek we got of his vulnerable side, the glimpse into his head showcased his inner insecurities, whatever the face he put on to the outside world. It humanised Cale to the reader.
Also, his relationship with his parents and brother show such an appealing picture looking in.
Now, Mickey, she's a bit of a flake, an enchanting one, a bit all over the place, but she does mean well. Mickeys past and her enormous mountain of baggage is definitely impacting her here and now.
So Hart Broken starts by lulling you into a false sense of security, everything's puppies and roses Mickey and Cale are all loved up then wham Mickey self-sabotages herself, Lots of Baggage from Mickey sigh.
The rest of this novel traverses the path and obstacles these two lovers have to overcome to fully connect again.
I really enjoyed the way this was written the dialogue had a punchy feel to it that was easy to immerse yourself in.
If I had to find a criticism of Hart Broken it would be the sex, I would have liked to know more about the mechanics of the act, I was actually and still am a bit confused as to the how.
I know that Cale took something to enable him, but then it mentioned he could feel nothing below the waist, so was this just for Mickey's benefits?
mmm, Some clarity on this would be much appreciated.
I actually won an E-Copy of Hart Broken in a Facebook giveaway so glad I did As I really enjoyed this and am so looking forward to reading the next instalment, its definitely on my HUGE TBR pile.
So would I recommend this, of course, it's a hot sexy read whats not to love.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
The Bandersnatch (199 KP) rated The Hunger Games in Books
Nov 7, 2019
The Hunger Games is a trilogy of YA dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The story is set in an unspecified future, in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem located in North America. The country consists of the Wealthy Capital surrounded by the twelve (Originally thirteen) poorer districts, each one in various states of poverty. The story follows Katniss Everdeen as she takes her sisters place in the annual Hunger Games. The games are a televised event created as punishment for a past rebellion. Over the course of the books Katniss and the rest of Panem are plunged into Civil War thanks to Katniss inadvertently fuelling a hidden rebel fraction led by President Alma Coin of (the previously thought to be destroyed) District 13. After going through hell, loosing friends and the sister she tried to protect Katniss is eventually tried for killing Coin at the execution of Ex-President Snow and sent back to District 12. Katniss eventually marries fellow tribute Peeta Mellark (whom she was tied to during the games as the pair of star-crossed lovers) and eventually have two children a boy and a girl. Author Suzanne Collins stated that the inspiration for the story came to her after channel surfing through TV channels, having seen a reality show on one channel then saw footage of the Iraq invasion. The two began to blur in an unsettling way and the idea started to form. The Greek myth of Theseus also served as a basis for the story, with Collins saying that Katniss could be called a future Theseus and The Hunger Games being an interpretation of the old gladiatorial games.
The Hunger Games the titular book was released on September 14th 2008 under the publishing house Scholastic Press. The book had an initial print run of 50,00 copies eventually being bumped up twice to 200,000 copies. By February 2010 the book had sold 800,000 copies and rights to the novel have been sold in 38 territories. In November 2008 The Hunger Games was placed on the New York Times best seller list where it would remain for 100 weeks (just over three months). By the time the books film adaption released in march 2012 the book had been on USA Today's best seller list for 135 weeks (Four months) and sold over 17.5 million copies. The book received several awards and honours such as Publishers Weekley's “Best book of the year 2008”, the New York Times “Notable children's book 2008” and was the 2009 young adult fiction category winner of the Golden Duck award. The book also received the California Young Reader medal in 2011.
Catching Fire, the second book was published on September 1st 2009 under Scholastic. As the sequel to the Hunger Games book it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem as rebellion begins. The book received mixed reviews but was placed on Time Magazines Top 100 fiction list of 2009. Catching fire had an initial print of 350,00 copies but was (Like its predecessor) had grown to 750,00 by February 2010. The book has sold over 10 million copies.
Mocking-jay the third and final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy and was published August 24th 2010 by Scholastic. The book had a 1.2 million copy print that was bumped up from 750,000 copies and in its first week sold over 450,00 copies. Reviews were favourable with the book and notes that it thoroughly explores the themes of the other books.
