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Carma (21 KP) rated Leather and Lace (Lonesome Point, Texas, #1) in Books
Jun 17, 2019
Through a free book of day web page I stumbled upon a new to me author named Jessie Evans. Leather and Lace (Lonesome Point Texas) was the first book I’ve ever read by Jessie and can I just say, I will now be reading the rest of the books in her repertoire.
Leather and Lace is book #1 in the Lonesome Point Texas series. The main characters are Mia Sherman and Sawyer Kane. Mia’s family is one of prominence in the community and she recently returned home after a relationship turned bad and failed. Sawyer Kane was new to town coming for work opportunities, having ended a bad relationship recently. Neither was looking to start a new relationship until when they literally run into each other changes that.
Mia’s family has established themselves as solid settlers of Lonesome Point Texas. Mia’s grandmother runs the historic society old town, trying to keep the sightseers coming back to enjoy the history and ghost stories it provides. Mia runs her own lingerie store trying to shed the old stigma of being the town prankster but failing miserably. She just got out of a failed relationship and is just looking to have a little fun with her friends and family. After a night out with friends she decided to have a little fun with the items from her store and panty up the town. She “decorated” her cousin’s yard and while trying to escape detection, ran full force into Sawyer Kane. With a family curse and haunted house in her life this was not what she was looking for.
Sawyer Kane headed to Lonesome Point in place of his uncle who wanted him to check out a possible refurbish project. Trying to find a place to eat one night let him smack dab into Mia Sherman. He wasn’t looking for a new relationship but after their run in he can’t get her out of his mind. Can he convince her to give a relationship a chance, curse be damned.
Throw in a back story of drama, bad relationships and psychotic exes leads them toward each other and questioning getting involved again. I can’t wait to get further into Lonesome Point and its fun loving residents.
Leather and Lace is book #1 in the Lonesome Point Texas series. The main characters are Mia Sherman and Sawyer Kane. Mia’s family is one of prominence in the community and she recently returned home after a relationship turned bad and failed. Sawyer Kane was new to town coming for work opportunities, having ended a bad relationship recently. Neither was looking to start a new relationship until when they literally run into each other changes that.
Mia’s family has established themselves as solid settlers of Lonesome Point Texas. Mia’s grandmother runs the historic society old town, trying to keep the sightseers coming back to enjoy the history and ghost stories it provides. Mia runs her own lingerie store trying to shed the old stigma of being the town prankster but failing miserably. She just got out of a failed relationship and is just looking to have a little fun with her friends and family. After a night out with friends she decided to have a little fun with the items from her store and panty up the town. She “decorated” her cousin’s yard and while trying to escape detection, ran full force into Sawyer Kane. With a family curse and haunted house in her life this was not what she was looking for.
Sawyer Kane headed to Lonesome Point in place of his uncle who wanted him to check out a possible refurbish project. Trying to find a place to eat one night let him smack dab into Mia Sherman. He wasn’t looking for a new relationship but after their run in he can’t get her out of his mind. Can he convince her to give a relationship a chance, curse be damned.
Throw in a back story of drama, bad relationships and psychotic exes leads them toward each other and questioning getting involved again. I can’t wait to get further into Lonesome Point and its fun loving residents.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Minari (2020) in Movies
Apr 4, 2021
Pleasant Enough
With it’s 6 Oscar nominations (including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor), the drama MINARI has become a touchstone of films with Asian (or Asian-American) roots.
And…it is worthy of these accolades - and this place in history - for MINARI is a warm-hearted, loving look at a Korean-American family trying to make it’s way in the world in 1980’s Arkansas.
Written and Directed in Oscar Nominated fashion (for both categories), Lee Isaac Chung presents a realistic American family looking to forge a new living while still remaining true to their cultural roots.
Steve Yeun (THE WALKING DEAD) is Oscar nominated for his lead role of Jacob, who moves his family to Arkansas in the hopes to start a farm that specializes in Korean food. Yeun’s performance is earnest and sincere and I am happy for him that this performance is nominated. The rest of the family unit is strong - with the stand out being Yuh-Jung Youn as the Grandmother. She brings the most interesting and nuanced character to the screen and I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulls the upset and wins the Oscar for Supporting Actress. Finally, veteran character Actor Will Patton is a spark of energy as a local who helps Jacob on the farm.
And…that, ultimately, is the problem with this film. Writer/Director Chung spends most of his time creating the atmosphere and the characters, He fails to realize that there really is no compelling event to drive the plot forward. It’s a “fine” slice-of-life film and one that is enjoyable to watch with a strong, charismatic cast, but nothing really happens and that, finally, is a problem.
This is most certainly a deserving Oscar nominated film - especially in these pandemic times - with big budget Blockbuster films pushed to the sidelines, this type of quiet film is thrust to the forefront - and good for them and I’m glad that the spotlight is shining on this film. I just wish there was more plot and a more compelling reason to watch this film.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take this to the Bank(ofMarquis)
And…it is worthy of these accolades - and this place in history - for MINARI is a warm-hearted, loving look at a Korean-American family trying to make it’s way in the world in 1980’s Arkansas.
Written and Directed in Oscar Nominated fashion (for both categories), Lee Isaac Chung presents a realistic American family looking to forge a new living while still remaining true to their cultural roots.
Steve Yeun (THE WALKING DEAD) is Oscar nominated for his lead role of Jacob, who moves his family to Arkansas in the hopes to start a farm that specializes in Korean food. Yeun’s performance is earnest and sincere and I am happy for him that this performance is nominated. The rest of the family unit is strong - with the stand out being Yuh-Jung Youn as the Grandmother. She brings the most interesting and nuanced character to the screen and I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulls the upset and wins the Oscar for Supporting Actress. Finally, veteran character Actor Will Patton is a spark of energy as a local who helps Jacob on the farm.
And…that, ultimately, is the problem with this film. Writer/Director Chung spends most of his time creating the atmosphere and the characters, He fails to realize that there really is no compelling event to drive the plot forward. It’s a “fine” slice-of-life film and one that is enjoyable to watch with a strong, charismatic cast, but nothing really happens and that, finally, is a problem.
This is most certainly a deserving Oscar nominated film - especially in these pandemic times - with big budget Blockbuster films pushed to the sidelines, this type of quiet film is thrust to the forefront - and good for them and I’m glad that the spotlight is shining on this film. I just wish there was more plot and a more compelling reason to watch this film.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take this to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Queen of Swords (Wilderness #5)
Book
It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a...
Angel's Halo (Angel's Halo MC, #1)
10.0
Rate It
Book
Creswell Springs was a small little town in Trinity Count, California. Population 1,500—maybe....
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Alice in Zombieland - White Rabbit Chronicles in Books
Feb 1, 2018
This was an interesting re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland. In Alice in Zombieland, Alice Bell's life has always been curtailed by her father's insistence that monsters exist. The family cannot leave the house after dark, she's been taught how to fight hand-to-hand and with a couple of weapons, and they never - NEVER - drive past the graveyard. All of this changes in one night - when Alice "falls down the rabbit hole" as it were - and discovers her father wasn't insane after all.
Now, living with her grandparents, haunted by visions of her little sister and glimpses of monsters in the dark, Alice - or Ali, as she insists on being called - finds herself being called on to fight the monsters alongside the roughest crowd in her high school. Falling in love with the leader of the bad boys doesn't help her social life, but might help her stay alive.
I enjoyed this book and will probably pick up the sequel, Through the Zombie Glass, if I can find it at the library. The writing flowed well most of the time, and while Alice began a little whiny, by the end of the book she was pretty bad ass. It felt.... a little more "young adult" than some young adult books I've read; the emotions seemed detached or damped down a bit. While she was dealing with grief over the loss of her family, and possible death at the hands of zombies, it just didn't feel as raw as I think those emotions should have felt. And the notion of a bunch of high school kids fighting zombies - with the support of adults, including the high school principal - was a little weird. Still an interesting book, and not a waste of time, but it felt a lot like "teenagers are special snowflakes!"
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Now, living with her grandparents, haunted by visions of her little sister and glimpses of monsters in the dark, Alice - or Ali, as she insists on being called - finds herself being called on to fight the monsters alongside the roughest crowd in her high school. Falling in love with the leader of the bad boys doesn't help her social life, but might help her stay alive.
I enjoyed this book and will probably pick up the sequel, Through the Zombie Glass, if I can find it at the library. The writing flowed well most of the time, and while Alice began a little whiny, by the end of the book she was pretty bad ass. It felt.... a little more "young adult" than some young adult books I've read; the emotions seemed detached or damped down a bit. While she was dealing with grief over the loss of her family, and possible death at the hands of zombies, it just didn't feel as raw as I think those emotions should have felt. And the notion of a bunch of high school kids fighting zombies - with the support of adults, including the high school principal - was a little weird. Still an interesting book, and not a waste of time, but it felt a lot like "teenagers are special snowflakes!"
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Gilded Cage in Books
Jan 26, 2019 (Updated Jan 26, 2019)
Disappointing
This was a book with big aspirations but patchy execution. I thought I was getting into some kind of dystopia with 'special skilled people'. On the one hand, that's what I got, on the other it was much more than this, almost too much of many other things. This is a hugely political read, which I am not adverse to but it was inherently confusing due to an overly large cast of characters, many of similar importance; I didn't know where to place my focus.
