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Monday's Child
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A little girl is found abandoned on a beach one chilly Monday in October, alone apart from the body...
I Was Anastasia
9.5
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In an enthralling new feat of historical suspense, Ariel Lawhon unravels the extraordinary twists...
Anastasia Romanov Russian Revolution insane historical fiction Anna Anderson
MaryAnn (14 KP) rated The Love Letter in Books
Mar 5, 2019
When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. But once on-set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.
Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.
Set in stunning upcountry South Carolina, The Love Letter is a beautifully-crafted story of the courage it takes to face down fear and chase after love, even in the darkest of times. And just maybe, all these generations later, love can come home in a way, not even Hollywood could imagine.
My Thoughts:
This book was wonderful. It is a fast-paced book, the story flows well and keeps the reader interested. The characters are entertaining and easy to identify with. The reader finds themselves in the middle of the storyline cheering the characters on. I enjoyed the mix of past and present in the writing, it helped identify with all of the characters and helped the reader understand each of the main characters; what they were feeling and understanding what their life was like. Full of surprises, twists and fun, this is a great read. I highly recommend this book, giving it a 5-star rating.
Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.
Set in stunning upcountry South Carolina, The Love Letter is a beautifully-crafted story of the courage it takes to face down fear and chase after love, even in the darkest of times. And just maybe, all these generations later, love can come home in a way, not even Hollywood could imagine.
My Thoughts:
This book was wonderful. It is a fast-paced book, the story flows well and keeps the reader interested. The characters are entertaining and easy to identify with. The reader finds themselves in the middle of the storyline cheering the characters on. I enjoyed the mix of past and present in the writing, it helped identify with all of the characters and helped the reader understand each of the main characters; what they were feeling and understanding what their life was like. Full of surprises, twists and fun, this is a great read. I highly recommend this book, giving it a 5-star rating.
Golden Lotus Volume 1: Jin Ping Mei: Volume 1
Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng and Clement Egerton
Book
The greatest novel of physical love which China has produced. Pearl S. Buck . A saga of ruthless...
Golden Lotus Volume 2: Jin Ping Mei: Volume 2
Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng and Clement Egerton
Book
The greatest novel of physical love which China has produced. Pearl S. Buck. A saga of ruthless...
In the Darkroom
10.0
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From the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author of Backlash, an astonishing...
Biography memoir social issues
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Fast & Furious 9 (2021) in Movies
Jul 11, 2021
I might not be obsessed with this series but I can't argue with its ridiculous action. I had a catch up on the others as it had been a while, though I discovered I watched them in the wrong order... never mind! Here's a bit of a rundown.
The Fast and the Furious - good
2 Fast 2 Furious - meh
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - too peoply, not enough cars
Fast & Furious - good
Fast Five - my favourite
Fast & Furious 6 - good
Furious 7 - good
The Fate of the Furious - good
F9...
Who really needs an extended synopsis on this one? Cars, family, Corona, space the final frontier. And does it even need any comments on the plot? At this point it's very much random bits of chaos and ridiculous things with cars. Quite honestly, that's the reason I enjoy the films more now they lean into it. Although this one may have become a little too self-aware... in an amusing way.
It wasn't until I did the rewatch that I noticed how much they ignore the concept of genetics when it comes to adding family members. Here we have John Cena playing Jakob, Dom and Mia's brother. It's not the most unbelievable thing in the movie, but it's well up there. Cena has grown on me as an actor, I enjoyed him in The Marine, Bumblebee, and his comedy stylings in Blockers... but we don't talk about Playing With Fire... we never talk about Playing With Fire. He can do funny and he can do serious, but I'm not convinced he was the best choice to combine the two here. His performance was okay, but his style didn't really fit with any of the others. I don't know who I might have put in this role instead, but I think they could have gone with recognisable but not quite as high profile/
As for the other cast members, well, same sh*t different day as they say! Gibson and Ludacris have the same fun dynamic and bring their comedic element to the proceedings. Vin Diesel says the requisite amount of "family" throughout the films, and everyone else does their thing.
Doing the rewatch made me surprisingly emotional when they did the Paul Walker send-off, and there was a nice out to keep the legacy intact. And while it's nice that they keep him in the films, maybe it should just be something that's accepted and not talked about. There's a moment in the film where they say Dom's son is with Brian, and my first thought was horror because I forgot Brian is alive in the franchise, and the look on Dom's face didn't help in that moment either.
