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London Tales (Short Stories #2)
London Tales (Short Stories #2)
Tim Walker | 2023 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very enjoyable step out of my comfort zone!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

What this is, right, is a step out of my comfort and I needed this book right now!

It's a wonderful tale of London, through the ages, told in short stories. You could, I suppose, skip ahead a few stories, and you wouldn't miss anything, other than a few years!

Each story is set at key points along London's timeline, right from when the Romans invaded, up to the present day, told by the Londoners who lived then. Ordinary people telling their extraordinary tales.

I found each story complete, and wholly engaging. I found myself fully engrossed in these tales, all of them. I even recognised a few places when they were mentioned. I'm not a Londoner, but have been a time or two.

As I said, a step off my usual book path, and one that led me to fabulous place.

4 very VERY good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
What His Wife Knew
What His Wife Knew
Jo Jakeman | 2022 | Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Was it suicide or was it murder? That is the question and one that this book does a great job of unravelling.

Oscar is found dead by his brother at the bottom of Cloud Drop; a note is found which just says "sorry" and his wedding ring in his car - a slam bunk you might say but his wife, Beth, is having none of it and the more she delves, the more she realises her husband is not who she thought he was but neither are those around her.

This was proper good! The story was compelling with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing and although I guessed the main twist, it didn't ruin the story for me at all as it was great getting there. The main characters are excellent and well developed and the pace is good.

All in all, a great psychological/domestic thriller and one which I would recommend to lovers of this genre.

Thank you Penguin Random House UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
Discovery (The Gifted #1)
Discovery (The Gifted #1)
Char Webster | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What starts off as a 'normal' story about a young woman and her foster kids, quickly becomes something completely different - with mysterious men popping up at unexpected times, new abilities being found, old abilities becoming stronger, and threats, to name but some.

With a new Discovery in every chapter, this book is very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that I found. The chemistry between Nick and Kate jumps out from the page at you, but it is still unclear as to whether or not they will end up together. I loved the supporting cast of friends that turned up towards the end of the book.

This is an intriguing story, with no clear definition of 'good' and 'evil'. Are the good guys really good? Are the bad really as bad as they are made out to be? I don't yet know for sure, but one thing I do know is that I can't wait to read Exploration, the second book in this series.

* Verified Purchase on Amazon *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 29, 2016
  
TC
The Covenant
Tom Lewis | 2024
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
64 of 220
Book sirens arc
The Covenant
By Tom Lewis
⭐️⭐️

Capetown Maine is haunted. Everyone in the quiet seaside community knows it, but only Kenzie Walsh and her friends are willing to do something about it. So, when a mysterious, arcane chalice is found buried in a local cave, Kenzie delves into its origins. What she finds are its ties to a cursed, shadow-haunted city thought to only exist in legend, and its role in a terrifying end-times prophecy. A prophecy the chalice’s unearthing has set in motion; and which Kenzie and her friends may be the only hope of stopping.

I struggled with it if I’m honest it just wasn’t for me. I found it slightly long winded in places and in others that could have been interesting rushed past. A lot of over explanation.
Like I said it’s just not for me I hope that someo finds it for them.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
You're Next (2013)
You're Next (2013)
2013 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Home Invasion with a twist.
Contains spoilers, click to show
This is one of those movies where I found you just can't trust "expert" reviews in because though they all hated it I've yet to meet an actual horror/thriller fan that didn't just love You're Next.

It really took the home invasion genre and gave it a gorey and all around fun change with a great twist that the helpless finale girl is actually a total kick ass survivalist that just plain old fucks everyone up.
  
The Houses October Built (2014)
The Houses October Built (2014)
2014 | Drama, Horror
7
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Creep factor (0 more)
While this is by no means a new take on the found footage genre, it did introduce me to the haunted house scene. I didn't realize that there are people out there that will try to go to as many set-up haunted houses as possible. This group's search for the truly terrifying is their downfall.
There are some truly creepy moments that were done really well.
There's a sequel in the works and I plan on giving it a view.
  
I found myself grinning and giggling as I read this mythological YA book and had an extremely hard time putting it down. The author's writing style quickly pulls you in and you find yourself falling into the captivating story line enjoying the likeable characters. I highly recommend this hypnotic read.
 

{I received an eARC when I signed up to host the tour. I made no guarantee of a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}
  
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Crystal (5 KP) rated Hate List in Books

Dec 27, 2017  
Hate List
Hate List
Jennifer Brown | 2009 | Children
8
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
I found this book to be full of relatable characters. Some I liked, some I disliked. I really did not like Valerie's father but enjoyed Valerie's psychiatrist. Valerie is living through the aftermath of her boyfriend planning and enacting a school shooting. I normally dislike the topic of the novel (the seriousness of a school shooting) but I thought the book was pretty well written. There were parts of "before" mixed in the timeline of the rest of the book.
  
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Peter (3 KP) rated Stranger Things in TV

Dec 28, 2017  
Stranger Things
Stranger Things
2016 | Sci-Fi
Great acting (0 more)
Bit slow at times and predictable (0 more)
It's well written and the acting is amazing especially when you think the main characters are so young. I didn't watch it untill everyone was going on about it which may have ruined it for me as it didn't live up to the hype. I found it a bit predictable at times and just wanted the story to pick up a bit. Season 2 for me was a lot better than the 1st