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Psychology (3 more)
Theories
Criminal behaviour
Crime
Mysterious and exciting
This book was slightly hard to get into at first. I found myself reading a bit then putting it down, not to return to it for a while. But one Spa day and I took this book with me. I realised I needed no distractions to get tucked into this book to understand it. Learning about famous real life cases and about criminal profiling was exciting for me, especially as I have an interest in psychology. This book explores the psychology of criminals, from early in their childhood: before committing crimes. We get to understand the patterns of behaviour that lead individuals to commit crime, and how the different patterns match specific crimes. In this book you will explore different theories of psychology and criminal behaviour, as well as read about the detectives that hunt these criminals down. After reading this book I then went on to watch the series on Netflix which was also done very well!
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Eternals (2021) in Movies
Nov 6, 2021
Now I have to say that there does seem to be some mixed feeling about Eternals upon its initial release and I was a bit dubious upon entering the cinema to check out the film after hearing what “critics” had been saying about the movie, but as with all my reviews, these are my thoughts and as most of you know I do like to give an honest opinion on anything I watch and review.
OK, Eternals is no Avengers, but will we ever get anything that is going to bring us the love that we have all built up with Marvels first three phases, maybe who knows. I found myself enjoying some of the characters more than others. I wasn’t too sure about Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington) but after watching the post-credits scene things are brought to light and it’s looking like we have some exciting times on the way from Marvel Studios in cinemas and coming to Disney+.
OK, Eternals is no Avengers, but will we ever get anything that is going to bring us the love that we have all built up with Marvels first three phases, maybe who knows. I found myself enjoying some of the characters more than others. I wasn’t too sure about Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington) but after watching the post-credits scene things are brought to light and it’s looking like we have some exciting times on the way from Marvel Studios in cinemas and coming to Disney+.
Darren Fisher (2465 KP) rated The Mother Of All Things in Books
Jul 20, 2022
Picked this one up on a whim. Didn't really know what I was letting myself in for but damn, this was one gripping read. For a debut novel this really is well written, great characters and more twists than a twisty thing. There is a lot of jumping around time zones so if you don't like that sort of thing then go read something else. Personally that doesn't bother me and I found Blake's narrative extremely entertaining. I worked out the 0642 pretty quickly as it was fairly obvious but the twist after came as a surprise (and answered a question that I kept asking myself throughout the book). The ending is totally gripping, a real bloodbath of a finale, and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself in the epilogue. Overall an incredible debut from Blake and I will definitely be reading the follow up book at some point in the near future.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Betrayal in Books
Sep 23, 2022
171 of 230
Book
Betrayal
By Martina Cole
⭐️⭐️
Aiden O'Hara has been head of the family since he was a kid, and he's going to keep it that way.
Jade Dixon watches his back. Mother of his son, she's the one who makes him invincible.
But Jade's been in the game a lot longer than Aiden. She knows no one's indestructible.
And when you're at the top, that's when you've got to watch the hardest.
Especially the ones closest to you . . .
I usually love a Cole book but this one just didn’t do anything for me! I found it kinda repetitive and predictable. Which is such a shame as I was so looking forward to it. I had no care for any of the characters at all I think it was kind of a cop out with Agnes and her part in this story I thought she could have been a bit more than she was. Overall it was just an ok read.
Book
Betrayal
By Martina Cole
⭐️⭐️
Aiden O'Hara has been head of the family since he was a kid, and he's going to keep it that way.
Jade Dixon watches his back. Mother of his son, she's the one who makes him invincible.
But Jade's been in the game a lot longer than Aiden. She knows no one's indestructible.
And when you're at the top, that's when you've got to watch the hardest.
Especially the ones closest to you . . .
I usually love a Cole book but this one just didn’t do anything for me! I found it kinda repetitive and predictable. Which is such a shame as I was so looking forward to it. I had no care for any of the characters at all I think it was kind of a cop out with Agnes and her part in this story I thought she could have been a bit more than she was. Overall it was just an ok read.
