Search
Search results
Easter at the Villa Victoria
Book
It is 1995 and the Morton-Stewarts assemble at the 'Villa Victoria' in Antibes, which has been in...
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Key in the Lock in Books
Feb 22, 2022
The Key In The Lock is an atmospheric, slow burner of a historic mystery - and it’s full of what I love in a book. You know that there’s a specific end in sight: that of the cause of the fire at the Great House and how exactly the grandson of the master of the house died.
Along the way, we meet Ivy, the local doctor’s daughter, who helps out at the house after the fire, and falls in love with Edward, his son. Something happens, though, and we see her in the future mourning her son’s death - her son with Boscawen the Coroner, NOT Edward.
The story is told in flashbacks to Ivy’s youth and the fire. The impact of the fire is still felt in the present for Ivy, her husband and all those involved. Ivy’s chance contact with Edward makes her feel that she can find out exactly how her son died, and how the fire started at Polneath. Edward is only too happy to help her find out more information about her son. But is he reliable?
The descriptions of Cornwall and London are such that I had no problem with building the pictures of the places in my head: the dourness of Polneath, a place that seemed unhappy even before the fire. The busyness of the town and of London, the beauty of the village (it made me want to go on holiday to Cornwall!!).
I felt so sad for Ivy, especially when she finds out the truth.
This is an elegantly told story, that made me think more than once of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. It had me gripped throughout. I loved it. Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising another great book.
Along the way, we meet Ivy, the local doctor’s daughter, who helps out at the house after the fire, and falls in love with Edward, his son. Something happens, though, and we see her in the future mourning her son’s death - her son with Boscawen the Coroner, NOT Edward.
The story is told in flashbacks to Ivy’s youth and the fire. The impact of the fire is still felt in the present for Ivy, her husband and all those involved. Ivy’s chance contact with Edward makes her feel that she can find out exactly how her son died, and how the fire started at Polneath. Edward is only too happy to help her find out more information about her son. But is he reliable?
The descriptions of Cornwall and London are such that I had no problem with building the pictures of the places in my head: the dourness of Polneath, a place that seemed unhappy even before the fire. The busyness of the town and of London, the beauty of the village (it made me want to go on holiday to Cornwall!!).
I felt so sad for Ivy, especially when she finds out the truth.
This is an elegantly told story, that made me think more than once of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. It had me gripped throughout. I loved it. Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising another great book.
Mothergamer (1546 KP) rated Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
I love the Animal Crossing games because for me they are a lot of fun. I really enjoyed Animal Crossing: New Leaf, but I didn't like some of the time constraints that were involved. Plus that Tom Nook really has a racket running the town. I was pretty excited for Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer the more I read about it. Then I started playing it and I absolutely loved it because there are no time constraints and it's so much fun to play. In the game you are an employee of Nook's Homes and design homes for the various animal villagers based on their interests and suggestions. You can also decide where to place a client's home when the map pops up. A mountain home, a beach house, or a desert oasis are just some of the choices. You don't just design homes however. You can also design a variety of buildings for the town such as restaurants, shops, and a school. Dragging and dropping items is a nice change from the pushing and pulling items to move them. This also makes it easier to fix mistakes or undo something. It's also easier to customize colors and patterns and as you progress you can unlock even more items for your designs.
Oh, a cute little cafe design!
You can also decorate the outside of a client's house, choosing a variety of roof colors, house colors, and items for their yard like gardens and swings. You can also revisit clients and do things like a house upgrade or even redecorate their home for them. Another cool thing is the Happy Home Network. You can upload any house or building you've designed and you can visit other people's homes and rate them. You can take pictures of your designs and post them to social media as well showing off your creative skills which is pretty neat too.
You can design an awesome yard for your clients.
There are also themed contests via the Happy Home network such as a candy house or a Halloween house. There are also Amiibo cards which look like Pokemon trading cards and they work exactly the same way that the Amiibo figures do without all that extra bulk. The Amiibo cards work exclusively with the New 3DS and New 3DS XL. If you want to use them with the old 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS you can use the NFC Reader/Writer accessory.
After you've designed a couple of homes, you'll get the whole introduction to the Amiibo cards and how to use them as well as having an Amiibo phone in the Nook's Homes office. You'll be prompted to use an Amiibo card and when you do you'll be sent to the client's home where you can design to your heart's content. Each Amiibo card has different characters that you can design for. Another cool feature with these is if you have friends who have Amiibo cards, you can share furniture simply by visiting a client by tapping the Amiibo card to your friend's screen and if you do it twice the character will remember all their furniture. It's a fun way to socialize and get more items for your designs.
A forest of books!
