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KittyMiku (138 KP) rated Bones Don't Lie (Morgan Dane, #3) in Books
May 23, 2019
First I would like to say, Melinda Leigh does it again. With the suspense and the ever lying sense of danger, Bones Don't Lie kept me turning pages well into the night. However, unlike the previous books, it was a lot harder to figure out who could be killing anyone or if Lance's missing father did it. I thought I had it figured out within the first few chapters, but the twists and turns kept me guessing and wanting to switch up who I thought the main suspect was. I did enjoy how it became quite clear how people were related to the case of the dead girl whose bones where in the trunk of the sunken car. I also found that the relationship between Morgan and Lance and its growth to be quite touching. To see how they can overcome any obstacle, including Lance's own feelings and way of doing things, was truly heart warming. Especially, when it became clear how he loved Morgan's three little girls enough to be willing to do anything to keep their mother safe.
In this book, we were able to see more on Jenny (Lance's Mother), Lance, and Sharp in plenty of aspects that were only hinted at before. To learn more about the night Lance's father disappeared and how it affected those three people, gave a lot of new perspective to their characters. I definitely enjoyed seeing how Jenny was before and after her husband's disappearance affected her own mental illnesses. I found this story, though not entirely harsh on your mind and heart, to be full of suspense and heart breaking situations. It got worse as you got to see how the case was causing Lance to lose himself to his old ways of shutting out people, and causing him to not be able to control his own temper.
Lance is by far my favorite character. So watching him take a few steps back in his character development was a little rough to bare for me. I won't lie, I very much like the Lance and Morgan relationship, but watching Morgan struggle to get Lance to open up and to keep him in check, was heart breaking. She wanted to be there for him, as we all want to for those we love, and he had a hard time letting her. This is an aspect that is hard, whether fictional or not, to deal with. So when I had to watch her do it and actually put up a fight to make him understand that she was there, I found it exciting. It was one of the most romantic things I have ever read. Especially since she wanted to there for Jenny and Lance wanted to do things his own way to protect her and his mother.
As the story went on, people dying and all, it kept throwing you through loops. To show that people have tells when they lie and secrets they hide to keep themselves from trouble, became one of the biggest things in the book. Everyone lies about something, but with all the lies being told to anyone investigating the case, it became hard as a reader to try and decipher what was a lie and what was the truth. I even wanted to beat some of the characters up for lying over things I thought were trivial. However, I found that they got their own just desserts in the end to be sweet enough to keep my temper in check.
Learning more about Sharp, Lance's boss, was quite exciting. He even got his own chapter or two in the book to help us see how the case was affecting him. I always thought he was extremely clever when it came to finding out facts, going over files, but to see him struggle and have to call in some outside help on his own cold missing persons case that became a murder mystery, was quite something else. Though, its clear he isn't a prideful person, I just never thought he would be at a complete loss. However, I did enjoy seeing things from his perspective. After all, there is always mystery around the man. I believe the interactions on all the characters were done amazingly. To see them all work and grabbing help from every angle they could, was just amazing. It made the story feel much more wholesome than it could have.
Overall, I believe this book is truly breathtaking. I would rate it 5 stars out of 5 stars. I don't think there was anything I wouldn't change. The story kept twisting and turning, which kept my interest peeked. The characters and their depths coming to light was truly fascinating. It makes you feel like you could easily run into them in your own city or town. It definitely showcased how well Leigh understands how the human mind can work. To have that kind of skill and be able to create such deep characters with outstanding personalities of all kind, really helps make the story that much better. I definitely recommend this book and this series to everyone. It has a little something for everyone. With the characters all having such different personalities and ways to go about things, it truly makes the story unforgettable and amazing to read.
In this book, we were able to see more on Jenny (Lance's Mother), Lance, and Sharp in plenty of aspects that were only hinted at before. To learn more about the night Lance's father disappeared and how it affected those three people, gave a lot of new perspective to their characters. I definitely enjoyed seeing how Jenny was before and after her husband's disappearance affected her own mental illnesses. I found this story, though not entirely harsh on your mind and heart, to be full of suspense and heart breaking situations. It got worse as you got to see how the case was causing Lance to lose himself to his old ways of shutting out people, and causing him to not be able to control his own temper.
