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Lindsay (1693 KP) rated Otherworld Nights (Otherworld Stories, #3) in Books

Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)  
This is a book about all kinds of supernaturals. Though you get to read about the American Pack. It falls more on Clay and Elena then the others. Though you get a piece each part of the stories. You get to learn a bit about Adam and though not all of it. You get parts of all eight stories list or at least part of it.

Though most of the book talks more on Elena and Clay and his family and adventures. You read all about what Adam mother find out about her son. You get to read about Clay an Elena Honeymoon story and Hidden/ Twilight though I do not know how that fits in much. Chivalrous you learn about Reese's back story. Lucifer Daughter comes in but not much is about either of them. From Russia with Love is a sweet story about Elena. Vanishing Act is the newest story about Savannah and Adam when he is older.

I know it a collection of stories not all them in a lot of detail. I was a little confused going from one story to the next I understood Elena and Clay story better and Savannah and Adam. That is all I understoood. The ohers I would not understand how it went from Adam being four years old to him being an adult. Why most of the stories where about Elena and Clay and American Pack when it started out with Demons and ending with Demons or half demons.
  
The Vine Witch
The Vine Witch
Luanne G.Smith | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Slow burning
After seven years of being cursed Elena is finally free, from her wet and cold confines. She travels back to her beloved vineyard she calls home in the Chanceaux Valley of France, only to find there is a new owner, and the vines she loves so much are dying.
Elena offers to help her Grandmere and the new owner, Jean-Paul to revive the vines and bring back the quality wines that were previously made there.
Elena hides her witch abilities, from an unsure Jean-Paul, who believes science is the way behind great wine making.
Expect some witchy chaos, some ritualistic (but tasteful) blood letting, and a lot of wine talk. Elena ends up face to face with her ex, his new wife and the inspector in charge of keeping covenant laws.
Smith writes very well, the setting is written so beautifully and descriptive you can imagine yourself being there. It’s a lovely read, it’s a bit of a slow burner, with a lot of action towards to the end, but stick with it.
  
Shadow Souls (The Vampire Diaries: The Return, #2)
Shadow Souls (The Vampire Diaries: The Return, #2)
L.J. Smith | 2010 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
2
6.5 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is my review on Amazon.com:

I have to be honest. This book was actually better than The Return: Nightfall (Vampire Diaries). Sadly, this does not prevent it from being a horrible book.
This book was all over the place and the plot was barely coherent.

Here's the deal: Damon was possessed at the behest of Hot Topic rejects, Misao and Shinichi. This led him to tricking Stefan into going into a place called the Dark Dimension. Elena gets over floating like a balloon to team up with Damon to get him back.

Caroline is still possessed and trying to have Matt arrested for assaulting her. I have to say that the parts with Caroline were the only things remotely interesting about the book. Unfortunately the Matt/Caroline?Mrs Flowers scenes were shoved aside in favor of feeble attempts at eroticism with Damon and Elena.

Stefan and Elena bored me. Every time Elena had an out-of-body experience, I grit my teeth at the insipid dialogue and promised my brain Milk Duds to soothe the loss of brain cells.

Bonnie and Meredith? Strictly on the sidelines and BORING. Meredith was one of my favorite characters and now she's been reduced to generic friend. Ugh.

Another thing that bothered me was the unhealthy obsession with the ideas of purity and virginity. Elena is a virgin. Uh, okay and this is a secret WHY?

Also, readers do not need it pounded into their heads how hot Elena is. Seriously, it seemed like every five pages I was subjected to how awesomely and mind-blowingly hot she is. COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!

Oh, and THE END *deep breath*... This could have been a shocking and heart-wrenching development, but for some reason LJS decided to play it for comedy. This left me feeling overtly hostile to the book and not at all looking forward to the next installation.

The thing is, LJS did better. I expect better of her. Come on! This is the woman who wrote Secret Vampire (Night World)!
  
This is the full length story of Elena and Karl and it starts when Karl is 27. For a long time, Elena and Karl have kept their relationship purely platonic due to circumstances "beyond their control" but things are about to change.

This story is full of action, romance, drama and suspense. You find out little snippets as you read along and the characters are built up. There is no insta-love in this book, just a deep and true friendship that could always have been something more if things had been different.

Absolutely brilliant and an ending which definitely makes you reach for the next book in the series!
  