F9 has some even whackier action, and it is entirely satisfying to watch. Though unsurprisingly it doesn't take them long to defy the laws of physics... spectacular destruction nevertheless. We know we're in for a tenth instalment, we can only hope for a musical or LEGO version... that last one would be my approved choice.
(I have so many spoiler comments t make about this, but I don't want to ruin the fun of discovering them all for yourself.)
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/f9-fast-saga-movie-review.html
The Fast and the Furious - good
2 Fast 2 Furious - meh
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - too peoply, not enough cars
Fast & Furious - good
Fast Five - my favourite
Fast & Furious 6 - good
Furious 7 - good
The Fate of the Furious - good
F9...
Who really needs an extended synopsis on this one? Cars, family, Corona, space the final frontier. And does it even need any comments on the plot? At this point it's very much random bits of chaos and ridiculous things with cars. Quite honestly, that's the reason I enjoy the films more now they lean into it. Although this one may have become a little too self-aware... in an amusing way.
It wasn't until I did the rewatch that I noticed how much they ignore the concept of genetics when it comes to adding family members. Here we have John Cena playing Jakob, Dom and Mia's brother. It's not the most unbelievable thing in the movie, but it's well up there. Cena has grown on me as an actor, I enjoyed him in The Marine, Bumblebee, and his comedy stylings in Blockers... but we don't talk about Playing With Fire... we never talk about Playing With Fire. He can do funny and he can do serious, but I'm not convinced he was the best choice to combine the two here. His performance was okay, but his style didn't really fit with any of the others. I don't know who I might have put in this role instead, but I think they could have gone with recognisable but not quite as high profile/
As for the other cast members, well, same sh*t different day as they say! Gibson and Ludacris have the same fun dynamic and bring their comedic element to the proceedings. Vin Diesel says the requisite amount of "family" throughout the films, and everyone else does their thing.
Doing the rewatch made me surprisingly emotional when they did the Paul Walker send-off, and there was a nice out to keep the legacy intact. And while it's nice that they keep him in the films, maybe it should just be something that's accepted and not talked about. There's a moment in the film where they say Dom's son is with Brian, and my first thought was horror because I forgot Brian is alive in the franchise, and the look on Dom's face didn't help in that moment either.
F9 has some even whackier action, and it is entirely satisfying to watch. Though unsurprisingly it doesn't take them long to defy the laws of physics... spectacular destruction nevertheless. We know we're in for a tenth instalment, we can only hope for a musical or LEGO version... that last one would be my approved choice.
(I have so many spoiler comments t make about this, but I don't want to ruin the fun of discovering them all for yourself.)
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/f9-fast-saga-movie-review.html
Merissa (12330 KP) rated Green Hills and Daffodils (The Green Hills #1) in Books
Oct 24, 2023 (Updated Oct 24, 2023)
A book involving red and white dragons, set in Wales? Sign me up. Well, I did and what I got was different, very different from what I expected.
GREEN HILLS AND DAFFODILS starts with an American moving to a small village in Wales, wanting to put down roots. Jane is neurodivergent and has zero social filter. This leads to situations where she puts her foot in it. But honestly? I'm not surprised. That little village is a stirring pot of goodness knows what!
The main characters - Rhys, Jane, and Stewart - were all interesting. I did, however, get lost multiple times with just who was married to whom, and when, and who was who's father/mother. Honestly, talk about family saga! And, to be fair, I'm not even sure if it is relevant to the storyline yet!
This was a long book, giving plenty of background information on the characters, and their interactions with each other, being told by multiple perspectives on the same page. I now know more about sheep farming and ewes being in labour than I ever knew before. And once again, I'm not sure just how much was relevant.
There are a lot of stereotypes in here that I wish weren't. Wales is such a beautiful country and I hate to see it made fun of, even in a gentle way. I don't know if it was meant, or if it was a way of showing how Jane would put her foot in it, but still. Too much.
Saying that though, I found myself being hooked by the story. The whole book is slow, slow burn with our main 'love interests' not even meeting for the majority of the book. (It's literally in the epilogue for about two minutes!) I do feel involved in their story though, and want to see where it goes from here.
Definitely not what I expected and not really a romance, this is still a gripping story and recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 24, 2023
GREEN HILLS AND DAFFODILS starts with an American moving to a small village in Wales, wanting to put down roots. Jane is neurodivergent and has zero social filter. This leads to situations where she puts her foot in it. But honestly? I'm not surprised. That little village is a stirring pot of goodness knows what!
