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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Shatter (Joseph O'Loughlin #3) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
Let me just begin by saying this was a FANTASTIC read! This book started off intriguing and did not disappoint. It took off from about the 2nd chapter & did not let up until the very end.
It tells the story of Dr. O'Loughlin who is a psychiatrist. After completing a lecture at Bath University he gets "volunteered" by his department chair to take him place with a police matter. He is taken to a suspension bridge in the middle of a rainstorm (it is England after all) to try to prevent what appears to be a suicide. The woman is on the edge of the bridge naked, with slut written across her stomach in red lipstick, & a cell phone pressed to her ear. She looks at the doc, says, "You wouldn't understand," & jumps to her death.
It is written off as a typical suicide...& then strange things begin to happen. I don't want to say much more, but I will leave it off by saying that in the end the good doctor is left wishing he would've walked away from the hulking police officer that rainy afternoon.
I look forward to the next book in the series & a long relationship with the books of Michael Robotham. What a writer!!!
It tells the story of Dr. O'Loughlin who is a psychiatrist. After completing a lecture at Bath University he gets "volunteered" by his department chair to take him place with a police matter. He is taken to a suspension bridge in the middle of a rainstorm (it is England after all) to try to prevent what appears to be a suicide. The woman is on the edge of the bridge naked, with slut written across her stomach in red lipstick, & a cell phone pressed to her ear. She looks at the doc, says, "You wouldn't understand," & jumps to her death.
It is written off as a typical suicide...& then strange things begin to happen. I don't want to say much more, but I will leave it off by saying that in the end the good doctor is left wishing he would've walked away from the hulking police officer that rainy afternoon.
I look forward to the next book in the series & a long relationship with the books of Michael Robotham. What a writer!!!
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman in Books
Apr 27, 2018
This book was very engaging. Most of it I'd already been told by my parents (I've explained before how they have a great marriage) but Couples Who Pray had the data and research to back it up. I was surprised to learn that many Christian couples don't pray together. I was also surprised at the changes in their relationships when couples started praying.
It was really neat to read all the stories and see how God works in His people's lives. There are lots of great tips for married couples, couples who are dating or engaged, and there is even a short section on praying with the opposite sex who you are not married to. Couples Who Pray was encouraging and educational, and every couple needs to know the information in here.
I felt like the majority of the book was trying to convince couples that it was a good idea to pray with each other. There were a lot of stories and basic instruction, but it felt almost as if they drew it out a little too long and kept going over the same thing in every chapter. Basically it could have been more concise.
Recommendation: Couples in need of a spiritual revival, or singles thinking about marriage in their future.
It was really neat to read all the stories and see how God works in His people's lives. There are lots of great tips for married couples, couples who are dating or engaged, and there is even a short section on praying with the opposite sex who you are not married to. Couples Who Pray was encouraging and educational, and every couple needs to know the information in here.
I felt like the majority of the book was trying to convince couples that it was a good idea to pray with each other. There were a lot of stories and basic instruction, but it felt almost as if they drew it out a little too long and kept going over the same thing in every chapter. Basically it could have been more concise.
Recommendation: Couples in need of a spiritual revival, or singles thinking about marriage in their future.
Bubblesreview (110 KP) rated A Note Of Madness in Books
Feb 9, 2019
Mental health awareness (1 more)
Likeable chapters
This novel was the authors debut, for a debut novel it's well written and flows fairly well. The portrayal of bipolar disorder / manic depression is realistically unsettling. It really shows how damaging a misdiagnosis could be and the serious effect of being dismissed. To avoid spoilers I'm not going to say if this story ends with a happy or an unfortunate end. I will advise you NOT to read this if you suffer from a mental illness and are triggered easily, this could be a serious trigger.
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Following on, although I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and really appreciate the mental health awareness in it which is a rare find in a book, I found this a hard one to score higher than 7/10. This is solely due to the fact that the chapters are long, ranging on average at about 25+ pages. This made it difficult to stay focused and I found myself having to read back a couple of pages to recap. This is completely my own problem as I enjoy shorter chapters and I really dislike stopping half way through a chapter.