Lance is by far my favorite character. So watching him take a few steps back in his character development was a little rough to bare for me. I won't lie, I very much like the Lance and Morgan relationship, but watching Morgan struggle to get Lance to open up and to keep him in check, was heart breaking. She wanted to be there for him, as we all want to for those we love, and he had a hard time letting her. This is an aspect that is hard, whether fictional or not, to deal with. So when I had to watch her do it and actually put up a fight to make him understand that she was there, I found it exciting. It was one of the most romantic things I have ever read. Especially since she wanted to there for Jenny and Lance wanted to do things his own way to protect her and his mother.
As the story went on, people dying and all, it kept throwing you through loops. To show that people have tells when they lie and secrets they hide to keep themselves from trouble, became one of the biggest things in the book. Everyone lies about something, but with all the lies being told to anyone investigating the case, it became hard as a reader to try and decipher what was a lie and what was the truth. I even wanted to beat some of the characters up for lying over things I thought were trivial. However, I found that they got their own just desserts in the end to be sweet enough to keep my temper in check.
Learning more about Sharp, Lance's boss, was quite exciting. He even got his own chapter or two in the book to help us see how the case was affecting him. I always thought he was extremely clever when it came to finding out facts, going over files, but to see him struggle and have to call in some outside help on his own cold missing persons case that became a murder mystery, was quite something else. Though, its clear he isn't a prideful person, I just never thought he would be at a complete loss. However, I did enjoy seeing things from his perspective. After all, there is always mystery around the man. I believe the interactions on all the characters were done amazingly. To see them all work and grabbing help from every angle they could, was just amazing. It made the story feel much more wholesome than it could have.
Overall, I believe this book is truly breathtaking. I would rate it 5 stars out of 5 stars. I don't think there was anything I wouldn't change. The story kept twisting and turning, which kept my interest peeked. The characters and their depths coming to light was truly fascinating. It makes you feel like you could easily run into them in your own city or town. It definitely showcased how well Leigh understands how the human mind can work. To have that kind of skill and be able to create such deep characters with outstanding personalities of all kind, really helps make the story that much better. I definitely recommend this book and this series to everyone. It has a little something for everyone. With the characters all having such different personalities and ways to go about things, it truly makes the story unforgettable and amazing to read.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Robert The Bruce (2019) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Story: Robert the Bruce starts after William Wallace is defeated, Robert the Bruce (Macfadyen) and John Comyn (Harris) are fighting for control of Scotland, with John coming up the winner, Robert isn’t willing to take this defeat laying down, with his loyal soldiers James Douglas (Murtagh) planning to take Scotland back.
With Robert injured, Morag (Hutchison) and her family discover him, nursing him back to health despite being in a heavily Comyn control area, with Brandubh (McGowan) hunting down anyone who supporting Robert the Bruce, he must regain his strength to take his rightful place on the throne of Scotland.
Thoughts on Robert the Bruce
Characters – Robert the Bruce is the man that was crowned king of Scotland after the English were defeated, he wasn’t everybody’s first choice, which sees him needing to fight for his place on the throne, which sees him being left for dead, while his opposition takes control of the land, eliminating anybody who supports him. John Comyn is the other man that believes he could be king of Scotland, he has taken control in the battle against Robert, which sees him continuing to use the connections with English, much to anger of the Scots. Morag is the single mother that saw her husband killed fighting for Robert, she must raise her children believing John is the rightful ruler, either if her stories tell of Robert’s bravery. Brandubh is related to Morag, he is willing to kill anybody that doesn’t fight for his own country, which sees him trying to hunt down Robert the Bruce.
Performances – Angus Macfadyen reprises his former role of Robert the Bruce, one he played in Braveheart, he brings us a wise leader performance through the film. Jared Harris might have a supporting role, but after this year, you want to pause and watch any scene this man is in. Anna Hutchison does bring us a stronger performance than you would expect from her, with her getting to show that she can handle a serious role. Zach McGowan does a lot of the heavy lifting in this film, he is the one that gets to handle the most action through the film, with him being the villain for large parts of the film which otherwise would involve less action.
Story – The story here follows Robert the Bruce who became of the King of Scotland in the aftermath of the William Wallace battles against the English. Now this is set up to be some what of a sequel to Braveheart, which it is only in continuing a story, not in film story. we do play into the idea of how Scotland was left in the unknown after the battle, with two people fighting for the leadership, with the people left divided and calm required to make the land complete once again. The pacing of the story does come off slow in places which doesn’t help because, it is mostly a mother trying to prove to her children who should be king, and who they should tell people they respect more to remain safe. If you know your history the end of the film isn’t going to be a mystery to you and it does feel like there could have been a bigger impact with certain things that happen in this story.
History – This is a history lesson to the people that wanted to know more historic accuracy behind Scotland’s independence from England, unlike what Braveheart did.
Settings – The film does make us feel like we are in part of Scotland, we get to see how the condition made the events of the film difficult for the men fighting for the rightful cause.
Scene of the Movie – The crown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is about 30 minutes too long for everything that is told in this story.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at the history of Robert the Bruce and his rise to become king of Scotland, seeing how he overcame odds to take his place on the throne. Everything is acted well, never looking out of place.
Overall: History lesson.
With Robert injured, Morag (Hutchison) and her family discover him, nursing him back to health despite being in a heavily Comyn control area, with Brandubh (McGowan) hunting down anyone who supporting Robert the Bruce, he must regain his strength to take his rightful place on the throne of Scotland.
Thoughts on Robert the Bruce
Characters – Robert the Bruce is the man that was crowned king of Scotland after the English were defeated, he wasn’t everybody’s first choice, which sees him needing to fight for his place on the throne, which sees him being left for dead, while his opposition takes control of the land, eliminating anybody who supports him. John Comyn is the other man that believes he could be king of Scotland, he has taken control in the battle against Robert, which sees him continuing to use the connections with English, much to anger of the Scots. Morag is the single mother that saw her husband killed fighting for Robert, she must raise her children believing John is the rightful ruler, either if her stories tell of Robert’s bravery. Brandubh is related to Morag, he is willing to kill anybody that doesn’t fight for his own country, which sees him trying to hunt down Robert the Bruce.
Performances – Angus Macfadyen reprises his former role of Robert the Bruce, one he played in Braveheart, he brings us a wise leader performance through the film. Jared Harris might have a supporting role, but after this year, you want to pause and watch any scene this man is in. Anna Hutchison does bring us a stronger performance than you would expect from her, with her getting to show that she can handle a serious role. Zach McGowan does a lot of the heavy lifting in this film, he is the one that gets to handle the most action through the film, with him being the villain for large parts of the film which otherwise would involve less action.
Story – The story here follows Robert the Bruce who became of the King of Scotland in the aftermath of the William Wallace battles against the English. Now this is set up to be some what of a sequel to Braveheart, which it is only in continuing a story, not in film story. we do play into the idea of how Scotland was left in the unknown after the battle, with two people fighting for the leadership, with the people left divided and calm required to make the land complete once again. The pacing of the story does come off slow in places which doesn’t help because, it is mostly a mother trying to prove to her children who should be king, and who they should tell people they respect more to remain safe. If you know your history the end of the film isn’t going to be a mystery to you and it does feel like there could have been a bigger impact with certain things that happen in this story.
History – This is a history lesson to the people that wanted to know more historic accuracy behind Scotland’s independence from England, unlike what Braveheart did.
Settings – The film does make us feel like we are in part of Scotland, we get to see how the condition made the events of the film difficult for the men fighting for the rightful cause.
Scene of the Movie – The crown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is about 30 minutes too long for everything that is told in this story.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at the history of Robert the Bruce and his rise to become king of Scotland, seeing how he overcame odds to take his place on the throne. Everything is acted well, never looking out of place.
Overall: History lesson.
Allison Anders recommended Monterey Pop (1968) in Movies (curated)
Triple Threat: Bookshots
Book
James Patterson's BookShots. Short, fast-paced, high-impact entertainment. From the world's...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Nowhere to Go and All Day to Get There in Books
Jun 21, 2021
Short Trips with the Loudermilks
This is a collection of two short stories featuring retirees and full time RVers Joe and Dottie Loudermilk. In “A Mother Always Knows,” a quick trip into a convenience store results in the couple being on the scene of an armed robbery. “Better Dead Than Wed” find them getting involved in an abusive relationship during a late-night rest stop.
Both of these stories are fast reads – I finished the collection in about half an hour. But both stories are fun and held my interest the entire way through. I was caught off guard by some of the twists along the way. I laughed along the way, sometimes at Joe and Dottie’s reactions to each other and sometimes at the situations they found themselves in. The characters also appeared in two full length novels. Whether you already know them or are just meeting them here for the first time, you’ll enjoy these two quick road trips.
Both of these stories are fast reads – I finished the collection in about half an hour. But both stories are fun and held my interest the entire way through. I was caught off guard by some of the twists along the way. I laughed along the way, sometimes at Joe and Dottie’s reactions to each other and sometimes at the situations they found themselves in. The characters also appeared in two full length novels. Whether you already know them or are just meeting them here for the first time, you’ll enjoy these two quick road trips.
Asiza Tait (139 KP) rated Child 44 in Books
Feb 1, 2018
We all agreed that it was a very intense book and for those of us who weren’t fully aware of what it was like to live in Stalinist Russia during that time our eyes were surely opened!
This book takes you through the transformation of Leo Demidov from a complete ‘company man’ of the Russian State to a real person listening to his own sense of right and wrong. We meet him as a no nonsense officer of the MGB willing and able to follow through on his orders and completely committed to succeeding. We also get glimpses of his insecurity because no one is safe under the scrutiny of the State. He is very aware of this and the long running jealousy of Vasily is a constant reminder of how much someone hates him and desperately wishes and works towards his downfall. From the beginning the life of Leo is shown for the stark reality it is. There is no happy family man here, or even a happy career man, it is purely survival in a very structured and dangerous place.
The relationship between Leo and his wife Raisa is another that is deep, raw and completely honest. Their relationship ebbs and flows according to the State plan, but the book takes a serious turn when Leo is faced with the decision of denouncing his wife. Seeing into their marriage is like facing a needed surgery, the inevitable pain is necessary to start the way to healing. Raisa is the stronger character in my view, never losing her sense of humanity but knowing how to hide herself in order to survive.
Leo’s decision starts a chain of events that leads to him discovering that murders are occurring the breadth of Russia, and since there is no crime in Russia he is the only one trying to convince anyone of the scary reality that a serial child killer/s is on the loose. His commitment to this brings further scrutiny on him and he feels the full force of the authorities and experiences a complete reversal of circumstances. Where he was the one arresting people and transporting them to the most notorious prison Lubyanka, he is now the one in the prisoners' seat.
There are twists and turns in this book that will knock the breath out of you. A seriously brilliant book.
On a personal note I found this book hit too close to home in regards to my own upbringing in the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Where Leo is hitting his head against a stone wall in trying to convince people of the danger they are ignoring, it reminded me very strongly of how difficult it is to convince or motivate the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Congregation Elders that the right thing to do when an accusation of child abuse comes to them is to immediately call the authorities. They instead stick to their own procedures in the face of irrefutable evidence and demonstrated experience that their procedures are dead wrong and need to be changed, they still refuse to listen and insist that their way of doing things is right and everyone else must be wrong. They desperately work to keep their image clean just like the Russian Government insists that the State is always right. Thankfully there is an army of people worldwide working incredibly hard to expose there hurtful practices and in so doing protect the public from being sucked into this so called religion.
This book takes you through the transformation of Leo Demidov from a complete ‘company man’ of the Russian State to a real person listening to his own sense of right and wrong. We meet him as a no nonsense officer of the MGB willing and able to follow through on his orders and completely committed to succeeding. We also get glimpses of his insecurity because no one is safe under the scrutiny of the State. He is very aware of this and the long running jealousy of Vasily is a constant reminder of how much someone hates him and desperately wishes and works towards his downfall. From the beginning the life of Leo is shown for the stark reality it is. There is no happy family man here, or even a happy career man, it is purely survival in a very structured and dangerous place.
The relationship between Leo and his wife Raisa is another that is deep, raw and completely honest. Their relationship ebbs and flows according to the State plan, but the book takes a serious turn when Leo is faced with the decision of denouncing his wife. Seeing into their marriage is like facing a needed surgery, the inevitable pain is necessary to start the way to healing. Raisa is the stronger character in my view, never losing her sense of humanity but knowing how to hide herself in order to survive.
Leo’s decision starts a chain of events that leads to him discovering that murders are occurring the breadth of Russia, and since there is no crime in Russia he is the only one trying to convince anyone of the scary reality that a serial child killer/s is on the loose. His commitment to this brings further scrutiny on him and he feels the full force of the authorities and experiences a complete reversal of circumstances. Where he was the one arresting people and transporting them to the most notorious prison Lubyanka, he is now the one in the prisoners' seat.
There are twists and turns in this book that will knock the breath out of you. A seriously brilliant book.
On a personal note I found this book hit too close to home in regards to my own upbringing in the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Where Leo is hitting his head against a stone wall in trying to convince people of the danger they are ignoring, it reminded me very strongly of how difficult it is to convince or motivate the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Congregation Elders that the right thing to do when an accusation of child abuse comes to them is to immediately call the authorities. They instead stick to their own procedures in the face of irrefutable evidence and demonstrated experience that their procedures are dead wrong and need to be changed, they still refuse to listen and insist that their way of doing things is right and everyone else must be wrong. They desperately work to keep their image clean just like the Russian Government insists that the State is always right. Thankfully there is an army of people worldwide working incredibly hard to expose there hurtful practices and in so doing protect the public from being sucked into this so called religion.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Transporter 3 (2008) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Frank Martin (Jason Statham), the finest driver for hire in the world is back in “Transporter 3”. This time out Frank is forced to deliver a captive girl named Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), to Odessa from his home in Marseilles .
Frank has been recruited against his will by a scheming individual named Johnson (Robert Knepper), who plans to force the Leader of the Ukrainian government to sign a treaty that will allow for dumping of toxic chemicals.
Johnson has a very vital package from Frank to deliver and thanks to an explosive device attached to Frank and Valentina, he has the reluctant services that make a very in demand individual.
As if matters were not complicated enough for Frank, there is a band of thugs hot on his trail as he and Valentina race through the scenic landscapes of Europe.
Frank is determined to find a way to remove the explosive device attached to his wrist, and Valentina is more resigned to her fate as she sees that no matter what, they are both soon to be dead and should live what little life they have left as best as they can.
Along the way, Frank unleashes some of the signature action sequences of the series which as always include outrageous fight scenes that are as well choreographed as anything Jackie Chan has ever unleashed. Frank is a whirring dervish of action and destruction which bellies his soft spoken man of few words persona.
The film also has plenty of car chases to go with the fight sequences and while they are getting more and more over the top with each new segment of the series, still offer excitement. One such scene involves Frank racing through town on a bike to keep pace with his car after being separated from it. Since Frank or Valentina will go boom should they move beyond a certain distance from the tricked out Audi, you can imagine the extreme steps Frank takes to keep this from happening.
While the action of the film is good, I have to say that it is starting to wear thin after the two previous films. The original “Transporter” was a very fresh film as it blended over the top action and well choreographed fight sequences with a European drama to create a unique hybrid of American and European cinema.
The sequel, “Transporter 2”, relied heavily upon the outrageous stunts and less on plots yet still satisfied thanks to the non-stop action and charisma of Statham.
This time out the dialogue is so stunted and bland that you never see any chemistry between the lead characters develop and it seems a very forced pairing. It was reported that Natalya Rudakova was spotted going to work by Producer Luc Besson who cast her in the film even though she had no acting experience and while she does a good job, they just do not seem to fit with one another in a way that makes the audience care or believe in their situation.
The plot of the film is decent enough for an action film but lacks any real twists or turns which causes the film to unfold with few surprises. While the finale is acceptable, I wanted a better payoff as the series has yet to top the oil fight scene in the first film in my opinion.
In then end the film is a mixed bag that will appeal to fans of the series but even they will have to admit that the tread is starting to wear thin on the tires of this series.
Frank has been recruited against his will by a scheming individual named Johnson (Robert Knepper), who plans to force the Leader of the Ukrainian government to sign a treaty that will allow for dumping of toxic chemicals.
Johnson has a very vital package from Frank to deliver and thanks to an explosive device attached to Frank and Valentina, he has the reluctant services that make a very in demand individual.
As if matters were not complicated enough for Frank, there is a band of thugs hot on his trail as he and Valentina race through the scenic landscapes of Europe.
Frank is determined to find a way to remove the explosive device attached to his wrist, and Valentina is more resigned to her fate as she sees that no matter what, they are both soon to be dead and should live what little life they have left as best as they can.
Along the way, Frank unleashes some of the signature action sequences of the series which as always include outrageous fight scenes that are as well choreographed as anything Jackie Chan has ever unleashed. Frank is a whirring dervish of action and destruction which bellies his soft spoken man of few words persona.