I really love the books and regularly read them. Whenever I do read them I tend to read all three of them in the space of a week. To be fair whilst I had heard of them before the first movie release I didn't start reading them until I'd seen the first movie. I did read Catching Fire and Mockingjay before their movie equivalents hit the screens. Whilst The Hunger Games was a brilliant opener and Mockingjay was a brilliant ender, I agree with a few reviewers that Catching fire had a delayed start and it took a bit of time to get into the action of the story at large.
Suzanne Collins was born in Hartford Connecticut on the 10th of August 1962 as the youngest fourth child to Jane Bradley Collins and Lt. Col. Michael Jon Collins a decorated U. S. Air Force officer. As a daughter of a military man she was constantly moving with her family and spent her childhood in the eastern united states. Collins went to the Alabama school of fine arts in Birmingham 1980 as a theatre arts Major. Collins went on to complete a Bachelor of arts from Indiana University in 1985 and telecommunications and in 1989 Collins earned her M. F. A. in dramatic writing from NYU Tisch school of arts. Collins began her career in 1991 as a writer for children's television shows and won a nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special Santa, Baby!. Collins after meeting James Proimos whilst working on a children's show felt the urge to write children's books and spent the early 2000's writing five books of the Underland Chronicles; Gregor the Overlander, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, Gregor and the curse of the Warmbloods, Gregor and the Marks of Secret and Gregor and the Code of Claw. The influence for those books came from Alice in Wonderland. During the late 2000's she ends up writing the Hunger Games trilogy which went onto a famous movie trilogy. As the result of the hunger games trilogy popularity Collins was named one of Times Magazine's most Influential people of 2010. On June 17th 2019 Collins announced she was writing a prequel to the Hunger Games and is scheduled to be released on 19th May 2020, the book is to focus on the failed rebellion 64 years before the Hunger Games trilogy.
I highly respect the Author Suzanne Collins for both her work as a writer of Children's media and for her creativity in creating both the Hunger Games and the Underland Chronicles. Her creativity has been awarded with her books popularity and being announced amongst Time Magazine's 2010's most influential people and Amazons best selling Kindle author in 2012.
In March 2009 Lions Gate Entertainment entered into a co-production agreement with Nina Jacobson's Production company Color Force for the Hunger Games. Novel writer Suzanne Collins adapted the book in collaboration with screenwriter Billy Ray and Director Gary Ross. Actors Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson and Liam Hemsworth were hired for the roles of Katniss, Peeta and Gale respectively. Lawrence was four years older than Katniss was in the books but Collins said she would rather the actress be older than the character since it demanded a certain maturity and power. Collins also liked Lawrence stating she was the “only one who truly captured the character I wrote in the book”. The Hunger Games Movie was released on march 23rd 2012. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was released on November 22nd 2013 with Francis Lawrence being hired as Director and actors Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone and Sam Claflin being hired as Plutarch Heavensbee, Johanna Mason and Finneck Odair respectively. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay was split into 2 and Part 1 was released on November 21st 2014 and part 2 on November 20th 2015 Francis Lawrence remained Director for the final movies with Actor Julianne Moore joining the cast as President Alma Coin.
I loved the movies point blank and whilst it has its flaws like most movies often do I think its redeeming quality has been it faithfulness in sticking to the books as closely as possible and the actors representation of Suzanne Collins characters such as Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Donald Sunderland and President Snow, Stanley Tucci as Ceaser Flickerman, Woody Harrelson as Haymich Abernathy and Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinkett. Whilst all the actors were very good and were chosen well for their characters. These actors in particular I feel did exceptionally well in bringing their characters to life especially Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson but then I am a very big fan of theirs so I may be a little biased.
The Hunger Games the titular book was released on September 14th 2008 under the publishing house Scholastic Press. The book had an initial print run of 50,00 copies eventually being bumped up twice to 200,000 copies. By February 2010 the book had sold 800,000 copies and rights to the novel have been sold in 38 territories. In November 2008 The Hunger Games was placed on the New York Times best seller list where it would remain for 100 weeks (just over three months). By the time the books film adaption released in march 2012 the book had been on USA Today's best seller list for 135 weeks (Four months) and sold over 17.5 million copies. The book received several awards and honours such as Publishers Weekley's “Best book of the year 2008”, the New York Times “Notable children's book 2008” and was the 2009 young adult fiction category winner of the Golden Duck award. The book also received the California Young Reader medal in 2011.
