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The Big Over Easy: An Investigation with the Nursery Crime Division
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fford. If you don't know him you should, especially if you love Adams & Pratchett
I picked this up on the off-chance , when it was on special offer. This is how I like to try out writers that are new to me. Buy 'em cheap and then it doesn't matter if (as is so often the case) they end up in the secondhand-bookshop.

If only more of them had fulfilled their promise as this did!

I really wasn't entirely clear on what I was getting, (that happens to me sometimes - I thought 'The Mummy' was a horror film!) but I'm so very glad I got it.

What Adams did for Sci-Fi and Pratchett did for Fantasy, so now Fford s doing for the 'tec novel. This amazing imagination give us a story in which Humpty-Dumpty, noted intellectual, womaniser and law-bender,is found dead at the bottom of a wall. It looks like suicide, but is it? Enter Jack Spratt hard-working, family-man detective with the Nursery Crimes Division.

Few things, even those I love actually make me laugh out loud, but this managed it on several occasions. If you like off-the-wall, bizarre or just plain silly, buy this.Then buy the rest of his books.
  
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Ross (3284 KP) Feb 7, 2018

I much prefer the Nursery Crimes books to the Thursday Next series, for which he is better known.

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Mayhawke (97 KP) Feb 9, 2018

I agree. I waited years for the third one to come out before I gave up all hope.

Dreame - Reading Completes Me
Dreame - Reading Completes Me
Book
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
App Rating
This is an app where authors can upload their stories, it seems aimed towards romance stories and often paranormal. As such they are mostly unknown authors or people who wrote for fun. I think it’s amazing that this app gives them a platform for showing their work.

I have found that some stories are better written than others, I did have to give up on one as I just couldn’t handle all the mistakes but I guess you can’t complain for free stories.

My main issue with this app is that the stories are written in sections. Each time you start a story you can read up to about the first 10 sections before incredibly long wait times for the next to unlock begin. It seems to be mostly 2 days at a time but I did have a wait if a whole week!! Sometimes you wait 2 days for the next section to unlock and it is very short, it took me less than five minutes to read. You can speed up with coins however it seems the only way to gain these is with actual money.

One positive is that it will clearly state of a story is complete, I find this really helpful as it avoids the disappointment of starting a story and it then never being finished.
  
The Westing Game
The Westing Game
Ellen Raskin | 2004 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Young Adult (YA)
7
8.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
While looking for my next read, I came across The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I had never heard of it before, but the synopsis sounded interesting. I decided to give it a read, and I'm glad I did.

Sixteen people all move into Sam Westing's apartment building after receiving a letter inviting them to move in. They are the only tenants in the building. Little do they know that they were picked to play in a game where they could potentially win a lot of money. However, they must play hard to win if they want to inherit millions even if the game may be dangerous.

I didn't realize it while reading The Westing Game, but this book is considered middle grade fiction. The way it is written, I think every age group would enjoy it. It's a fun and easy read. The plot flows smoothly, and the story progresses with ease. Each page is filled with mystery. I found myself guessing who was the murderer and which person would figure out the clues to inherit Sam Westing's inheritance. I will say that The Westing Game's mystery had me stumped. I never could guess who was who which made me love this book even more. This book is chock full of mystery and intrigue. It will leave you scratching your head as you read it trying to figure out who killed Sam Westing. There's plenty of plot twists, and just when you think you have figured everything out, you will find out how wrong your guess was. I've never read a book that stumped me so much while trying to figure out everything! However, by the end of the book, everything is revealed. All questions are answered, and the author lets us know how each character got on in life. One minor annoyance (and I believe it's a personal thing) was that the writing seemed a little choppy to me in how it was written. Maybe it is just that style, but I found it a bit peculiar. However, that didn't take away my interest in the story that much.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters in the book. I do wish there was a bit more backstory for each of the characters though. It's not that they didn't feel fleshed out because they did, but I would have enjoyed learning more about each one of them a bit more before they moved in to Westing's apartment building. I enjoyed Turtle's character the most. Although she was often looked over, her determination to prove herself was admirable. I like how, despite her young age, she threw herself into Sam Westing's game. Sydelle was my least favorite character. It wasn't because she wasn't written well, quite the opposite. I just found her personality annoying. I kept hoping she was somehow be kicked out. Even though she wasn't mentioned as much, I really liked Madame Hoo. I enjoyed her scenes and her personality on the pages she was mentioned in.

Trigger warnings for The Westing Game include minor violence, death, suicide, drinking, and minor racism from one of the characters.

With it's mysterious plot and interesting cast of characters, The Westing Game is one of those books that you will love reading while trying to figure out its plot. It will keep you on your toes at all times! I would definitely recommend The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin to those aged 13+ who are after an unpredictable and well written mystery novel.
  
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Kateada (4 KP) rated Dunkirk (2017) in Movies

Dec 10, 2017  
Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk (2017)
2017 | Action, History, War
The POVs as you follow each character through their own events happening cam be confusing to some unless you're prepared. (0 more)
The timing of each perspective was not well explained. (0 more)
A Historical Perspective
If you're looking for a hero or the traditional emotional connection to the characters, you'll not like this movie. I found it a brilliant look into what happened, the prejudices, the sacrifices, and humanity itself. I highly recommend this movie to everyone wanting to learn more about war, humans in war, or WW2 itself.
  
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Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated Conclave in Books

Jan 13, 2018  
Conclave
Conclave
Robert Harris | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have never experienced a thriller that didn't contain violence and yet...Harris does an amazing job at keeping you wondering if someone has committed the ultimate sin to get what they want. The twists and turns throughout the book kept it interesting, and the attention to detail kept it "educational" for lack of a better word. I had no concept of what goes into a conclave ahead of time and found those details to be interesting enough that one does not get bored by them.
  
Coin Master
Coin Master
Games
6
6.6 (37 Ratings)
App Rating
Each village you pass onto is a bit individual (0 more)
Inability to team up with someone or communication in the app (0 more)
New found addiction
Whoever hasn't seen the advert for this game is very lucky and probably rare. Eventually those have had seen it probably went and downloaded it and to be fair it has that connection of I guess action play as well as free gambling with the slot machines. Whilst it lacks communication with other players I definitely consider it a decent game.
  
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
2017 | Biography, Drama, Horror
I watched this film on an wim. It was slightly slow to start but overall, I actually found it interesting.

It does bring up the theory of "is a serial killer born that way? Is something wrong with their brain? