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Kim Pook (101 KP) rated The inbetween (2022) in Movies
Jun 3, 2022
The movie starts with the aftermath of an accident. A young boy and girl are lying on the ground and the girl wakes up in hospital, it then rewinds to show us what happened prior to the accident (182 days).
Its clear from a conversation that the girl is adopted but won't connect with her adoptive parents, instead she spends time with her camera by herself. During a trip to the cinema she meets a young lad who offers to translate the movie for her and they hit it off straight away.
It then goes back to the hospital where we find out that skye (the boy) and tessa had become a couple, and skye had died and become stuck in the Inbetween (hence the movies title) trying to contact tessa.
There's a lot of back and forth between the time lines as skye and tessas relationship develops. I like that they used the difference in colour to show which timeline we were watching, the memory is bright and cheerful, whereas the present has more of a grey ish tint to it. I thought the performances were very good, though I did feel the length was a bit too long. Everything could have been wrapped up in an hour and a half rather than 2 hours. As for the storyline itself, I love a good romance movie so I can't complain, though I do feel the movie would have better if it wasn't back and forth all the time.
Its clear from a conversation that the girl is adopted but won't connect with her adoptive parents, instead she spends time with her camera by herself. During a trip to the cinema she meets a young lad who offers to translate the movie for her and they hit it off straight away.
It then goes back to the hospital where we find out that skye (the boy) and tessa had become a couple, and skye had died and become stuck in the Inbetween (hence the movies title) trying to contact tessa.
There's a lot of back and forth between the time lines as skye and tessas relationship develops. I like that they used the difference in colour to show which timeline we were watching, the memory is bright and cheerful, whereas the present has more of a grey ish tint to it. I thought the performances were very good, though I did feel the length was a bit too long. Everything could have been wrapped up in an hour and a half rather than 2 hours. As for the storyline itself, I love a good romance movie so I can't complain, though I do feel the movie would have better if it wasn't back and forth all the time.
Influenced
10.0
Rate It
Book
A MILLION LIKES vs. ONE TRUE LOVE Bryce Bauman is one half of a famous influencer couple…until...
Contemporary MM Romance
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Around the World in 80 Days in Books
Apr 11, 2022
The Original Race Around the World
Phileas Fogg, a wealthy gentleman of the 1870’s, is a man of exacting routine until one day, when he makes a wager with some acquaintances at his club. With his bet that he can travel around the world in 80 days, he is off, shocking his new man servant, Passepartout, who was looking for a quiet job. Things get even trickier when they catch the attention of Detective Fix, who thinks Fogg might be the bank robber everyone is on the alert for. Will Fogg win his bet?
I’d heard about this book for years and was finally inspired to read it. I found it mixed, at least to what I am used to these days. The journey itself is uneven, with some areas more prominently featured than others, like the time spent in America. My biggest problem was the characters, who are paper thin. As a result, it took me a while to really get invested. Unfortunately, the thinnest of the lot is the sole woman in the book. There are a couple of complications that today’s readers will view as dated stereotypes, but they were real issues the world was dealing with at the time (or at least one of them was something that happened consistently, unfortunately). I did get caught up in the story at times, and I appreciated how the climax was set up early on. I’m glad I’ve finally read it, but the end result was only average.
I’d heard about this book for years and was finally inspired to read it. I found it mixed, at least to what I am used to these days. The journey itself is uneven, with some areas more prominently featured than others, like the time spent in America. My biggest problem was the characters, who are paper thin. As a result, it took me a while to really get invested. Unfortunately, the thinnest of the lot is the sole woman in the book. There are a couple of complications that today’s readers will view as dated stereotypes, but they were real issues the world was dealing with at the time (or at least one of them was something that happened consistently, unfortunately). I did get caught up in the story at times, and I appreciated how the climax was set up early on. I’m glad I’ve finally read it, but the end result was only average.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas in Books
Apr 15, 2022
Another amazingly funny look at the life of a doctor, but this time over the festive period.
I don’t think I will ever tire of reading Adam Kay’s work, from the diary entries full of sarcasm to the explanatory footnotes with a touch of humour, he makes his books so easy to read.