The main characters - Rhys, Jane, and Stewart - were all interesting. I did, however, get lost multiple times with just who was married to whom, and when, and who was who's father/mother. Honestly, talk about family saga! And, to be fair, I'm not even sure if it is relevant to the storyline yet!
This was a long book, giving plenty of background information on the characters, and their interactions with each other, being told by multiple perspectives on the same page. I now know more about sheep farming and ewes being in labour than I ever knew before. And once again, I'm not sure just how much was relevant.
There are a lot of stereotypes in here that I wish weren't. Wales is such a beautiful country and I hate to see it made fun of, even in a gentle way. I don't know if it was meant, or if it was a way of showing how Jane would put her foot in it, but still. Too much.
Saying that though, I found myself being hooked by the story. The whole book is slow, slow burn with our main 'love interests' not even meeting for the majority of the book. (It's literally in the epilogue for about two minutes!) I do feel involved in their story though, and want to see where it goes from here.
Definitely not what I expected and not really a romance, this is still a gripping story and recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 24, 2023
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Alanna: The First Adventure in Books
Apr 16, 2018
The Song of the Lioness quartet is Tamora Pierce's first set of books. I read her latest trilogy (the Beka Cooper trilogy) first, which didn't exactly prepare me for The Song of the Lioness. It's obvious, going from the latest trilogy to her first writing, how much her writing has matured since the 80s. My first thought upon completing Alanna: the First Adventure was "I'm very glad she's gotten better at writing!" The story itself is still interesting and worth reading, but the style is a little difficult to read when I KNOW how well she writes now. The characters are mostly one-dimensional; few of the side characters seem to have plots going or events happening to them when they're not with Alanna. Characters pop up, have a significant interaction with Alanna, and are gone again, with no indication they exist outside of their usefulness to the main character. This is in stark contrast to her latest work, where every character that has a significant role to play has a history of their own, and thoughts and feelings of their own. They're much more fleshed out in her recent books.
That complaint aside, the Alanna books are really the foundation that the rest of Tortall was built upon. It's interesting to see how Pierce has fleshed out some of the concepts she touched on in the Alanna saga, and it's fun to see where some of the things from the Beka Cooper trilogy originated. It also pays to keep in mind that though the Alanna books were written first, the Beka Cooper trilogy is based two hundred years earlier. We learn a lot more about the office of The Rogue in the Beka Cooper trilogy, something that isn't explained very well in the Alanna quartet, even though one of Alanna's main romantic interests is George Cooper (yes, a descendant of Beka!), the Rogue. Pierce also never explains the origins of Alanna's cat, Faithful, in the actual Alanna books. That explanation lies in the Beka Cooper books as well.
The Song of the Lioness quartet is the story of a girl who decides to rebel against tradition and follow her heart to become a knight. In her time, ladies simply do NOT become knights. They learn to organize households and marry well. Alanna, however, is lucky enough to have a twin brother who does not want to become a knight; instead Thom wants to be a mage. So when they're sent off to face their futures, they switch places, with Alanna becoming "Alan", the younger twin. (Thom stays Thom; the school that ladies are sent to is the same school mages start at.)
Alan/Alanna begins as a page, then moves to squire, and eventually a knight. Her secret is discovered, but due to her influential friends, most of whom knew she was a girl by then, she is able to keep her status. Her adventures take her from uncovering a plot against the royal family, to being adopted by a desert tribe, to recovering a magic jewel of prosperity, with many small adventures in between.
I love reading Pierce's heroines; both Alanna and Beka have problems reconciling their feminine natures with the work they've chosen. The scenes where Alanna's love interests see her in a dress for the first time, instead of her normal boy-garb and armor, is heart-warming in one case, and sad in another. In both womens' lives it's the man who can accept all of their aspects who ultimately wins their heart, which is a wonderful message.
Ultimately, the technical flaws in the writing of the Alanna saga faded as I became absorbed in the story. I'll be requesting more Tortall books from the library in the near future!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
That complaint aside, the Alanna books are really the foundation that the rest of Tortall was built upon. It's interesting to see how Pierce has fleshed out some of the concepts she touched on in the Alanna saga, and it's fun to see where some of the things from the Beka Cooper trilogy originated. It also pays to keep in mind that though the Alanna books were written first, the Beka Cooper trilogy is based two hundred years earlier. We learn a lot more about the office of The Rogue in the Beka Cooper trilogy, something that isn't explained very well in the Alanna quartet, even though one of Alanna's main romantic interests is George Cooper (yes, a descendant of Beka!), the Rogue. Pierce also never explains the origins of Alanna's cat, Faithful, in the actual Alanna books. That explanation lies in the Beka Cooper books as well.
