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Sol (Learning to Love #2)
8.0
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Solomon Trebeck’s heart broke the night of his bi-awakening. Fifteen years later, Sol’s back...
Contemporary MM Romance
Crimson: A Dark Sidhe Faerie Tale
8.0
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Kara lived a life full of hardships. Her father abandoned his family when Kara was a young girl, her...
Dark Faerie Paranormal Romance
Louise (64 KP) rated The Square Root of Summer in Books
Jul 2, 2018
One word really describes this book…. confusing! for the majority of the book I didn’t really know what was going on. I think the state of confusion was on my behalf as I am not a massive fan of physics and unable to get my head around it.
The Square Root of Summer is Harriet Reuter Hapgood’s debut novel, the story is told from the perspective of Gottie. A year ago her life was pretty good, she had an amazing family, a boyfriend and decent friends and then it shattered all around her. It’s been a year since Gottie’s grandfather died, the family are devastated and have slowly drifted apart as they come to terms with their loss. To make things worse her so-called ‘boyfriend’ left for University/College and the great friends she had are continuing on with their lives without Gottie.
When she receives news that her next door neighbour/best friend Thomas is coming back to England to live after moving to Canada things start happening to Gottie that she just can’t explain.
Gottie is a science geek and loves physics, so when she starts having flashbacks of everything that happened the previous year before Grey’s(Grandfather) death, she tries to understand what is happening to her. Gottie believes that she is traveling back in time through wormholes and vortexes (all that physicy stuff) and soon the summer becomes a mission to find out if you can really time travel.
This book is a coming of age story that includes grief, families,friends, and love. The book shows how much heartbreak a death in the family can cause and that something stressful (major life event) will tip you over the edge. Wormholes and Vortexes were Gottie’s coping mechanism, she enjoyed physics and that’s what helped her. With these flashback’s/time travelling (you decide) it enabled her to start talking to her family and friends again, also finding herself and become the person she wanted to be.
This is a great debut novel set in Norfolk, England. Hapgood managed to include aspects of her German heritage into the book, the family dynamics and characters are complex and three-dimensional, there is bookstores and baking and also to top it off there is a cute romance.What more could you ask for?
I rated this 3 of 5 stars
*I received a copyofthis book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
The Square Root of Summer is Harriet Reuter Hapgood’s debut novel, the story is told from the perspective of Gottie. A year ago her life was pretty good, she had an amazing family, a boyfriend and decent friends and then it shattered all around her. It’s been a year since Gottie’s grandfather died, the family are devastated and have slowly drifted apart as they come to terms with their loss. To make things worse her so-called ‘boyfriend’ left for University/College and the great friends she had are continuing on with their lives without Gottie.
When she receives news that her next door neighbour/best friend Thomas is coming back to England to live after moving to Canada things start happening to Gottie that she just can’t explain.
Gottie is a science geek and loves physics, so when she starts having flashbacks of everything that happened the previous year before Grey’s(Grandfather) death, she tries to understand what is happening to her. Gottie believes that she is traveling back in time through wormholes and vortexes (all that physicy stuff) and soon the summer becomes a mission to find out if you can really time travel.
This book is a coming of age story that includes grief, families,friends, and love. The book shows how much heartbreak a death in the family can cause and that something stressful (major life event) will tip you over the edge. Wormholes and Vortexes were Gottie’s coping mechanism, she enjoyed physics and that’s what helped her. With these flashback’s/time travelling (you decide) it enabled her to start talking to her family and friends again, also finding herself and become the person she wanted to be.
This is a great debut novel set in Norfolk, England. Hapgood managed to include aspects of her German heritage into the book, the family dynamics and characters are complex and three-dimensional, there is bookstores and baking and also to top it off there is a cute romance.What more could you ask for?
I rated this 3 of 5 stars
*I received a copyofthis book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Captive Trail (Texas Trails, #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
An escaped Comanche captive looking for her true family. An Ursaline mission run by the Sisters who nurse and protect Taabe Waipu. A stagecoach driver who will stop at nothing to reunite Taabe with her family. And a band of Comanche warriors who want their prisoner back.