This book shows how medical staff don’t get the standard couple of weeks off that most people seem to get where they can binge on cheese and wine and forget which day of the week it is, whilst watching rubbish TV. They still have to work, and sometimes it’s the worst time of year because of people overindulging and not being careful with the most ordinary of tasks.
I don’t know how he manages to keep his sense of humour throughout both books and throughout his career in medicine, but I’m so glad that he does.
The final chapter was the most poignant one for me, where he talks about thanking the medical professionals with small gestures such as a Christmas card or donating to a charity. It shows that even though he is no longer in the profession, it isn’t too far from his heart (probably because his siblings still work in the profession) and he wants to make it better for those that do pull the short straw at Christmas.
Another brilliant read from Adam Kay, I can’t wait to read more from him (hopefully!). My only regret? Not reading this one around Christmas!
I don’t think I will ever tire of reading Adam Kay’s work, from the diary entries full of sarcasm to the explanatory footnotes with a touch of humour, he makes his books so easy to read.
This book shows how medical staff don’t get the standard couple of weeks off that most people seem to get where they can binge on cheese and wine and forget which day of the week it is, whilst watching rubbish TV. They still have to work, and sometimes it’s the worst time of year because of people overindulging and not being careful with the most ordinary of tasks.
I don’t know how he manages to keep his sense of humour throughout both books and throughout his career in medicine, but I’m so glad that he does.
The final chapter was the most poignant one for me, where he talks about thanking the medical professionals with small gestures such as a Christmas card or donating to a charity. It shows that even though he is no longer in the profession, it isn’t too far from his heart (probably because his siblings still work in the profession) and he wants to make it better for those that do pull the short straw at Christmas.
Another brilliant read from Adam Kay, I can’t wait to read more from him (hopefully!). My only regret? Not reading this one around Christmas!
Merissa (11950 KP) rated His Rockstar Dom in Books
Nov 14, 2023
HIS ROCKSTAR DOM is a standalone novella that tells of a well-established rock band, Glitter Kinks, and the musicians that make it up. Most of them are okay (or more than okay) but Sal is causing them BIG problems. Braylin was hired as a guitar tech. Also plays guitar and is a lifelong fan of the band and the lead singer, Zen.
What I loved about this was the communication! It's there - on every page! A couple of misunderstandings are quickly dealt with by talking it out. Wow, consider that! Zen knows what he wants out of the relationship, and Braylin is completely innocent but prepared to be guided by Zen. Zen listens and is prepared to take things slowly, going at Bray's pace. Oh, man! Be still, my beating heart. It was just perfect. The relationship between them was natural and unforced and I loved every word.
It wasn't just the dynamics of Zen and Bray though, it was between Bray and the whole band, the whole on-tour group. They melded and made it perfect.
I love Morticia Knight's books and this is no different. If I had one complaint, it would be that I didn't want it to end!
Hot - Innocent - Perfect! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 14, 2023
What I loved about this was the communication! It's there - on every page! A couple of misunderstandings are quickly dealt with by talking it out. Wow, consider that! Zen knows what he wants out of the relationship, and Braylin is completely innocent but prepared to be guided by Zen. Zen listens and is prepared to take things slowly, going at Bray's pace. Oh, man! Be still, my beating heart. It was just perfect. The relationship between them was natural and unforced and I loved every word.
It wasn't just the dynamics of Zen and Bray though, it was between Bray and the whole band, the whole on-tour group. They melded and made it perfect.
I love Morticia Knight's books and this is no different. If I had one complaint, it would be that I didn't want it to end!
Hot - Innocent - Perfect! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 14, 2023
David McK (3372 KP) rated Cold Days (The Dresden Files, #14) in Books
Jan 30, 2019 (Updated Jan 16, 2022)
[2022 update]
Setting the bar pretty high already for the title of best-book-I've-read-this-year
[original 2013 review]
I heard (or read) somewhere a while back that the Dresden Files series was meant to run for about 20 books, with Jim Butcher having the general gist of the series as a whole already in mind. If that's true, then we must be on - or approaching - the home stretch, with this as book number 14 in the series.
And what a book it is, too.
By far one of the best books I've read this year, this starts with the previously-thought-to-be-dead Harry Dresden returned to health (of a sort) and life by Mab, the faerie Winter Queen, who is holding him to his promise to be her Winter Knight (which is also the reason why he was 'killed' (note the inverted commas) at the end of <i>Changes</i>, 2 books ago).
