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ClareR (5779 KP) rated Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North in Books
Aug 19, 2023
Ok, I’ll put my hand up to this: I haven’t read the first two books in this trilogy! But I’ve heard enough about them that it feels as though I have! And they’re on my bookshelf. It’s not actually unusual for me to read trilogies out of order, and I can say in this case that I didn’t feel as though I’d missed anything major that made it incomprehensible. Maureen Fry to me was perfectly readable and very enjoyable on its own. That’s not to say that I won’t read Harold and Queenie’s stories though!
Maureen isn’t an instantly likeable person. She’s standoffish, rude and has experienced enough trauma in her life to make her attitude and personality unpleasant, yet understandable. As a child she was described as difficult, and she describes herself as a difficult adult. Harold clearly adores her, and finds this part of her just as endearing as the rest. We’ve all met difficult people like Maureen, possibly made sure that we avoided them afterwards, and this novella goes some way to explain how and why Maureen became the person she was.
Maureen doesn’t have an easy time during her journey, mainly because of her ‘spikiness’, but at the same time, it shows how intolerant some people can be (Maureen is included here!). We meet one of Harold’s friends from his walk who proves particularly invaluable for Maureen.
At the centre of this is Maureen’s loss. When her son died by suicide many years before this story takes place, he takes a piece of Maureen with him. This journey, which is, incidentally to Queenie’s garden, helps Maureen to come to terms with her sons death and life without him.
It’s quite beautiful. I’m not saying that Maureen transforms into a wonderfully kind, light-hearted woman (she doesn’t), but I do believe she comes to an understanding with her grief.
This was well worth the reading.
Maureen isn’t an instantly likeable person. She’s standoffish, rude and has experienced enough trauma in her life to make her attitude and personality unpleasant, yet understandable. As a child she was described as difficult, and she describes herself as a difficult adult. Harold clearly adores her, and finds this part of her just as endearing as the rest. We’ve all met difficult people like Maureen, possibly made sure that we avoided them afterwards, and this novella goes some way to explain how and why Maureen became the person she was.
Maureen doesn’t have an easy time during her journey, mainly because of her ‘spikiness’, but at the same time, it shows how intolerant some people can be (Maureen is included here!). We meet one of Harold’s friends from his walk who proves particularly invaluable for Maureen.
At the centre of this is Maureen’s loss. When her son died by suicide many years before this story takes place, he takes a piece of Maureen with him. This journey, which is, incidentally to Queenie’s garden, helps Maureen to come to terms with her sons death and life without him.
It’s quite beautiful. I’m not saying that Maureen transforms into a wonderfully kind, light-hearted woman (she doesn’t), but I do believe she comes to an understanding with her grief.
This was well worth the reading.
Easter Basket Murder
Barbara Ross, Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis
8.0
Rate It
Book
Put on your springtime best and grab a basket, because Easter egg hunting is to dye for in this...
Debbiereadsbook (1303 KP) rated Stalk of the Town (The Rhubarb Effect #6) in Books
Jan 18, 2025
sticking to the 4 fun and smexy stars!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
Book 6 of 7 in this series, and you really do NEED to read the others. There is an overlapping timeline and story arc.
Goliath is the gentle giant of the town. He likes to check on people from afar, hence the nickname, Stalk Of The Town. He's an Alpha stalk, and catching a sight of the llama in the pack gives him hope that he can have a mate. But will the drama llama accept him as he is? Drew is omega, but likes to be in control. Discovering just why he likes being at the bottom of the garden and doing all kinds of naughty things doesn't mean he will have to stop being himself, does it??
What I'm loving about these books is how much FUN they are! Drew really is a drama llama and his reaction to missing Tim's babies being born, followed by the birth of Burke's babies is a prime example and he made me laugh! He was a bit horrid to Goliath for making him miss Tim's delivery but he does make it up to him.
I loved that Drew could really see Goliath, and picked up very quickly that he preferred their mental connection to communicate.
