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Keep You Close
7.0
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She knows her teenage son isn't perfect. But when the FBI starts investigating the kid she thought...
Thriller Mystery
Claimed (Lair of the Wolven, #1)
10.0
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Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain...
The Girl from Portofino (Girls from the Italian Resistance #2)
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In 1970 Gina Bianchi returns to Portofino to attend her father’s funeral, accompanied by her...
Historical Fiction Women's Fiction World War II
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Mar 10, 2022
Hazel (2934 KP) rated 214 Palmer Street [Audiobook] in Books
Apr 11, 2022
![214 Palmer Street [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/3be/338ece6a-3ef1-4b70-9e11-c5f65179a3be.jpg?m=1649682788)
This is one of those books that I neither loved nor loathed ... I liken it to one of those films that's not brilliant but you have to watch it to see how it ends but you soon forget about it.
In summary, it's a story about lies and secrets and one woman's quest to find out the truth and the consequences of her doing so. It starts off well, drops in the middle and gets going again towards the end. There are twists but I found them quite predictable. The characters are an interesting bunch and not particularly likeable and I have to admit that I wasn't particularly upset when one of them met an untimely end!
The narrator did a good job but I just found this book not particularly memorable or 'thrilling' but many have so give it a go.
Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
In summary, it's a story about lies and secrets and one woman's quest to find out the truth and the consequences of her doing so. It starts off well, drops in the middle and gets going again towards the end. There are twists but I found them quite predictable. The characters are an interesting bunch and not particularly likeable and I have to admit that I wasn't particularly upset when one of them met an untimely end!
The narrator did a good job but I just found this book not particularly memorable or 'thrilling' but many have so give it a go.
Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Ghostwritten in Books
Dec 17, 2023
197 to 200
Book
Ghostwritten
By Ronald Malfi
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOKS CAN BE DEADLY
From the bestselling author of Come with Me, four standalone horror novellas set in a shared universe!
In The Skin of Her Teeth, a cursed novel drives people to their deaths.
A delivery job turns deadly in The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride.
In This Book Belongs to Olo, a lonely child has dangerous control over an usual pop-up book.
A choose-your-own adventure game spirals into an uncanny reality in The Story.
I really enjoyed 3 out of 4 of these stories. My favourite was This Book Belongs to Olo about a lonely boy just wanting to make friends granted he goes the wrong way about it but hey he’s creepy. These are all from the same universe and are all linked in one way or another, they all include a creepy or possessed book. The writing is just brilliant.
Book
Ghostwritten
By Ronald Malfi
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOKS CAN BE DEADLY
From the bestselling author of Come with Me, four standalone horror novellas set in a shared universe!
In The Skin of Her Teeth, a cursed novel drives people to their deaths.
A delivery job turns deadly in The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride.
In This Book Belongs to Olo, a lonely child has dangerous control over an usual pop-up book.
A choose-your-own adventure game spirals into an uncanny reality in The Story.
I really enjoyed 3 out of 4 of these stories. My favourite was This Book Belongs to Olo about a lonely boy just wanting to make friends granted he goes the wrong way about it but hey he’s creepy. These are all from the same universe and are all linked in one way or another, they all include a creepy or possessed book. The writing is just brilliant.
David McK (3632 KP) rated Silk Road (Epic Adventure #1) in Books
Jun 29, 2025
This was what I would probably term a 'chance read', in that it was by an author I knew nothing about, had never read any of their works, but same it on Amazon prime reading and thought I might as well give it a go as I was between books at the time.
I'm glad I did.
Set (initially) in the Holy Land not long after the Third Crusade, this follows Templar Knight Josseran Sarrazini as he is tasked with accompanying the Domincan Friar William as an envoy to the Mongols, just as their previous Khan dies necessitating a journey along the Silk Road of the title towards the Mongolian capital Xanadu - further than either have ever travelled before, and with new experiences for both - and just as a civil war is about to break out amongst the Mongolian nation itself over who will be next Khan.
I may read some more of Falconers's 'Epic Adventure' series in the future.
I'm glad I did.
