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Louise (64 KP) rated The Problem with Forever in Books
Jul 2, 2018
I have really wanted to read something by Jennifer L Armentrout for a while, one being the lux series that I have heard a lot of people in the blogosphere rave about. I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did! Your probably think I say that for all the books I read, but I try not to set expectations too high. This book was addictive, I managed to read 70% of it in one day and stayed up until the early hours of the morning just so I could finish it, even though I knew I was going to be sooo tired for work the next day.
Mallory Dodge hasn’t had the easiest start in life, she grew up in Foster homes and some that were pretty awful, so much that she becomes withdrawn and the only way to keep herself safe and from drawing attention to herself is to remain as quiet as a ‘Mouse’. Until one horrific incident she manages to escape the horrific abuse that she was subjected to and adopted by Carl and Rosa two doctors that treated her but she will forever be scarred mentally and physically. Mallory is returning to a state school after being home schooled for the previous 4 years and somewhat apprehensive. Being silent has held Mallory back and she needs to start getting on with her life and one is to start socializing with people her own age and building her confidence, otherwise she fears she will be this way forever.
All is going well on her first day, well she hasn’t spoken to anyone but at least she is at school which is a big tick in the box. One of her classes is speech, one of the hardest lessons for her to overcome. She spots a boy who feels familiar to her, but it couldn’t be, could it? When the boy seats himself next to her in speech she is shocked, the boy is Rider Stark…. her best friend from when she was in the foster home, her saviour and protector, one that experienced all those awful things with her, he knows her like no-one else. With emotions and feelings about Rider all over the place, her foster parents not happy with his sudden appearance and what it will mean, Mallory has to break the silence to save everything.
OK! I need to start off with the cover, how beautiful is this book and the colours? This would instantly draw me in and buy it, you can just tell its contemporary. This book a massive 480 pages and there wasn’t a dull moment. This is such an emotional story, there is swoon worthy romance with a hot guy, there are sad times and times when my heart was racing because I was scared for Mallory and Rider, what would happen to them both.
Mallory’s character was amazing with so much development, she was such a different girl at the finish and I was overcome with pride as of how well she had managed and grew. She is a likeable character always trying to please everyone, she is shy and timid making you really feel for her.
Rider, he is Mallory’s protector and he always will be. It’s what he knows best. He skips class to make sure Mallory is not alone at lunch, he doesn’t do much when he does attend his lessons but he is an artist (not to him). He is so caring and like perfect boyfriend material it was impossible not to swoon.
Some could say the romance was a bit insta-lovey but for me it wasn’t. They hadn’t seen each other in 4 years and they were reconnecting wanting to get to know each other again and find out how life has been since they last saw each other. But their friendship was totally different from 4 years ago, and they both knew it. There was an attraction that wasn’t there before.
Throughout the story Mallory has flashbacks to when she was younger and the abuse(physically and verbally) that herself and Rider were subjected to and what lead to the incident. It shows how Rider cared for Mallory and how there pasts had shaped the people they had become.
I really liked most of the side characters in this book, there was Ainsley which was Mallory’s best friend outside of school. Hector and Jayden were cheeky chappies who Rider lived with. Paige and Carl I didn’t really warm to but I think that’s mainly because they were getting in the way of Mallory’s happiness .
This story is addictive, beautiful and heart warming, I enjoyed every page and would definitely recommend it.
I rated this 4 out of stars
I received a copy of this from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Mallory Dodge hasn’t had the easiest start in life, she grew up in Foster homes and some that were pretty awful, so much that she becomes withdrawn and the only way to keep herself safe and from drawing attention to herself is to remain as quiet as a ‘Mouse’. Until one horrific incident she manages to escape the horrific abuse that she was subjected to and adopted by Carl and Rosa two doctors that treated her but she will forever be scarred mentally and physically. Mallory is returning to a state school after being home schooled for the previous 4 years and somewhat apprehensive. Being silent has held Mallory back and she needs to start getting on with her life and one is to start socializing with people her own age and building her confidence, otherwise she fears she will be this way forever.