The second book in the Morgan Family Series takes place about 12 years after the first book Lone Star Trail, and it does stand alone if you choose not to read the first book. Beginning in 1857, we follow the story Taabe Waipu in her journey to discovering her true identity. She has been with the Comanche for so long that she has forgotten almost everything, even English, except for the fact that she does not belong with the Comanche. She finds a safe haven with the Nuns at the mission and a friend in Ned Bright, the stagecoach driver. As her affections for Ned grow, so does her doubt. Will he accept her once he knows the secrets of her past? As time progresses, Taabe relearns English and can communicate more about who she is and inquires are sent from families in Texas that have lost children to the Indians. Will she ever find her family? Will she be protected from her captors, or will they find her and force her return?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Captive Trail. The “Old West” is one of my favorite time periods to read. I was skeptical at first because each book in this series is written by a different author. But because it stands alone, there were no real comparisons to make regarding changes in characters. Susan Page Davis (www.susanpagedavis.com) does an excellent job of continuing the story of the Morgan family. This book was a pretty laid back easy read. The first 18 chapters (there are 24 chapter in all) were mostly building to the climax, that I knew was coming, but wasn’t sure how it would all come about. But it wasn’t boring. We learn a lot about Taabe’s character and learn more about her life with the Comanche and the heartache and sorrow she had to endure as their captive. I highly recommend this book for a quick read if you enjoy learning about the perils and danger of life in the time of Cowboys and Indians.
I received a free copy of Captive Trail from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
The second book in the Morgan Family Series takes place about 12 years after the first book Lone Star Trail, and it does stand alone if you choose not to read the first book. Beginning in 1857, we follow the story Taabe Waipu in her journey to discovering her true identity. She has been with the Comanche for so long that she has forgotten almost everything, even English, except for the fact that she does not belong with the Comanche. She finds a safe haven with the Nuns at the mission and a friend in Ned Bright, the stagecoach driver. As her affections for Ned grow, so does her doubt. Will he accept her once he knows the secrets of her past? As time progresses, Taabe relearns English and can communicate more about who she is and inquires are sent from families in Texas that have lost children to the Indians. Will she ever find her family? Will she be protected from her captors, or will they find her and force her return?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Captive Trail. The “Old West” is one of my favorite time periods to read. I was skeptical at first because each book in this series is written by a different author. But because it stands alone, there were no real comparisons to make regarding changes in characters. Susan Page Davis (www.susanpagedavis.com) does an excellent job of continuing the story of the Morgan family. This book was a pretty laid back easy read. The first 18 chapters (there are 24 chapter in all) were mostly building to the climax, that I knew was coming, but wasn’t sure how it would all come about. But it wasn’t boring. We learn a lot about Taabe’s character and learn more about her life with the Comanche and the heartache and sorrow she had to endure as their captive. I highly recommend this book for a quick read if you enjoy learning about the perils and danger of life in the time of Cowboys and Indians.
I received a free copy of Captive Trail from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
Pepi House
Education and Games
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Meet and greet the huge Pepi family in Pepi House! Join 10 lovely characters in their day to day...
Darren (1599 KP) rated Poltergeist (1982) in Movies
Nov 26, 2019
Verdict: Classic Horror
Story: Poltergeist starts as the Freeling family Steve (Nelson), Diane (Williams), Dana (Dunne), Robbie (Robins) and Carol (O’Rourke) who have moved into a new build, that Steve’s company has built. Robbie is struggling to deal with the strange shapes around the house at night, and Carol has started her sleepwalking again, talking to the static on the television.
The family soon find out they have a poltergeist that Diane sees as something friendly only for the events to become must more sinister, targeting the youngest members of the house, the family must figure out how to save their family, where they only learn more troublesome truths about the house, turning to Dr Lesh (Straight) to study what is going on.
Thoughts on Poltergeist
Characters – Steve is the real estate agent that has been selling the house on the new land, he moved his own family into one to show just how confident he is in the neighbourhood and does what ever concerned father would do once the haunting start. Diane is the wife and mother, she plays with the ghosts first thinking it is a harmless haunting, but when things get serious, she won’t leave the house until she gets her daughter back. Dr Lesh is the one that is hired to study the hauntings, she sets up the tests to figure out what is happening and prepares the family for the test they will be facing. Dana is the oldest daughter in the family, she is dealing with being a teenager with ease and must look after Robbie while the rest of the family deal with the hauntings.
Performances – Craig T Nelson and JoBeth Williams as the parents are both great through, they show the concern and worries they might not find their daughter. Beatrice Straight does bring the confident figure to life, while also showing the fear she sees in the house. The child stars are strong too through the film.