Leo is the last man standing, and he will be the last book with the sheriff as his mate. He is also the reason why the old alpha is in town, and we might actually get the full story in the last book! Also, there is some reluctance on Leo's part to take his mate, given as they are both alphas. That'll be fun to read!
I'm loving that I've been kept on my toes for 6 books but I'm really desperate for the grand finale!
sticking at the 4 fun and smexy stars, maybe book 7 will tip over to 5!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Book 6 of 7 in this series, and you really do NEED to read the others. There is an overlapping timeline and story arc.
Goliath is the gentle giant of the town. He likes to check on people from afar, hence the nickname, Stalk Of The Town. He's an Alpha stalk, and catching a sight of the llama in the pack gives him hope that he can have a mate. But will the drama llama accept him as he is? Drew is omega, but likes to be in control. Discovering just why he likes being at the bottom of the garden and doing all kinds of naughty things doesn't mean he will have to stop being himself, does it??
What I'm loving about these books is how much FUN they are! Drew really is a drama llama and his reaction to missing Tim's babies being born, followed by the birth of Burke's babies is a prime example and he made me laugh! He was a bit horrid to Goliath for making him miss Tim's delivery but he does make it up to him.
I loved that Drew could really see Goliath, and picked up very quickly that he preferred their mental connection to communicate.
Leo is the last man standing, and he will be the last book with the sheriff as his mate. He is also the reason why the old alpha is in town, and we might actually get the full story in the last book! Also, there is some reluctance on Leo's part to take his mate, given as they are both alphas. That'll be fun to read!
I'm loving that I've been kept on my toes for 6 books but I'm really desperate for the grand finale!
sticking at the 4 fun and smexy stars, maybe book 7 will tip over to 5!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Seasons of an Amish Garden in Books
Feb 27, 2019
If you’ve followed my blog for sometime now, you’ll know that one of my favorite genres, outside of thriller novels, is Amish fiction. And, in that Amish Fiction, I have 5 top favorite authors. One of those is, without a doubt, Amy Clipston. I fell in love with her writing style and books way back when I read a book she did that wasn’t Amish fiction. Every time I pick up a novel by her, she sweeps me off my feet and puts me in the heart of the book, as she did with this new one.
This is a collection of four novellas. These novellas feature the characters from her novella in An Amish Love collection. Each story here brings us a different season, in which the garden that is planted will grow. Each story, each season, brings something new to the book, taking the reader on a whirl wind ride of love, hope, fun, and memories.
The characters that Clipston brings us back to, all feel like coming home to family. They are chiseled perfectly, their emotions radiating right off the pages. My personal favorite from this collection is Home By Summer, which is following Clara Hertzler and Jerry Petersheim. I loved the message woven into this particular story. Understanding, hope, and most of all, renewed faith in the Lord above. I felt so refreshed after reading their story!
Anything less than 4 stars for this captivating read, would be injustice. The pages of this book will pull you in, have you up late into the night, making new friends, and enjoying time with old friends. If you are looking for a book that will refresh your mind, your soul, and take you through the seasons of life, then grab a copy now. You will not be sorry, and if you’re new to Amy Clipston’s work, you’ll be a new fan, instantly! Amy Clipston, hats off to you, once again, for another collection of heartwarming stories that I won’t soon forget!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Booklook Blogger Program and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
This is a collection of four novellas. These novellas feature the characters from her novella in An Amish Love collection. Each story here brings us a different season, in which the garden that is planted will grow. Each story, each season, brings something new to the book, taking the reader on a whirl wind ride of love, hope, fun, and memories.
The characters that Clipston brings us back to, all feel like coming home to family. They are chiseled perfectly, their emotions radiating right off the pages. My personal favorite from this collection is Home By Summer, which is following Clara Hertzler and Jerry Petersheim. I loved the message woven into this particular story. Understanding, hope, and most of all, renewed faith in the Lord above. I felt so refreshed after reading their story!
