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The Library Of Fates
The Library Of Fates
Aditi Khorana | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received an ARC of this book from FirstToRead.com for an unbiased opinion.

I read the author's note at the beginning of the book, and admittedly put the book down for a few days...I was afraid it would alter my ability to enjoy the book.

When I picked it up five days later, though, and went on from there, the note cleared from my mind, I found I couldn't stop reading until the book was completely finished. I read the author's note a second time, afterward, and found that it was fitting.

Khorana creates a vivid image of each character, as well as each location, to the point that a reader can smell the mangrove trees when Amarita walks among them, can feel her pain as she watches those she loves under attack, and can feel her fear as she flees to save herself. When her and Thala travel, you see all the beauty they encounter along the way.

This is not the story of a princess, though, who returns home to her throne after fighting a battle to save her kingdom. Khorana set out to create a story of mortal and immortal love, and what one sacrifices to save humanity over their own personal happiness, and this book embodies that. (This is why, after the fact, I had more appreciation for the author's note.)
  
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Maris (8 KP) rated Heartless in Books

Jun 10, 2019  
Heartless
Heartless
Marissa Meyer | 2017 | Children
10
8.3 (33 Ratings)
Book Rating
What a marvelous gem to read. I enjoy every bit of this story. I could not put this book down, I had to know what was going to happen. Who was the Queen of Hearts before she became who she was? Marissa Meyer did exactly that to explain the story.

"Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine". Cath the main character of the story absolutely loves baking goods. Her dream is to start her very own bakery one day right in the kingdom of Hearts. What can possibly go wrong with starting your own bakery? Her heart is sought out from the King of Hearts and her heart also falls in love with the kings joker Jest.

The journey between Cath and where her heart truly goes on this journey to her happiness will just make you curiouser and curiouser on where the story will go and how she became what we all know her as the Queen Of Hearts.


Tea parties, Pastry goods, and white rabbits big announcements to the balls! Ohh lets not forget the jabberwocky!

I gave it a five star out of five stars cause its truly a wonderful heart warming story of one of the most notorious villains we all know. It became one of my new favorite stories and Marissa Meyer became one of my top favorite authors of all time.
  
Charly (1968)
Charly (1968)
1968 | Classics, Drama, Sci-Fi
Touching, sad and moving
Cliff Robertson won a Best Actor actor in 1968 fr his portrayal of a simple minded man who undergoes an experimental surgery first performed on mice to supposedly increase his intelligence.

Charly is a man who wants better for himself and for his simple life. He tries to do better by constantly challenging himself, but it is no use. He is the butt of jokes at his job at a bakery and he doesn't even know it. He can't even beat a mouse at a maze game given out by his physician friends. When a wild chance arises that could resolve all of Charly's woes, he jumps at the chance.

The operation does seem to be a slow success. His intelligence grows as well as his zest for life, his noticing the little things in live and also an interest in the opposite sex. Will his happiness be temporary or permanent?

The acting and screenplay in this film are superb as well as some interesting split screen camera work. Charly's growth and development are in stark contrast from the beginning of the film through his discovery of knowledge.

I had seen this film in middle school I think after we had read the source material "Flowers for Algernon" so I was anxious to revisit.

So glad I did.

  
Boys Don’t Cry
Boys Don’t Cry
Fíona Scarlett | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Boys Don’t Cry is a beautifully written, funny, tragic debut novel. Honestly, I thought my heart would actually break whilst I was reading this. Fiona Scarlett manages to pack in all the feelings: happiness, anger, grief, humour and heartbreak.

Joe at 17, is the brother left to deal with the death of his 12 year old brother. His father manages to get himself in to trouble, and in to prison. His mother can’t cope. And Joe is struggling too. He is in an environment where it is all too easy for him to take the wrong path and end up like his father. Involved with the wrong people and in prison.

We see flashbacks to Finn as he is diagnosed with Leukaemia and how he copes with the treatment. He is such a happy, generous boy, who worries more about everyone else than about himself.

I don’t want to give much away, but Fiona Scarlett has created two boys who are wonderful human beings, despite the hand that has been dealt to them.
I adored this book. It still gives me a lump in my throat when I’m writing about it, never mind speaking to people about it - I’ll point them in this direction, I think.

It’s like the meme that says “This book has destroyed me and broken my heart. You MUST read it”
So yeah, just read it.
  
The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles
The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles
1968 | Pop, Rock
9.0 (14 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It would have been very disingenuous of me not to acknowledge the enormous impact The Beatles have had on music and pop culture. They were lucky enough to be around at a time when people were pioneering with electric guitars and trying out different things and forming what pop music was. The Beatles were the best at it and the masterpiece is ‘The White Album’ because you get to hear them experimenting and going a little further out into the deeper water. Some of the McCartney songs are great, things like ‘Blackbird’, but the Lennon songs – ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’ and ‘I’m So Tired’ – are magnificent. ‘I’m So Tired’ is one of those songs I relate to more than any. Certain songs suit our personalities or our way of being. With ‘I’m So Tired’ I’ve been in that position so many times; sleepless nights from jet-lag or too many things going on in my head. Lennon had this unbelievably effortless ability of capturing things and writing that postcard that would become a song. That album is filled with those gems. Of all the things they did, that album is by far my favourite. It’s the most experimental. It made me think you can do what you like with an album, it’s just an experience. Other people were just writing songs; The Beatles were addressing a much broader perspective."