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William Finnegan recommended My Brilliant Friend in Books (curated)

 
My Brilliant Friend
My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
3.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"The first volume in the Neapolitan quartet, this one changes in the mind’s eye if you’re pulled, as I am, helplessly through the subsequent books, with its primal scenes from early childhood deepening throughout. Is there a better portrait of friendship in literature than the story of Elena Greco, the narrator, and her brilliant friend, Lila Cerullo? Elena escapes the old neighborhood, and the poverty of postwar Naples, through education, but Lila remains the incandescent figure. The tormented power of their relationship never flags, through “The Story of a New Name,” “Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” and the devastating “The Story of a Lost Child.” I hear the TV series is good. The books are a universe."

Source
  
Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunter, #2)
Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunter, #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5 stars.

I didn't get the same wow...! feeling after reading this as the first but I did really like it at the same time.

The relationship is still as hot between Raphael and Elena in this as the first and this time they are in the Refuge so that Elena can learn how to be what she now is. We learn more about the nightmares that haunt our favourite hunter and see more into Raphael's past, which was interesting.

We don't see much of her best friend and fellow hunter in this, Ransom and Sara, and in a way I missed them. They grew on me in the first, but since Elena wants to go home at the end of this, I'm assuming they head back to New York in the next and we'll see more of them again.

I have to say I still like Illium--a.k.a Bluebell--and this new side we see to him in this only makes me like him more. I would love to see his wings! And Elena's since they seem to be along the same colours. In fact, I need visuals of everyone's wings because they all sound incredibly beautiful!
  
Little Fires Everywhere
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.3 (43 Ratings)
Book Rating
The community of Shaker Heights has been meticulously planned, the curves in the road and the colour of the houses, even the residents within. But now they want to know who started the fires and why?
Elena Richardson has always lived there and now embodies the ideals and values of the neighbourhood. Enter Mia, a single mum to a teenaged girl, nomadically travelling from state to state in an old green car and finally landing squarely in Shaker. The Richardson family are all drawn to the pair, but Elena has reasons to dig deep into Mia’s past. This is a raw observation of two families and their entanglements, Ng adds a backdrop of an adoption battle and questions family values, morals and ethics. A book group must!
  
Little Fires Everywhere
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.3 (43 Ratings)
Book Rating
Truly, I've been meaning to read this one for ages, but those Hulu promos with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington really did push me over the edge. Shaker Heights is a planned community in Ohio, focused on perfection. No one loves the community more than Elena Richardson, who has lived there most of her life. She and her husband have four children, and Elena works as a reporter for a local paper. They also rent a townhouse to deserving tenants. Their latest project is Mia Warren and her daughter, Pearl. Mia is an artist and Pearl goes to high school with the Richardson kids. Mia is everything Shaker is not--mysterious, interesting, and different. When Elena's friends try to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a battle erupts within Shaker Heights that splits the town--and Mia and Elena. Elena starts digging into Mia's past, but her obsession with this woman will soon put both Mia and herself at risk.

I'm not sure there's much I can say about this popular book that hasn't been said before. I'm often hesitant to read hyped books, fearing a letdown, but I really enjoyed this one. It's mesmerizing, drawing you into Shaker Heights, as one event keeps leading to another, things unfolding before your eyes. Disaster, you know, is waiting right around the corner.

Ng flirts constantly with the idea of being different--Pearl, for instance, isn't sure she likes being different--and loves spending time with the Richardson kids, who seem so average and normal. There are others who are scared of being different. We see different ideas of conformity. And the thread of fires--big and small--real and metaphorical--throughout the entire novel. Ng is an excellent writer; I was really impressed with how everything tied together. She captures the everyday moments so well.

The whole book was incredibly compelling; I had not realized that there was a mystery element to this one, as Elena digs into Mia's past. I was fascinated, and I loved how real each of the characters seemed. The four Richardson kids are unique in their own way, and of course, Mia, Elena, and Pearl are quite captivating. The world-building and storytelling here is amazing.

Overall, this book is just fascinating. I was hooked from the beginning and awed by the excellent writing, as well. I'm extremely curious how this will translate to tv (and what liberties they will take with the story). 4.5 stars.
  
S(
8
8.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>Stolen</i> was violent, bloody, twisted, and I loved it! Elena is a great character and the book is written with an easy style and some dry humor thrown in for good measure. Sure, it was slow-starting and there were some parts that were drawn out too long, but I enjoyed the ride when it picked up. I can't wait to get to Kelley Armstrong's other books.
4.25 stars
  
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
2015 | Action/Adventure
Nathan drake (1 more)
Nolan north
One of the best game series on the PS3 looking amazing on the PS4 Nathan drake has to be one of the best video game characters of all time what with Nolan north on voice duties u cant go wrong. The visuals the gameplay all the other characters scully Elena perfect as I'm currently on the first game and 50 per cent way thru it hopefully will play both the sequels when done