The start to the book is gentle (post-prologue), introducing a family who are about to do their ten years time in subservience. Hierarchy is the name of the game in GILDED CAGE and if you're not skilled then you have to forfeit your rights as a person and serve the skilled for ten years in slavedays. This family were from Manchester and as a Mancunian myself, I was piqued at this facet to the book. Manchester had a slaveday town called Millsmoor and this was described as a dark, pre-industrial revolution kind of inhuman place; definitely a contrast to life outside.
Lots about this book interested me, the Equals (skilled) and their way of life. What I found was that almost all of the Equals in this book were obnoxious in one way or another. There was no upstairs/downstairs feel to the story, despite some suggestion of kind dispositions. Do not get me started on the sadomasochistic keeping of a man-dog.
Whilst this is the first book in a trilogy and there is much more to come, the story did not weave together for me at all. I don't feel invested enough to continue with the rest of the series.
I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
The start to the book is gentle (post-prologue), introducing a family who are about to do their ten years time in subservience. Hierarchy is the name of the game in GILDED CAGE and if you're not skilled then you have to forfeit your rights as a person and serve the skilled for ten years in slavedays. This family were from Manchester and as a Mancunian myself, I was piqued at this facet to the book. Manchester had a slaveday town called Millsmoor and this was described as a dark, pre-industrial revolution kind of inhuman place; definitely a contrast to life outside.
Lots about this book interested me, the Equals (skilled) and their way of life. What I found was that almost all of the Equals in this book were obnoxious in one way or another. There was no upstairs/downstairs feel to the story, despite some suggestion of kind dispositions. Do not get me started on the sadomasochistic keeping of a man-dog.
Whilst this is the first book in a trilogy and there is much more to come, the story did not weave together for me at all. I don't feel invested enough to continue with the rest of the series.
I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
ClareR (5996 KP) rated How It Was in Books
Nov 18, 2019
How It Was looks at the complexity of a mother/ daughter relationship, and how a mothers own childhood can affect this. Or at least it does in the case of this family.
The 1970s were a time of change for some women, but not the women in this story. Marion is the mother of two children: Sarah, 14 and Eddie, 7. She is unhappy in her life, and has been for many years. We look at her life through a series of flashbacks (and flashbacks through her daughters eyes at the same time) as she sits at the hospital bedside of her dying husband. We learn of the affairs, the terrible relationship with her daughter, and the catastrophic accident that cost the family far more than just a child (although this was quite traumatic enough).
I found it very difficult to empathise with Marion, she’s not a likeable character. She seems self absorbed, I didn’t like how she felt about her daughter (it’s as though she feels repulsed by her), and how she speaks to everyone is simply rude. To me, it seemed to be a mixture of boredom, depression, selfishness and desperation that drove Marion’s actions. Michael, her husband, is endlessly patient, perhaps scared that she will leave him. He puts up with some terrible behaviour from Marion. I really wanted him to stand up for himself.
It doesn’t sound like it, I know, but I really liked this book. It’s a book with a thoroughly unpleasant main character (in fact she’s not on her own on that score - watch out for Adrian!) and they do make for interesting story lines!
This is the first book I’ve read by Janet Ellis, and I will be looking for more.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Two Roads for my copy of this book.
The 1970s were a time of change for some women, but not the women in this story. Marion is the mother of two children: Sarah, 14 and Eddie, 7. She is unhappy in her life, and has been for many years. We look at her life through a series of flashbacks (and flashbacks through her daughters eyes at the same time) as she sits at the hospital bedside of her dying husband. We learn of the affairs, the terrible relationship with her daughter, and the catastrophic accident that cost the family far more than just a child (although this was quite traumatic enough).
I found it very difficult to empathise with Marion, she’s not a likeable character. She seems self absorbed, I didn’t like how she felt about her daughter (it’s as though she feels repulsed by her), and how she speaks to everyone is simply rude. To me, it seemed to be a mixture of boredom, depression, selfishness and desperation that drove Marion’s actions. Michael, her husband, is endlessly patient, perhaps scared that she will leave him. He puts up with some terrible behaviour from Marion. I really wanted him to stand up for himself.
It doesn’t sound like it, I know, but I really liked this book. It’s a book with a thoroughly unpleasant main character (in fact she’s not on her own on that score - watch out for Adrian!) and they do make for interesting story lines!
This is the first book I’ve read by Janet Ellis, and I will be looking for more.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Two Roads for my copy of this book.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Letters to the Pianist in Books
Nov 19, 2019
War is hell. Sometimes that hell can be a little closer to home.
