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The Idle Investor: How to Invest 5 Minutes a Week and Beat the Professionals: 2015
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This book offers 3 simple strategies to earn high returns and beat the professionals. Would you like...
Twelve Months in the Saddle
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Cycling's inexorable rise in popularity continued 2014 when more than three million people lined the...
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
<i>Captive</i> is the debut young adult thriller by British author A. J. Grainger. Set in contemporary Britain, sixteen-year-old Robyn, the daughter of the Prime Minister, is kidnapped and held hostage by three animal rights activists. Until the government agrees to release the person accused of the attempted assassination of the PM four month previously, they refuse to free Robyn from captivity. It soon becomes clear that a lot of lies and cover-ups have been occurring and it is difficult to know whom to trust.
The novel gets off to a great start with a lot of action as Robyn and her family is ambushed on their way to visit grandparents. The first half of the book is really exciting as the reader slowly gets to grips with what is going on.
Grainger writes really well with great use of descriptive words and phrases. To keep the reader engaged and to lengthen the story she includes other interesting details that are educational in a way – for example, knowledge about birds.
Unfortunately the second half of the book is not as exciting as the first. A relationship starts developing between Robyn and one of the captors, which is rather unoriginal and predictable.
One thing that I particularly liked about this novel was Robyn’s character. Naturally people may expect daughters of prime ministers to be snobbish and spoilt but Robyn was the complete opposite. She did not care about where her clothes came from or whether or not she went to parties. Robyn was the representation of the average teenage girl preparing for her GCSEs.
Despite the clichéd captor/hostage situation <i>Captive</i> is a very enjoyable novel with a few exhilarating twists in the plot.
<i>Captive</i> is the debut young adult thriller by British author A. J. Grainger. Set in contemporary Britain, sixteen-year-old Robyn, the daughter of the Prime Minister, is kidnapped and held hostage by three animal rights activists. Until the government agrees to release the person accused of the attempted assassination of the PM four month previously, they refuse to free Robyn from captivity. It soon becomes clear that a lot of lies and cover-ups have been occurring and it is difficult to know whom to trust.
The novel gets off to a great start with a lot of action as Robyn and her family is ambushed on their way to visit grandparents. The first half of the book is really exciting as the reader slowly gets to grips with what is going on.
Grainger writes really well with great use of descriptive words and phrases. To keep the reader engaged and to lengthen the story she includes other interesting details that are educational in a way – for example, knowledge about birds.
Unfortunately the second half of the book is not as exciting as the first. A relationship starts developing between Robyn and one of the captors, which is rather unoriginal and predictable.
One thing that I particularly liked about this novel was Robyn’s character. Naturally people may expect daughters of prime ministers to be snobbish and spoilt but Robyn was the complete opposite. She did not care about where her clothes came from or whether or not she went to parties. Robyn was the representation of the average teenage girl preparing for her GCSEs.
Despite the clichéd captor/hostage situation <i>Captive</i> is a very enjoyable novel with a few exhilarating twists in the plot.
Mind Journey
Health & Fitness
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The demands of the modern world on our time and mental resources are increasing steadily. Many of us...
Heathere' (25 KP) rated Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo in Books
Mar 21, 2018 (Updated Mar 21, 2018)
A tale of tolerance and advocacy for both children & adults
Contains spoilers, click to show
A beautiful tale about a boy bunny, Marlon Bundo, who falls in love with another boy bunny, Wesley. Marlon's grandpa happens to be, Vice President Mike Pence. In real life, Pence has held a strong opposition to LGBTQ rights; young children will probably not be aware of this and so the humor is there for the parents. There is no sexual content in this book and is merely about love. The artwork is amazing and Marlon looks very dapper in his fantastic bow-ties. The stink bug declares that there will only be love between boy/girl bunnies and not boy/boy bunnies and that because Marlon loves Wesley, he is different and bad. Of course the stink bug resembles Pence. I bought this book on Kindle for my 6 month old granddaughter and I read it to her immediately and am eagerly waiting the hardcover version. I also read it to my 2 male and very gay cats and both the baby and 2 cats enjoyed it immensely! This book is a great teaching aid for children born to heterosexual parents or children of same sex parents, not to mention adults!
