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Kelly (279 KP) rated Requiem in TV

Feb 8, 2019  
Requiem
Requiem
2018 | Drama, Fantasy, Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller
7
7.3 (10 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Characters you care about (1 more)
An interesting, well thought out plot
The ending leaves you unfulfilled (0 more)
A creepy thriller, well worth the watch!
23 years ago Carys Howell goes missing from a small Welsh village. The case is never solved. After the sudden and horrific death of her mother, Matilda Gray, celebrity cello player, finds herself drawn to the village and the case. Followed by close friend Hal, who has clear but unreciprocated feelings towards Matilda, she slowly begins to unravel the events around the case. What Matilda finds leads her into the world of the dark supernatural.

I found the story engaging and compelling and I really cared about the main characters- particularly Matilda and Hal. The supernatural scenes were creepy and a little jumpy at times.

There were a few issues that I had with the series, firstly some of the twists were a little predictable , but this is offset by the twists that were unexpected. My primary gripe with the series is that the ending left me wanting- it was missing that fulfilling ending that I was craving. I would have preferred an additional episode that covered the ‘black outs’, instead it was almost as if the writers had put so much into the rest of the series, that they got to the last thirty minutes and rushed it, missing out the meat.


The series does set itself up nicely for a season 2, but neither the BBC or Netflix have confirmed a renewal (both have a stake in the series). Despite the weak ending, I do hope that there is a sequel, as I believe it will be much darker and creepier.
  
Alphas Of Seduction Anthology
Alphas Of Seduction Anthology
Sierra Simone, Shannon Hunt | 2018 | Contemporary, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
great box set
Once Upon An Alpha along with 4 Paws for Ability, and these several bestselling authors, bring you this page turning, limited edition, anthology that’s sure to keep you up well past your bed time and craving your own Alpha of Seduction.

I had no idea what this charity does, but there is a little bit at the beginning that describes their work. I couldn't see a common theme running through each story, but I did read them all. Maybe, if the theme was more prominent in each story, I might have enjoyed this set a little more. There wasn't, though, any one story that stood out, for either positive or negative reasons, and I'm struggling to write a review for each story, some only a few pages long.

 
So, here's a general review, for the entire set!

I found them all well written, some in the the third person, some in the first. Some were sexier than others, some almost clean. I saw no spelling or editing errors in any short to spoil my reading.

All these authors are new to me. After some sorting, my wish list is now many more books longer, as each author has given me a taste of their work, and I want to read longer books by these authors. BY ALL of these authors! Usually, in box sets like this, one or two sneak on to my wish list, but this time, they all did.

A nice way to pass a few lunch breaks, a hours of shutting out the world.

a good solid..

4 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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Sam (74 KP) rated The Hate u Give in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
The Hate u Give
The Hate u Give
Angie Thomas | 2017 | Children
2
8.4 (54 Ratings)
Book Rating
It’s got five-star reviews everywhere, has won so many awards, and literally, everyone is talking about it. So, of course, it’s worth a try.

Only I didn’t enjoy it to the point where I got halfway through and couldn’t finish it. I wasn’t even sure whether to post the review because I know that lots of people will disagree with me over this.

I was so excited for a book to be out that’s about police brutality in America towards black teenagers, and was surprised, to begin with, that something as serious as this was in a YA book, but also happy that it was being told to teenagers. It sounded like my ideal book.

But I just couldn’t get along with it at all. The whole idea with the book is to show what casual racism is doing to America, but at the same time on every few pages, there’s another part talking about how horrible and funny and evil white people are. If a book wants to make a stand against racism, make a stand against it from both sides, not just one. You cannot end racism by calling the other race.

I just found it really one-sided in its battle against racism. I am definitely not saying that the police shooting was right, let me just say that, and Starr has every right to hate the police for shooting her best friend. However, this does not mean that every few pages there needs to be a comment about how awful white people are.

A much healthier focus for the book would have been equality, not switching the racism to the other side in a ‘how-do-you-like-it-now’ move.
  