14 year old Ruth Goldberg lives with her family in the East End of London during the Second World War with her parents and younger sister and brother. Her life isn't perfect by any means but at least she has her family. When their house takes a direct hit from a German bomb, the children are orphaned and cast adrift to live with strangers.
Meanwhile a man is found in the rubble following the bombing, suffering from total amnesia, who is given the name Edward because cannot even remember his own. He does discover that he is an enormously skilled pianist and soon becomes famous and also rich after marrying the daughter of a well-connected aristocrat millionaire.
The story follows Ruth, her siblings and Edward through the war years and beyond as that one bombing raid changed all their lives forever. Some will find their new lives hold unexpected - even deadly - dangers and all will come to know love and friendship as well as loss and betrayal.
Mayes writes this novel with confidence, moving smoothly between the story lines as they unfold and intertwine. She makes the reader really feel the emotions the characters are going through, good or bad. Edward's story is particularly effective as his previous life slowly starts to come to light and the man he was isn't the person either those around him or Edward himself is comfortable with.
As with her previous book, Stop The World, although very different in subject matter this story is just as deeply affecting and once again I'm sure it will stay with me for some time.
14 year old Ruth Goldberg lives with her family in the East End of London during the Second World War with her parents and younger sister and brother. Her life isn't perfect by any means but at least she has her family. When their house takes a direct hit from a German bomb, the children are orphaned and cast adrift to live with strangers.
Meanwhile a man is found in the rubble following the bombing, suffering from total amnesia, who is given the name Edward because cannot even remember his own. He does discover that he is an enormously skilled pianist and soon becomes famous and also rich after marrying the daughter of a well-connected aristocrat millionaire.
The story follows Ruth, her siblings and Edward through the war years and beyond as that one bombing raid changed all their lives forever. Some will find their new lives hold unexpected - even deadly - dangers and all will come to know love and friendship as well as loss and betrayal.
Mayes writes this novel with confidence, moving smoothly between the story lines as they unfold and intertwine. She makes the reader really feel the emotions the characters are going through, good or bad. Edward's story is particularly effective as his previous life slowly starts to come to light and the man he was isn't the person either those around him or Edward himself is comfortable with.
As with her previous book, Stop The World, although very different in subject matter this story is just as deeply affecting and once again I'm sure it will stay with me for some time.
ClareR (5996 KP) rated The Lady of the Ravens in Books
Jan 7, 2020
The Lady of the Ravens is based on the real historical character of Joan Vaux. I find historical fiction fascinating, especially those books which have a foot firmly placed in what was the real world.
Joan and her mother are taken in to the care of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, during the end years of the Wars of the Roses. She becomes a good friend to Princess Elizabeth in the time before she marries Henry, and goes on to be a Lady in Waiting and eventually the Lady Governess to the Princesses Margaret and Mary.
I really enjoyed all of the historical detail and what life was really like in Tudor England: the preoccupation with death and the many ways that a woman especially, could die, and the precariousness of children’s lives.
I had never really thought about the Ravens in the Tower of London (you’re never interested about the places that are on your doorstep as you’re growing up, I fear 🤷🏼♀️), assumed they’d always been there and that they’d always been seen as important to the realm. But in this novel, we learn that they were actually seen as vermin by the nobility and soldiers stationed there, until Joan and her servant looked after them, convincing others - royalty especially - of their significance to the safety of England and the Royal Family.
I haven’t read Joanna Hickson books before, but I really enjoyed the characters, the insights into the royal family, the uncertainty around the possible sons of York (Perkin Warbeck for one), the descriptions of everyday life - and just the evocative styled her writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my copy of this great book to read and review.
Joan and her mother are taken in to the care of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, during the end years of the Wars of the Roses. She becomes a good friend to Princess Elizabeth in the time before she marries Henry, and goes on to be a Lady in Waiting and eventually the Lady Governess to the Princesses Margaret and Mary.
I really enjoyed all of the historical detail and what life was really like in Tudor England: the preoccupation with death and the many ways that a woman especially, could die, and the precariousness of children’s lives.
I had never really thought about the Ravens in the Tower of London (you’re never interested about the places that are on your doorstep as you’re growing up, I fear 🤷🏼♀️), assumed they’d always been there and that they’d always been seen as important to the realm. But in this novel, we learn that they were actually seen as vermin by the nobility and soldiers stationed there, until Joan and her servant looked after them, convincing others - royalty especially - of their significance to the safety of England and the Royal Family.
I haven’t read Joanna Hickson books before, but I really enjoyed the characters, the insights into the royal family, the uncertainty around the possible sons of York (Perkin Warbeck for one), the descriptions of everyday life - and just the evocative styled her writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my copy of this great book to read and review.
Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man
Book
By developing the scale that bears his name, Charles Richter not only invented the concept of...