Lightbot Jr : Coding Puzzles for Ages 4+
Games and Education
App
Apple Features, in over 100 countries: *Best New Apps and Games* *Best for Learning to Code* ...
SCRABBLE Premium for iPad
Games and Entertainment
App
CONNECT WITH FRIENDS. PLAY WITH WORDS. Get a game of SCRABBLE going with just about anyone – or...
Washington DC Offline Map Navigator and Guide
Navigation and Travel
App
100% OFFLINE - Your detailed Map for reach everywhere. Save much money in Roaming cost. Reach every...
Sky Without Stars (System Divine, #1)
Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
7.5
Rate It
Book
A thief. An officer. A guardian. Three strangers, one shared destiny . . . When the Last Days...
retelling
Matching Bloodlines (The Princeton Allegiant #3)
9.0
Rate It
Book
Vampires don’t date. They possess. Nothing could have prepared Francisco St. Claire for...
Paranormal Romance
The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation
Book
He ordered his uncle to be beheaded; he usurped his father's throne; he taxed his people more than...
Skin and Bones (London Love #3)
Book
Hugo Burrows has life under control. He has a decent job, a long-term relationship and a flat in...
Contemporary MM Romance Hurt/Comfort Grumpy/Sunshine Eating Disorder
ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Glutton in Books
Dec 20, 2023
The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore is based on the real life story of Tarare, a man born into poverty but happy with that life. That is until his mother meets the man who changes her life, presumably for the better - and changes Tarare’s life for the worst.
He’s known as the man who ate a golden fork (that eventually kills him), live animals, offal, a baby - but still people want to watch him put away vast amounts of food (and non-food!). And if it means he’s fed, Tarare sees it as a way of satiating the ever-present hunger. The draw of the circus freak is overwhelming for the French public.
Tarare is a simple man who is taken advantage of at every turn. I felt so sorry for him. He has the disadvantage of not only being very unusual, but also uneducated and poor. He has to fight to survive, both as a soldier and as a civilian, and he’s seen as a joke by the more well-off.
For such a grotesque subject matter, the writing really is rather beautiful. Descriptions of Tarare’s childhood and the place that he grew up were sensitively done - you could see the love of his local area and the love he felt for his mother. Even in the most disgusting sections of the book, there was a kind of beauty.
A deliciously bizarre, beautifully written book. I loved it.
Traitor's Game (Soldier Spy #1)
Book
1808. Captain Will Fraser has just returned from the Front in the Peninsular War. He is disgraced...
Historical Fiction Spies Napoleonic Wars
ClareR (6256 KP) rated Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary Queen of Scots in Books
Jun 14, 2025
Captive Queen explains a lot of Mary’s life and also tells of how she got to the point of her imprisonment. So much information was gleaned from the encrypted letters that she sent to, and received from, her supporters. When they were decrypted, after their discovery in a French archive, they answered a lot of questions.
Jade Scott uses this information to paint a really interesting picture of Mary’s captivity, and just how involved she was in the various plots to release her and put her on the English throne. I mean, who can blame her?! She was imprisoned in some awful places - regardless of the fact that she was in castles or stately homes.
I rather enjoyed the little fictional chapter headers. They made it feel more personal, and ideal for people like me who don’t always enjoy dry, academic historical writing. This is absolutely not that - I whizzed through this book, thoroughly enjoying it.
So, if you enjoy history and want to find out more about Mary, Queen of Scots, you may well enjoy this too.