Louise (64 KP) rated Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories in Books
Jul 2, 2018
I picked this up around Halloween time wanting some scary reads to get me in the mood. When I saw they were by Roald Dahl himself, I thought I was in for a treat. I was sadly disappointed, reading the introduction I found that this was not the case, however I continued on as I thought it would be interesting to read some different authors.
The book consisted of 14 short stories, some longer than others and some quiet spooky whilst the others were just a bit dark.
Here is a list of the stories in the book:
W.S by L.P.Hartley
Harry by Rosemary Timperley
The Corner shop by Cynthia Asquith
In the Tube by E.F.Benson
Christmas meeting by Rosemary Timperley
Elias and the Draug by Jonas Lie
Playmates by A.M. Burrage
Ringing the changes by Robert Aickman
The Telephone by Mary Treadgold
The Ghost of a Hand by J.Sheridan Le Fanu
The Sweeper by A.M Burrage
On the Brighton Road by Richard Middleton
Afterward by Edith Warton
The Upper Berth by Marion Crawford
The scariest one for me was the Ghost of a hand, that could be because I was reading it at 1am in the morning with everyone asleep, the sounds of the house creaking and the wind outside added to the spookiness.
My top three are The Ghost of a Hand, Harry and Ringing the Changes,however they weren't great. I felt really let down by this selection of short stories, they didn't seem to have very satisfying ends and they were somewhat predictable.
Also there is an introduction from Roald Dahl himself stating that he read over 700 short stories trying to find the best, I seriously can't believe these were the best ones he found and then he was rambling on about women being better at writing ghost stories and men being better at general fiction which I felt was irrelevant but I suppose he had a certain amount of words to fulfil.
Maybe I am being a little harsh, seeing as the book is 30 years old and the stories are even older than that.
Let me know if you have read this book, and what you thought.
Overall I gave this 3 out of 5 stars
The book consisted of 14 short stories, some longer than others and some quiet spooky whilst the others were just a bit dark.
Here is a list of the stories in the book:
W.S by L.P.Hartley
Harry by Rosemary Timperley
The Corner shop by Cynthia Asquith
In the Tube by E.F.Benson
Christmas meeting by Rosemary Timperley
Elias and the Draug by Jonas Lie
Playmates by A.M. Burrage
Ringing the changes by Robert Aickman
The Telephone by Mary Treadgold
The Ghost of a Hand by J.Sheridan Le Fanu
The Sweeper by A.M Burrage
On the Brighton Road by Richard Middleton
Afterward by Edith Warton
The Upper Berth by Marion Crawford
The scariest one for me was the Ghost of a hand, that could be because I was reading it at 1am in the morning with everyone asleep, the sounds of the house creaking and the wind outside added to the spookiness.
My top three are The Ghost of a Hand, Harry and Ringing the Changes,however they weren't great. I felt really let down by this selection of short stories, they didn't seem to have very satisfying ends and they were somewhat predictable.
Also there is an introduction from Roald Dahl himself stating that he read over 700 short stories trying to find the best, I seriously can't believe these were the best ones he found and then he was rambling on about women being better at writing ghost stories and men being better at general fiction which I felt was irrelevant but I suppose he had a certain amount of words to fulfil.
Maybe I am being a little harsh, seeing as the book is 30 years old and the stories are even older than that.
Let me know if you have read this book, and what you thought.
Overall I gave this 3 out of 5 stars
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Gangster School in Books
Sep 24, 2020
There was a while since I had so much fun while reading a book. I would describe this book something like Hogwarts meets “Despicable Me”.
Our main characters in this book were Milly and Charlie, two year seven students, who just started a school for future villains. The whole book was told from these two people’s perspectives, sharing their thoughts and adventures. Like in most of the books about schools, there are plenty of various characters to choose from, but my favorite in this novel was Milly. I loved her personality and smartness, and I think she was a great young female lead. She is a very intelligent and observant girl indeed.
