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ClareR (6253 KP) rated The Briar Club in Books

Oct 14, 2025  
The Briar Club
The Briar Club
Kate Quinn | 2024 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Kate Quinn books I’ve read so far have been set during WW2, so I was intrigued to see how the Briar Club would go. It’s set in 1950, a time of gangsters, women knowing their place (but wanting more), and McCarthyism.

The house, Briarwood House, is at the centre of this book, and even has its own voice. It helps to tell the story of its inhabitants and enjoys the weekly dinner parties that one of the women, Grace, sets up.

All of the women have secrets that they’d rather other people didn’t know about, and as the book goes on we find out just what those secrets are.

I don’t read many books set I the 1950’s, and it was fascinating to see how single women lived at this time. What also surprised me, was how Washington D. C. was considered to be almost a small town! I didn’t get the impression of a buzzing metropolis at all.

This is a puzzling mystery with strong female leads (I’m a fan) and gave me the opportunity to read about a time I was unfamiliar with. I liked that some of the politicians had actually existed - which was a really nice touch.
  
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams | 2017 | Children, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
8.5 (186 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not as good as I was expecting.
I was very excited to read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I even recommended it for this month's book club read. I know it is such an iconic book and so many great quotes and scenes come from it (I remember watching the movie when it came out and I was obsessed with the "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish" song that the dolphins sing... I even had it on a CD) but I just felt as though I was missing something while I was reading through it. Perhaps, I am just not a fan of that sort of dry... British sarcasm.

I have been trying to push myself beyond my typical genre. Science Fiction is generally not one of my favorite, but I thought I would give this book a try since it has been so well received for generations. I’m sure that has to do with it, but I just found myself zoning out when I read. Douglas Adams’ writing style was just a little too… over the top for me. It seemed like the author was just trying to come up with some of the most bizarre names and titles for his characters and locations and it made it hard for me to slog through.

I was ashamed to admit my dislike for the book at book club but I was quick to find that I am not alone in my feelings. None of us particularly cared for the book. Perhaps it is a “millennial” thing? We had also all seen the movie previously and that could have clouded our vision, perhaps when it came to the book.

All that being said, however, I did find some parts of the book a little humorous. I smiled at parts and chuckled a little, but it wasn’t really enough to save the book in my eyes.
  
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)
2015 | Comedy, Horror
Campfires, going to senior parties, and girls. That’s you would normally think about if you were a junior in high school still in scouts. Ben (Tye Sheridan), Carter (Logan Miller), and Augie (Joey Morgan) have been best friends for years since they first joined scouts. While Augie is getting his Condor Patch, the highest achievement a scout can get; Ben and Carter think it’s about time they leave scouts, since they are going into their junior year and don’t want to be seen as dorks. However after ditching Augie the two set out to find the secret senior party where Carter’s sister Kendall (Halston Sage) is at and Ben is all for it. However Ben begins to notice some abnormal things in town, like their scout master (David Koechner) not showing up for the campfire and the town being completely abandoned. The two make a pit stop and run into some trouble at a strip club, much to Carters delight due to the bouncer being mysteriously gone from the door. Unfortunately the two get a little more than a lap dance when they come face to face with the source of all the odd behavior, Zombies. Luckily they befriend Denise (Sarah Dumont) a cocktail waitress from the club and the three of them plus Augie set out on a mission to save Kendall before the government decides what to do to the zombie infested town.

From Christopher B. Landon comes Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. With Landon being most known for working on the Paranormal Activity franchise, this movie is a bit of a change from his usual work. Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is exactly what you would want from a comedy horror movie obviously targeting young adults. It has witty lines, zombies, and attractive leads. While the movie sometimes boarders the lines of too campy, I feel it balances well. While the whole concept of the film is silly, it is executed in a brilliant way and thankfully they don’t rely heavily on dick jokes.

I was fortunate enough to be able to go the Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Ultimate Fan Experience. They gave shirts to everyone who attended and the excitement could be felt while in the room with avid zombie film fanatics. However at the beginning of the film it showed a special piece of film just for the event, and it was awful. Ten minutes of Dillion Francis’s zombie cameo in a music video that never seemed to end. While some enjoyed it most of the audience sighed with relief when it was over. That has to be my only concern with the event, and thankfully it was for the fan experience and more than likely will not be in the actual film showings (General public you are saved). I would recommend this movie for people who enjoy campy horror films, since by all means this film is anything but serious. Also would not recommend of young children, there is some nudity.

I would give this film a 3.5/5 stars. While it was a fun film that kept me laughing for most of it; that fan experience clip definitely was a disaster. I would definitely watch the
  
    Monster Trucks Racing

    Monster Trucks Racing

    Games and Stickers

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    Turbo charged Monster Trucks. Gravity-defying stunts & adrenaline pumping physics-based racing...

K-12 (2019)
K-12 (2019)
2019 | Drama, Fantasy, Musical
At a mesmerizing crossroads between 𝘈 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 and 𝘓𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦, didn't know what the fuck I was watching half the time and I think that's precisely why I loved it. Blurs the line between sick and sweet exactly the way it wants to. Point of note that I've never been a huge Melanie Martinez fan, so this is my first 'real' experience with her. I think her passion (she co-wrote, directed, starred in, and costumed the thing) clearly shows in this endearingly clunky phantasmagoria of absurdist gore, demon cringe, political hostility, and demented babycore. The type of product where there's people throwing bowls of cockroaches at others, vomiting up orange liquid, then tearing out their eyeballs and swapping them between blunt critiques on American exceptionalism and musical numbers about body image and identity reclamation. The photography, sets, and costumes/wigs/makeup is seriously next level and it helps that the acting - shockingly - doesn't suck. The back half of the album has some clinical bops. For sure the one of these album-long music videos that feels closest to an actual movie, if this were any other artist you all would have adored it 🤐

Strawberry Shortcake > Class Fight > Lunchbox Friends > Fire Drill (should have been on the album) > Teacher's Pet > Detention > Orange Juice > Wheels on the Bus > Recess > The Principal > High School Sweethearts > Drama Club > Show & Tell > Nurse's Office.