All is going well on her first day, well she hasn’t spoken to anyone but at least she is at school which is a big tick in the box. One of her classes is speech, one of the hardest lessons for her to overcome. She spots a boy who feels familiar to her, but it couldn’t be, could it? When the boy seats himself next to her in speech she is shocked, the boy is Rider Stark…. her best friend from when she was in the foster home, her saviour and protector, one that experienced all those awful things with her, he knows her like no-one else. With emotions and feelings about Rider all over the place, her foster parents not happy with his sudden appearance and what it will mean, Mallory has to break the silence to save everything.
OK! I need to start off with the cover, how beautiful is this book and the colours? This would instantly draw me in and buy it, you can just tell its contemporary. This book a massive 480 pages and there wasn’t a dull moment. This is such an emotional story, there is swoon worthy romance with a hot guy, there are sad times and times when my heart was racing because I was scared for Mallory and Rider, what would happen to them both.
Mallory’s character was amazing with so much development, she was such a different girl at the finish and I was overcome with pride as of how well she had managed and grew. She is a likeable character always trying to please everyone, she is shy and timid making you really feel for her.
Rider, he is Mallory’s protector and he always will be. It’s what he knows best. He skips class to make sure Mallory is not alone at lunch, he doesn’t do much when he does attend his lessons but he is an artist (not to him). He is so caring and like perfect boyfriend material it was impossible not to swoon.
Some could say the romance was a bit insta-lovey but for me it wasn’t. They hadn’t seen each other in 4 years and they were reconnecting wanting to get to know each other again and find out how life has been since they last saw each other. But their friendship was totally different from 4 years ago, and they both knew it. There was an attraction that wasn’t there before.
Throughout the story Mallory has flashbacks to when she was younger and the abuse(physically and verbally) that herself and Rider were subjected to and what lead to the incident. It shows how Rider cared for Mallory and how there pasts had shaped the people they had become.
I really liked most of the side characters in this book, there was Ainsley which was Mallory’s best friend outside of school. Hector and Jayden were cheeky chappies who Rider lived with. Paige and Carl I didn’t really warm to but I think that’s mainly because they were getting in the way of Mallory’s happiness .
This story is addictive, beautiful and heart warming, I enjoyed every page and would definitely recommend it.
I rated this 4 out of stars
I received a copy of this from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Daddy's Home 2 (2017) in Movies
Feb 9, 2018
Next set of dad come for a visit
Brad (ferrell) and Dusty (Whalberg) have learned to co exist as dad and step dad. Christmas has come and both of their fathers are coming for a visit. One planned Don (lithgow) who is Brad's dad and Kurt (Gibson) as Dusty's who decides to call the night before to say he is coming for a visit. They all end up spending the most joyful time of year together as a family but Dusty's setp daughter who is a trouble maker father Roger (Cena) is called in to try and make it right for his daughter. Can all of them exist in the same house hold.
I really liked the first one. This one with the addition of Lithgow and Gibson who are perfectly cast to play their fathers and with Cena coming in on it made it fun to watch but, there is a ton of the same type gags from the first one and you begin to expect what they hope you would find as the unexpected.
I really liked the first one. This one with the addition of Lithgow and Gibson who are perfectly cast to play their fathers and with Cena coming in on it made it fun to watch but, there is a ton of the same type gags from the first one and you begin to expect what they hope you would find as the unexpected.
The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Kingsburg in Tabletop Games
Aug 24, 2018
Simple and easy to understand game (1 more)
Mitigating your dice and figuring out how to use them is the fun part
Dice allocation for the good of the kingdom.... and yourself.
The game is about defending the kingdom from invading armies that get progressively stronger every winter. so the other three seasons are about building up your kingdom by building buildings that are defensive or make you stronger in other ways. Some defenses are better against goblins, or maybe Zombies, build a church and get a bonus against demons... The game lasts about an hour and a half depending on how quickly people take their turns. There's not much analysis paralysis, there is a clever mechanism of choosing how to use your three dice.... lets say you roll a 1, 3, 6: You can place it on the total number, a combo of the two of them or a single die value, and each number on the board gives you different returns. Not nearly as difficult as Castles of Burgundy, this is a good entry point into dice allocation games. I like it.