Set (initially) in the Holy Land not long after the Third Crusade, this follows Templar Knight Josseran Sarrazini as he is tasked with accompanying the Domincan Friar William as an envoy to the Mongols, just as their previous Khan dies necessitating a journey along the Silk Road of the title towards the Mongolian capital Xanadu - further than either have ever travelled before, and with new experiences for both - and just as a civil war is about to break out amongst the Mongolian nation itself over who will be next Khan.
I may read some more of Falconers's 'Epic Adventure' series in the future.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Alanna: The First Adventure in Books
Apr 16, 2018
The Song of the Lioness quartet is Tamora Pierce's first set of books. I read her latest trilogy (the Beka Cooper trilogy) first, which didn't exactly prepare me for The Song of the Lioness. It's obvious, going from the latest trilogy to her first writing, how much her writing has matured since the 80s. My first thought upon completing Alanna: the First Adventure was "I'm very glad she's gotten better at writing!" The story itself is still interesting and worth reading, but the style is a little difficult to read when I KNOW how well she writes now. The characters are mostly one-dimensional; few of the side characters seem to have plots going or events happening to them when they're not with Alanna. Characters pop up, have a significant interaction with Alanna, and are gone again, with no indication they exist outside of their usefulness to the main character. This is in stark contrast to her latest work, where every character that has a significant role to play has a history of their own, and thoughts and feelings of their own. They're much more fleshed out in her recent books.
That complaint aside, the Alanna books are really the foundation that the rest of Tortall was built upon. It's interesting to see how Pierce has fleshed out some of the concepts she touched on in the Alanna saga, and it's fun to see where some of the things from the Beka Cooper trilogy originated. It also pays to keep in mind that though the Alanna books were written first, the Beka Cooper trilogy is based two hundred years earlier. We learn a lot more about the office of The Rogue in the Beka Cooper trilogy, something that isn't explained very well in the Alanna quartet, even though one of Alanna's main romantic interests is George Cooper (yes, a descendant of Beka!), the Rogue. Pierce also never explains the origins of Alanna's cat, Faithful, in the actual Alanna books. That explanation lies in the Beka Cooper books as well.
The Song of the Lioness quartet is the story of a girl who decides to rebel against tradition and follow her heart to become a knight. In her time, ladies simply do NOT become knights. They learn to organize households and marry well. Alanna, however, is lucky enough to have a twin brother who does not want to become a knight; instead Thom wants to be a mage. So when they're sent off to face their futures, they switch places, with Alanna becoming "Alan", the younger twin. (Thom stays Thom; the school that ladies are sent to is the same school mages start at.)
Alan/Alanna begins as a page, then moves to squire, and eventually a knight. Her secret is discovered, but due to her influential friends, most of whom knew she was a girl by then, she is able to keep her status. Her adventures take her from uncovering a plot against the royal family, to being adopted by a desert tribe, to recovering a magic jewel of prosperity, with many small adventures in between.
I love reading Pierce's heroines; both Alanna and Beka have problems reconciling their feminine natures with the work they've chosen. The scenes where Alanna's love interests see her in a dress for the first time, instead of her normal boy-garb and armor, is heart-warming in one case, and sad in another. In both womens' lives it's the man who can accept all of their aspects who ultimately wins their heart, which is a wonderful message.
Ultimately, the technical flaws in the writing of the Alanna saga faded as I became absorbed in the story. I'll be requesting more Tortall books from the library in the near future!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
That complaint aside, the Alanna books are really the foundation that the rest of Tortall was built upon. It's interesting to see how Pierce has fleshed out some of the concepts she touched on in the Alanna saga, and it's fun to see where some of the things from the Beka Cooper trilogy originated. It also pays to keep in mind that though the Alanna books were written first, the Beka Cooper trilogy is based two hundred years earlier. We learn a lot more about the office of The Rogue in the Beka Cooper trilogy, something that isn't explained very well in the Alanna quartet, even though one of Alanna's main romantic interests is George Cooper (yes, a descendant of Beka!), the Rogue. Pierce also never explains the origins of Alanna's cat, Faithful, in the actual Alanna books. That explanation lies in the Beka Cooper books as well.
The Song of the Lioness quartet is the story of a girl who decides to rebel against tradition and follow her heart to become a knight. In her time, ladies simply do NOT become knights. They learn to organize households and marry well. Alanna, however, is lucky enough to have a twin brother who does not want to become a knight; instead Thom wants to be a mage. So when they're sent off to face their futures, they switch places, with Alanna becoming "Alan", the younger twin. (Thom stays Thom; the school that ladies are sent to is the same school mages start at.)
