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Love, Hate, and Other Filters
Love, Hate, and Other Filters
Samira Ahmed | 2017 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.3 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Love Hate & Other Filters is a book that I was really looking forward to read, it got great hype and the fact that Ahmed is a debut author was just the icing on the cake for me. I loved the premise of the story and learning more about Indian culture through the characters in this book. Ahmed definitely delivered in that area. Her writing was descriptive and her exploration of feelings was on point. It was a quick moving story that left me turning the pages well into the night. I fell in love with Maya and Phil. I especially loved Violet, she has some real MC potential but Ahmed did a great job of not letting her take over the story. I’d love to see a companion book with Violet as the MC, I digress.
The story of Maya and Phil was a cute love story centered in the midst of something so much greater. Their story is derailed by a terrorist attack that hits close to home for Maya and as a result everything she wanted for herself, for her life is flipped upside down. See, the supposed terrorist shares her last name, and as a result Maya and her family have to deal with the insecurities and the intolerance of the people in their community. Islamophobia is a growing problem in our world, and this book is just the tip of the iceberg. The story was haunting and emotional. I personally can’t believe that people treat other people the way they do in this book. It makes me weep for humanity.
I had two problems with this book, which is why I only gave it a 4 star rating… I know Maya is 17 and she would have been just a baby when September 11th happened; however, I would have thought that Islamophobia would have been part of her life from the word go. I’m not saying that it should be that way or that I wish that on anyone because I would never do that. But, I think it’s something that has been so prevalent in our society since September 11th that I find it hard to swallow that she doesn’t mention encountering Islamophobia prior to the terrorist attack when she’s 17. Not only that but her parents don’t mention it either, which I find hard to believe.
The other problem I have with this book is the ending… To be honest it felt rushed to me. I would have loved to see the way it played out in more detail. I would also have preferred the epilogue to flash a little farther into the future. But, that’s just my opinion.
Overall, Ahmed has a great ability to manipulate the written word and weave together a story that will embed itself in your heart. I highly recommend this book, it’s a quick read that is both eye opening and a reminder of what people in this country and world are dealing with. I will gladly pick up any book that Ahmed writes in the future, and I encourage you to pick up this one.
  
Spies in Disguise (2019)
Spies in Disguise (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Animation
I’m not exactly complaining, but Tom Holland does seem to literally be in everything right now. As I sat ready to watch Spies in Disguise, which features the voice of Tom Holland, there was a trailer for upcoming Pixar movie Onward, featuring the voice of Tom Holland. Then a trailer for Dolittle, starring Robert Downey Jr and featuring the voice of Tom Holland as loyal dog Jip. On top of starring in 2019s highest grossing movie, as everyone’s favourite neighbourhood webslinger, he’s certainly having quite the year right now. And well deserved it is too.

But before we get to his voicing of Walter in Spies in Disguise, we meet much younger Walter, 14 years earlier, building gadgets and being branded a weirdo at school. His police officer mum comforts Walter, telling him that weird is good and the world needs weirdos. And that one day, the invention he’s just tested on his unsuspecting mum - a grenade which explodes into glitter and projects cute kittens - might just come in handy...

Will Smith on the other hand, hasn’t had quite as great a year as Tom Holland. Ridiculed for his blue genie in the run up to the release of Aladdin, he actually wasn’t too bad when the movie came out. But then came the disaster that was Gemini Man. Hopefully though, the upcoming sequel ‘Bad Boys for Life’ will be a return to form for Smith, but for now, starring as the voice of Lance Sterling, the worlds greatest spy, has certainly landed him a winner. A suave, charming, one man operation, we’re shown just how cool and impressive Sterling is as he single-handedly and effortlessly takes out dozens of bad guys using combat skills and a variety of spy gadgets. But Lance is suddenly caught off guard when, instead of releasing a more traditional explosive to take out some goons, he releases a glitter-kitty explosion.

Returning to headquarters a hero, we discover that Walter is now working in the gadgets department, where new tricks and toys for spies are designed and tested. Lance is not impressed with Walter messing up his operation and the pair don’t exactly hit it off on the right foot. But when Lance is wrongly accused of committing a crime, he must go on the run and reluctantly team up with Walter to get the bad guy and clear his name. And how is he going to do that without being seen and caught? Well, just so happens that Walter has invented a way of turning humans into pigeons!

There’s nothing particularly new about the main plot of Spies in Disguise, aside from the pigeon aspect of it all of course. But it’s the fast paced action and humour that really sets this apart from the crowd and quite often reminded me of The Incredibles - great characters and great ideas all mixed together with some impressive visuals and slick action. Both Tom Holland and Will Smith are perfect in their roles and, aside from a bit of a mid-movie dip, Spies in Disguise actually proved to be hugely entertaining.
  