The Faerie play a larger role in this than in any book since, perhaps, <i>Summer Knight</i>, with characters from that earlier entry returning. Indeed, there's so much back-story here I wouldn't recommend picking this one up without reading any of the previous: normally, I'd count that against a novel, but not in this case. This one also leaves a couple of plot threads left hanging for the next entry, which I'm already looking forward to.
Let's hope it's not another year before I get reading it!
Setting the bar pretty high already for the title of best-book-I've-read-this-year
[original 2013 review]
I heard (or read) somewhere a while back that the Dresden Files series was meant to run for about 20 books, with Jim Butcher having the general gist of the series as a whole already in mind. If that's true, then we must be on - or approaching - the home stretch, with this as book number 14 in the series.
And what a book it is, too.
By far one of the best books I've read this year, this starts with the previously-thought-to-be-dead Harry Dresden returned to health (of a sort) and life by Mab, the faerie Winter Queen, who is holding him to his promise to be her Winter Knight (which is also the reason why he was 'killed' (note the inverted commas) at the end of <i>Changes</i>, 2 books ago).
The Faerie play a larger role in this than in any book since, perhaps, <i>Summer Knight</i>, with characters from that earlier entry returning. Indeed, there's so much back-story here I wouldn't recommend picking this one up without reading any of the previous: normally, I'd count that against a novel, but not in this case. This one also leaves a couple of plot threads left hanging for the next entry, which I'm already looking forward to.
Let's hope it's not another year before I get reading it!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Forbidden City in Books
Mar 2, 2022 (Updated Mar 2, 2022)
Spying and Chess
While on a recent mission, Paris discovered some bonus intel, and that turns out to be a valuable find. It leads MI6 to believe that the evil organization Umbra is going to kidnap one of North Korea’s nuclear scientists. If MI6 wants to get him to defect first, they need to find a way to approach him. Given North Korea’s secrecy and security, that won’t be easy. However, the scientist’s son is a top chess player, and he is planning to enter a couple of international tournaments. So Paris tries to upgrade his own chess skills so he can join the tournaments. Will Paris and the rest of the team be able to make contact with the scientist? Is he even interested in defecting?
Having enjoyed the first two in this series, I was looking forward to this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. This book is Paris’s time to shine, but all the other characters get their own smaller moments, and I continue to love their relationships. We get some surprising advancement on one series plot thread, although others are only mentioned in passing. I do feel like the other books in the series had a bit more action, but with all the angles the teams uses to approach their mission, I was never bored. We get a few laughs along the way, and even when we aren’t laughing, it’s just fun to be around the characters. Fans will enjoy this latest book. I’m already looking forward to their next mission.
Having enjoyed the first two in this series, I was looking forward to this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. This book is Paris’s time to shine, but all the other characters get their own smaller moments, and I continue to love their relationships. We get some surprising advancement on one series plot thread, although others are only mentioned in passing. I do feel like the other books in the series had a bit more action, but with all the angles the teams uses to approach their mission, I was never bored. We get a few laughs along the way, and even when we aren’t laughing, it’s just fun to be around the characters. Fans will enjoy this latest book. I’m already looking forward to their next mission.
Merissa (11950 KP) rated Tentacles Rock (Tinsel and Tentacles) in Books
Dec 8, 2023
TENTACLES ROCK is part of the multi-author Tinsel & Tentacles series. In this one, we are in a world where preternaturals are reclaiming the word monster! Nereus is an Octopus who retains his tentacles when he is in human form. He is working in a restaurant to help him take over his father's restaurant back home. Rick is a guitarist in a well-known band who supports preternaturals. He is also in a slump, unable to find what he is looking for, until he finds Nereus. Together, these two find what they didn't know they were looking for in each other.
This was an enjoyable read that kept my interest as the pages turned. The relationship between Nereus and Rick was a sort of fast-paced slow-burn. The timing jumped a couple of weeks at one point, where I would have liked to have seen their relationship grow even further. Don't get me wrong, it did grow. These two were adorable on the streets, and hot in the sheets. I guess I'm just greedy in wanting every moment of their time.