The film also has plenty of car chases to go with the fight sequences and while they are getting more and more over the top with each new segment of the series, still offer excitement. One such scene involves Frank racing through town on a bike to keep pace with his car after being separated from it. Since Frank or Valentina will go boom should they move beyond a certain distance from the tricked out Audi, you can imagine the extreme steps Frank takes to keep this from happening.
While the action of the film is good, I have to say that it is starting to wear thin after the two previous films. The original “Transporter” was a very fresh film as it blended over the top action and well choreographed fight sequences with a European drama to create a unique hybrid of American and European cinema.
The sequel, “Transporter 2”, relied heavily upon the outrageous stunts and less on plots yet still satisfied thanks to the non-stop action and charisma of Statham.
This time out the dialogue is so stunted and bland that you never see any chemistry between the lead characters develop and it seems a very forced pairing. It was reported that Natalya Rudakova was spotted going to work by Producer Luc Besson who cast her in the film even though she had no acting experience and while she does a good job, they just do not seem to fit with one another in a way that makes the audience care or believe in their situation.
The plot of the film is decent enough for an action film but lacks any real twists or turns which causes the film to unfold with few surprises. While the finale is acceptable, I wanted a better payoff as the series has yet to top the oil fight scene in the first film in my opinion.
In then end the film is a mixed bag that will appeal to fans of the series but even they will have to admit that the tread is starting to wear thin on the tires of this series.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Once Upon a River in Books
Oct 2, 2020
’A river no more begins at its source than a story begins with the first page.’’
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield is a story that had the perfect plot potential to be amazing, but it didn’t deliver at all. As a huge fan of storytelling, this was a big disappointment for me, the biggest one so far in 2019.
‘’There are stories that may be told aloud, and stories that must be told in whispers, and there are stories that are never told at all.’’
The story happens in a small city, on the river Thames. It features the pub Swan, where people gather every night, and everyone knows each other, and they all tell stories all night and enjoy their company.
If you have ever been to England, it is so easy to imagine the setting of a pub, warm place, crowded with people laughing and talking loudly, glasses clinking and people singing random songs in the background. A lot of positive noise and enchanting atmosphere.
And one night, the usual setting is being disturbed, when a man enters the pub with a little girl in his arms, and then passes away. The girl appears to not be breathing for a while, and everyone thinks she is dead, but suddenly, she is breathing again. And the man that is with her is not her father.
As the town is used to, they make stories of it. How it happened, who is the father, does she have a family, why was she drowning in the river… The plot entangles when the family is to be found of the little girl, but a few people claim she is their relative.
‘’Something happens and then something else happens and then all sorts of other things happen, expected and unexpected, unusual and ordinary.’’
The storytelling and the writing of the author was beautiful. At times. The beginning was a paradise for book lovers. The best first chapters I read this year. But after the plot opening, everything started going downhill.
It felt like being on this roller coaster, excited, going slowly upwards, slowly reaching the top, ready to fall so fast, ready for an adventure, only for them to tell you that there is a fault, and you have to get back and exit the ride without even making the adventure out of it.
I wanted to love it. The writing at parts was great, and I am including a lot of quotes throughout the review, because I loved those parts. But the chapters and characters were too many, and things were happening too fast and without a purpose, that it was hard for me to pick up the pace. I had to leave the book and pick it up again, and it took me three months to complete it. A hard book to swallow and process.
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield is a story that had the perfect plot potential to be amazing, but it didn’t deliver at all. As a huge fan of storytelling, this was a big disappointment for me, the biggest one so far in 2019.
‘’There are stories that may be told aloud, and stories that must be told in whispers, and there are stories that are never told at all.’’
The story happens in a small city, on the river Thames. It features the pub Swan, where people gather every night, and everyone knows each other, and they all tell stories all night and enjoy their company.
If you have ever been to England, it is so easy to imagine the setting of a pub, warm place, crowded with people laughing and talking loudly, glasses clinking and people singing random songs in the background. A lot of positive noise and enchanting atmosphere.
And one night, the usual setting is being disturbed, when a man enters the pub with a little girl in his arms, and then passes away. The girl appears to not be breathing for a while, and everyone thinks she is dead, but suddenly, she is breathing again. And the man that is with her is not her father.