A Gathering Of Secrets
A Gathering Of Secrets
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Kate Burkholder is the chief of police for the small town of Painter's Mill in Ohio. When a young Amish man is found burned to death in his family's barn, Kate is determined to find out who is responsible. Being ex-Amish herself, Kate has a strong connection to the people. But trying out to find out who would have wanted Daniel Gingerich dead is turning into quite a list. You see, Daniel wasn't the good Amish boy every portrayed him to be. He had a dirty secret and once Chief Burkholder is able to uncover his secrets, she may be able to find his killer.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I first heard about this book, I was quite intrigued by the story line. I didn't know that this was a part of a series, so that was a little disappointing, but I don't feel like I missed out on too much. I definitely want to go back and read the rest of the series.

Daniel Gingerich is in the period of an Amish person's life called Rumspringa. This is a time once Amish reach adulthood that they take the time to "find themselves". Daniel had a serious girlfriend and had plans to marry her. But he was a young man and attractive. He could have almost any girl he wanted. So why was he killed and who did it? When Kate finds out Daniel's secret, the suspect pool grows bigger and bigger the more she digs into this young man's life. The Amish community is so tight knit that no one wants to tell anyone's secrets.

This book was very hard to put down, and there were surprises I didn't see coming. I look forward to reading more books by Linda Castillo.
  
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ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Last Hour in Books

Mar 28, 2018  
The Last Hour
The Last Hour
Harry Sidebottom | 2018 | Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Roman 24!!
That was one crazy ride from start to finish! The author has said that it's a historical take on 24 (the TV show with Jack Bauer/ Kiefer Sutherland), and he isn't wrong. But where I got fed up with the TV show, this kept my attention from start to finish. The attention to historical detail is so good (you can tell that the author is an academic - he knows how to do his research!), and sitting in my living room reading the book, I was transported to ancient Rome with all the sights and smells (my drains work just fine, thank you!).
The main character, Ballista is instantly likeable. A man with morals and honour, he discovers a plot to assassinate the Emperor that runs deep in the political and military world of Rome. He, and he alone, is the one to stop the assassination of his friend, the Emperor Gallienus. Rightly or wrongly, whether he agrees with the way that Gallienus runs the Empire or not, he is duty bound to save him - if only to save the lives of his wife and children.
I would love to be able to pick out and describe a favourite part of the book, but that comes well in to the second half (and I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone else!). I haven't read a book with quite so much action in a long time. There were some real 'heart in mouth' sections, and great character building (how Harry Sidebottom found the time and space to do that, well! I suppose that's why he writes and I don't!).
I will be on the look out for more of the authors books!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this book!
  
The Grinch (2018)
The Grinch (2018)
2018 | Animation, Family, Sci-Fi
The Graphics (0 more)
Horrible cover of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" song (1 more)
Slow moving plot
Don't Waste Your Time
My husband and I took our boys (aged 3 and 14) to see the new Grinch movie.

The graphics were really great. They were super colorful, and this movie does have a couple of cute characters like the chubby reindeer and Max, the dog. My 3 (nearly 4) year old was into this movie for about the first couple of minutes. Then he was ready to leave. He kept saying it was a mean movie. I guess he was talking about the Grinch. He just couldn't get into the movie no matter how hard I tried.

I was bored to death with The Grinch. I didn't find anything interesting about it. It dragged on and on. Don't get me wrong, there are a few funny moments, but the plot itself was lacking severely. My husband was also bored with this movie. My 14 year old loved it though. He thought it was really funny.

As I said previously, there were a couple of cute characters. However, the majority of characters were not that great. I found myself not caring about them, and I just couldn't connect with them. Cindy Lou Who and her friends were especially annoying.

My husband, myself, and my 3 year old ended up walking out of the movie about half an hour or so before it ended. We were just too bored to stay. My 14 year old carried on watching the movie until the end though.

All in all, I'd say avoid this movie. If you want to see it, wait until you can rent it on DVD/Blu Ray, or, even better, wait until it comes on tv.
  