Alan/Alanna begins as a page, then moves to squire, and eventually a knight. Her secret is discovered, but due to her influential friends, most of whom knew she was a girl by then, she is able to keep her status. Her adventures take her from uncovering a plot against the royal family, to being adopted by a desert tribe, to recovering a magic jewel of prosperity, with many small adventures in between.
I love reading Pierce's heroines; both Alanna and Beka have problems reconciling their feminine natures with the work they've chosen. The scenes where Alanna's love interests see her in a dress for the first time, instead of her normal boy-garb and armor, is heart-warming in one case, and sad in another. In both womens' lives it's the man who can accept all of their aspects who ultimately wins their heart, which is a wonderful message.
Ultimately, the technical flaws in the writing of the Alanna saga faded as I became absorbed in the story. I'll be requesting more Tortall books from the library in the near future!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Blinkist - Always Learning
Education and Book
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Where do the world’s smartest people get their ideas? From great books! Blinkist distills the key...
Merissa (13419 KP) rated She's the One Who Can't Keep Quiet (War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters #5) in Books
Feb 24, 2022 (Updated Jul 3, 2023)
SHE'S THE ONE WHO CAN'T KEEP QUIET is the fifth book in the War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters series and we get Celestine's story, the twin of Olivine.
Out of all the stories so far, Celestine is the most 'normal'. She doesn't have a genius brain, isn't a luskie, doesn't have long eyes, and she isn't a warrior.. Her ability is to be social, to read a crowd, to bring them on-side, and to sing with a beautiful voice. As with the other stories, it takes place at the same time, so some of the stories overlap and situations become clear from other books, for example, with Davor accepting Coral's luskie abilities.
We also learn more about the mum in this story. We already knew the relationship with her mother-in-law had been turbulent, but now we find out even more. We find out that she was a jewellery maker in her own right but had to give it up when her daughters came along. Not only that, but the things her husband has promised her when they got married never happened to her, but to her daughters instead. That's got to hurt! Up until now, my sympathy wasn't with the mum. I thought she was 'just' an ambitious mum who wanted her children to marry well. Now, I understand more of where she was coming from. And the comment about her children becoming her jewellery was heartfelt.
The other thing (amongst many) that deserves a mention is how hard it was for Celestine and Firuza to be together, openly. Both of them were concerned with appearances, although Firuza had more reason than most to be cautious. I thought this was written in an empathetic manner, giving the two ladies the support they needed.
Although all these books cover the same timeframe, I would recommend you read them in order as you will have the best reading experience that way, reading and learning about people and situations at the right time.
A brilliant addition to a fantastic series. I really can't recommend these highly enough and can't wait for Gypsum's story to come next.
** 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 24, 2022
Out of all the stories so far, Celestine is the most 'normal'. She doesn't have a genius brain, isn't a luskie, doesn't have long eyes, and she isn't a warrior.. Her ability is to be social, to read a crowd, to bring them on-side, and to sing with a beautiful voice. As with the other stories, it takes place at the same time, so some of the stories overlap and situations become clear from other books, for example, with Davor accepting Coral's luskie abilities.
We also learn more about the mum in this story. We already knew the relationship with her mother-in-law had been turbulent, but now we find out even more. We find out that she was a jewellery maker in her own right but had to give it up when her daughters came along. Not only that, but the things her husband has promised her when they got married never happened to her, but to her daughters instead. That's got to hurt! Up until now, my sympathy wasn't with the mum. I thought she was 'just' an ambitious mum who wanted her children to marry well. Now, I understand more of where she was coming from. And the comment about her children becoming her jewellery was heartfelt.
The other thing (amongst many) that deserves a mention is how hard it was for Celestine and Firuza to be together, openly. Both of them were concerned with appearances, although Firuza had more reason than most to be cautious. I thought this was written in an empathetic manner, giving the two ladies the support they needed.
Although all these books cover the same timeframe, I would recommend you read them in order as you will have the best reading experience that way, reading and learning about people and situations at the right time.
A brilliant addition to a fantastic series. I really can't recommend these highly enough and can't wait for Gypsum's story to come next.
** 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 24, 2022