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Overall I 100% recommend this book. It's very underrated and deserves more awareness
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Following on, although I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and really appreciate the mental health awareness in it which is a rare find in a book, I found this a hard one to score higher than 7/10. This is solely due to the fact that the chapters are long, ranging on average at about 25+ pages. This made it difficult to stay focused and I found myself having to read back a couple of pages to recap. This is completely my own problem as I enjoy shorter chapters and I really dislike stopping half way through a chapter.
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Overall I 100% recommend this book. It's very underrated and deserves more awareness
ALilLacey (2 KP) rated Mike and the Dog-Gone Labradoodle in Books
Mar 4, 2019
When Mike discovers that his secret crush, Nic's (Nicole,) dog has gone missing he is on the case. After failing to find her dog, Baxter, on his first outing, Mike's twin sister along with some of their friends put on their thinking caps and head out to look for clues as to where the dog could have gone. The relationship between Mike and his twin sister, Maddie is totally believable for a 12 year old boy. They're total opposites and he just doesn't get her smart 'weirdness.' How Mike describes his feelings for Nic and his interactions with his friends also really puts you in his shoes. All of the characters have fun and humorous personalities and the descriptions of them really give you an image of this newly found group of friends. It was a great lead into how The Pet Shop Society was formed and, I feel, would really engage readers 7-11 to read more of the series. This was a simple chapter book that was engaging as well as thought provoking and would take the child on a fun adventure.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, which this is.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, which this is.
Janeeny (200 KP) rated Making Magic in Books
May 16, 2019
I receivef an ARV of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
As a Pagan, and a dabbler in Wicca I’m always keen to learn other forms of practice and sometimes pick up other things to use in my rituals. So I was keen to read 'Making Magic' as the blurb sets it as “welcoming guide to accessing your magic and creating a spiritual path that is all your own”
It does just that, each chapter talks about an aspect of magic and gives you an idea and an example of ritual.
The concept isn’t anything new, but the rituals are pared down to the very basics. although it does suggest using certain talismans and trinkets they are not necesarry and each ritual can be brought right back down to nature. That was actually what I liked most about this book, the very basic nature of the rituals.
Most other books on practicing Paganism talk about ‘summoning your circle' or 'calling the corners', for someone like me that sometimes struggles with this kind of visualisation I was quite pleased to see that the ritual preperations in this book were just two cleansing breaths; In and Out. This is something which I shall definitly be adding to my own little pot pourri of paganism.
As a Pagan, and a dabbler in Wicca I’m always keen to learn other forms of practice and sometimes pick up other things to use in my rituals. So I was keen to read 'Making Magic' as the blurb sets it as “welcoming guide to accessing your magic and creating a spiritual path that is all your own”
It does just that, each chapter talks about an aspect of magic and gives you an idea and an example of ritual.
The concept isn’t anything new, but the rituals are pared down to the very basics. although it does suggest using certain talismans and trinkets they are not necesarry and each ritual can be brought right back down to nature. That was actually what I liked most about this book, the very basic nature of the rituals.
Most other books on practicing Paganism talk about ‘summoning your circle' or 'calling the corners', for someone like me that sometimes struggles with this kind of visualisation I was quite pleased to see that the ritual preperations in this book were just two cleansing breaths; In and Out. This is something which I shall definitly be adding to my own little pot pourri of paganism.
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships in Books
Mar 1, 2018
I have to be honest. When I initially heard about Opening Up by Tristan Taormino, it was in association with someone I can't stand, and I childishly let that association color my impression of the book. I didn't really consider reading it. I finally got around to reading (okay, listening to) it this past week, and I'm sorry I didn't do so sooner. It's so good that I'm considering purchasing a print copy to have on hand in my lending library, and maybe even an ebook copy so that I might easily reference passages from time to time.
None of the information is new to me, exactly, but it is put together very well. The sections on issues to consider/issues that might arise in each style of responsible non-monogamy were especially appreciated. I was disappointed that there isn't a section in her web site for readers, but perhaps the print copy has reproducible checklists.
The chapter on STIs was very good, although I think that a list of specific STIs for which non-monogamous people should request testing would have been helpful.
In any case, I do recommend this book. It's replacing Love Without Limits as my go-to recommendation for new polyfolk to read.