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Gaz Coombes recommended track Binary by Kazino in Around My Dream by Kazino in Music (curated)

 
Around My Dream by Kazino
Around My Dream by Kazino
2016 | Pop
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Binary by Kazino

(0 Ratings)

Track

"I’ve known this song for about ten years from when I picked up the compilation album Disco Not Disco on tour, I found it on vinyl and I just liked the cover. This song’s from the end of the ‘70s, its New York, disco-punk and that’s my other thing, like ESG and those sort of bands, it’s the sort of song you’d hear in a weird dark New York club in the late ‘70s. “Like with a lot of these songs it’s got a groove, but it’s a slightly off the beaten track sort of groove, there’s a dirty bassline running along and a cool beat that makes it. There’s a vibe about it and it gets me going, you can put it on just before you go out, or like the Beefheart track I’ll put it on if I’m having a party. “I don’t really do dance music or funk but that doesn’t mean that stylistically I can’t attach myself to elements of them, it’s just a case of finding inspiration in anything, even if it’s not my school. There’s no reason why I can’t hear a song by Kendrick Lamar or Kanye West or whoever and hear an element of it and think ‘Fuck, that’s great’ and relate to it. It’s similar with this song, it’s like ‘Wow, that’s not what I expected’ but I’m hearing other things in it that I find inspiring from the point of view of being in a studio and creating a piece of music. It’s like ‘Copenhagen’ by Scott Walker and hearing an element of that or the percussive element of Kazino, there’s no reason why those two can’t marry together."

Source
  
Dirty Kiss (Cole McGinnis Mysteries, #1)
Dirty Kiss (Cole McGinnis Mysteries, #1)
Rhys Ford | 2011 | Contemporary, Crime, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Romance
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book starts with a blast... a shotgun blast, to be precise, by a grandma wearing a leather bikini! If that doesn't want to make you bleach your eyeballs, I don't know what will. This is a story filled with mystery, banter, action, and steamy relationships. I loved the connection that Bobby and Cole had, and every scene in which they were in made me smile. Cole himself is a brilliant character, he has trauma and sadness in his past that he is dealing with. When his brother, Mike, asks him to look into an apparent suicide, Cole doesn't think that it will last long. However, he opens a can of worms, smokescreens and lies as he tries to find out just "whodunnit".

This is extremely well-written, with no editing or grammatical errors that I found. You get a brilliant backdrop of characters, situations and history, apart from one thing that is alluded to, but never answered. I am presuming this is part of the story that will come out in future books.

The reason for my 4-stars is that I never actually felt much of a connection with Cole or Jae-Min. At times, yes, but not constantly, and not enough for them to move as fast as they did. We're talking insta-love here, after a three-year hiatus on Cole's part. I don't know, for me, it just didn't seem to fit right. But that is probably just me as I'm not a big fan of insta-love anyway. Absolutely loved the rest of it and would have no hesitation in recommending this.

* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 20, 2016
  
RT
Rancher to the Rescue
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
(This review will be on my blog, <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>, at the end of June).


Romances aren't usually my thing, but I like to get out of my comfort zone every now and again. I'm really glad I did though because Rancher to the Rescue by Jennifer Faye was such a sweet read.

Okay, I won't reiterate what the blurb says because it describes what the book is about perfectly (which is a rarity amongst books these days). Just now that with this book, what you see is what you get.

The title describes this book perfectly. It's about a rancher (Cash) saving a celebrity (Meghan). I couldn't think of a better title, so I think Ms. Faye did an excellent job coming up with the title Rancher to the Rescue.

The cover is alright. I've seen worse covers, but I've seen better ones as well. Personally, I would've liked to see more of a ranch scene behind the couple on the cover of the book especially since this takes place at a ranch.

The world building is fantastic. In fact, I don't think I can fault it. Every situation was explained excellently which left me with no questions whatsoever. Even when Meghan is running out on her wedding, I though the author did an excellent job of explaining how she avoided the paparazzi.

The pacing is a bit hit and miss throughout the book. Sometimes, I would devour whole chapters just to be bored with the next. This could just be a personal thing though since I'm not used to reading romance books, but to me, in some parts, it was just too slow. But don't let that put you off reading this book.

As with most romance stories, the plot is predictable, but I found it to be well written and very sweet. The plot questions were if Meghan and Cash escape the ever watchful eye of the paparazzi, would Cash ever get over his past, and would Cash still want Meghan even though she was pregnant with another man's baby. All those questions do get answered by the way.