Anything less than 4 stars for this captivating read, would be injustice. The pages of this book will pull you in, have you up late into the night, making new friends, and enjoying time with old friends. If you are looking for a book that will refresh your mind, your soul, and take you through the seasons of life, then grab a copy now. You will not be sorry, and if you’re new to Amy Clipston’s work, you’ll be a new fan, instantly! Amy Clipston, hats off to you, once again, for another collection of heartwarming stories that I won’t soon forget!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Booklook Blogger Program and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Halloween (2018) in Movies
May 13, 2019
I got chills
#halloween? while at times extremely #silly is a very enjoyable & fitting tribute to the #johncarpenter original. I must confess I hadn't seen the #original Halloween until a few weeks ago (its 4k release) & found it to be incredibly tense, dripping in dread, unnerving & extremely #creepy with an awesome soundtrack. #Halloween2018 manages to lovingly recreate everything people love about the first one but doesn't manage to do it quite as well. While I did enjoy this film a heck of a lot it does have a lot of problems - first of all the first half fails to create a chilling atmosphere & any tension for that matter, there's just far to many silly jokes/bad humour & the pacing is far to fast with scenes rushing by quicker than a #michaelbay movie. This leaves no time for dread, tension or the #chills the creepy lingering shots the first film brought us & I really hoped it would slow down at some point & thankfully it does. Approaching the second half things take a real turn & the movie really starts to have #fun feeling less like a tv movie & more like a #horror film, there are some great stationary camera shots, cool cinematography moments, great imagery, messy deaths & some really suspenseful stalking scenes with genuinely scary reveals/brutal attacks. Soundtrack wise it also switches it up a bit while still feeling #nostalgic too & there's an amazing garden scene where it really heightens the fear & dread. Themes of #depression & how it can make us feel cast out/alone & how our mental burdens can be passed down & effect our our children are handled well while metaphors for fighting our demons together as a family also feel refreshing & current. Overall its opening 10 minutes are brilliant then the film makes some really bad choices but recovers itself well enough to make it a film that's so worth seeing at the cinema. A big #nostalgia trip done right & with all its flaws looking at the film now as a whole I think it works well & is a great #love letter to #80s #slasher films & to #terminator2 haha. #odeon #odeonlimitless #jamieleecurtis #michaelmyers #killer #gore #horror #scary #retro #fridayfeeling #filmbuff #filmcritic #mask #frightnight
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Rumour in Books
Feb 13, 2018
It's a busy time on Nantucket and the rumor mill is churning away. Their focus? Best friends Madeline and Grace and their families. Madeline, a writer, is struggling to follow up on her last novel, or risk returning her (already spent) advance. She's also pretty upset that Grace's husband hasn't returned the money she invested in him a few months ago. Meanwhile, her son, Brick, is having troubles of his own, while dating one of Grace's twins: Allegra. Grace is busy on turning her yard into the talk of the town -- a beautiful garden escape, but she's also focusing a little too much on her landscape architect, Benton Coe. Her husband, real estate agent, Eddie, is over his head with several spec houses and is trying to make back the money in some unusual ways. And neither Grace nor Eddie have any idea what their teenage twins Allegra or Hope are up to... As the rumor mill gets busy in Nantucket, how much of what is swirling around is true? Are these two families headed for a fall?
There is a small group of novelists who write about Nantucket, and I tend to get them confused, because I'm awful like that, but this book had been on my "hold" list at the library forever, so I probably read a review of it somewhere. It was a pleasant and refreshingly enjoyable read; I would categorize it as an ideal beach book. It's not going to win any writing prizes, but it was a surprisingly captivating tale of these two families on Nantucket. There was no one real identifiable character (both Grace and Madeline have their strengths and weaknesses and could be rather irksome at times) but it was still enjoyable. Even better, while the plot was silly and a little ridiculous at times, with the families still having far too much money, they also had some real problems and issues, which they actually had to address. It also wasn't completely predictable, nor did it just focus on a love story, which was nice for this genre.
Overall, 3.5 stars: put a paperback of this in your beach or pool bag this summer; it will be a fun diversion.
