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The Wrong Family
The Wrong Family
Tarryn Fisher | 2021 | Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A wild and wacky thriller
Juno, a former therapist, moves in with Winnie and Nigel Crouch because she thinks the family is nearly perfect. They appear a loving couple who adore their teenage son, Sam. But once she's living in their picture perfect house, Juno realizes all isn't as it seems. And when she overhears a conversation between the couple that she cannot forget, she gets involved... setting in motion a string of events that she cannot undo.

"Humans had a way of uprooting happiness. They found flaws in it, picked at it until the whole system unraveled."

Well, this was an interesting read, to say the least. It had the odd distinction of being both predictable in many ways yet really weird and crazy. It's a fast read and while there's nothing really amazing here, it was certainly good for a crazy (!) twist or two. I didn't care for any of the characters--Winnie, Juno, or Nigel--and most of my sympathies stayed with poor Sam, who had to deal with all these wacky adults in his life. There's a lot of drama and truly, the plot is bizarre and wild. Which is definitely fun at times and a bit too much at others.

Overall, this is a dark read with an insane plot and characters that aren't exactly endearing. It's a quick read that stressed me out and probably won't stick with me long, but was enjoyable enough for a few days. 3 stars.
  
The MockingBird's Song (Amish Greenhouse Mystery #2)
The MockingBird's Song (Amish Greenhouse Mystery #2)
Wanda E. Brunstetter | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Mockingbird's Song continues on the story of what happens with Sylvia and Amy and Henry and their mother. We start with them getting close to the time the tragedy happens. It seems like things focus on Sylvia and her grief.

We also meet a new person named Denis Weaver. Could there be a connection between Dennis and Sylvia? Sylvia first meets Dennis while out with her brother Henry bird watching. This book takes time to get into the beginning. It starts out slow but once you are into the book it gets better.

We see Virginia and her husband's personality through these books. It funny to see this along with how they see the Amish. Amish seem not bothered by their neighbors. We see how each member is still dealing with the loss of their family members.

Amy and Jerrod seem to be getting ready for their wedding. What happens when things start to pick up and the vandalism starts up again. Who is vandalizing the greenhouse? Why is happening? Seem to still be a mystery. Though we may have some answers.

More twists and turns as you turn the pages. Though this book is rated 4.5 by me as it is still good. This one focuses on family and bird watching and learning more about birds. Will Sylvia find her happiness with bird watching or someone or both? How will Belinda cope with her grief and other things?
  
This story was heartbreaking and maddening, horrific and unbelievable, sad and disturbing. I don't usually read books that are based on real events - something about knowing it's true turns me off, but I wanted to give this a try. It's still not something I found particularly enthralling, but it was definitely an interesting read.
Honestly, I can't decide who I despise more, Shelly or Dave! Both did horrendous things, but Dave's obvious disregard for what happened, turning a blind eye to what he witnessed and *still* insisting that there was no abuse, denying that there could have been anything wrong happening while being a partial participant, his refusal to face the facts seriously pissed me off. As for Shelly, how a person can do such things to another human being, let alone her own children, baffles me and makes me sick. Spout off as much as you want about her having a mental illness, I don't care, what she did was disgusting and I don't think she'll spend nearly enough years in prison. My heart goes out to the sisters. I dealt with abuse from my mother when I was young, but certainly not to this degree, and I can't imagine how painful it was for them (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally). The ending, knowing that each woman was healing and moving on, creating their own happiness, put a big smile on my face!
  
*Copy received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review"

I could tell this was going to be a hot read from the first chapter when Frankie was fantasising about Jake–Steamy!–and I wasn’t wrong.

You get to see from both Frankie’s and Jake’s POV, which is an advantage when Jake is described as being a serious, moody guy by Frankie. But then seeing from Jake’s POV just why he’s behaving like that balances it out and it switches between every so often.