Source
  
Torn (Second Sight #2)
Torn (Second Sight #2)
Hazel Hunter | 2015 | Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
74 of 250
Kindle
Torn ( Secnd Sight book 2)
By Hazel Hunter

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

They are opposites in everything - except love.

Psychic Isabelle de Grey and FBI Special Agent Gavin "Mac" MacMillan are an improbable couple. But when her world of seeing into the past and his world of profiling criminals overlaps, an intense, sensual relationship quickly erupts. Despite bicoastal living arrangements, red-hot desire still consumes them both. Though Isabelle is thrilled that Mac is returning to L.A., her happiness is tempered by the grim reality they must face.

The serial killer who escaped them has struck again and found another young woman. Though Isabelle and Mac work together, he keeps their relationship hidden in order to preserve his job. As the investigation falters and the strain of secrecy takes its toll, Isabelle and Mac struggle to find a way forward. Despite the heated passion that explodes between them, hard decisions lay in store for the couple as they discover that every choice has its cost.



For a quick read it shows promise! It could be a very good full crime/paranormal novel it felt very force and very rushed to pack it all into 11 chapters. She clearly has a talent just these short blasts need more!
  
Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries
Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries
Helen Fielding | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Bridget Jones is back! With new story to tell us. It is impossible not to love this witty, silly, clumsy, unbelievable woman. I think the reason why she is a Global phenomenon is that she is very relatable. Confusion of which one to choose, fear of being single and wish of a family, there are many women and men who feel exactly the same. This book is continuation of previous Bridget Jones’s adventures, continuing war between Mark and Daniel and a nice ending filled with lots of pain and happiness. So if u expect something very new and exciting, I will have to disappoint you there.
This book is very easy to read and it is kind of one sitting read. I had a chance to see the movie based on this book as well and I was pleased to see that book and movie are quite different. That allows living same story twice, with different twists and turns. Let me tell you one thing, there is never enough of Ms Jones and her adventures (at least for me) . In conclusion all I want to say is if would like to have a great laugh with a bit of romance, grab this book and after that definitely see the film, and enjoy this great woman and her adventures twice.
  
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Merissa (11805 KP) rated Surrounded by Silence (The Rescuer #2) in Books

Nov 25, 2020 (Updated Aug 14, 2023)  
Surrounded by Silence (The Rescuer #2)
Surrounded by Silence (The Rescuer #2)
Eric Huffbind | 2020 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
SURROUNDED BY SILENCE is the second book in The Rescuer series and while it does feature some of the characters from the first book, can be read as a standalone because the issues raised are discussed in this book.

Sam has reached rock bottom and has realised that for all his billions, he can't buy happiness. He reaches out to the one person he thinks can help and manages to convince him. That is how Sam ends up working in a Soup Kitchen.

I enjoyed this book so much more than the first (sorry, Mr Huffbind!) The writing style is not as stilted and flowed more naturally. The dialogue was more believable and the "I love you's" weren't bandied around as quickly or as often.

The terror that Sam feels toward the end of the book comes across clearly and was extremely well written. The whole problem with learning ASL was also easy to read. As someone who was learning BSL, I know how daunting it can be but also how rewarding.

All in all, this book was completely enjoyable and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

* 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!
Nov 25, 2020
  
Heart of the Hunter  (Dragon Chalice, #1)
8
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
195 of 230
Kindle
Heart of the Hunter ( Dragon Chalice book 1)
By Tina St.John (Lara Adrian)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶

Ariana of Clairmont would risk anything to save her kidnapped brother, a quest she knows is fraught with peril. Her only ally is Braedon le Chasseur, a formidable knight with a mysterious past, whose scarred face and brooding nature mask a soul filled with pain. Ariana fears this dangerous man and the secrets he strives to conceal - but Braedon's touch is pure seduction, his kiss a potent lure that tempts her into a passion she is powerless to resist.

Once known as The Hunter, now haunted by a dark legacy he struggles to deny, Braedon lives in a world of shadow and isolation - until he is thrust together with an innocent beauty in need of his protection. Embarking on a journey that will lead them to a legendary treasure, Braedon will be forced to confront old enemies and the stunning secret of his true nature - or risk losing Ariana and the only happiness he has ever known. . . .

I really enjoyed this book. It was historical romance with a bit of magic thrown in. It was spicy in a hot romantic way. I love Lara Adrian she never fails to bring us a good love story with the type of villains you hate forever. Recommended!
  
The Theory of Happily Ever After
The Theory of Happily Ever After
8
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
What’s better for a book than an awesome comedy filled with inspiring messages and sparks of romance? That’s what Mrs. Billerbeck’s new novel has! But, it’s so much more than it! It’s captivating, and on more than one occasion , it had me laughing out loud and people looking funny at me! Each turn of the page brought me a little closer to Maggie and Sam and their quirky, Austenesque story.

What is the meaning of your happiness? Did you have to search it out or did it seek you out? That’s what Maggie Maguire encounters in this fun chick lit novel. I felt myself turning into Maggie, wondering what will happen next, what’s in store, is there a happily ever after. And, when Sam entered the picture, being a fan of Jane Austen, I was instantly pulled to him and his grump like self! The interaction between Maggie and Sam was fun and I was rooting for them the whole way through the story.

This is definitely a 4 star novel and one you shouldn’t miss! You’ll laugh out loud more times than not and you’ll find yourself instantly a part of this well written, inspiring novel of happy ever afters and true love. Well done, Ms. Billerbeck! Definitely a keeper on my shelf for sure!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*