None of the information is new to me, exactly, but it is put together very well. The sections on issues to consider/issues that might arise in each style of responsible non-monogamy were especially appreciated. I was disappointed that there isn't a section in her web site for readers, but perhaps the print copy has reproducible checklists.
The chapter on STIs was very good, although I think that a list of specific STIs for which non-monogamous people should request testing would have been helpful.
In any case, I do recommend this book. It's replacing Love Without Limits as my go-to recommendation for new polyfolk to read.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2478 KP) rated Biscuits and Slashed Browns (Country Store Mysteries #4) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
March brings a maple syrup festival to Brown County, Indiana, and Robbie Jordan is hoping to snag some of the tourists into her shop, Pans ‘N Pancakes. However, the festival has also brought Dr. Warren Connolly to town, a professor hated for many reasons. He is found murdered one morning before the day’s events can get started, and the police begin to look at one of Robbie’s friends as the killer. Then a local maple syrup farmer goes missing. What is going on?
I thought we might be in for some lectures as Dr. Connolly is first introduced to us as a climate change denier, however, this was dropped after the second chapter as we begin to find real motives for his murder. In fact, we get several strong motives and suspects that kept me turning pages and guessing until the end. While I missed one of the regular characters, the rest were present and accounted for and were as charming as ever. The setting is fantastic, too. I’d love to visit Robbie’s store.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2018/02/book-review-biscuits-and-slashed-browns.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I thought we might be in for some lectures as Dr. Connolly is first introduced to us as a climate change denier, however, this was dropped after the second chapter as we begin to find real motives for his murder. In fact, we get several strong motives and suspects that kept me turning pages and guessing until the end. While I missed one of the regular characters, the rest were present and accounted for and were as charming as ever. The setting is fantastic, too. I’d love to visit Robbie’s store.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2018/02/book-review-biscuits-and-slashed-browns.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated Unbroken in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Considering that this book has been out for quite a while, and the movie has already hit theaters, I am going to assume that anyone who is interested is already aware of the plot. And I am going to guess there isn't really much left to say about this rather popular book that hasn't already been said, so just let me say that if you haven't read it yet, you really should. While primarily being about Louis Zamperini, it does touch on the lives of other soldiers on both sides of the war to varying levels of detail, which really helps one to understand the mindsets of those involved, a necessary achievement when dealing with some of the atrocities committed in these pages. And those atrocities are quite shocking. A lot of attention has been given to what the Germans did during World War II (and rightly so), but very few of us really know about some of the shocking violence carried out by the Japanese. This is an important chapter of world history that we all should remember, and it is told here in a very compelling style that should make it easy to get into for anyone. One of the best non-fiction stories of recent years.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1) in Books
Aug 7, 2019
Not an easy death
Contains spoilers, click to show
Set in a fractured United States, in the southwestern country now known as Texoma. A world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted, especially by a young gunslinger named Lizbeth Rose. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards to be their local guide and gunnie. For the wizards, Gunnie Rose has already acquired a fearsome reputation and they’re at a desperate crossroad, even if they won’t admit it. They’re searching through the small border towns near Mexico, trying to locate a low-level magic practitioner, Oleg Karkarov. The wizards believe Oleg is a direct descendant of Grigori Rasputin, and that Oleg’s blood can save the young tsar’s life.
I'm not one for writing negative reviews and I really really wanted to like this book. Bit omg can someone tell me why Charlaine Harris is constantly writing about stupid annoying women? Considering the girl losses pretty much her love and friends in the first chapter she hardly has any emotional response. I just don't get the storyline or world building either. I won't be going on to book 2 😢 Definitely not an easy death
⭐⭐

I'm not one for writing negative reviews and I really really wanted to like this book. Bit omg can someone tell me why Charlaine Harris is constantly writing about stupid annoying women? Considering the girl losses pretty much her love and friends in the first chapter she hardly has any emotional response. I just don't get the storyline or world building either. I won't be going on to book 2 😢 Definitely not an easy death
⭐⭐

Fred Astaire
Book
Joseph Epstein's Fred Astaire investigates the great dancer's magical talent, taking up the story of...