The plot of this book was about how Milly and Charlie had to stop an evil villain, who wants to ruin their school. It was filled with quite a lot of action and interesting details, but as an adult, I found the plot was quite predictable. I think that the idea and the setting are very original, but the “good vs. bad” thing was quite unimpressive. But this book directed at children so, I believe, they would love it. 🙂
I really enjoyed the light and funny writing style of this book, where the chapters are pretty short, bringing in something new in every chapter. I don’t think this book is suitable for very young children, it is all about how to be a good villain and it encourages the use of lying and deceit, so I would not want to encourage that in my 6-year-old nephew… However, I noticed that children’s books about thieves and villains are kind of on the “wave” right now… 😕
So, to conclude, as an adult I had great fun while reading this book. I found the characters very charming and the whole idea of gangster’s school pretty intriguing, and I would recommend this book if you (or your child/sibling/nephew/niece etc.) are into villains and saving the world (in this case saving the school). This book is a first in a series, and I will be waiting for more books to come. Please do give this a try and hopefully, you will enjoy it. 🙂
Our main characters in this book were Milly and Charlie, two year seven students, who just started a school for future villains. The whole book was told from these two people’s perspectives, sharing their thoughts and adventures. Like in most of the books about schools, there are plenty of various characters to choose from, but my favorite in this novel was Milly. I loved her personality and smartness, and I think she was a great young female lead. She is a very intelligent and observant girl indeed.
The plot of this book was about how Milly and Charlie had to stop an evil villain, who wants to ruin their school. It was filled with quite a lot of action and interesting details, but as an adult, I found the plot was quite predictable. I think that the idea and the setting are very original, but the “good vs. bad” thing was quite unimpressive. But this book directed at children so, I believe, they would love it. 🙂
I really enjoyed the light and funny writing style of this book, where the chapters are pretty short, bringing in something new in every chapter. I don’t think this book is suitable for very young children, it is all about how to be a good villain and it encourages the use of lying and deceit, so I would not want to encourage that in my 6-year-old nephew… However, I noticed that children’s books about thieves and villains are kind of on the “wave” right now… 😕
So, to conclude, as an adult I had great fun while reading this book. I found the characters very charming and the whole idea of gangster’s school pretty intriguing, and I would recommend this book if you (or your child/sibling/nephew/niece etc.) are into villains and saving the world (in this case saving the school). This book is a first in a series, and I will be waiting for more books to come. Please do give this a try and hopefully, you will enjoy it. 🙂
Amy Christmas (171 KP) rated Norma in Books
Nov 4, 2017
I had an unexpected love for this book
To be honest I actually found myself liking this book which from the first reviews makes me odd. It isn't a book that will leave you squealing or gasping with the plot twists or have you smirking as you mutter 'called it'. In my opinion that makes the book great, because unlike other books of this genre where the reader is often lead along guessing for a while before being told exactly what's going on Norma doesn't explicitly tell the reader much meaning you actually have to price a lot of it together yourself, meaning that this book definitely has multiple reads in it. However I do think that sometimes the author should have given larger hints or explained the workings of this world in more depth.
Throughout the book we are introduced to giant handfuls of minors 2 dimensional characters that you see once and never hear of again which I felt left in some cases realism to the scenario in which norma or Marion found themselves in, But other times it completely broke the entire immersion. There are some fantastic 3 dimensional characters throughout as well that were developed early on and created good flow of interaction between characters, however, again, I feel there could have been more depth into characters like Alvar and Lambert. What were their motives? Being the biggest question, and I suppose it is assumed that money is the main motive for Lambert and acceptance for Alvar but it makes them feel flatter when they needn't be.
