Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2018) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Oct 26, 2020)
https://youtu.be/KTtNIIL3NXw
TSB New Mobile Banking
Finance
App
We’ve developed the new TSB app in partnership with our customers, to make mobile banking better....
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Secrets, Lies & Sacrifice (Book 2) in Books
Jul 26, 2023
Book
Secrets, Lies & Sacrifice ( Book 2)
By Ben Andrews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It's been six months since the shooting at Beechwood Close and the death of Rose's husband, George. While life seems to be returning to normal, the arrival of an old resident unleashes a chain of events that threatens to destroy the community. She’s determined to get her old home back, but at what cost?
Emily is double-crossed by someone she trusts—desperate to save her reputation and her career, Emily must play dirty to get her life back on track.
Violet tests Rose's loyalty to the cult, The Order, when confronting her with a plan to take down the establishment from within. Will Rose risk everything to join Violet’s dangerous cause and return her life to normal?
Ava’s dream of becoming her own boss comes true when she starts a new business. But as she gets to know her customer, a web of secrets are uncovered that threatens to destroy everything she’s worked for.
Florence’s hunt for her husband’s killer comes to an end when someone close to her shows their true colours. As she uncovers more lies, Florence must decide how far she’s willing to go to uncover the truth.
In “Secrets, Lies and Sacrifice,” the lives of these women intersect in unexpected ways as they confront their deepest fears and desires. Who will come out on top and who will pay the ultimate sacrifice?
This was an ARC given to me by the author. I enjoyed book one but this was just that little bit extra. We pick up 6 months after the drama and secrets of book 1 and automatically hit the ground running. These women’s lives sure clash in one way or another. The last half of the book it hard to put down! Can’t wait for the next book! Highly recommend.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Other Boleyn Girl in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Mary Boleyn, the narrator, is a strange character: sympathetic and of reasonable intelligence one minute, a moronic irritant the next. Personality-wise she went up and down and back and forth. First she was fine not being the King's favorite anymore and seeming to want to leave the court life for the country to be with her children, then she was jealous of a title Anne received, years after the affair between Mary and Henry was over. Possibly this was put in as part of the rivalry between the sisters, but it didn't contextually fit. Her development could have used more work and she didn't mature or change much throughout the whole book, especially between the years 1522 to 1533. I seriously got tired of everybody's patronizing and calling her a fool all the time. They should have just named the book, <b>The Foolish Boleyn Girl</b>. I find it hard to believe Mary was so ignorant the king would have continued to have her as mistress for four years, give or take. She had to offer something other than good looks and being great in the bedroom. Anne herself sure was a piece of work, and even though she was pretty much evil throughout the book, I did still feel sorry for her at the end. Jane Parker was a one-dimensional malicious harpy who wasn't given a reason why she was that way; she was just the resident baddy to the Boleyns. To me, it felt like defamation of character.
Politics and the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church were merely mentioned in passing as court life and its primary players took center stage. The whole incest plot, I could have done without. Now if it were the absolute truth then it'd be okay, but since it's highly debatable and based on hearsay, I found it unnecessary and gratuitous. Around the two-thirds mark, the pace let up and it became more sluggish and boring, and it wasn't until the last sixty pages that it recaptured my attention again.
As long as readers know going into this book that the history has been twisted around and invented for pure sensation, then it's fine as a fictional read, but take any "facts" with a grain of salt. While it was an okay read, I didn't love it, but it managed to divert my attention for a few days.
One last note dealing with the fourth question in the Q&A with Philippa Gregory in the back of the book:
<blockquote>How about Mary and Anne's brother, George? Did he really sleep with his sister so that she could give Henry a son?
<i>Nobody can know the answer to this one. Anne was accused of adultery with George at their trials and his wife gave evidence against them both. Most people think the trial was a show trial, but it is an interesting accusation. Anne had three miscarriages by the time of her trial, and she was not a woman to let something like sin or crime stand in her way--she was clearly guilty of one murder. I think if she had thought that Henry could not bear a son she was quite capable of finding someone to father a child on her. If she thought that, then George would have been the obvious choice.</i></blockquote>
Obvious? How in the world is that obvious? You cannot be serious, Ms. Gregory. Now I'm far from an expert in Tudor England, but I cannot imagine that being a common practice. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about this time could tell me if that ever happened, because it just boggles my mind that George would be the "<i>obvious choice</i>." Not to mention, who the hell did Anne supposedly kill? I hadn't heard that anywhere. Even my searches are coming up blank.
Becs (244 KP) rated Of Mice and Men in Books
Oct 2, 2019
Genre: Literary classic, historical fiction
Audience: I definitely recommend at least a high schooler or up to read it. As it’s a little controversial and a bit harder of a read for a younger crowd.
Difficulty Reading: I almost put this down to never pick up and read again. I was about a millimeter away from doing it. But I have a thing against never finishing a book or DNF. If I’m going to pick something up and start reading it, I HAVE TO finish it, something about having an unfinished book doesn’t sit right with me. So, the answer is yes. This was a bit more of a difficult read. Now that it’s finished, I’m glad I stuck through and read the rest of the novel.
Insights: John Steinbeck is a great author and writer. I’ve read a few of his other novels and have loved them. Of Mice and Men just does not compare to the others. Maybe it’s the way that the characters speak. Maybe it’s the topic. Maybe it’s just Steinbeck lost touch with his writing when creating Of Mice and Men. Who knows, apparently some think that this novel is a piece of art. I mean, it’s still being sold nationwide. That must mean it’s somewhat good, right?
Ah-Ha Moment: When I found out that Lennie has a bit of a mental handicap issue. (This honestly sounds so bad in writing but I’m not trying to be rude about people who are mentally handicapped. I use to work as a caretaker for them and I loved it.) To continue on. You typically don’t see this style of character in this novels era. It was refreshing and different from other literary classic novels.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
Favorite Quotes: “Trouble with mice is you always kill ’em. ” – Honestly, this is a perfect short, one sentence summary of the novel. If you don’t want to read Of Mice and Men, what happens is: you have George and Lennie, always traveling together. Lennie is mentally handicapped and likes to pet soft things. He gets in trouble in Weed by touching a female’s dress and not letting go when she screams. They run and come to find work bucking barley. Here, Lennie kills a newborn pup then kills Curley’s wife. George shoots Lennie in the back of the head and the novel ends.
***END OF SPOILERS***
“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.” – I mean, you’re not wrong George. Ranchhands are typically pretty lonely, especially in those olden days.
What will you gain: A love-hate relationship for this novel. Seriously. I love it so much I gave it four gold stars. But I hate it so much because man, it was a bit of a bore.
“Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.”
PRANK ME! 2 Trick Your Friends for iPhone & iPod touch
Catalogs and Productivity
App
*********************************** LAUNCH SPECIAL: $1.99 CENTS!! GET IT NOW BEFORE THE PRICE GOES...
Border Contraband: A History of Smuggling Across the Rio Grande
Book
Winner, Jim Parish Award for Documentation and Publication of Local and Regional History, Webb...
Kathryn Bigelow: Interviews
Book
With her gripping film The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow (b. 1951) made history in 2010 by becoming...
The Art of Football: The Early Game in the Golden Age of Illustration
Book
The Art of Football is a singular look at early college football art and illustrations. This...
Sense of Occasion
Book
In this fast-moving, candid, conversational, and entertaining memoir, Harold Prince, the most...
Darren Fisher (2447 KP) Dec 21, 2020