I do wish you had your own house to decorate as all the designing only happens in town or in a client's home. That's not a big deal though because you can design the buildings any way you want and I put a lot of my own personal touches in things like the school and a concert hall. There's also lots to choose from with the designs and items making for a unique and entertaining experience. This is all about creativity and just having a good time with it. I'm still playing the game, trying out all these different things as well as checking out other people's awesome designs. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer overall is a great game full of endless fun.
Oh, a cute little cafe design!
You can also decorate the outside of a client's house, choosing a variety of roof colors, house colors, and items for their yard like gardens and swings. You can also revisit clients and do things like a house upgrade or even redecorate their home for them. Another cool thing is the Happy Home Network. You can upload any house or building you've designed and you can visit other people's homes and rate them. You can take pictures of your designs and post them to social media as well showing off your creative skills which is pretty neat too.
You can design an awesome yard for your clients.
There are also themed contests via the Happy Home network such as a candy house or a Halloween house. There are also Amiibo cards which look like Pokemon trading cards and they work exactly the same way that the Amiibo figures do without all that extra bulk. The Amiibo cards work exclusively with the New 3DS and New 3DS XL. If you want to use them with the old 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS you can use the NFC Reader/Writer accessory.
After you've designed a couple of homes, you'll get the whole introduction to the Amiibo cards and how to use them as well as having an Amiibo phone in the Nook's Homes office. You'll be prompted to use an Amiibo card and when you do you'll be sent to the client's home where you can design to your heart's content. Each Amiibo card has different characters that you can design for. Another cool feature with these is if you have friends who have Amiibo cards, you can share furniture simply by visiting a client by tapping the Amiibo card to your friend's screen and if you do it twice the character will remember all their furniture. It's a fun way to socialize and get more items for your designs.
A forest of books!
I do wish you had your own house to decorate as all the designing only happens in town or in a client's home. That's not a big deal though because you can design the buildings any way you want and I put a lot of my own personal touches in things like the school and a concert hall. There's also lots to choose from with the designs and items making for a unique and entertaining experience. This is all about creativity and just having a good time with it. I'm still playing the game, trying out all these different things as well as checking out other people's awesome designs. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer overall is a great game full of endless fun.
Virtual Families Free for iPad
Games and Entertainment
App
Virtual Families is a casual family sim that runs in true real time, and now this acclaimed...
Lincoln's Notebooks: Letters, Speeches, Journals, and Poems
Book
In addition to being one of the most admired and successful politicians in history, Abraham Lincoln...
A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey (Companion to Series 5)
Book
It's 1924 and there have been many changes in the world of Downton Abbey since we were first...
Invisible In A Bright Light
8.0
Rate It
Book
From I, Coriander to Invisible in a Bright Light, Sally Gardner's first middle grade novel in 14...
The Turn of The Key
7.7
Rate It
Book
'Will hold you captive until the brilliant ending' SHARI LAPENA, author of The Couple Next Door ...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Lord of the Wings (Meg Langslow, #19) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
The town of Caerphilly is hosting the first annual Halloween festival, and Meg is hoping she can take it easy since she is only in charge of the Goblin Patrol, the extra volunteer security force. However, a break in at the haunted house, a foot in the alligators, and a dead body complicate matters.
I love this series, and this book is another fun addition. When I realized it was set at Halloween, I almost set it aside until October, but I just couldn’t wait. The characters are strong and charming as always, and the various aspects of the plot keep things moving forward quickly. I was disappointed that one character introduced a couple books back is once again absent, but that is my only complaint in another fantastic read.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/08/book-review-lord-of-wings-by-donna.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I love this series, and this book is another fun addition. When I realized it was set at Halloween, I almost set it aside until October, but I just couldn’t wait. The characters are strong and charming as always, and the various aspects of the plot keep things moving forward quickly. I was disappointed that one character introduced a couple books back is once again absent, but that is my only complaint in another fantastic read.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/08/book-review-lord-of-wings-by-donna.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Behind Chocolate Bars (A Chocolate Covered Mystery #3) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Michelle and Erica are getting into the Halloween spirit by helping create the annual haunted house to benefit the Boys and Girls Club. But their time gets distracted when a murder happens out of town, and Dylan, a teen they know, becomes the prime suspect. Can the duo find the time to help prove he didn’t do it?
It was fantastic to be back with these characters again. The series regulars are fantastic, and the new characters were just as good. This book was a little different because he didn’t meet the victim before the murder, but that didn’t hamper the plot at all with plenty of suspects and clues before we reached the logical end.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/10/book-review-behind-chocolate-bars-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
It was fantastic to be back with these characters again. The series regulars are fantastic, and the new characters were just as good. This book was a little different because he didn’t meet the victim before the murder, but that didn’t hamper the plot at all with plenty of suspects and clues before we reached the logical end.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/10/book-review-behind-chocolate-bars-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.