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The Red Dragon of Oxford (Wings over Albion #1)
The Red Dragon of Oxford (Wings over Albion #1)
Joy Lynn Fielding | 2024 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cute and Sweet and fairly low on the angst scale.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Mark is in Oxford to get his doctorate. He never expected to find an injured DRAGON on his walk. But the dragon was real, he spoke to Mark. Then, it was gone and Mark couldn't find it. The library provides him with the solitude to do his research. It helps, though, that the librarian, Rufus, is so hawt. But Rufus has a secret, one that might destroy everything.

I have read a couple of Fielding's books, and I think this was my favourite. She writes very easy to read books, and sometimes, that's just what you need.

I enjoyed this, greatly. Lots of descriptions of Oxford, and the university. Having never been, I did like them.

I liked how the relationship between Mark and Rufus developed and once they went in, they went ALL in! Steamy in places and emotional in others. Mark is dealing with his feelings about not being intelligent enough to be in Oxford and Rufus about his being a red dragon. Cos in this world, red dragons are not good.

But then WHITE dragons appear and Rufus' red dragon has a skill he didn't see coming.

I didn't fully get the point of the white dragons appearing, and the problems they were causing til that was all explained. There is also the issue of the cyber attacks on the Mortimer finances that Nate, Rufus' brother, is off dealing with.

It's cute and sweet and fairly low on the angst scale. But steamy and smexy in places!

An easy read that landed in my queue right when I needed it. I'd like to read more of this series as they come out, cos Nate needs a story, given his current job chasing the cyber attacks.

4 good solid stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays in Books

Oct 20, 2017 (Updated Oct 20, 2017)  
Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays
Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays
Rebecca Solnit | 2016 | Essays
7
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Some interesting points but doesn't connect together
Having read many of Rebecca Solnit's works, this is not one of the better ones. While there are some thoughtful ideas, the essays are disjointed from one another, so it seems to be lumped together.

That being said, some of the essays have some important points. This includes marriage equality between same sexes, ensuring inequality from a patriarchal standpoint can be dismantled.

And there is a small amount of intersectionality, discussing the rape of Native American and Indian women as part of a pandemic of violence against women rather than isolated incidents. And while this was written several years before and some of it no longer applies (Dominic Strauss-Kahn) it is still valid as the issues still continue.

The less said about slutwalk, the better.

I would say this is a good introduction to feminism for those who are seeking to understand parts, but I would recommend books with a little more substance than this.
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Red Country in Books

Nov 29, 2017  
Red Country
Red Country
Joe Abercrombie | 2012 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hinted at returns of previous main characters (0 more)
The Western setting (0 more)
This book is the third standalone set in the world of the First Law trilogy and sees farm girl Shy (with a dark secret history) and her 9-fingered step-father return from market to find their farm burned and Shy's siblings abducted.
They duly follow the trail of the kidnappers and end up embroiled in a journey through the "wild west" of this world with groups of travellers seeking their fortune and without exception ending destitute in grubby town Crease.
A number of familiar faces (or hands) return in this book, as well as a number of new characters. I didn't really like the western setting, being totally incongruous with the rest of the books set in the same world, and the mysticism implied near the end was not very well explored (a similar gripe about the first trilogy).
A good read, but really for completists, not to be read as a standalone book.
  
AR
Always Remembered
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received an ARC when I signed up and was selected to host the book tour. I made no guarantee of a favorable review and the opinions expressed are solely my own.

I loved this final installment of the Never Forgotten series. The book picks up where the last one left off. This beautiful and well detailed story will leave you in its grip as the surprises just keep coming and we find ourselves dealing with many emotional moments throughout this book.. The relationship between Meara and Kieran continues to deepen and Evan learns the truth about himself. Kelly Risser did an amazing job in creating and weaving this mystical series and you will not be disappointed with how this story ends. Please note that all three books in the series must be read in order. Make sure that you add this entire series to your MUST read list and I look forward to reading more by this very creative author.
  
AT
After the End (After the End, #1)
Amy Plum | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
[After The End] by [Amy Plum] has a deceptive tile because it leads you to think it is an dystopian novel. Although I love those books this was a welcomed surprise. It turned into more of an action/adventure with a little coming of age thrown in for good measure.

