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The Chalk Pit (Ruth Galloway, #9)
The Chalk Pit (Ruth Galloway, #9)
Elly Griffiths | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Dr. Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate some bones found underground: local architect Quentin Swan is building a large center, and he worries the bones will delay his plans. Ruth fears he is correct, as she quickly realizes the bones are human (and not ancient). Meanwhile, members of DCI Nelson's team are looking into a missing "rough sleeper" (homeless person, in American parlance). Others in the community are saying she went "underground." Is this a figure of speech, or really true? After all, a geologist at Ruth's university says that there is web of chalk mining tunnels beneath King's Lynn. Nelson is also dealing with a new boss, who is putting pressure on him from all sides--from driving more safely (as if) to focusing more on strategy and less hands-on investigation. Can Nelson put aside this new distraction and solve these cases?

It's hard to believe this is the ninth book in Elly Griffiths' fantastic Ruth Galloway series. I'm sure all my reviews are starting to sound somewhat similar by now, but these books are just so wonderful, and I love them so. Ruth is a great character: she's well-written and completely herself, and the cast of characters that surround her in each book (Nelson, his wife, Judy, Cathbad, Clough, Tanya, etc.) are also their own people. Each are so fully developed that you feel as if you know them as intimately as friends. I love Ruth and her antisocial nature, her sarcasm, and her fierce devotion to her daughter, Kate (who can be so different from her mother). I love gruff Nelson. I love all of Nelson's subordinates on the force. They seriously do feel like friends, and while I loved this book, I felt bereft when it ended, because it means I have to wait again for another one (I will be so sad when this series ends).

I have no complaints with book #9. I enjoyed the plot and while it wasn't a total page-turner, it kept me guessing, and I didn't figure out everything ahead of time, which I always appreciate. There are some interesting developments in the whole Ruth/Nelson/Michelle saga and while I wish I could just flash forward to find out everything that happens, I was intrigued by all of them. This little love triangle is a great backstory to the novels, and the tension between Ruth and Nelson is so achingly portrayed in the books: Griffiths is doing a wonderful job of depicting it as Kate ages and new complications emerge with the dynamic.

In the end, as I always say: if you aren't reading this series: you should. It's wonderful, engaging, and I truly think you will fall for Ruth and her world. You don't necessarily need to read these books in order (novel #9 and its plot will stand on its own), but I think starting at the beginning will certainly enrich the experience. Meanwhile, I will be patiently waiting for #10 and secretly dreaming of a world where Ruth and I are the sort of friends where we can eat food together without judgement and occasionally get together without any social pressure.

You can read my reviews of book #8, THE WOMAN IN BLUE, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25897794-the-woman-in-blue">here</a>;; book #7, THE GHOST FIELDS, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22749744-the-ghost-fields">here</a>;; and book #6, THE OUTCAST DEAD, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18222687-the-outcast-dead">here</a>;.

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Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
1982 | Comic Book / Strip, Fighting, Science Fiction
Easy to Pickup (0 more)
Judge Judge Dredd? Sure, I'll do that.
Unfortunately I've only played this game for about an hour, and yet it's something I intend on spending a lot more time on in the near future.

The Judge Dredd RPG is simple, but adds things many RPG's don't have. For example, say you were trying to investigate someone's emails, you would add together your computer dice (2d6) and your investigation dice (1d6) rolling for a total of 3d6. This is a nifty feature which totally makes sense and means you really think about who does what in your games.

Now I do have a problem with Sci Fi games. Namely you can do almost anything, nothing stops you but the laws of physics. This can really derail a game. If you play with the right group then this isn't a problem, but finding those players can be hard.

On the outside of the DM's screen it contains a list of crimes and what their punishment is, which is rather useful as a player. They also contain many useful stats for vehicles.

The paper quality this book is printed on is ~130gsm and as such has a good feel to it.

I personally would look to buy it, but maybe not at full price. They are releasing new expansions and as such this many change with time. But currently I'd look to spend maybe a maximum of £35 on this book.

TL;DR
-Expansive book and screen
-Fun to Play
-Cool Mechanics
-Maybe wait until it's on sale.
  
Living in the Fullness of Jesus (A Study in Colossians)

ASHERITAH CIUCIU


Discover the Secret to a Full Life

We live in a world of scarcity. We say, “I don't have enough time… maybe when we have more money… if only I had a little more help…” But Scripture says if we have Jesus, we have enough.

In this 6-week study of Colossians, Asheritah Ciuciu leads readers to discover the life-altering importance of Jesus' sufficiency and sovereignty. And you don't need hours a day to enjoy this Bible Study. Each day's study contains two paths:

Snack on the Go: a bite-size morsel of truth to chew on throughout your busy day
FEAST: a dig-deep guide to maximizing the “meat” you're getting out of your Bible study
PLUS! a supplemental "Serving and Leading" section that includes service challenges for making theory a reality
You can enjoy this study in whatever way works best for you. Discover the joy and freedom that abounds when we know deep in our hearts that Jesus truly is enough.