The Song of the Lioness quartet is the story of a girl who decides to rebel against tradition and follow her heart to become a knight. In her time, ladies simply do NOT become knights. They learn to organize households and marry well. Alanna, however, is lucky enough to have a twin brother who does not want to become a knight; instead Thom wants to be a mage. So when they're sent off to face their futures, they switch places, with Alanna becoming "Alan", the younger twin. (Thom stays Thom; the school that ladies are sent to is the same school mages start at.)
Alan/Alanna begins as a page, then moves to squire, and eventually a knight. Her secret is discovered, but due to her influential friends, most of whom knew she was a girl by then, she is able to keep her status. Her adventures take her from uncovering a plot against the royal family, to being adopted by a desert tribe, to recovering a magic jewel of prosperity, with many small adventures in between.
I love reading Pierce's heroines; both Alanna and Beka have problems reconciling their feminine natures with the work they've chosen. The scenes where Alanna's love interests see her in a dress for the first time, instead of her normal boy-garb and armor, is heart-warming in one case, and sad in another. In both womens' lives it's the man who can accept all of their aspects who ultimately wins their heart, which is a wonderful message.
Ultimately, the technical flaws in the writing of the Alanna saga faded as I became absorbed in the story. I'll be requesting more Tortall books from the library in the near future!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated Red Sky in Morning in Books
Nov 5, 2018
Check out the review on my blog, Lily Loves Indie, here http://lilylovesindie.co.uk/?p=27
I received this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review, and that I am very grateful for this opportunity to broaden my reading experience. This is a very different book to what I would usually read, with a different style of writing and plot development. Nevertheless, I did find it somewhat enjoyable, even if it was lacking in a couple of places.
The story follows the harsh life of Coll Coyle, a young Irish man struggling to keep his home for his family from a vile landlord. It seems things can only get worse as the saga progresses, with John Faller, a formidable gentleman, following him all the way around the world. Although he meets a good friend, his heart never truly leaves the loved ones left behind in Ireland.
Initially, this story is rather tough to get into, and that isn't something that changes much over the course of the book. Written in a strong Irish brogue, at times it can be quite difficult to read, however this becomes easier as you go further through the book. It does help you feel more immersed in the story though as it strangely flows quite naturally when you're reading.
The plot is something that, if I'm totally honest, needs a little work. It's just rather plodding and slow at times, and even after finishing it, I don't feel like the story really went anywhere and was never aiming for a conclusion. In addition, at times it was very depressing to read, and I had to put it down in favour of something a little more light-hearted.
All that as it was, there is one major redeeming feature in this book that had me reading to the end. The imagery is truly exquisite - Lynch really does have great skill at weaving the description through the story. This was a delight to read as the images just appeared with minimal effort from myself straight into my head.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it probably wouldn't be one I'd read over and over again. The description is by far it's greatest feature but it is, on the whole, something I'm glad I've read.
I received this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review, and that I am very grateful for this opportunity to broaden my reading experience. This is a very different book to what I would usually read, with a different style of writing and plot development. Nevertheless, I did find it somewhat enjoyable, even if it was lacking in a couple of places.
The story follows the harsh life of Coll Coyle, a young Irish man struggling to keep his home for his family from a vile landlord. It seems things can only get worse as the saga progresses, with John Faller, a formidable gentleman, following him all the way around the world. Although he meets a good friend, his heart never truly leaves the loved ones left behind in Ireland.
Initially, this story is rather tough to get into, and that isn't something that changes much over the course of the book. Written in a strong Irish brogue, at times it can be quite difficult to read, however this becomes easier as you go further through the book. It does help you feel more immersed in the story though as it strangely flows quite naturally when you're reading.
The plot is something that, if I'm totally honest, needs a little work. It's just rather plodding and slow at times, and even after finishing it, I don't feel like the story really went anywhere and was never aiming for a conclusion. In addition, at times it was very depressing to read, and I had to put it down in favour of something a little more light-hearted.
All that as it was, there is one major redeeming feature in this book that had me reading to the end. The imagery is truly exquisite - Lynch really does have great skill at weaving the description through the story. This was a delight to read as the images just appeared with minimal effort from myself straight into my head.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it probably wouldn't be one I'd read over and over again. The description is by far it's greatest feature but it is, on the whole, something I'm glad I've read.