There is a small group of novelists who write about Nantucket, and I tend to get them confused, because I'm awful like that, but this book had been on my "hold" list at the library forever, so I probably read a review of it somewhere. It was a pleasant and refreshingly enjoyable read; I would categorize it as an ideal beach book. It's not going to win any writing prizes, but it was a surprisingly captivating tale of these two families on Nantucket. There was no one real identifiable character (both Grace and Madeline have their strengths and weaknesses and could be rather irksome at times) but it was still enjoyable. Even better, while the plot was silly and a little ridiculous at times, with the families still having far too much money, they also had some real problems and issues, which they actually had to address. It also wasn't completely predictable, nor did it just focus on a love story, which was nice for this genre.
Overall, 3.5 stars: put a paperback of this in your beach or pool bag this summer; it will be a fun diversion.
ClareR (5779 KP) rated The End of the Ocean in Books
Nov 6, 2019
The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde is Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi) at its best and most stark. At its best, because everything that happens feels as though they are the reasonable consequences of what we are predicted now; most stark, because this is truly a terrible version of the future.
In the present day(2019), 69 year old environmental activist Signe discovers that her home town, and in particular her ex-boyfriend, is responsible for cutting up and shipping off ice from their glacier to sell to the rich, so that they can have glacial ice in their expensive cocktails. She decides to sabotage the shipment, and steals some of it - or what she can carry in her boat. She sails her ship through a terrible storm with the intention of taking it to the person responsible.
In 2041, David and his daughter Lou, arrive at a refugee camp after escaping from war and fire in their French home. There is little water and food, but David is hopeful that his wife and infant son (who they’ve been separated from) will be there or arrive soon.
The two stories are linked when David and Lou find Signe’s boat in the garden of one of the abandoned houses.
This is such a powerful book. It takes current scientific research and arrives at the extreme end of its prediction: drought, famine and war. I had to read it in short chunks, because I found the story so moving and intensely depressing, to be honest. It doesn’t feel exaggerated: I didn’t read it thinking “Well that would NEVER happen”. It’s all too plausible, in fact. I really liked how the two stories ran parallel to one another and joined up in the latter half of the book, with the boat as some sort of symbol of hope.
It’s not all depressing though. There is an element of hope, and we see the enduring strength of the human spirit. I have The History of Bees on my bookshelf, which I will read now - and I’ll definitely look out for the third in this quartet of books.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for my copy of this book.
In the present day(2019), 69 year old environmental activist Signe discovers that her home town, and in particular her ex-boyfriend, is responsible for cutting up and shipping off ice from their glacier to sell to the rich, so that they can have glacial ice in their expensive cocktails. She decides to sabotage the shipment, and steals some of it - or what she can carry in her boat. She sails her ship through a terrible storm with the intention of taking it to the person responsible.
In 2041, David and his daughter Lou, arrive at a refugee camp after escaping from war and fire in their French home. There is little water and food, but David is hopeful that his wife and infant son (who they’ve been separated from) will be there or arrive soon.
The two stories are linked when David and Lou find Signe’s boat in the garden of one of the abandoned houses.
This is such a powerful book. It takes current scientific research and arrives at the extreme end of its prediction: drought, famine and war. I had to read it in short chunks, because I found the story so moving and intensely depressing, to be honest. It doesn’t feel exaggerated: I didn’t read it thinking “Well that would NEVER happen”. It’s all too plausible, in fact. I really liked how the two stories ran parallel to one another and joined up in the latter half of the book, with the boat as some sort of symbol of hope.
It’s not all depressing though. There is an element of hope, and we see the enduring strength of the human spirit. I have The History of Bees on my bookshelf, which I will read now - and I’ll definitely look out for the third in this quartet of books.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for my copy of this book.
Design This Castle
Games, Entertainment and Stickers
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Design your Dream Castle! With over 800 highly detailed furniture items to customize with. Join the...
Lil World - illustrated world on your photo
Photo & Video, Utilities and Stickers
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Art-Photo-Editor Lil World has a huge library of unique author illustrations from Different authors....
The Secret Life of Twickenham: The Story of Rugby Union's Iconic Fortress, the Players, Staff and Fans
Chris Jones and Lawrence Dallaglio
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Twickenham Stadium is rightly venerated as the home of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). While it may...