My Thoughts: I am always looking for good Bible studies. This is a great study in the book of Colossians focusing on the sufficiency and sovereignty of Jesus. This study is well done, easy to work with. It can be done alone or in a group; it's all up to the reader. There isn't a lot of overwhelming work to do, it's just right. It comes from a publisher you can trust: Moody Publishers, so you can't go wrong with this one.
  
    Ear Trainer

    Ear Trainer

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    Ear Trainer is an educational tool designed for musicians, music students and anyone interested in...

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    myON

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    Description: The myON app provides access to digital books from myON reader, a personalized, online...

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<b><i> DID NOT FINISH </i></b>

If you have been following my book journey for a while, you will know what I’m about to say. I don’t have rules about reading a certain book, but there is one thing I always stick to:

<i>I give a chance to every book that comes my way. If I have it in my physical library – it will be picked up at some point. </i>

Pagan Portals – Celtic Witchcraft is a book I won from a giveaway. It is not usually a genre I go for, but I do love witchcraft and spells. It intrigues me.
This book focuses on the Celtic Witchcraft and explains what it means to firstly, be a witch and what Celtic culture is all about – the beliefs, the customs etc.

After reading 30 pages, I decided that this book is not for me. This is, therefore, the second ”Did Not Finish” for 2019.

It starts very slow, gives detailed information of all things Celtic and the history of Celtic Witchcraft. It was a very boring introduction for me.

Then I got involved in a few life lessons without any added benefit really, and a full overview of a moon cycle followed by a detailed report on how the author’s behaviour changed during all these phases. This might be something you are interested in, but I felt like wasting my time reading someone’s daily moon diary. This was the moment I decided to close this book and move on.

I can understand why some might like this book, and you are valid! I am aware a lot of you will love and appreciate this book for what it is. And that’s okay. I just don’t seem to fit into this group. I love learning about witchcraft, witches and find out new things, but this book didn’t give me what I was looking for.

<b>Better luck next time!</b>

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Spiral Of Needs
Spiral Of Needs
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book over all was fairly good to read. It is definitely a romance novel with a bit of action and all of the drama. It is centered around a werewolf pack and mostly around Ally and Derren. I think what I enjoyed the most about it is how it portrayed how jealous and vengeful people can be when getting into relationships or when their significant other is threatened or hurt. Everyone likes to feel that their lover cares deeply enough to do anything for them when the time calls for it. However, that isn't always the case and in this particular book, you are able to see how possessive and protective people can be, even if their past creates obstacles they have to overcome to find they truly love and accept another.

The past haunts everyone in one way or another and creates a defense mechanism to help us cope. So in Derren's case of not wanting to trust anyone and being loyal to a fault when you earn his trust didn't come as a surprised. After all, trust is a valuable quality that is easily broken. But to watch him struggle at first with trusting Ally due to something one her kind had done to him in the past, was quite splendid. It allowed the reader to see how its not a group of people sharing a trait but the individuals that can hurt how the outlook on a particular group of people can negatively affect us. Even though in this case it was all paranormal traits, it is easy to see and understand where this comes from. People are always judging others by their skin color or position or whatever because of someone else sharing that quality had done something to them personally. This is a huge problem and some people never fully get over the fact it was the individual who was a complete jerk of whatever (for the lack of better words) and not the group of people who share that quality. An example would be gamers. They are often considered lazy, lacking social qualities and short tempered. While most games have some of these qualities, it should be noted that those aren't to define every gamer and those who have these issues also have redeeming qualities as well. So to say anyone who plays games for massive amount of time to have all those qualities and are bad fits because one gamer may have yelled, hurt, ignored, or whatever the case is towards you, is a terrible be thing. In Spiral of Need, it was pleasant to see and watch how one person can change someone's mind on a particular problem a certain category of people fall into, is amazing and makes you wonder if this will happen in your life. Will you be the one to help people see that your category of people aren't all bad? I know my husband, who is a gamer, did that for me, just as Ally, a Seer, did for Derren.



I, also, enjoyed how even though the book had some XXX Rated scenes, it was also very much about building relationships with unlikely characters who was thought to be a problem and coming together to protect one another. Not many of our communities and societies can say that these days. It was amazing to see someone considered to be an outsider at the beginning develop a lasting friendship and place in a pack or community because of her own moral compass making her due things that she felt was only the right thing to do. I personally feel, this book addressed problems we face everyday in our world while keeping it from hitting to close to home to make it uncomfortable. It showed some of the most important qualities that all relationships, no matter the kind (examples being friendships, partnerships, etc.) needed to keep them healthy and how it can be harmful when others view someone as a threat of a problem to be eliminated. With every addressed in this book, I would say I was pleased at how smoothly is ran.

I would rate this book 4 stars out of 5 stars simply because I longed for a little more conflict but loved how it addressed issues and solved the problems it did have residing in the pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good werewolf love story.
  