Farm Rescue
Farm Rescue
2019 | Memory
The Kids Table series from Purple Phoenix Games seeks to lightly explore games that are focused toward children and families. We will do our best to give some good insight, but not bog your down with the millions of rules…

Farm Rescue is a cute little memory game with pretty excellent components, especially for a kids game. Though the box says 4+ my 3 year old picked it up pretty quickly and is surprisingly good at it.

The game comes in a box with a really great insert where the components can really only go in one spot. This is so wonderful for parents of younger kids who enjoy setting up and tearing down games. So thank you for that consideration, Brain Games! Anyway, the idea behind the game is to setup a 5 x 5 grid of face-up farm animal squares inside the provided picket fence border tiles. Each player will roll the two dice (one is color and one is an animal) and flip over the corresponding tile – like green chicken or purple cow. If a purple cow is rolled again in the future you must remember which tile featured the purple cow and flip it back over. If correct, then the farmer mini is moved closer to catching the wolf mini. If incorrect, the wolf mini is moved closer to the fence entrance. The game ends when either all tiles are flipped to their backs, the farmer catches the wolf, or the wolf gets into the fence to gobble up the remaining animals.

This game is surprisingly good! When my son picked it out at our FLGS (as recommended by the attendant) I didn’t know what to expect. I honestly, and foolishly, don’t keep kids games on my radar. When we brought it home, and after his nap, we were able to get a play in right away with Gramps as our third player. Ultimately we allowed the wolf to gobble up the animals, but we had a great time rolling the dice and flipping the animals (no Midwest cow tipping jokes please). My son also showed us that young children have far better memory skills than middle-aged dads and slightly older (you’re welcome) grandfathers.

My son LOVES his new game and I am so sure we are going to be playing it often. He even invited the farmer and wolf minis to the dinner table with him. He also took the following action shots of the game (which he never really offers to do, so this is big for him). Farm Rescue is a hit with our family, and if you are looking for a memory game with some meat on the bones (I had to), then check it out for your family.

PS – I often make mention of games that rely on color recognition that also play well with colorblindness. Though nobody in my family is colorblind, each of the colors in Farm Rescue also has an associated graphic – red circles, blue stars, purple plus signs. This is very much appreciated, and another high-five to Brain Games for having more inclusive components. Good on you!
  
Our Wayward Fate
Our Wayward Fate
Gloria Chao | 2019 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.</i></b>
I adored <a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/american-panda-by-gloria-chao/"><em>American Panda</em></a> back in 2018, so when I heard Gloria Chao was releasing a new book, I pretty much slid <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> onto my TBR with no questions asked. (I enjoyed <em>American Panda</em> enough that I got my own copy... only to have my mom "borrow" it. She still hasn't returned it.)

<h2><strong>Gloria Chao is a Queen of Writing Relatable Characters and it continues with her second novel, <em>Our Wayward Fate</em>.</strong></h2>
Chao's latest novel follows Ali Chu, a high school senior living in Indiana and is the only Asian kid in her school; for years, she operates in survival mode in order to blend in with the rest of her classmates, even if she hates dealing with the constant racist stereotypes that are automatically associated with her simply because she's Asian. But she continues to remain silent until she finds out the new kid in school, Chase Yu, is also Taiwanese like her.

<strong>Let me take a moment to talk about their relationship!!!</strong>
❤ Puns, puns, so many puns
❤ Jokes and wordplay in Mandarin (also I really loved how Chao didn't incorporate a glossary so readers can get what it's like to be someone learning a language through conversation and context)
❤ They're just so cute and competitive together; ugh, my heart can't

<h3><strong>Friends, I saw myself in <em>American Panda</em>, but I also really saw myself in <em>Our Wayward Fate</em>.</strong></h3>
Chao touches on a lot of experiences that I personally went through - it's a book that I would have loved to read back in middle and high school when I occasionally felt like I was alone in my experiences. Much of the experiences Ali goes through hit hardcore emotionally and I really, <em>really</em> wanted to reach through the book just to give Ali a hug. (Here I thought I related to Mei a lot and Ali Chu comes in and knocks it out of the park.)

<h2><strong>Chao's latest novel deals with darker topics while also incorporating her signature humor.</strong></h2>
I love puns, so I'm a little biased toward them. While <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> is chock full of puns (I love them) and incorporates Chao's signature humor from her debut, it also has a darker feel. <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> is a book with family and identity with a retelling of <em>The Butterfly Lovers; </em>it also focuses a lot about miscommunication when we struggle or are unsure when communicating with others.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/our-wayward-fate-by-gloria-chao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
Mom&#039;s Perfect Boyfriend
Mom's Perfect Boyfriend
Crystal Hemmingway | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Romance
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
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<b><i>Mom’s Perfect Boyfriend is a funny and beautiful story that focuses on the loving mother-daughter relationship and presents issues in a comedic, but loving way.</i></b>

Crystal planned an amazing holiday with her boyfriend, but her mother decides to join them last minute. Crystal is having great difficulties to say no to her mother and this causes her to become single, homeless and unemployed. And now, living with her mother is the only option she has left.