[Plum] did an excellent job of developing a creative, fearless, intelligent character in Juneau. Although she is naive do to lack of exposure she know how to survive. Her loyalty to family even though they hurt her is endearing.

Miles, on the other hand, is a spoiled rotten brat who has had the easy life. He starts out for his own gain but what he really gains is a new insight about life and love.

This story has some supernatural aspects but over all is more of an exciting journey of discovery for two young people who have a lot to learn from each other.
  
Dragonfly in Amber
Dragonfly in Amber
Diana Gabaldon | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.2 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wow! Just wow! Talk about a cliffhanger. As I said when I read Outlander, I am by no means a fan of the "romance" novel. That's why I waited so long to dive into the series. But let me tell you, these books are so much more than that. Just like the first installment DiA has its typical romance novel elements but it has much, much more than that too. This book delves much deeper into the history of the time period that Clare falls in to. It took me awhile to really get hooked on this book, but I did. Gabaldon is a wonderful storyteller! She writes with so much detail & passion, not to mention what must be a HUGE amount of painstaking research. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book. Hopefully it won't be as far between the 2nd & 3rd as it was between the 1st & 2nd!!
  
Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1)
Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1)
S.M. Reine | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1) by S.M. Reine
Yet another book about werewolves (but no vampires to be seen of yet!) but this one is very good. It holds your interest from the beginning and takes you on a journey with the main character as she progresses through each New and Full Moon to become closer to being a fully-fledged werewolf. The "history" into the werewolf that is given is very well written and done in such a way that you don't feel like it is just something that needed to be done! There is a slight spark of romance in this but nothing that goes beyond the boundaries of Young Adult!

The pace of this book is continuous, not jerky, and the characters are well-written. Very few grammatical or editorial errors so it was a pleasure to read and I already have the second one to start.

Recommended.

* Verified Purchase ~ January 2013 *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
A Monster Calls
A Monster Calls
Patrick Ness | 2016 | Children
10
8.6 (40 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beautiful story (2 more)
Relateable characters
Absolutely gorgeous illistrations
Personally, it hurt to read (0 more)
No matter your age this book will affect you in some way.
A Monster Calls is one of those books that really stuck with me after reading it and I can really see it sticking with me for years to come because at its bare bones it is a book about grief and just how unfair life can seem to be.

I will admit that this book did make me cry like a freaking baby even though I was reading it on the train on the way home from work, and the thing was that it wasn't really the ending( I pretty much figured where the story was going from the beginning) but it was that it brought up so many not only memories but the feelings I went through under a similar event.

Even though this book is listed as a children's book it really is a book for a person of any age.
  
The Dark Tower (2017)
The Dark Tower (2017)
2017 | Horror, Sci-Fi, Western
Average
Hollywood seems to be going for a Stephen King binge at the moment, and this one isn't great. I haven't yet read the books and even though this doesn't do anything to promote them it hasn't put me off.

There was so much potential for this film to be amazing but it felt so rushed, as if they weren't confident it would be good enough to get a sequel so they crammed as much as they could to get the story properly resolved (like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children). None of the characters developed beyond your initial impression of them, almost as if that was all sacrificed at the expense of fitting too much into the film. I'm sure there were also little details about the world that would have made it much more interesting, if the few bits that made the final cut were any indication.

An easy film to watch that doesn't ask you to engage your brain but very disappointing.
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Moving Pictures in Books

Aug 11, 2017  
Moving Pictures
Moving Pictures
Terry Pratchett | 2005 | Fiction & Poetry
7
8.0 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
Discworld Spin on the Birth of Film
I'm a massive film geek, so I love this purely on the fact that it's about the introduction of Film and cinema - with a uniquely Discworld take of course. Like Going Postal, it's always great to read Terry Pratchett's take on a revolution or invention as it's always funny and unique. My main issue however with this book is that I think the characters may be a little weak. In most of the Discworld books, there is usually a loveable and strong main character or supporting character but Moving Pictures appears to be lacking in this area. Victor isn't a bad character, he just isn't strong or interesting enough to be the main protagonist. Gaspode and the Librarian were my favourite supporting characters although they sadly weren't around enough. Fortunately the story was good enough to carry itself, but you do notice the lack of strong characters.