ClareR (5859 KP) rated A State of Freedom in Books
Jun 17, 2018
A series of interconnecting stories.
I very much like books set in Asia, and in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in particular. The stories they tell are far from the world that I live in, and I like to think that I'm going to learn something about those worlds and peoples.
This novel follows the lives of multiple people who are all connected in some way (even the first person we meet is connected, albeit in a very tenuous way). The stories are fascinating: from the privileged son of a couple who live in Calcutta who is visiting from London for a month, to the young girl (a child) who is sent to work in other people's houses and is treated like a slave in one of the houses she works in. I won't say any more about the stories of these people, but I loved where their stories led them, no matter how uncomfortable it was for me to read.
The writing is beautifully descriptive: it gave a feel for the sights, sounds and smells of where these people lived. It described the caste/ class system of India, the slums and the places where the better off lived. I really enjoyed this book, it really is well worth reading.
This novel follows the lives of multiple people who are all connected in some way (even the first person we meet is connected, albeit in a very tenuous way). The stories are fascinating: from the privileged son of a couple who live in Calcutta who is visiting from London for a month, to the young girl (a child) who is sent to work in other people's houses and is treated like a slave in one of the houses she works in. I won't say any more about the stories of these people, but I loved where their stories led them, no matter how uncomfortable it was for me to read.
The writing is beautifully descriptive: it gave a feel for the sights, sounds and smells of where these people lived. It described the caste/ class system of India, the slums and the places where the better off lived. I really enjoyed this book, it really is well worth reading.
Jamie (131 KP) rated The Bazaar of Bad Dreams in Books
Aug 15, 2017
Author commentary (2 more)
Plenty of dark humor
The handful of good stories were really great
Much of the collection simply fell flat (1 more)
Mix of genres was sometimes disjointing
An underwhelming collection from the King
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is a large collection of novellas and short stories that include a wide variety of genres. Each time I turned the page to the next story it would be kind of a wild card and I never knew what to expect which was both good and bad. While it was nice that the variety keeps things fresh, it also made the collection feel disorganized. The stories in the anthology don’t fit any particular theme, instead they just seemed like odds and ends thrown into a master volume. This will probably not be a big deal to many, but for me it just broke the flow.
On a more positive note, one of my favorite aspects of King’s writing is the incredibly dark humor that is present in much of his work. I think the addition of comedy helps to break some of the tension from the otherwise horrific stories and I found myself chuckling several times while reading. The anecdotes before each story were fun to read and gave some interesting insight into King’s writing processes and the things that inspire him. These personal little notes were one of the major highlights of the collection since it serves as a way of connecting the reader to the writer. King to me just has a likable voice and I enjoy reading or listening to his talks.
My favorite story out of the entire collection was no contest, there was one story that stood out to me more than the others: Under the Weather. The short is just so well paced and filled me with so much dread from start to finish that I was in awe. It really showcased King’s mastery of the technical aspects of writing and how to build tension and suspense. Other notable stories were Mile 81, Batman and Robin Have an Altercation, The Dune, Under the Weather, The Little Green God of Agony, and Summer Thunder.
Despite all of my praise, it was difficult for me to decide how I wanted to rate this collection. The stories are decent, there are even a few really good ones in the collection, but overall it was nowhere near King’s best. When I closed the book I felt relieved to finally be done, which is not the best feeling to have after finishing a book. Many of the stories seemed to be either love or hate to me and so it was really a mixed bag. Even after I’d finish a story I enjoyed and put the book down for the night, I’d find that I had no motivation to pick the book back up again the next day. Because of this I ended up taking a full month to read this collection which is slower than my average. I had actually been thinking of rating this book lower but the strong final stories drove me to push my rating up a little higher.
On a more positive note, one of my favorite aspects of King’s writing is the incredibly dark humor that is present in much of his work. I think the addition of comedy helps to break some of the tension from the otherwise horrific stories and I found myself chuckling several times while reading. The anecdotes before each story were fun to read and gave some interesting insight into King’s writing processes and the things that inspire him. These personal little notes were one of the major highlights of the collection since it serves as a way of connecting the reader to the writer. King to me just has a likable voice and I enjoy reading or listening to his talks.
