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The Wish Granter (Ravenspire 2)
9.5
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An epic, romantic, and action-packed fantasy inspired by the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, about a...
Skull's Vengeance (Curse of Clansmen and Kings #4)
Book
A Celtic warrior queen must do the impossible—defeat her sorcerer half-brother and claim the...
Historical Fantasy Ancient Rome Ancient Britannia
Just to be clear: I really enjoyed this.
BUT, when I looked at it on Goodreads, one of the tags was “historical fiction”. Has it come to this now, that 1995 - the year I graduated from Uni - is seen as historical fiction?!
I’m feeling a bit old.
Anyway, I’ll hobble on to the review…
Diana and Aurelle live next door to one another in a wealthy neighbourhood, but have nothing to do with one another until Diana’s brother unexpectedly dies. Diana has had a poor relationship with her brother, but he was clearly their parent’s favourite. Diana is pushed away by her parents, and she ends up next door with Aurelle.
They become close friends, decide to study at the same college, and live together in Aurelle’s family house near the university campus. It’s an idyllic setting. Classrooms in woodland, near a lake. It sounds beautiful.
Aurelle starts to go off the rails, whilst Diana’s art really takes off.
And then it all goes terribly wrong with misunderstandings, envy and obsession.
I didn’t see the latter half of this book coming at all, and it was a real shock!
The whole book was fascinating, though. A prime example of young adults cut loose from the relative stability of their families and left to do whatever they want. And what these girls want to do, especially Aurelle, just isn’t good for them.
So if you like a ‘good’ toxic relationship in a story, then this will be for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it
BUT, when I looked at it on Goodreads, one of the tags was “historical fiction”. Has it come to this now, that 1995 - the year I graduated from Uni - is seen as historical fiction?!
I’m feeling a bit old.
Anyway, I’ll hobble on to the review…
Diana and Aurelle live next door to one another in a wealthy neighbourhood, but have nothing to do with one another until Diana’s brother unexpectedly dies. Diana has had a poor relationship with her brother, but he was clearly their parent’s favourite. Diana is pushed away by her parents, and she ends up next door with Aurelle.
They become close friends, decide to study at the same college, and live together in Aurelle’s family house near the university campus. It’s an idyllic setting. Classrooms in woodland, near a lake. It sounds beautiful.
Aurelle starts to go off the rails, whilst Diana’s art really takes off.
And then it all goes terribly wrong with misunderstandings, envy and obsession.
I didn’t see the latter half of this book coming at all, and it was a real shock!
The whole book was fascinating, though. A prime example of young adults cut loose from the relative stability of their families and left to do whatever they want. And what these girls want to do, especially Aurelle, just isn’t good for them.
So if you like a ‘good’ toxic relationship in a story, then this will be for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it
Chaos & Flame
Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton
7.0
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Book
Darling Seabreak cannot remember anything before the murder of her family at the hands of House...
Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated The Institute (The Institute, #1) in Books
Jan 12, 2018
[The Institute] by [Kayla Howarth] is an intense thriller with a futuristic lean. The main character Allira and her family have spent their lives hiding that her brother was "defective". "Defectives" go to the Institute where they are said to be kept safe and taken care of, but no one who has gone there is heard from again. Will one mistake trip them all up and find the true nature of the Institute?
The characters were typical for a YA audience but definitely good. The intertwining of the relationships and emotions makes this plot. There were some unexpected surprises as well as issues that are still up in the air. Guess the second book is a must read to clear those questions up.
The characters were typical for a YA audience but definitely good. The intertwining of the relationships and emotions makes this plot. There were some unexpected surprises as well as issues that are still up in the air. Guess the second book is a must read to clear those questions up.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Educated in Books
Apr 5, 2018
Harrowing and inspiring
It seems almost impossible that Tara Westover is an academician from both Harvard and Cambridge given that she had never been to school. Her story is important, revealing how women are treated and subjugated in fundamentalist societies.
Brought up in a survivalist, Mormon family, Westover speaks about a poverty-stricken, difficult childhood where education is seen as secondary and violence is rife. Her relationship with her abusive brother is horrifying, And moreso is her family's acceptance of his behaviour. So gaining scholarships to top universities in the world despite having had no clue about the Holocaust, the civil rights movement, and Napoleon, is no mean feat.
While parts are repetitive, it is engaging and harrowing to hear her inspiring story.
Brought up in a survivalist, Mormon family, Westover speaks about a poverty-stricken, difficult childhood where education is seen as secondary and violence is rife. Her relationship with her abusive brother is horrifying, And moreso is her family's acceptance of his behaviour. So gaining scholarships to top universities in the world despite having had no clue about the Holocaust, the civil rights movement, and Napoleon, is no mean feat.
While parts are repetitive, it is engaging and harrowing to hear her inspiring story.
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated Spider-Man (2002) in Movies
Apr 24, 2019
Rating this for what it was when I first saw it in theaters.
I remember all the build up for this right before it came out and actually seeing it I remember walking out with my mom and brother and we couldn't stop talking about it! We had always been Spiderman fans and the movie really lived up to the hype.
Toby Maguire will always be my favorite Peter Parker he pulled off the nerdy kid so perfect and Kristen Dunst was such a great MJ and let's be real the upside kiss was one of my favorite moments and still is to this day.
It really was a great origin story for such an amazing character... Now I really want to rewatch it.
I remember all the build up for this right before it came out and actually seeing it I remember walking out with my mom and brother and we couldn't stop talking about it! We had always been Spiderman fans and the movie really lived up to the hype.
Toby Maguire will always be my favorite Peter Parker he pulled off the nerdy kid so perfect and Kristen Dunst was such a great MJ and let's be real the upside kiss was one of my favorite moments and still is to this day.
It really was a great origin story for such an amazing character... Now I really want to rewatch it.
Emma (519 KP) rated Lincoln in the Bardo in Books
May 28, 2019
This book was sent to me as a Christmas present by my brother. When i first started reading it, it took.me two attempts to read the first chapter to find my flow with the writing style, as it wasn't written like any book I had ever read before. It is written more like a play or a collection of thoughts by various speakers. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it is the type of book you keep going back to. The story flows very well and at time it is so descriptive you feel the anguish Mr Lincoln must have been feeling at the time of losing his son.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2196 KP) rated The Baker Street Letters (Baker Street Letters #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Reggie Heath has rented the offices that would be Sherlock Holmes address if he'd been, you know, real. Part of his lease involves answering the letters, a job he's assigned to younger brother Nigel. But one letter sends Nigel on a trip to Los Angeles with Reggie close behind. What has Nigel stumbled into?
I'm not a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, but I was intrigued by this book. Turned out to be a fun twisty read with good characters. It took a little bit to feel like I was part of the story, but once I got going, I couldn't put it down.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-baker-street-letters.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I'm not a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, but I was intrigued by this book. Turned out to be a fun twisty read with good characters. It took a little bit to feel like I was part of the story, but once I got going, I couldn't put it down.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-baker-street-letters.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.