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Dana (24 KP) rated Strange the Dreamer in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
Strange the Dreamer
Strange the Dreamer
Laini Taylor | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
10
9.0 (19 Ratings)
Book Rating
Okay, I want to start off by saying that this fantasy book is both alike and so very different from Laini Taylor's other series Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I can honestly say I think I like this one better, and I really liked that series!

I think the thing I liked about this book is the multiple narrations and how they are almost seemlessly woven together. I liked all of the characters, even though some of them were super annoying as people, but they were very well written and fleshed out.

The romance, while sometimes cheesy, was so cute I could overlook that cheesyness. I think it really drew the two story lines together well and did not detract from either of the characters and their agencies.

Lazlo was such a sweetie. I loved how he just wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Even people who were unkind to him, he would go and check on because he knows what it is like to be abandoned. (Also, saw that ending with him coming from the beginning, just saying.)

Sarai was a joy. I know she is the odd one out of the godspawn, but I think she is the best. She wants to see the good in people even though she has every reason to be bitter and hate all of them. She, like Lazlo, knows what it is like to be betrayed. She does not want to be the queen of nightmares, she doesn't want to hurt anyone, but she does to keep her fellow godspawn safe.

The plot was very well done, not too slow by any sense of the word. By the time I finished, I didn't want it to be over! I am really excited for the next book to come out...so when is that again?

And can I just say that that ending was not nice in the slightest and I would like to unread it. Thank you.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book! If you are a fan of fantasy, you should definitely pick this one up!
  
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Merissa (14056 KP) rated Grayality in Books

Oct 4, 2022  
Grayality
Grayality
Carey PW | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A story full of emotions, both good and bad
GRAYALITY is a book full of emotions, both good and bad. Pate is a trans-man who likes the on-and-off again girlfriend of the local bully, and Oakley, his best friend, thinks he is straight until he meets Sadie at a drag-queen show. Their new start in a small country town just got more complicated.

There are words of wisdom in here, spoken between the two best friends, or their new friends. However, there is also a lot of country stereotypical behaviour that may or may not be exaggerated.

I loved seeing Pate and Oak go through their relationships, although I can honestly say I couldn't stand Maybelle from the beginning. Oak is the one who had to change his thinking the most and is also the one who suffered the most, I would say. Pate is the one who physically paid for being who he is.

This was a great story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is emotional and almost tangible in what our young friends go through. A brilliant read that I highly recommend.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
AU
An Undeniable Rogue (Rogues Club, #1)
2
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
With all the rave reviews at Amazon I really thought I'd like this book; too bad I was wrong. I really don't think it is anything out of the ordinary as the reviews state or imply. For me the story just seemed to plod along and never get anywhere interesting. I've read similar stories/plots that I've enjoyed much, much more, which were written in a way that let the reader into the story and didn't hold them at a distance. That's the way all Annette Blair books I've read have made me feel, I've never connected to any of them with the exception of The Butterfly Garden, which I loved and why I continue to read her books.

In this book I increasingly began to dislike Sabrina, but liked Gideon enough (with the exception of his liking, let alone loving, Sabrina). Even with her past, I felt she was too much of a Mary Sue and didn't have any redeeming features. For the most part I found her boring, tedious, stupid, and unworthy of Gideon. I will read the others in the Rogue series because (1) I have them lying around and (2) the next book sounds intriguing (hey, what can I say, I like scarred and/or tortured heroes! :P). I'll continue to give Annette Blair a chance so I can see if she has captured the magic that she had in The Butterfly Garden.
  
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Kate (496 KP) rated The Silent Patient in Books

Apr 12, 2020  
The Silent Patient
The Silent Patient
Alex Michaelides | 2019 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
10
8.3 (39 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great twist (0 more)
Gripping read - kept me guessing
This is one of the best books I have read and I have read a lot. I was gripped from the very start and it was good going back and forward from past to present as the full story starts to come together.
I read a lot of crime books and can usually guess the perpetrator and the motive usually quite quickly but this book had me guessing. When Alicia and Theo's story merge and everything falls into place this was something I could never have guessed. It all made sense and you kind of say 'oh yeah'. When I got to this part of the book I had to finish this. I couldn't put it down all the way through. I finished it in 2 days.
I started to feel for Theo. Alicia's silence was frustrating me and I was just the reader. The things happening in his personal life were awful and I wanted to tell him what do as he was on a bad path. But it is surprising hoe your feelings for a character can change so quickly. This happened with a few characters but mainly Theo.
Anyone who reads and enjoys crime books should definitely give this book a read. It is a different type of crime book.
The book exceeded all expectations based on the blurb.
I would read other books from Alex Michaelides.
  
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
1992 | Family, Sci-Fi
The ultimate Christmas film
This is by far my favourite Christmas film and I watch it every year without fail, and it never fails to raise some festive cheer.

The Muppets with Michael Caine as Scrooge, you really can’t go wrong. It’s thoroughly enjoyable, full of great humour and heartwarming scenes. The songs too are well written, catchy and some even bring a tear to your eye. The only negative thing I can say about this is that it’s sadly looking a little dated, but it’s still miles more entertaining than some of the more recent Christmas films.
  
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Tara L Milner (1 KP) created a post

Jan 10, 2018  
Raven Boys. Maggie Stiefvater
Well what can I say I was hooked from the first chapter; then everything went a little South. A little irritating with constant change of narrative - not even chapter by chapter but almost every other page. Then theres the highly annoyed is the "said Gansly" before he said anything! (This happens 95% before anyone speaks) but the story is so annoyingly captivating you have to gind out what happens next. So now I've bought the other three books in series to find out what did happen that night!!! What will happen to Blue???
     
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
Brilliant Story (2 more)
Great Acting
Proper Kick Ass
That's how you do a superhero movie!
I've always known Wonder Women as a huge icon in the DC franchise however with limited spotlight in over the last 20 years she was kinda off my radar - until I saw this! The movie is fantastic, It's got a great story (believable) and just the right amount of superhero action to appreciate what they are capable of. Gal and the team did a superb job and I can even go as far to say it is probably one if my all time favourite superhero movies. Loved it
  
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
1959 | Classics, Comedy, Drama
Classic Billy Wilder comedy farce, starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis (doing his Carey Grant impersonation), with the latter two playing down on their luck musicians who witness a mafia murder during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and hatch a plan to escape Chicago by joining an all-girl band (enter Monroe) in drag in order to escape.

Full of sizzling one liners/repartee such as:

"Water Polo? Isn't that awfully dangerous? "
"I'll say. I had two horses drown under me..."

(I think it was 2)

and who can forger the final line of the film ("nobody's perfect")!
  
The I.O.U.
The I.O.U.
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm actually giving this short story 4.5 stars, since I was a touch confused by the ending. Nevertheless, I have to say that this previously undiscovered short story is simply delightful, and thank you so much The New Yorker for publishing it (which you can find here http://bit.ly/2mLpQvP). This is Fitzgerald at his best and most cynical. He takes an untenable situation and finds the humor in it, while allowing the sadness to dissolve into the background, like the very last lingerings of a slightly unpleasant scent. This very quick read is highly recommended!