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ClareR (6215 KP) rated The Bones Beneath My Skin in Books
Oct 14, 2025
TJ Klune books are basically my dopamine hit. When life is a bit hectic and I’m having NO fun, then his books are a great place to retreat. It’s not all chilled-out and hugs, this book in particular was action packed! A special girl is trying to escape from some particularly unpleasant people, with the help of an ex-marine and a poor ex-journalist who happens to find the two squatting in his remote cabin.
Art is 10 and a very quirky young lady. She’s written as an inquisitive, outspoken child with a penchant for bacon. Alex, her protector, is quiet, brooding and clearly troubled. Nate spends most of the book being justifiably terrified.
Of course, there is found family at the heart of this thoroughly lovely book. It’s a TJ Klune, after all! I thought the Sci-fi element was a bit of a departure, but all his other themes are still there: found family, acceptance and love.
This is action packed and a fast, intense read - and you can’t knock a bit of sci-fi, can you?! (Well, I can’t anyway!).
Art is 10 and a very quirky young lady. She’s written as an inquisitive, outspoken child with a penchant for bacon. Alex, her protector, is quiet, brooding and clearly troubled. Nate spends most of the book being justifiably terrified.
Of course, there is found family at the heart of this thoroughly lovely book. It’s a TJ Klune, after all! I thought the Sci-fi element was a bit of a departure, but all his other themes are still there: found family, acceptance and love.
This is action packed and a fast, intense read - and you can’t knock a bit of sci-fi, can you?! (Well, I can’t anyway!).
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2554 KP) rated Death al Dente (Food Lovers' Village Mystery, #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Erin Murphy is back home in Jewel Bay, Montana, to help run the family general store. She's helping run a new event to help bring tourists to town, but it gets off to a rough start with a family friend is found murdered behind the shop on opening night. Who could have done it?
This debut just wasn't quite ready. While Erin and a few core characters are well developed, the rest of the cast is fairly flat. Likewise, the plot moved forward in fits and starts, although there were some interesting twists. Overall average, and I'll think hard before I continue on to the next one.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/10/book-review-death-al-dente-by-leslie.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This debut just wasn't quite ready. While Erin and a few core characters are well developed, the rest of the cast is fairly flat. Likewise, the plot moved forward in fits and starts, although there were some interesting twists. Overall average, and I'll think hard before I continue on to the next one.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/10/book-review-death-al-dente-by-leslie.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
M
Major/Minor
Book
A vivid and haunting coming of age memoir set in Paris in the 1980s. Originally published to...
Only Fools and Horses: The Peckham Archives
Book
The Trotter family have been pillars of the Peckham community for decades, so when a bin man found...
Lenard (726 KP) rated Ready or Not (2019) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
The Le Domas family fortune was made in the card game, board game, and gaming industry. Anyone wishing to join the family, particularly through marriage, must play a game on the night after the wedding. It can be any game, but chosen by an unseen entity, presumable Mr. Le Bail, the man who miraculously found fortune for the family. Some get checkers or canasta, others got Global Thermonuclear War or Hide-and-Seek. As anyone who's seen the trailer knows the newest bride chooses Hide-and-Seek, a grown-up version of The Most Dangerous Game where the ultra-rich hunt their prey. If Grace can survive the night, it is believed that the family will lose everything. Who can Grace trust to help her? The mother who seems to truly believe love will conquer the glares Grace gets? Grace's husband who tries to protect Grace, but will lose everything if Grace survives? Or will it be Daniel who is secretly in love with Grace and trapped in a loveless marriage to a heartless gold digging carp? Ready or Not is a great premise, but a hard movie to turn into gold. Someone would have to sell their soul and future heir's soul to the Devil to succeed.
Melanie Caldicott (6 KP) rated Goodnight, Brian in Books
Apr 29, 2021
The concept of this book originally interested me and I found the first few chapters where the tragedy that caused Brian's disability is uncovered takes place moving. However, I quickly grew tired of Mama and found her a very manufactured, unrealistic character who was just too "perfect". Her "clever" answers in how to bring out the best in Brian and the myriad of problems the rest of the family faced seemed to serve no other purpose than to allow the author a platform from which to preach at us. This, in my opinion, was painfully unsubtle and fiction should not be used as a vehicle for moralising, but to merely describe the experiences of characters, their feelings and reactions which provoke thoughts and empathy within the reader. I did not finish this book as the sermonesque style ultimately became unbearable!
Gagnrath (14 KP) rated The Goonies (1985) in Movies
Mar 13, 2019
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2554 KP) rated The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (Meg Langslow, #8) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Meg and Michael are finally ready to move into their new house. Unfortunately, Meg's dad finds a dead body while digging a pool for the penguins. Wait a minute. Penguins? Yep, it's another mad cap romp with Meg and her family. I found the book very funny and laughed the entire way through. Unfortunately, the ending was a tad weak for my tastes. But that was the only flaw in the book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/03/book-review-penguin-who-knew-too-much.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/03/book-review-penguin-who-knew-too-much.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Breaking Bad - Season 1 in TV
Mar 22, 2018
Very well made (1 more)
Great Acting
I hate the story (2 more)
Depressing situations
humor is too dark
Everyone loves this show, except me.
I found that after watching an episode I wanted to curl up into a ball and just hug my wife and family and be thankful it's not me. But it kept leaving me depressed after watching it. I might just be too sensitive to the emotional turmoil of it. managed to get 3/4 of the way through the season, and had to stop... I'm happier for it.
KarenRC (6 KP) rated The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae in Books
Jul 23, 2018
This book is an enjoyable, 'heart'- warming story about dealing with learning to live a 'normal' life after not knowing whether you were going to have a life at all. It also touches on the very important subject of organ donation being opt-out instead of opt-in, which is a very important cause. All in all, an easy read that covers all bases - family, love, friendships, health, grief. I found the back and forth between past, future, blog, news reports a bit confusong at times, but not enough to detract from the book.