David McK (3801 KP) rated Live and Let Die (James Bond, #2) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
"When you were young, and your heart was an open book,
You used to say live and let live
(you know you did you know you die you know you did)
But in this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry ...
Live and let die ..."
(cue guitar riff)
With that out of the way - Paul McCartney and Wings, later covered by Guns 'N Roses - Live and Let Die is the second James Bond book by Ian Fleming, but the eighth film in the series, and the first to star Roger Moore in the lead role.
And reading it with contemporary eyes, boy has it aged. Quite different than the movie - although the key elements (vodoo, Baron Samedi, Solitaire, American southwest setting) are intact, it can also be quite uncomfortable reading this with modern sensibilities, particularly in how Flemings (and Bond) treats the female characters, and in how the Harlem culture and denizens are portrayed.
Allowances must be made, I suppose, for the time period in which it was written ...
You used to say live and let live
(you know you did you know you die you know you did)
But in this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry ...
Live and let die ..."
(cue guitar riff)
With that out of the way - Paul McCartney and Wings, later covered by Guns 'N Roses - Live and Let Die is the second James Bond book by Ian Fleming, but the eighth film in the series, and the first to star Roger Moore in the lead role.
And reading it with contemporary eyes, boy has it aged. Quite different than the movie - although the key elements (vodoo, Baron Samedi, Solitaire, American southwest setting) are intact, it can also be quite uncomfortable reading this with modern sensibilities, particularly in how Flemings (and Bond) treats the female characters, and in how the Harlem culture and denizens are portrayed.
Allowances must be made, I suppose, for the time period in which it was written ...
HumorCast - Funny Authentic Weather Forecasts
Weather and Lifestyle
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Hands down the funniest weather app available. A funny, accurate, authentic, honest, and easy to...
Days Missing: Kestus: Volume 2
Book
Days Missing: Kestus continues the saga that Warren Ellis describes as "...greatly entertaining...
Brian Fallon recommended Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 by Bruce Springsteen in Music (curated)
Butch Vig recommended Marquee Moon by Television in Music (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001) in Movies
Apr 16, 2021 (Updated Jul 4, 2021)
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. Boo-fucking-hoo, sad sad sad. Total bullshit, another turn-of-the-millennium 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘢 wannabe where a bunch of junk characters spout faux-philosophical anecdotes about No Actual Thing for what feels like literal ages. Starts off with some minor intrigue but no sooner I couldn't stand it - what with it's downright laughably corny music and sterile-as-can-be cinematography *on top of* this aggressively cringe dialogue delivered by such nonentities. Feels like one of those fake AI bots from Twitter being fed every somber hyperlink film and spatting out its jumbled tropes. I'm not going to say this doesn't have intriguing ideas, they just go nowhere and most of these stories just... don't even finish? Young Rob McElhenney in a bit part outacts the entire cast of unenthusiastic performances from A-listers (other than McConaughey who just feels right in and around any courtroom setting, but even then they give him next to no breathing room). Still in disbelief with how boring they decided to play this.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated To the Bone (2017) in Movies
Sep 10, 2020
Can be triggering for some
The movie starts with a hospital support group, the girls are super skinny and talking about food, why? They are anorexic! This story focuses on 20 year old anorexia sufferer Ellie, she lives with her step mum who watches her when she eats and weighs her on a regular basis. She takes Ellie to see a specialist doctor to try and help her, and he admits her to a clinic with other people with eating disorders, it has no doors and no electronic devices are allowed. Fairly normal for rehab.
There's not much to say about the movie really, it's nice to see a movie dedicated to getting better rather than leading upto the illness. Be warned though, if you suffer from or have suffered from an eating disorder and are easily triggered then I would stay clear of the movie as the eating disorder language and attitudes towards food is pretty full on, such as tips on losing weight, where to hide your vomit, weight numbers and calorie counting.
There's not much to say about the movie really, it's nice to see a movie dedicated to getting better rather than leading upto the illness. Be warned though, if you suffer from or have suffered from an eating disorder and are easily triggered then I would stay clear of the movie as the eating disorder language and attitudes towards food is pretty full on, such as tips on losing weight, where to hide your vomit, weight numbers and calorie counting.