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True Born (True Born Trilogy, #1)
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantastic read! Well written with a great plot and characters. It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but once I did I couldn't put it down. I feel it is a cross between X-Men, Divergent and the 100. Lucy and Margot Fox are twins and they have a unique bond. They are daughters of the Chief Diplomat of Nor-Am. Being born to the Upper Circle sets Lucy and Margot apart from the rest of her dying world. The world has fallen victim to the plague. The breakdown of society wasn't fast, but it was messy, leaving three types of people in the world: Lasters, the ones who don't survive the plague. Splicers, humans whose bodies can be spliced with alternate genes to help them fight off the plague and survive. And the True Born, those who are immune to the plague, but they come with animal attributes (fins, claws, fur...). People don't learn if they are Lasters, Splicers, or True Born until their reveal on their 18th birthday. Lucy and Margot's 18th birthday is coming and they don't understand why they keep having to go through Protocols to determine their path in life. Lucy meets True Born Jared and do they have chemistry. Lucy and Margot's new security detail, is the True Born leader Nolan Storm. I love this series already! I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.
  
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Brenna (3 KP) rated Libby, by OverDrive in Apps

May 17, 2018  
Libby, by OverDrive
Libby, by OverDrive
Book, Entertainment
8
8.2 (26 Ratings)
App Rating
free to use (3 more)
pretty interface
automatic book return
both audio and ebook files!
need a library card to use (2 more)
selection can be limited
can take some getting used to
A Must-Have App for Any Book Lover
I discovered Libby at the suggestion of another internet user, and while I didn't even have a library card to begin with, I have since fallen in love.

Why I Love it: As a college student, I don't have a lot of spare money. As a college student who loves to read, this can be a problem! Libby solves some of these issues for me. It's basically an easy way to access the digital content from your local libraries. All you need is a library card. If you like audiobooks or ebooks, this is an app for you.

The Downsides: There are a few downsides to Libby. For one, you need a library card - but those are easy enough to come by, right? Second, the selection can be somewhat limited depending on what your library system houses. The best solution to this is to get multiple library cards, but while this is good for college students and out-of-towners, its not a viable option for everyone. Another issue is waiting lists on both ebooks and audibooks, much like you're actually checking out a book at a library. This is kind of annoying, but it's a small price to pay for an app that is otherwise really great.
  
Bosch - Season 5
Bosch - Season 5
2019 | Crime, Thriller
Cast are superb (1 more)
Taut thriller with many plot lines.
Some supporting actors are poor (0 more)
A slow burn but worth it.
Bosch season 5 is another slow burning police procedural following several cases being investigated by the LAPD West Hollywood Division.

Harry Bosch was created by Michael Connolly in a series of books and has been adapted very well for the small screen. Titus Welliver (Lost, Deadwood) is perfect in the lead role as the gifted detective who has a troubled past.

 This series opens with Bosch having fallen on hard times. With ruffled hair, leg in a brace and a cane, he is ushered off a bus in a make shift camp in the desert. Shuffling in a line of desperate addicts he waits for his reward for a day's work, a dose of opioids. After a run in with another addict he is caught snooping around the camp by one of the guards. He is taken to the head kingpin who thinking he is spying on them puts one bullet in the gun found in Bosch's backpack and points it at his head about to pull the trigger...

This series is possibly one of the best crime/detective shows around at the moment. It's pace is deliberate and slow with detectives taking their time finding vital clues (or missing them) but cleverly working multiple plot lines throughout the entire 10 episodes.
  
FC
Full Cicada Moon
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I absolutely loved this book! I suppose I’m a bit partial to stories told in poetry, as I’ve really enjoyed all of the YA novels I’ve read that are written this way, but I’m just so impressed at how these authors use this medium to tell incredibly powerful stories about difficult topics.

This particular book addresses issues of racism as well as tackling issues involved with being bi-racial in America, something that hits particularly close to home for me as I’m raising bi-racial children. While the story is set in 1969, I think so many of Mimi’s experiences still resonate today–everything from being followed around a store by a suspicious salesperson to being a wallflower at your first middle school dance.

Of course, the other aspect that I’ve fallen in love with in Marilyn Hilton’s writing is her ability to capture images so beautifully in her poetry. This section, towards the end of the novel, is particularly touching:

I used to think the people of Vermont

were like the snow–

crusty,

chilly,

and slow to thaw

But now I think

they’re what’s underneath.

Like the crocus bulbs making flowers all winter

in the dark earth–

invisible until they push through the snow–

and like the cicadas growing

underground for years–

until they burst from the ground–

the people of Vermont

do their hardest thinking

and their richest feeling

deep inside,

so no one can see.
  
Christmas Cake Murder
Christmas Cake Murder
Joanne Fluke | 2018 | Mystery
5
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hannah's First Brush with Murder
This book is set at the first Christmas since Hannah's father has died. Hannah has dropped out of her graduate program and is home trying to help her mother, Delores, deal with life after her loss, and Hannah is beginning to worry. Fortunately, Grandma Knudson and Annie come up with the perfect project to get Delores's mind off her loss. It seems Essie, a beloved member of the community, has fallen and broken her hip. In an effort to cheer her up, Delores is asked to organize a Christmas ball, with Hannah recruited to bake the cakes for the events. While all this is going on, Hannah begins to share her dreams of opening her own cookie and coffee shop. And a novel that Essie was working on captivates Hannah, Delores, Michelle, and Lisa.

You'll note my teaser doesn't mention the mystery. That's because it isn't until late in the book that it comes into clear focus, although enough bread crumbs have been laid out earlier that we do get a satisfying wrap up. Meanwhile, we get lots of planning for the ball and Hannah getting the things that will become staples of her life as we know it from the rest of the series. It's fun for series fans, although even then I thought the book could have been shorter. Those new to the series definitely shouldn't jump in here since it is so atypical.