My favorite story out of the entire collection was no contest, there was one story that stood out to me more than the others: Under the Weather. The short is just so well paced and filled me with so much dread from start to finish that I was in awe. It really showcased King’s mastery of the technical aspects of writing and how to build tension and suspense. Other notable stories were Mile 81, Batman and Robin Have an Altercation, The Dune, Under the Weather, The Little Green God of Agony, and Summer Thunder.
Despite all of my praise, it was difficult for me to decide how I wanted to rate this collection. The stories are decent, there are even a few really good ones in the collection, but overall it was nowhere near King’s best. When I closed the book I felt relieved to finally be done, which is not the best feeling to have after finishing a book. Many of the stories seemed to be either love or hate to me and so it was really a mixed bag. Even after I’d finish a story I enjoyed and put the book down for the night, I’d find that I had no motivation to pick the book back up again the next day. Because of this I ended up taking a full month to read this collection which is slower than my average. I had actually been thinking of rating this book lower but the strong final stories drove me to push my rating up a little higher.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Blood and Ruin ( Book 1) in Books
May 14, 2024
96 of 220
Kindle
Blood and Ruin (Book 1)
By Rumer Hale
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Six years ago, my world was ripped from under me, and I was taken to Cardinal Three. A place where pain has been my endless companion.
Witches, demons, shifters and humans all live under one rule.
King's.
What he says goes.
So, trying to get the hell out of here hasn’t been easy.
No one leaves without his permission.
In fact, no one leaves at all...That is, alive.
But I have a plan.
One chance to get out of this nightmare once and for all.
One month is all I need.
One month to stay off King's radar and get the last few items needed for the spell I’ve been working on.
Shouldn’t be that hard...right?
But turns out King has his own plan. One that involves trading me off to the five shifters of Manhattan.
With King's ultimatum, I have no choice but to go through with it. But I’m still getting out of here, no matter what.
Or so I thought.
Turns out the five shifters are my mates…
And also, the boys I left behind six years ago.
Ok I’m not going to lie the first 10 chapters of this I actually kept rolling my eyes thinking it was going the same way many others in this genre go which is not a bad thing at all it’s just don’t think my mind was in the mood for it. BUT! Something said keep going and I did the last half of the book was just so good and maybe because I was a little distracted by what I thought would happen I just didn’t see it coming. Really good read in the end. I will say there are some pretty brutal things happening with the main MC so please check triggers.
Kindle
Blood and Ruin (Book 1)
By Rumer Hale
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Six years ago, my world was ripped from under me, and I was taken to Cardinal Three. A place where pain has been my endless companion.
Witches, demons, shifters and humans all live under one rule.
King's.
What he says goes.
So, trying to get the hell out of here hasn’t been easy.
No one leaves without his permission.
In fact, no one leaves at all...That is, alive.
But I have a plan.
One chance to get out of this nightmare once and for all.
One month is all I need.
One month to stay off King's radar and get the last few items needed for the spell I’ve been working on.
Shouldn’t be that hard...right?
But turns out King has his own plan. One that involves trading me off to the five shifters of Manhattan.
With King's ultimatum, I have no choice but to go through with it. But I’m still getting out of here, no matter what.
Or so I thought.
Turns out the five shifters are my mates…
And also, the boys I left behind six years ago.
Ok I’m not going to lie the first 10 chapters of this I actually kept rolling my eyes thinking it was going the same way many others in this genre go which is not a bad thing at all it’s just don’t think my mind was in the mood for it. BUT! Something said keep going and I did the last half of the book was just so good and maybe because I was a little distracted by what I thought would happen I just didn’t see it coming. Really good read in the end. I will say there are some pretty brutal things happening with the main MC so please check triggers.
The Other Mrs Walker
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The Other Mrs Walker is the beguiling debut from Mary Paulson-Ellis, for fans of Kate Atkinson and...
Summerland: Menus and Recipes for Celebrating with Southern Hospitality
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A cookbook that makes each month's harvest a reason to celebrate, in the refined yet relaxed style...