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TF
The Fault Tree
Louise Ure | 2008
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Blind mechanic Cadence Moran is walking home from work one night when she "witnesses" a murder. Trying to help the police only attracts the killer's attention. I found the story frustratingly slow for a thriller and the ending completely unbelievable.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-fault-tree-by-louise-ure.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
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Julianne Moore recommended Beloved in Books (curated)

 
Beloved
Beloved
A.S. Byatt, Toni Morrison | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
6.9 (7 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"I read Beloved when it came out in 1987, and it was one of the most difficult books I've ever encountered. The rhythm of the writing, the cadence — it was like learning a new language where you're just banging your head against a wall. Then, after several chapters, a door opens and you're in. To me, the book is all emotion, a big morass of feeling. It's remarkable. What this woman goes through, what she believes she has to do is so horrific — you can't help but think, "How does she survive?"

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The Night Country (The Hazel Wood #2)
The Night Country (The Hazel Wood #2)
Melissa Albert | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A good story that does not quite live up to its predecessor. I enjoyed the writing style, which is very descriptive and engaging. The narrator of the audiobook does a good job with the pace and cadence, bringing the characters and story to life. There was a lot of introspection on the part of the protagonist and the murder investigation subplot, while a bit mundane later becomes important; even so, too little, too late. I wish more time had been expended on delving into some aspects of the story that would have been much more interesting. All in all, a good sequel.
  
We Were Liars
We Were Liars
Emily Jenkins, Emily Lockhart | 2014 | Children, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.6 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
Read the original review: https://bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/book-review-we-were-liars/

I honestly had no idea what to expect with this book. Even part-way through, I wasn't sure. But as the end drew nearer, I began to fall in love with the heartbreak and tragedy within the pages.

It tells the story of the Liars: Cadence, Gat, Johnny and Mirren. Mirren, Gat, Johnny and Cadence.

The Beautiful Sinclair Family spend their summers on Beechwood Island every year. But the aunties are fighting over Granny Tipper's possessions after she passes away, and the family is being torn apart. The Liars want their idyll back; they'll do anything to fix the family.

This is a love story, and it is a tragedy. Cadence begins to remember the horrific events of summer fifteen, when she was involved in a terrible accident. Her memory comes back in pieces, and she has to fit the pieces together like a jigsaw. When the final picture is complete, I was so shocked - it made too much sense, yet no sense at all.

The writing style is simple and to the point, but also full of wonderful metaphors. There are extracts of a fairytale variation every now and then, which I personally think was a very nice touch. It's rather unique in the way it's written, but in a good way. It has several phrases that are repeated throughout the story, or developed upon, which works nicely in this book.

Also, there are a few visual aids for the story; a may of the island and a family tree of the Sinclair family. While that could be seen as childish, I appreciate the diagrams as they help to keep track of the characters, though I did get a little lost and confused at times still.

Overall, I think We Were Liars deserves 4 stars out of 5. It's different, unexpected, and full of emotion. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it really grew on me as I read.

BookMarked
  
The Land of Reverse  by David Manousos has a gentle tone with a soothing cadence to the words that suit perfectly for bedtime readings. The illustrations are a great accompaniment. 

The story is about Sam who could not sleep one night. He let his mind wander to the Land of reverse. Everything Sam thought of in reality was backwards. Your hands are your feet, cars drive on the sidewalk, the animals in the zoo have the humans caged and feed them. Sam returns back to his bed happy and cannot wait to return to the Land of Reverse.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dog Ear Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
  
NW
Naked We Came (Jake Travis, #5)
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I had a really hard time getting into this novel. The fact that it is fifth in a series, and I had not read the previous four, bothered me but it might not have been so bad had the author put a bit more background into the characters, often imposed without rhyme or reason, whom it felt we should already know and be familiar with. Many previous events from other novels were also referenced often which I felt was akin to joining a conversation, which had already been going on for a very long time, halfway through. The book was a bit sluggish for a large part of the story, finally hitting its stride about 3/4 of the way in. I wasn’t crazy about the cadence of the writing and sometimes it was difficult to discern who was speaking or how many people were part of a scene. Many of the situations lacked insight and seemed incredibly far fetched.
  
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Sloane Crosley recommended Barcelona (1994) in Movies (curated)

 
Barcelona (1994)
Barcelona (1994)
1994 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"To prove that I mean it when I say “four-way tie,” I’ll start with the last one, Kicking and Screaming, a movie I can recite from start to finish. You know, in case you’re ever in the mood for an hour-long party trick. Actually, I wrote an essay about my love for it for the New York Observer when the Criterion Collection released the DVD and raced to fill out the crossword puzzle like a regular dork. Two words: Broken glass. Meanwhile, Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan is a seminal movie for me and a whole bunch of other people of my generation. Speaking of party tricks, evoking empathy for Upper East Side WASPs is a good one. Same with Barcelona. The reason these four are grouped together is because of their supreme ability to capture the cadence of youth and young adulthood. They display floundering without being floundering. This is the hardest thing to achieve, in any format, and Linklater makes it look easy."

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Dazed and Confused (1993)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
1993 | Comedy

"To prove that I mean it when I say “four-way tie,” I’ll start with the last one, Kicking and Screaming, a movie I can recite from start to finish. You know, in case you’re ever in the mood for an hour-long party trick. Actually, I wrote an essay about my love for it for the New York Observer when the Criterion Collection released the DVD and raced to fill out the crossword puzzle like a regular dork. Two words: Broken glass. Meanwhile, Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan is a seminal movie for me and a whole bunch of other people of my generation. Speaking of party tricks, evoking empathy for Upper East Side WASPs is a good one. Same with Barcelona. The reason these four are grouped together is because of their supreme ability to capture the cadence of youth and young adulthood. They display floundering without being floundering. This is the hardest thing to achieve, in any format, and Linklater makes it look easy."

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Kicking and Screaming (1995)
Kicking and Screaming (1995)
1995 | International, Comedy, Drama
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"To prove that I mean it when I say “four-way tie,” I’ll start with the last one, Kicking and Screaming, a movie I can recite from start to finish. You know, in case you’re ever in the mood for an hour-long party trick. Actually, I wrote an essay about my love for it for the New York Observer when the Criterion Collection released the DVD and raced to fill out the crossword puzzle like a regular dork. Two words: Broken glass. Meanwhile, Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan is a seminal movie for me and a whole bunch of other people of my generation. Speaking of party tricks, evoking empathy for Upper East Side WASPs is a good one. Same with Barcelona. The reason these four are grouped together is because of their supreme ability to capture the cadence of youth and young adulthood. They display floundering without being floundering. This is the hardest thing to achieve, in any format, and Linklater makes it look easy."

Source
  
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Sloane Crosley recommended Metropolitan (1990) in Movies (curated)

 
Metropolitan (1990)
Metropolitan (1990)
1990 | Comedy, Drama
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"To prove that I mean it when I say “four-way tie,” I’ll start with the last one, Kicking and Screaming, a movie I can recite from start to finish. You know, in case you’re ever in the mood for an hour-long party trick. Actually, I wrote an essay about my love for it for the New York Observer when the Criterion Collection released the DVD and raced to fill out the crossword puzzle like a regular dork. Two words: Broken glass. Meanwhile, Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan is a seminal movie for me and a whole bunch of other people of my generation. Speaking of party tricks, evoking empathy for Upper East Side WASPs is a good one. Same with Barcelona. The reason these four are grouped together is because of their supreme ability to capture the cadence of youth and young adulthood. They display floundering without being floundering. This is the hardest thing to achieve, in any format, and Linklater makes it look easy."

Source