Catching Fire, the second book was published on September 1st 2009 under Scholastic. As the sequel to the Hunger Games book it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem as rebellion begins. The book received mixed reviews but was placed on Time Magazines Top 100 fiction list of 2009. Catching fire had an initial print of 350,00 copies but was (Like its predecessor) had grown to 750,00 by February 2010. The book has sold over 10 million copies.
Mocking-jay the third and final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy and was published August 24th 2010 by Scholastic. The book had a 1.2 million copy print that was bumped up from 750,000 copies and in its first week sold over 450,00 copies. Reviews were favourable with the book and notes that it thoroughly explores the themes of the other books.
I really love the books and regularly read them. Whenever I do read them I tend to read all three of them in the space of a week. To be fair whilst I had heard of them before the first movie release I didn't start reading them until I'd seen the first movie. I did read Catching Fire and Mockingjay before their movie equivalents hit the screens. Whilst The Hunger Games was a brilliant opener and Mockingjay was a brilliant ender, I agree with a few reviewers that Catching fire had a delayed start and it took a bit of time to get into the action of the story at large.
Suzanne Collins was born in Hartford Connecticut on the 10th of August 1962 as the youngest fourth child to Jane Bradley Collins and Lt. Col. Michael Jon Collins a decorated U. S. Air Force officer. As a daughter of a military man she was constantly moving with her family and spent her childhood in the eastern united states. Collins went to the Alabama school of fine arts in Birmingham 1980 as a theatre arts Major. Collins went on to complete a Bachelor of arts from Indiana University in 1985 and telecommunications and in 1989 Collins earned her M. F. A. in dramatic writing from NYU Tisch school of arts. Collins began her career in 1991 as a writer for children's television shows and won a nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special Santa, Baby!. Collins after meeting James Proimos whilst working on a children's show felt the urge to write children's books and spent the early 2000's writing five books of the Underland Chronicles; Gregor the Overlander, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, Gregor and the curse of the Warmbloods, Gregor and the Marks of Secret and Gregor and the Code of Claw. The influence for those books came from Alice in Wonderland. During the late 2000's she ends up writing the Hunger Games trilogy which went onto a famous movie trilogy. As the result of the hunger games trilogy popularity Collins was named one of Times Magazine's most Influential people of 2010. On June 17th 2019 Collins announced she was writing a prequel to the Hunger Games and is scheduled to be released on 19th May 2020, the book is to focus on the failed rebellion 64 years before the Hunger Games trilogy.
I highly respect the Author Suzanne Collins for both her work as a writer of Children's media and for her creativity in creating both the Hunger Games and the Underland Chronicles. Her creativity has been awarded with her books popularity and being announced amongst Time Magazine's 2010's most influential people and Amazons best selling Kindle author in 2012.
In March 2009 Lions Gate Entertainment entered into a co-production agreement with Nina Jacobson's Production company Color Force for the Hunger Games. Novel writer Suzanne Collins adapted the book in collaboration with screenwriter Billy Ray and Director Gary Ross. Actors Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson and Liam Hemsworth were hired for the roles of Katniss, Peeta and Gale respectively. Lawrence was four years older than Katniss was in the books but Collins said she would rather the actress be older than the character since it demanded a certain maturity and power. Collins also liked Lawrence stating she was the “only one who truly captured the character I wrote in the book”. The Hunger Games Movie was released on march 23rd 2012. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was released on November 22nd 2013 with Francis Lawrence being hired as Director and actors Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone and Sam Claflin being hired as Plutarch Heavensbee, Johanna Mason and Finneck Odair respectively. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay was split into 2 and Part 1 was released on November 21st 2014 and part 2 on November 20th 2015 Francis Lawrence remained Director for the final movies with Actor Julianne Moore joining the cast as President Alma Coin.
I loved the movies point blank and whilst it has its flaws like most movies often do I think its redeeming quality has been it faithfulness in sticking to the books as closely as possible and the actors representation of Suzanne Collins characters such as Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Donald Sunderland and President Snow, Stanley Tucci as Ceaser Flickerman, Woody Harrelson as Haymich Abernathy and Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinkett. Whilst all the actors were very good and were chosen well for their characters. These actors in particular I feel did exceptionally well in bringing their characters to life especially Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson but then I am a very big fan of theirs so I may be a little biased.