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Dean (6927 KP) rated Triangle (2009) in Movies

Jan 15, 2018  
Triangle (2009)
Triangle (2009)
2009 | Mystery
8
7.6 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Amazing twist (0 more)
Very original thriller
A very good thriller that uses a time loop to good effect. It's not particularly gory or scary, but the deserted ship does make a creepy location for this type of film. Quite a few seem to find it hard to follow, I thought it was a lot easier than say Memento to understand first time round. True it can be a bit open for you to draw your own conclusion by the end of what and why it's happening, but the clues are there. They maybe one or two plot holes by the end, but nothing major that spoils the effect of the film. Overall a good thriller, different to the norm, that most will enjoy figuring out.
  
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Lee (2222 KP) Nov 5, 2019

One of my favourite movies. Melissa George is amazing.

The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins | 2016 | Mystery, Thriller
10
7.6 (173 Ratings)
Book Rating
Rachel Watson rides the train into London each day to get to work. Her train happens to stop across from one particular house almost every day, and Rachel has created imaginary identities, Jason and Jess, for the man and woman she sees frequently in their back garden. When Rachel hears the news about a missing woman named Megan, she soon realizes that Megan is her "Jess", and she becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her.

The story is told from three separate perspectives - Rachel, her ex-husband's new wife Anna, and the missing woman, Megan. Each woman knows only a part of the story, and we are left to piece it together as we go. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page right up to the very end. It's full of terrible people, pitiful people, and broken people. Both Rachel and Megan had me wanting to alternately shake them, and then give them hugs to comfort them. I felt emotionally exhausted after finishing the book, but I didn't walk away empty-handed. There are several life lessons to be taken away at the end.

1. Men are not to be trusted.
2. People are not always what they seem.
3. If he does it with you, he will do it to you.
4. Women are not to be trusted.
5. Alcohol can be your best friend and your worst enemy. Both at the same time.
6. Therapy can help.
7. Your memories are not to be trusted.
8. Life is pain.
9. People lie. (A lot.)
10. If you do everything right, nothing can go wrong. (Wait, I think that was supposed to say everything can go wrong...)
  
The Turning Point (The ELI Chronicles, #3)
The Turning Point (The ELI Chronicles, #3)
Julia Ash | 2020
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
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The Turning Point by Julia Ash is the third book in the ELI Chronicles. Thank you to Julia, for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Read my reviews of the first two books in the series: 

<b>The ELI Chronicles Series</b>
#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2387441859">The One and Only</a> - ★★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2803361466">The Tether</a> - ★★★★
#3 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3377612307">The Turning Point</a> - ★★★★

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The Turning Point continues where the previous book left off. If you haven’t read the previous books in the series, I would recommend reading my review on the first book - The One and Only, as this review contains spoilers from the other two previous books. Now that you have been warned, I can safely continue. :) 

<b><i>Ruby Spencer has continuously saved the world.</i></b>

First, it was the zombie infection. Then, she was turned into a vampire against her will. In the first book we found out her blood was special, and in the second book - we find out why. Her blood was a result of a donor from another planet, which she ended up saving in the second book. And this time - the planet needs help again. But also this time - Ruby might not be the one that can save it. 

Because the animals have their own language, and Ruby cannot understand it. If she could understand them, she would know that they are tired of being puppets to the humans and the vampires. And wolves are more than happy to lead this rebelion. 

Without an alpha that can fight for their rights and lead their uprising, the animals will destroy everything in front of them. Ruby is the only one who can connect the animals with their rightful king - is she could only find him.

I have to admit, I struggled a bit at the beginning, when at one point we were introduced to all the different creatures and abilities (zombies, vampires, sculpting, werewolves, multiple planets, search for the true king). While the first and second book were more focused on one part of the story, in this book we had all of the different aspects colliding into one. And despite my struggles at the beginning, it all worked out in the end.

<b><i>I really loved this book, and it was a perfect last book to conclude this series.
</i></b>
The ending was beautiful and I enjoyed the final few twists, where you couldn’t trust anyone. I loved the love this family had for each other, and how kind and generous they always are. They care so much for each other, it's really nice to read it. It was such an adventurous ride, and I was eager to know how it ended. I am also glad they gave Zagan another chance to prove he changed, and that he deserves another chance at life.

If you have read my previous reviews - you will know me and Clay don’t really get along. But this book changed my opinion a bit, and I actually ended up liking his character and his story in this book. (surprise, surprise). 

The ELI Chronicles, as a whole, is a series not only about zombie apocalypse, vampires, werewolves, rightful kings and special abilities, but also a story about the true power of one family, and their love for each other. Julia Ash managed to combine these two things into the books so well, and make this journey not only adventurous, but also heartwarming.

<b><i>And I have to say - I am glad that I am part of it by reading this series.</i></b>

I am glad I have experienced this book, and grown together with it. Thinking of where I was on my journey when I started the first book, and where I am now, I can understand and appreciate this story way more and connect better with it. Definitely a must-read for all fans of sci-fi, adventure and thrillers.