Story – The story here follows a family that’s new dream home turns into a nightmare when it turns out it is haunted by vengeful spirits forcing them to confront the spirits before losing their family. This is the original haunted house to a new level story, it spins what was designed before with an old house with history being haunted, to a brand-new house being the events of the hauntings, one that wouldn’t be filled with murder or history. This does help the events of the story seem scarier and gives it an original side too because it shows that anybody could be the ones getting haunted.
Horror – The horror in the film is hauntings, we start with friendly ones which seem harmless and soon become deadly as the children are being targeted, the final act will bring the most horror to the whole film.
Settings – The film uses the brand-new house build for the main setting, this helps because it changes everything we should know about haunting houses.
Special Effects – The effects are great considering this came out in 1982, they don’t look terribly like certain horror films since this.
Scene of the Movie – The last night in the house.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The builder’s mentality to a teenage schoolgirl.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror film that has stood the test of time and will be remembered as one of the best of the 80’s.
Overall: Brilliant Horror
Story: Poltergeist starts as the Freeling family Steve (Nelson), Diane (Williams), Dana (Dunne), Robbie (Robins) and Carol (O’Rourke) who have moved into a new build, that Steve’s company has built. Robbie is struggling to deal with the strange shapes around the house at night, and Carol has started her sleepwalking again, talking to the static on the television.
The family soon find out they have a poltergeist that Diane sees as something friendly only for the events to become must more sinister, targeting the youngest members of the house, the family must figure out how to save their family, where they only learn more troublesome truths about the house, turning to Dr Lesh (Straight) to study what is going on.
Thoughts on Poltergeist
Characters – Steve is the real estate agent that has been selling the house on the new land, he moved his own family into one to show just how confident he is in the neighbourhood and does what ever concerned father would do once the haunting start. Diane is the wife and mother, she plays with the ghosts first thinking it is a harmless haunting, but when things get serious, she won’t leave the house until she gets her daughter back. Dr Lesh is the one that is hired to study the hauntings, she sets up the tests to figure out what is happening and prepares the family for the test they will be facing. Dana is the oldest daughter in the family, she is dealing with being a teenager with ease and must look after Robbie while the rest of the family deal with the hauntings.
Performances – Craig T Nelson and JoBeth Williams as the parents are both great through, they show the concern and worries they might not find their daughter. Beatrice Straight does bring the confident figure to life, while also showing the fear she sees in the house. The child stars are strong too through the film.
Story – The story here follows a family that’s new dream home turns into a nightmare when it turns out it is haunted by vengeful spirits forcing them to confront the spirits before losing their family. This is the original haunted house to a new level story, it spins what was designed before with an old house with history being haunted, to a brand-new house being the events of the hauntings, one that wouldn’t be filled with murder or history. This does help the events of the story seem scarier and gives it an original side too because it shows that anybody could be the ones getting haunted.
Horror – The horror in the film is hauntings, we start with friendly ones which seem harmless and soon become deadly as the children are being targeted, the final act will bring the most horror to the whole film.
Settings – The film uses the brand-new house build for the main setting, this helps because it changes everything we should know about haunting houses.
Special Effects – The effects are great considering this came out in 1982, they don’t look terribly like certain horror films since this.
Scene of the Movie – The last night in the house.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The builder’s mentality to a teenage schoolgirl.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror film that has stood the test of time and will be remembered as one of the best of the 80’s.
Overall: Brilliant Horror
Considering the fact all of the nominees for the 2015-2016 Gateway Award aren't exactly very appealing and I've had quite the bad luck with them... I pretty much decided to take a stab with Ashley Elston's <i>The Rules for Disappearing</i> as my next victim.
In elaboration of that bad luck, <a title="In the Shadow of Blackbirds" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-in-the-shadow-of-blackbirds-by-cat-winters/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">my first one was insanity</a>. I'm scared of reading another book by Cat Winters. <a href="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/dnf-review-the-5th-wave-by-rick-yancey"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">My second one had a highly annoying character named after a constellation</a>.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.bookblog.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/317/2015/05/dean-what-have-i-done.gif"; border="0" /></div>
And now, my third book has a very materialistic character (completely opposite spectrum from me) whose family is in Witness Protection for the last year and has quite literally changed their names far more times than Zach/Jack in <i>Zach's Lie</i> and <i>Jack's Run</i>. With their eighth move, "Meg," is extremely tired of constantly having to move places, leaving her life behind, and changing her identities – the moves were beginning to tear apart their family. Meg vows to find what landed her and her family in Witness Protection in the first place throughout the book.