I loved the epilogue at the end that rounded off their story nicely. I would happily return to this world and this author's work. Definitely recommended by me.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinions. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 8, 2023
This was an enjoyable read that kept my interest as the pages turned. The relationship between Nereus and Rick was a sort of fast-paced slow-burn. The timing jumped a couple of weeks at one point, where I would have liked to have seen their relationship grow even further. Don't get me wrong, it did grow. These two were adorable on the streets, and hot in the sheets. I guess I'm just greedy in wanting every moment of their time.
I loved the epilogue at the end that rounded off their story nicely. I would happily return to this world and this author's work. Definitely recommended by me.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinions. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 8, 2023
Merissa (11950 KP) rated My Professor Sweetheart (Sweetheart Escapes) in Books
Sep 18, 2023
MY PROFESSOR SWEETHEART is part of the multi-author Sweetheart Escapes series and can be read as a standalone.
Jamie and Andres are the main couple in this one, although there are other characters I now want stories for, including Hank and Avery! Guess I'll be searching the author's backlist for those and keeping my fingers crossed.
Anyway, back to this one. Jamie is the student, so close to graduating, and Andres is the professor. They both sign up for the auction but the attraction is already off the charts when they finally meet at the resort. The Daddy/boy aspect of this was so good. Jamie wanted to learn all he could, and Andres was happy to help. It was done in a steamy sweet way and made it a great read.
Part of what I enjoyed so much is we see them on their weekend but also in 'real life' doing what they have to, to hide what they are to each other. And breaking each other's hearts before they figure out what to do. It really gave the story some depth for me, instead of it being insta-love. Well, it still was, but then we had the rest of the story to help build it up.
A brilliant story that I have no hesitation in HIGHLY recommending.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 18, 2023
Jamie and Andres are the main couple in this one, although there are other characters I now want stories for, including Hank and Avery! Guess I'll be searching the author's backlist for those and keeping my fingers crossed.
Anyway, back to this one. Jamie is the student, so close to graduating, and Andres is the professor. They both sign up for the auction but the attraction is already off the charts when they finally meet at the resort. The Daddy/boy aspect of this was so good. Jamie wanted to learn all he could, and Andres was happy to help. It was done in a steamy sweet way and made it a great read.
Part of what I enjoyed so much is we see them on their weekend but also in 'real life' doing what they have to, to hide what they are to each other. And breaking each other's hearts before they figure out what to do. It really gave the story some depth for me, instead of it being insta-love. Well, it still was, but then we had the rest of the story to help build it up.
A brilliant story that I have no hesitation in HIGHLY recommending.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 18, 2023
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Murder at the Majestic Hotel in Books
Jul 14, 2023 (Updated Jul 14, 2023)
Honeymoon Interrupted but a Not So Sweet Death
This book picks up a couple of days after the third book ended. The newly married Stella and Lyndy have just arrived in York for their honeymoon, but they discover that, despite their reservation for the honeymoon suite, it has been taken by someone else for the night. The interloper is Horace Wingrove, owner of England’s most popular chocolate company. The next morning, Wingrove is dead, and Stella and Lyndy can’t help but worry that this might have been their fate had their reservation been honored. But Stella sees a few things that don’t quite make sense to her. Will she figure out what is really going on?
If you haven’t read this series yet, be aware that this book spoils some of the previous book in the series. It only makes sense considering what happened and how close in time this book is to the previous one. The plot seemed to wander a bit before it came into focus, but once it did, I was hooked, and things made sense at the end. While I enjoyed seeing Stella and Lyndy’s relationship continue to grow, I did miss some of the other regulars and the complications they bring. But the characters we did get to meet are good. The multiple viewpoint narration is great at bringing us the story as always. I also enjoyed the little bit of real history that is twisted into the plot. Fans of historical mysteries will be glad they picked up this series.
If you haven’t read this series yet, be aware that this book spoils some of the previous book in the series. It only makes sense considering what happened and how close in time this book is to the previous one. The plot seemed to wander a bit before it came into focus, but once it did, I was hooked, and things made sense at the end. While I enjoyed seeing Stella and Lyndy’s relationship continue to grow, I did miss some of the other regulars and the complications they bring. But the characters we did get to meet are good. The multiple viewpoint narration is great at bringing us the story as always. I also enjoyed the little bit of real history that is twisted into the plot. Fans of historical mysteries will be glad they picked up this series.