As the town is used to, they make stories of it. How it happened, who is the father, does she have a family, why was she drowning in the river… The plot entangles when the family is to be found of the little girl, but a few people claim she is their relative.
‘’Something happens and then something else happens and then all sorts of other things happen, expected and unexpected, unusual and ordinary.’’
The storytelling and the writing of the author was beautiful. At times. The beginning was a paradise for book lovers. The best first chapters I read this year. But after the plot opening, everything started going downhill.
It felt like being on this roller coaster, excited, going slowly upwards, slowly reaching the top, ready to fall so fast, ready for an adventure, only for them to tell you that there is a fault, and you have to get back and exit the ride without even making the adventure out of it.
I wanted to love it. The writing at parts was great, and I am including a lot of quotes throughout the review, because I loved those parts. But the chapters and characters were too many, and things were happening too fast and without a purpose, that it was hard for me to pick up the pace. I had to leave the book and pick it up again, and it took me three months to complete it. A hard book to swallow and process.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Two Days Gone (Ryan DeMarco Mystery #1) in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/two-days-gone-by-randall-silvis
NOW AVAILABLE!
<i><b>But doesnt every guilty man hide his deeds behind his words and hide his thoughts behind his smile?</i></b>
This was perfectly set up to be a great novel, but unfortunately, like so many novel nowadays, it instead failed to excite and thrill me, and in the end, turned into an extremely mediocre read.
It wasnt until around 70% of the way through this book that I realised how dislikable DeMarco, our supposed hero, was. His anger and grief was completely understandable after the loss of his wife and child, but I felt he was unnecessarily unkind to his peers and overly passive aggressive in general. <spoiler>Plus can we talk about how much of a shitty cop he was? Getting into a car with a bleeding out dead body to chase an armed, highly fragile man and not alerting anyone? <b>Murdering</b> the main suspect on a case just because he could? Only in fiction.</spoiler>However, out of our two main characters, I was happy to read more about DeMarco than Thomas. I found Thomas PoV to be slow and a little pointless. Again, I understood his anguish and shame etc, but I guess I just couldnt connect to his character and summon up the right emotions to care about his story that much.
This was a slow read for me, but I kept pushing through it because: 1) it wasnt <i>that</i> bad and 2) I was led to believe, by some other reviews, that an amazing twist was going to be revealed. <i>Unfortunately,</i> we got the amazing twist and my reaction was more of an oh than a whoa!! <spoiler>I guess I wanted to the book to feel more realistic, I wanted some innate human darkness to be the cause of the murders, I didnt want a book about revenge.</spoiler> The plot, overall, wasnt too bad, there were some exciting moments, but for the most part this could only just hold my interest.
<i>Two Days Gone</i> didnt grab my attention well enough for me to rate it anything higher than 3 stars. It was an average story, with average characters and an average plot twist. Its a shame because had high hopes for this one, but nevermind, you win some, you lose some. I see Amazon have specified this as a Ryan DeMarco novel so Im assuming we may be seeing a series come out from Silvis, but I wont be keeping up with it.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
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<i><b>But doesnt every guilty man hide his deeds behind his words and hide his thoughts behind his smile?</i></b>
This was perfectly set up to be a great novel, but unfortunately, like so many novel nowadays, it instead failed to excite and thrill me, and in the end, turned into an extremely mediocre read.
It wasnt until around 70% of the way through this book that I realised how dislikable DeMarco, our supposed hero, was. His anger and grief was completely understandable after the loss of his wife and child, but I felt he was unnecessarily unkind to his peers and overly passive aggressive in general. <spoiler>Plus can we talk about how much of a shitty cop he was? Getting into a car with a bleeding out dead body to chase an armed, highly fragile man and not alerting anyone? <b>Murdering</b> the main suspect on a case just because he could? Only in fiction.</spoiler>However, out of our two main characters, I was happy to read more about DeMarco than Thomas. I found Thomas PoV to be slow and a little pointless. Again, I understood his anguish and shame etc, but I guess I just couldnt connect to his character and summon up the right emotions to care about his story that much.
This was a slow read for me, but I kept pushing through it because: 1) it wasnt <i>that</i> bad and 2) I was led to believe, by some other reviews, that an amazing twist was going to be revealed. <i>Unfortunately,</i> we got the amazing twist and my reaction was more of an oh than a whoa!! <spoiler>I guess I wanted to the book to feel more realistic, I wanted some innate human darkness to be the cause of the murders, I didnt want a book about revenge.</spoiler> The plot, overall, wasnt too bad, there were some exciting moments, but for the most part this could only just hold my interest.