I thought the characters were written fabulously. I found Meghan to be vulnerable at times, but she was such a brave girl with everything that was going on. I loved her maternal instinct when it came to her pregnancy as well as how she was very wary to trust after what Harold did to her. I loved Cash as well. I liked how at first, he didn't want to get involved with Meghan due to his past history. I enjoyed watching him open up to Meghan, and eventually, what lengths he went to in order to protect Meghan. My favorite character though was Cash's grandmother. I don't know how to describe her other then to say that she was very grandmotherly! I loved how sweet she was to Meghan and how she'd always volunteer Cash to do things (this had me chuckling). She wanted everyone to be happy. I just wish she didn't have to leave about a quarter through the story because I was really enjoying reading about her.

The dialogue never came across as forced. Yes, in some parts the pacing was slow, but this wasn't due to the dialogue. I enjoyed the dialogue the most whenever Cash's grandmother was around. She was just so sweet!!! One thing that did annoy me was the fact that over and over again, the book kept mentioning how Meghan wasn't a skinny woman. Yes, I got the point that she wasn't skinny the first few times I read it. However, it just seems to be pointed out a lot.

Overall, Rancher to the Rescue is a short and sweet story that would be excellent to read during the summer, on vacation or just any time really. Despite the pacing being a bit mixed up, I did enjoy this book.

I'd recommend this book to those aged 17+ who are looking for a something sweet in their lives.

I'd give Rancher to the Rescue by Jennifer Faye a 3.75 out of 5.

(I was given a free paperback copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest and fair review).
  
Sailing Lessons
Sailing Lessons
Hannah McKinnon | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting characters & enjoyable read
The Bailey sisters grew up on Cape Cod--and overall, they are fairly close. The sisters are particularly bonded by the fact that their father, Caleb, left when they were small, after a traumatic incident that affected each sister in their own way. Wren remained on the island and is now raising her daughter, Lucy, while juggling an attempt to open a small business. Her older sister, Shannon, is a perfectionist leading a picture-perfect Cape life with her husband and three children: at least that's how it appears. As for the youngest, Piper, who barely even remembers her father: she fled to Boston, where she's spent years pursuing educational degrees she isn't sure she wants. And her love life? Don't ask. The girls' mother, Lindy, has settled down on the island with her second husband, Hank. All in all, everyone has a routine. But Caleb disturbs all that when he sends a letter, asking to return and see the girls again. Each sister responds differently to his return, and each much confront their own past--and present--in light of Caleb's presence.

I really enjoyed this book, and I found myself quite enraptured by its characters. I'm a sucker for some island-themed fiction (I'd love to go to the Cape or Nantucket someday, though I'll be so sad when everyone there isn't grappling with family issues and/or falling in love at first sight!). This was one of the books that I read at the right time, as I needed a story I could escape into. I started it while I was on "vacation" (a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with six-year-old twins - you determine if this counts as a vacation), and I found myself wishing I could transport myself to a beach somewhere to finish it.

The characters in this tale are simply interesting and fascinating. I don't know how else to say it, except I liked them, you know? OK, it took a little while to warm up to Shannon, but I could definitely relate to bits of her anxious characteristics. But I especially loved Wren and Hank. I could just picture them so easily, and I was rooting for them the entire way. (I sort of want Hank to be my Dad now.) Even Caleb was an intriguing sort of guy in his own way.

"He'd been given a talent for capturing images and a woman whom he'd loved with a fierceness that he could never seem to capture. And he'd lost it all."

So, yes, there's a bit of predictability to this one, but there's a comfortableness to it that I really liked (and needed). And there were definitely some pieces I didn't always see coming, too. Plus, I was so caught up in the characters that I was along for the ride, no matter what. They were well-written, and I was invested in their lives, which is a sign of good women's fiction, in my opinion. I had a bit of a dysfunctional childhood myself, so maybe I could relate well to this one; it just worked well for me.

"'Memory has weight. We carry it around with us in our baskets.' It had sounded lovely to her ears as a kid, this bountiful collection: a bushel of fruit, a bouquet of flowers. But as she grew, it took on a new meaning. There were days Shannon wished to set her basket of memories down; days she wished to abandon it altogether."

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Interesting characters, easy-moving plot--it was just a good read. I was actually a little sad to say goodbye to the sisters and their clan by the end.