The first sex scene between the pair took up a fair bit of the book but it also contains an intriguing plotline. Who was Frankie’s stalker and why were they stalking her? Unfortunately we don’t find out in this one but I hope the author is well on her way to finishing a second book in the series so we can.

I liked it but I also feel slightly cheated since we didn’t find out who was behind the attacks against Frankie. I’m left with more questions than answer but at the same time I’m happy that Jake and Frankie got a happy ending as they are both really likeable characters and deserve some happiness after what they’ve both been through.

Short and sweet. I will certainly read the next in the series when it comes out.
  
Dumbo (2019)
Dumbo (2019)
2019 | Animation, Family, Fantasy
Another unnecessary remake of a childhood classic.
When I originally saw the trailer for this pop up on YouTube, my heart swelled with happiness and the child in me grinned from ear to ear. So many memories came back and flooded my heart and mind. Then, I actually watched this movie. It struggled for me from the beginning as it was instantly clear the star wasn't the elephant with big ears, but rather a typecast Danny Devito, Collin Farrell with a terrible southern accent, his women empowerment staple daughter, and his son that is just kinda there. The anthropomorphism of the animated film is gone, and without it, the key scenes lifted from the original don't carry the emotional weight they did. Much of the story makes little to no sense, including the climax and tie everything up in a neat bow ending. All the PC nonsense and making a statement about current social and political issues isn't needed. It's a kids movie. Once it was clear that this was Disney making a movie about evil corporations buying up small entities to make a monopoly, I checked out mentally from the obvious irony. As the credits rolled, I was just left with an empty feeling, my swollen heart shrunk and my grin gone. Memories from my childhood had been stamped out by Disney Inc. in search of the almighty dollar with yet another unnecessary and bad remake.
  
Tempting Ballad (Discord's Desire #3)
Tempting Ballad (Discord's Desire #3)
Katherine McIntyre | 2020 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Tempting Ballad is the third book in the Discord's Desire series and this time, the story is about the satyr drummer, Renn. Now, Renn has basically slept his way through the two previous books whilst still remaining sarcastic and loyal to his bandmates. Leo Kincaid comes with his own agenda, one he keeps close to his chest. So when these two meet, you simply know there will be fireworks!

Quite simply, I loved this book. There is heartbreak and hope, happiness and sadness, and a pure, sizzling connection between our two MC's. Renn has his own backstory that he has kept secret from the band and Leo offers a way to help him. Of course he can't turn that down!

There is romance, suspense, horror, betrayal, it's all here and will definitely keep you turning the pages. The ending was just perfect and so Renn/Leo. I loved it. I am hoping that Jett will have his story soon as I really want to know more about our enigmatic siren.

The third book in the series, I guess you could read it as a standalone but the question is why would you want to? For me, definitely better read in sequence. Absolutely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Teddy Bear Tea
Teddy Bear Tea
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Teddy Bear Tea by Ellwyn Autumn is a children’s book that follows a few friends that meet for tea at promptly three. It is interesting and captivating, and I really loved it!

Teddy bears are usually the favorite companions children have, and this book reminded me of my own teddy bear. The storyline flows very fast and the rhymes are cute. Suddenly, you are in this amazing forest, having tea with the teddy bear and its friends. There is laughter and fun, and there is happiness and joy.

“Deer, chipmunks, and snakes,
With berries, tarts, and cakes,
Came together beneath a tree,
With Teddy, Rabbit, and me,For tea at promptly three.
It was a grand sight to see!”

The illustrations are adorable and reminded me of the old-school children books that I used to have when I was little. They are very vivid with bright colours, and I know that children will love watching them and identifying the teddy bear and its friends.

Something I really enjoyed as well was the font that was used in the book. It was captivating and it looked really nice. I also loved the decoration it has on the first capital letter of each page.

I definitely recommend it that you read this with your children and let them explore the images. Teddy Bear Tea is the perfect book to leave a positive feeling, right before bed time.