When bearing her mum seems, well, unbearable, Crystal decides to sign up for a robot research and fills a form asking for the robot to have all the qualities that Crystal’s mum likes in a person. Crystal does this with the intention to find company for her mother, a best friend, in the hope that then she would be left alone, and doesn’t tell her mum about this robot-companion. This all happens, of course, without the mother knowing.

But what no one expected to happen was for the robot to be so human that it’s unrecognizable. He looks exactly like a human, and a very handsome one as well. He also has no flaws and is perfect in everything he does. Crystal’s mum hasn’t been happier in years and she really enjoys all the attention and caring she is getting – but when she starts to develop feelings for the robot, Crystal has to make a decision: does she hide everything and make the robot disappear, or should she tell her mum the truth?

I loved the style this book was written in: emails, diary entries and letters. A unique style with a fast-paced tempo that made me read it in a day and I enjoyed every moment of it.
The mother-daughter relationship was accurate and at times very comparable, however, I did not agree with Crystal in some of her choices. She was mean to her mum sometimes and didn’t know how to express her feelings. Who has ever forbid their mum’s from calling them? Have you ever said to your mum – look mum, from now on, you will only call me for one hour in a week? Sorry, but ridiculous…

Mom’s Perfect Boyfriend is not a book I would usually pick up and it is way out of my comfort zone, but I did enjoy it. It was everything I expected it to be; cute, dynamic, funny and meaningful. I need more books like this one in my life.

Thank you to the team from LoveReading UK, for proving me with a paperback copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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The Honey-Don&#039;t List
The Honey-Don't List
Christina Lauren | 2020 | Erotica, Humor & Comedy, Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Carey Douglas is looking forward to a much-needed vacation. She's spent nearly ten years serving as an assistant--and much more--to Melissa Tripp, one half of Melissa and Rusty Tripp. The Tripps are co-owners of the store Comb+Honey and best known for their home renovation TV shows and books. They have a new solo show, Home Sweet Home, about to launch on Netflix, accompanied by a book about their happy marriage. The only issue: Melissa and Rusty can't stand each other. So instead of giving their assistants--Carey and Rusty's assistant/engineer, James--a break while they go on book tour, the couple's behavior requires they be babysat so their mutual self-hatred does not go viral. Suddenly Carey and James find themselves stuck together on a tour bus, watching over two very irritable and often hateful people. James needs the engineering contacts and a job where everything is on the up-and-up--something his last couldn't offer. Carey requires health insurance and believes Melissa needs her more than anyone else. And who knows, the more time James and Carey spend together, the more they might wind up finding some good in all this mess.


"You wouldn't know from scrolling through their idyllic Instagram feed that Melly and Rusty aren't quite as sweet on each other anymore. Looking back, I'm not really sure when they decided their marriage mattered less than their brand."


This was a fun and engaging Christina Lauren read. I'd rank Carey and James as one of their good couples, though not perhaps in the great category. They are cute, however, with plenty of chemistry and lots of sexy banter.


"Your only job for the next ten days is to keep the Tripps from falling apart."


I enjoyed the HGTV feel of this book and the Tripps had a "Chip and Joanna Gaines" feel, if the Gaines went off the rails, or we were able to see their dark side. Things get a little repetitive in the middle, as the Tripps fight and Carey and James struggle with the "oh but we need our jobs" piece, but overall the book is humorous, tender, and fun. Sure, Carey and James are desperately thrown together and you have NO IDEA what will happen, right? It's all good; it's why I love a good romance. Their journey is enjoyable and the side characters--mainly the Tripps--are, well, a trip. Let me tell you, Melissa (Melly) is downright scary at times.

We also get the story told from both Carey and James' point of view, which I like, plus some police report excerpts (oh yeah) and parts of blogger and tabloid pieces. Our fabulous duo does a great job at putting us in the middle of the Tripps' scandal, and one of my favorite things about this one was that not only did we get to enjoy Carey and James' romance, but we felt like we were a part of the trainwreck sensation that was Melly and Rusty.

Overall, this is a fun read with a sexy romance and enjoyable characters. 3.75 stars, rounded to 4 stars here.
  
    The Math Tree

    The Math Tree

    Education and Games

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    Little Nugget+ - Baby Journal

    Little Nugget+ - Baby Journal

    Photo & Video, Lifestyle and Stickers

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