
Listen to Me: A Fusion Novel
Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby's...

Opium and Empire: The Lives and Careers of William Jardine and James Matheson
Book
In 1832 William Jardine and James Matheson established what would become the greatest British...

Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Let Me Make You A Martyr (2016) in Movies
Jun 15, 2020
Let Me Make You A Martyr starts off as a slow paced ‘Tarantino’ esq. film. The story is mostly told by Drew, parts of the film are shown out of sequence and follow two story lines which converge around an hour in.
The film has a very dark tone and features themes of drug use, violence, people trafficking and rape although most of the violence takes place off screen or on the edge of the screen, giving just the hint of what is happening, and that’s the thing about ‘Let Me Make You A Martyr’, it’s not an action film. It has the feel of something from Tarantino but with a much slower pace. The violence is almost subdued, being of screen or shot through a filter.
Like a Tarantino move ‘Let Me Make You A Martyr’ goes from talking to silence and back to talking and, as the film goes on you notice that there are a lot of musings about death and the afterlife. Death and the afterlife are themes that runs throughout the film which even has a killer called Pope (Played by Marilyn Manson).
If you want a fast paced action film then ‘Let Me Make You A Martyr’ is not for you and the films ending is possibly not what you’d expect from a revenge movie, leaving off with at least one question but, if you can handle a dark, slow, sometimes non liner film then give ‘Let Me Make You A Martyr’ a watch.

Carrie Brownstein recommended track If There Is Something by Roxy Music in Early Years by Roxy Music in Music (curated)

DJ Muggs recommended KAOS by Roc Marciano / DJ Muggs in Music (curated)

Wearing the Trousers: Fashion, Freedom and the Rise of the Modern Woman
Book
In the 1850s a craze swept through the wardrobes of the women of British and American society. These...

Choose the Right A Levels: Guiding You to Make Informed Choices
Book
Selecting the right A levels is more important than ever in helping you shape your future path,...

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Book
Why do naturally talented people frequently fail to reach their potential while other far less...

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Source of Magic (Academy of Falling Kingdoms #1) in Books
Mar 1, 2021
Kindle
The Source of Magic ( Academy of Falling Kingdoms book1)
By Drake Mason and Marisa Mills
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
I can speak to demons. The punishment is death.
The mission: put on a dress, pretend to be a lady, and infiltrate the academy of mages to steal a journal from the forbidden archives.
The problem: I’m no mage and I’ve never worn a dress in my life.
But it’s not like I have a choice. My bastard of an uncle basically sold me to a dangerously pretty nobleman, and they can’t pull off this heist without me. Unfortunately, once I fake my way through the entrance exam with a piece of hacked mage tech, and reach the floating kingdom of Reverie, my problems are only just beginning.
Keeping my secret identity is hard enough without a suspicious prince following me around, and the jealous rich girl who wants to marry him threatening me at every turn. But I know I’m in real trouble when my magic sword starts to talk to me. If I can survive the demon attacks, the backstabbing nobles, and the piles of homework long enough, I may discover the source of magic… and if the truth gets out, it will shatter everything.
This showed so much potential but for me book 1 didn’t deliver in some areas! I got a little bored but ploughed on as I don’t like giving up! It was a 2.5 until the end which gave me a bit of a boost to try book 2!

ClareR (5950 KP) rated The Pull of the Stars in Books
Nov 8, 2020
Nurse Julia Power is unmarried at 30 and seems to be happy with that, as she sees women whose bodies are worn out from giving birth so many times and so closely together, women who have been abused by their fathers and forced to bear their children, women who have conceived their babies outside of marriage and will be forced to give them up - as well as young women who have been institutionalised from birth and forced to give up their lives to repay the nuns who raised them through free labour (Magdalene laundries). Like I said, this was no time to be a woman. The abuse and poor treatment of the women on the ward is alluded to, but never explicit.
Whilst most of the story takes place on the quarantined labour ward, we do get a glimpse in to the home life of Nurse Power, and it was interesting to see how the war had impacted on and affected her brother.
This is a beautifully told story packed full of heart. It may not have been my best move to read it during a pandemic, but nevertheless, I absolutely loved it.