I personally liked how the book was formatted. The beginning of each chapter has a "rule for disappearing," possibly concocted by Meg over the year her family has been in Witness Protection, and what happens in the chapter is sort of a reason "why" Meg established the rule in the first place.
For almost half the book there isn't really too much that happens – Meg makes a plan to not settle down with her new life like she did in her past placements, her "diary" gets stolen, and she tries to avoid a boy named Ethan Landry who's a lot smarter than he seems. After accidentally hearing a few conversations her dad has over the phone in the middle of the night, things start to pick up – Meg starts to remember more of what happened in her original life and becomes more determined to get her family out of Witness protection.
Meg is like a clamshell at the very beginning – she's very closed off and she wants to isolate herself from her peers because who cares about making friends when you might be plucked from your current life any moment? It's not until she meets Ethan that she "gives up" on trying to isolate herself and becomes more open with other people. In all honesty, if Ethan didn't make a constant attempt to open up her shell, Meg probably wouldn't have told her story – how her old life was like, why she's really in Witness Protection, and what each of her moves were like compared to her original life.
Elston does drop a hint or two of a sequel near the end of the book, which I'm not exactly too excited for. <i>The Rules for Disappearing</i> felt like a stand-alone rather than a duology, but maybe the sequel will be equally or more interesting.
<blockquote>We force you to sit through the chick flicks so maybe you'll get some idea of how you're supposed to act.</blockquote>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-rules-for-disappearing-by-ashley-elston/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
In elaboration of that bad luck, <a title="In the Shadow of Blackbirds" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-in-the-shadow-of-blackbirds-by-cat-winters/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">my first one was insanity</a>. I'm scared of reading another book by Cat Winters. <a href="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/dnf-review-the-5th-wave-by-rick-yancey"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">My second one had a highly annoying character named after a constellation</a>.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.bookblog.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/317/2015/05/dean-what-have-i-done.gif"; border="0" /></div>
And now, my third book has a very materialistic character (completely opposite spectrum from me) whose family is in Witness Protection for the last year and has quite literally changed their names far more times than Zach/Jack in <i>Zach's Lie</i> and <i>Jack's Run</i>. With their eighth move, "Meg," is extremely tired of constantly having to move places, leaving her life behind, and changing her identities – the moves were beginning to tear apart their family. Meg vows to find what landed her and her family in Witness Protection in the first place throughout the book.
I personally liked how the book was formatted. The beginning of each chapter has a "rule for disappearing," possibly concocted by Meg over the year her family has been in Witness Protection, and what happens in the chapter is sort of a reason "why" Meg established the rule in the first place.
For almost half the book there isn't really too much that happens – Meg makes a plan to not settle down with her new life like she did in her past placements, her "diary" gets stolen, and she tries to avoid a boy named Ethan Landry who's a lot smarter than he seems. After accidentally hearing a few conversations her dad has over the phone in the middle of the night, things start to pick up – Meg starts to remember more of what happened in her original life and becomes more determined to get her family out of Witness protection.
Meg is like a clamshell at the very beginning – she's very closed off and she wants to isolate herself from her peers because who cares about making friends when you might be plucked from your current life any moment? It's not until she meets Ethan that she "gives up" on trying to isolate herself and becomes more open with other people. In all honesty, if Ethan didn't make a constant attempt to open up her shell, Meg probably wouldn't have told her story – how her old life was like, why she's really in Witness Protection, and what each of her moves were like compared to her original life.
Elston does drop a hint or two of a sequel near the end of the book, which I'm not exactly too excited for. <i>The Rules for Disappearing</i> felt like a stand-alone rather than a duology, but maybe the sequel will be equally or more interesting.
<blockquote>We force you to sit through the chick flicks so maybe you'll get some idea of how you're supposed to act.</blockquote>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-rules-for-disappearing-by-ashley-elston/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Virtual Families 2: Our Dream House
Games and Entertainment
App
*Now Downloaded 11 Million Times!! Well played, people!* *Whoa! You made us #1 in Simulation!...
Storm Shield
Weather and Travel
App
Named by Time.com's @Techland as one of the best weather apps for your iPhone. And now the first app...