<i>Two Days Gone</i> didnt grab my attention well enough for me to rate it anything higher than 3 stars. It was an average story, with average characters and an average plot twist. Its a shame because had high hopes for this one, but nevermind, you win some, you lose some. I see Amazon have specified this as a Ryan DeMarco novel so Im assuming we may be seeing a series come out from Silvis, but I wont be keeping up with it.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
ClareR (5879 KP) rated Dear Edward in Books
Mar 8, 2020
A sad, yet life affirming novel.
Dear Edward is a beautiful book, and I suppose I should give a ‘you’ll need a handkerchief’ warning from the off.
It tells the story of twelve year old Edward Adler and his survival of a plane crash that left 119 people dead, including his parents and his older brother. The story moves back and forth in time, where we learn more about some of those people who were on board the plane, and Edwards life post-crash.
In the present day, Edwards grief is all-consuming. He can’t bring himself to eat, or sleep in the room that was always meant to be for his Uncle John and Aunt Laceys baby - she is unable to carry a baby beyond a few weeks, so the bedroom feels like a symbol of her serial losses.
Shay, the girl who lives next door with her mother, seems to be the person who holds Edward together. He sleeps on the floor of her bedroom for a long time, until Shays mother decides that it’s no longer appropriate. So Shay helps Edward prepare the basement of his aunt and uncles house as his bedroom.
Edward has to go through so many huge changes after the crash, and I really felt so much sadness for him. Even just going to school after always being homeschooled must have been a huge hurdle for him to get over, but there were also all of the other firsts that he had to overcome.
The title of the book refers to the letters that Edward and Shay find. The letters have been written by the friends and families of the plane crash victims, and Edwards uncle has hidden them from him. And with good reason. These are the letters of the grieving. They all seem to want something of Edward: to live a certain way, to take up a hobby, to do a certain job. There is no way he can do all of these things, and as 15 year olds, he and Shay realise this. As a 12 year old, he never would have, and it would have no doubt overwhelmed him.
I absolutely loved this book. It drew me in to the story of Edward, and I honestly felt bereft at the end of it. It’s undeniably sad, but it’s also life affirming, and I really liked how something so tragic could ultimately have such a positive outcome.
So if you pick this book up, read the back, then put it down again thinking that it’ll be too depressing, I’d just like to encourage you to give it a go. It’s a book well worth reading.
It tells the story of twelve year old Edward Adler and his survival of a plane crash that left 119 people dead, including his parents and his older brother. The story moves back and forth in time, where we learn more about some of those people who were on board the plane, and Edwards life post-crash.
In the present day, Edwards grief is all-consuming. He can’t bring himself to eat, or sleep in the room that was always meant to be for his Uncle John and Aunt Laceys baby - she is unable to carry a baby beyond a few weeks, so the bedroom feels like a symbol of her serial losses.
Shay, the girl who lives next door with her mother, seems to be the person who holds Edward together. He sleeps on the floor of her bedroom for a long time, until Shays mother decides that it’s no longer appropriate. So Shay helps Edward prepare the basement of his aunt and uncles house as his bedroom.
Edward has to go through so many huge changes after the crash, and I really felt so much sadness for him. Even just going to school after always being homeschooled must have been a huge hurdle for him to get over, but there were also all of the other firsts that he had to overcome.
The title of the book refers to the letters that Edward and Shay find. The letters have been written by the friends and families of the plane crash victims, and Edwards uncle has hidden them from him. And with good reason. These are the letters of the grieving. They all seem to want something of Edward: to live a certain way, to take up a hobby, to do a certain job. There is no way he can do all of these things, and as 15 year olds, he and Shay realise this. As a 12 year old, he never would have, and it would have no doubt overwhelmed him.
I absolutely loved this book. It drew me in to the story of Edward, and I honestly felt bereft at the end of it. It’s undeniably sad, but it’s also life affirming, and I really liked how something so tragic could ultimately have such a positive outcome.
So if you pick this book up, read the back, then put it down again thinking that it’ll be too depressing, I’d just like to encourage you to give it a go. It’s a book well worth reading.