In saying all of that I still give it a high rating because I enjoyed it, despite some flaws in characters and a lack of depth in some areas Norma still, once it really got going, really immersed me and made me want to work out the little mystery going on. The only thing I really wish for this book is that it were longer to allow for more depth into everything, because the book was just too short for such a large world. Despite this Sofi has still done a marvellous job with Norma, and the cover is fabulous.
I would recommend and that's coming from someone who usually dislikes these kinds of books.
Throughout the book we are introduced to giant handfuls of minors 2 dimensional characters that you see once and never hear of again which I felt left in some cases realism to the scenario in which norma or Marion found themselves in, But other times it completely broke the entire immersion. There are some fantastic 3 dimensional characters throughout as well that were developed early on and created good flow of interaction between characters, however, again, I feel there could have been more depth into characters like Alvar and Lambert. What were their motives? Being the biggest question, and I suppose it is assumed that money is the main motive for Lambert and acceptance for Alvar but it makes them feel flatter when they needn't be.
In saying all of that I still give it a high rating because I enjoyed it, despite some flaws in characters and a lack of depth in some areas Norma still, once it really got going, really immersed me and made me want to work out the little mystery going on. The only thing I really wish for this book is that it were longer to allow for more depth into everything, because the book was just too short for such a large world. Despite this Sofi has still done a marvellous job with Norma, and the cover is fabulous.
I would recommend and that's coming from someone who usually dislikes these kinds of books.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Expatriates in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Lee's latest novel intricately details the lives of three American women living in the expatriate community in Hong Kong. Margaret, who moved to Hong Kong with her husband and three children, is dealing with a horrible loss and how it has affected her entire being. Hilary, wealthy and married, is adrift in life - struggling to have a baby and floundering in her marriage. And Mercy, the youngest, is a Korean American trying to recover from her own recent horrors and figure out where she belongs. Their lives and stories are linked in small and large ways, as they each traverse the difficulties of life and the consequences of their actions.
It sounds trite - the linked stories of three women, but the book is nearly magical. The chapters are compelling and amazing: you truly feel as if you are there, with the characters, getting completely caught up in their lives and stories. It's one of those books where not a lot happens, yet in some ways, everything happens, and it's mesmerizing somehow. Lee has a unique voice for each character and they each become clearer and defined as the book goes on; they are so themselves that you can't ever imagine not knowing them, or how they would react to a given situation. Much of what happens is sad- in fact, there were times where I felt like my heart was physically hurting reading - but there is much redemption in the book as well. I truly found parts of it to be beautiful.
The ending, which I felt like could have been too easy, or conversely, easily ruined, felt perfect somehow. My only complaint with this book? That it ended. After I finished it, I found myself standing at the sink later that evening, washing some dishes, and thinking, "oh at least I get to read my book later tonight" and then feeling nothing but profound disappointment that the book was over, and I was done being a part of these characters' lives. Lovely, poignant book - highly recommend.
I must note that I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley (thanks!), though I wasn't approved until after it was published. The good news for you is that this novel is available now (as of 1/12/16) in all the various publication forms. You can check out a review of this book and many others on my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.
It sounds trite - the linked stories of three women, but the book is nearly magical. The chapters are compelling and amazing: you truly feel as if you are there, with the characters, getting completely caught up in their lives and stories. It's one of those books where not a lot happens, yet in some ways, everything happens, and it's mesmerizing somehow. Lee has a unique voice for each character and they each become clearer and defined as the book goes on; they are so themselves that you can't ever imagine not knowing them, or how they would react to a given situation. Much of what happens is sad- in fact, there were times where I felt like my heart was physically hurting reading - but there is much redemption in the book as well. I truly found parts of it to be beautiful.
The ending, which I felt like could have been too easy, or conversely, easily ruined, felt perfect somehow. My only complaint with this book? That it ended. After I finished it, I found myself standing at the sink later that evening, washing some dishes, and thinking, "oh at least I get to read my book later tonight" and then feeling nothing but profound disappointment that the book was over, and I was done being a part of these characters' lives. Lovely, poignant book - highly recommend.