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Tin Man in Books
May 29, 2018
I wanted to love this so much - and I did, in a way. The story is so sad to me. Wishing we knew now what we knew then, and how far we still have to go. This is like a love triangle that works, but it doesn't. And I can't help but think how often unsaid things, create such chasms between friends, and lovers. So unnecessary, and so sad.
Ellis, Annie and Michael have such an exquisite love story - and so many unanswered questions between them. This story is short, but powerful, and a lot of those questions are answered as we go through it. Sadly, there is so much love, but also so much loss. It's heartbreaking what they all endure.
I loved getting into Dora's story in the beginning - she was such an interesting character - but after that I struggled to get into it - finally really feeling like I was engaged in the story mid-way with Michael. But I coulnd't follow the writing style very well.... like they were these snippets of thoughts, run of mouth words, memories, flashes... I had trouble connecting the timelines and often found myself re-reading to stay engaged.
I love the descriptiveness of surroundings, and feelings, and characters (the sunflowers a character alone! and there was a lot of swimming.... I wonder what that signifies?), and the ending was so beautifully poetic. I just really wanted more story, more things happening.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
Ellis, Annie and Michael have such an exquisite love story - and so many unanswered questions between them. This story is short, but powerful, and a lot of those questions are answered as we go through it. Sadly, there is so much love, but also so much loss. It's heartbreaking what they all endure.
I loved getting into Dora's story in the beginning - she was such an interesting character - but after that I struggled to get into it - finally really feeling like I was engaged in the story mid-way with Michael. But I coulnd't follow the writing style very well.... like they were these snippets of thoughts, run of mouth words, memories, flashes... I had trouble connecting the timelines and often found myself re-reading to stay engaged.
I love the descriptiveness of surroundings, and feelings, and characters (the sunflowers a character alone! and there was a lot of swimming.... I wonder what that signifies?), and the ending was so beautifully poetic. I just really wanted more story, more things happening.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
Carma (21 KP) rated Forbidden Lovers in Books
Jun 17, 2019
My rating is 3.5 stars for Forbidden Lovers by Kimberly Troutte. Ms. Troutte is a new to me author and while I felt this book had some good bones, it failed to grab my attention completely.
Matt Harper is returning home to Plunder Cove after leaving, without a choice, 10 years ago to join the Air Force. He left behind his fiancée, who rapidly remarried (supposedly) 3 months after he left, estranged parents and a home comparable to a compound.
Julia Espinoza lost the love of her life when her fiancé was killed when his plane was shot down in Afghanistan 10 years ago. She doesnt know her mother and has lived with extended family since she was small. She isnt wealthy like Matt was but he never seemed to care. She never got to say goodbye when he left, but he left her the most precious gift of all before he enlisted.
Matt returns home after being summoned by his father, along with his siblings, to some big announcement. Reconnecting with Julia, who at first doesnt recognize him believing he was dead, was an added bonus. Will they be able to pick up right where they left off?
While this story was interesting there was just too much I didnt like about it. Mostly, the flow and sentence structures. For me, it was too jumbled and while it was short it was very unnecessarily wordy. I voluntarily downloaded a copy from Netgalley without expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed are my own.
Matt Harper is returning home to Plunder Cove after leaving, without a choice, 10 years ago to join the Air Force. He left behind his fiancée, who rapidly remarried (supposedly) 3 months after he left, estranged parents and a home comparable to a compound.
Julia Espinoza lost the love of her life when her fiancé was killed when his plane was shot down in Afghanistan 10 years ago. She doesnt know her mother and has lived with extended family since she was small. She isnt wealthy like Matt was but he never seemed to care. She never got to say goodbye when he left, but he left her the most precious gift of all before he enlisted.
Matt returns home after being summoned by his father, along with his siblings, to some big announcement. Reconnecting with Julia, who at first doesnt recognize him believing he was dead, was an added bonus. Will they be able to pick up right where they left off?
While this story was interesting there was just too much I didnt like about it. Mostly, the flow and sentence structures. For me, it was too jumbled and while it was short it was very unnecessarily wordy. I voluntarily downloaded a copy from Netgalley without expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed are my own.
MM
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