I must note that I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley (thanks!), though I wasn't approved until after it was published. The good news for you is that this novel is available now (as of 1/12/16) in all the various publication forms. You can check out a review of this book and many others on my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999) in Movies
Jan 29, 2019
Great music, shame about the rest
I loved Joseph when I was a child, and I haven’t seen the stage show since I was in primary school either, so I had to watch this when I saw it had been added to Netflix.
I spent the entire of this film trying to figure out if this was a stage show they’d recorded and made look like a film, or if they’d intentionally made it as a film like this. Looking it up afterwards, I’ve discovered this was a direct to video film and boy can you tell. For a purposely made film, the production values in this are really cheesy and cheap, and the costumes are pretty bad even with it being the late 90s. I also can’t stand the narrator in this, I just found her very irritating - the last scene especially. Donny Osmond is alright but his hair looks so fake I couldn’t help laughing every time there was a close up. The highlight of the cast by far is Richard Attenborough, it’s just a shame he isn't in it very much.
What saves this is the all round entertainment factor and the soundtrack. You can’t question the Lloyd Webber music, it’s truly fantastic and so varied (from country to Elvis rock) and catchy. I just wished the rest of the film lived up to this - they really should have just filmed a stage version.
I spent the entire of this film trying to figure out if this was a stage show they’d recorded and made look like a film, or if they’d intentionally made it as a film like this. Looking it up afterwards, I’ve discovered this was a direct to video film and boy can you tell. For a purposely made film, the production values in this are really cheesy and cheap, and the costumes are pretty bad even with it being the late 90s. I also can’t stand the narrator in this, I just found her very irritating - the last scene especially. Donny Osmond is alright but his hair looks so fake I couldn’t help laughing every time there was a close up. The highlight of the cast by far is Richard Attenborough, it’s just a shame he isn't in it very much.
What saves this is the all round entertainment factor and the soundtrack. You can’t question the Lloyd Webber music, it’s truly fantastic and so varied (from country to Elvis rock) and catchy. I just wished the rest of the film lived up to this - they really should have just filmed a stage version.
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Darkwater Secrets (Darkwater Inn #1) in Books
Feb 27, 2019
It's been some time since I read a Caroll novel. I wasn't sure what I would think of this one, diving into it after so long away from her work. However, once I sat down, opened the book, and dived in, I was very surprised! I was instantly captivated and taken to the heart of New Orleans, and was taken on a whirl wind roller coaster ride of ups, downs, twists and turns during this suspenseful, read! That's trademark Caroll fashion, if you ask me.
The Darkwater Inn has characters that are chiseled just right for their roles. The emotions they felt, I could feel as my own. The plot line that they are in, is intense and had me on the edge of my seat on more than one occasion. I was turning each page, needing to know what was happening next. When I found out? Oh, you'll just need to grab this book up and see for yourself what I read, what I felt, and what the characters went through in the French Quarter.
Mrs. Caroll has created another book that is worthy of 4 stars and high recommendations. If you want an edge of your seat, suspenseful novel full of twists and turns, then grab this one up now. I can't wait to see what she has in store for her fans in book 2! Well done, Mrs. Caroll. Well done.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
The Darkwater Inn has characters that are chiseled just right for their roles. The emotions they felt, I could feel as my own. The plot line that they are in, is intense and had me on the edge of my seat on more than one occasion. I was turning each page, needing to know what was happening next. When I found out? Oh, you'll just need to grab this book up and see for yourself what I read, what I felt, and what the characters went through in the French Quarter.
Mrs. Caroll has created another book that is worthy of 4 stars and high recommendations. If you want an edge of your seat, suspenseful novel full of twists and turns, then grab this one up now. I can't wait to see what she has in store for her fans in book 2! Well done, Mrs. Caroll. Well done.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*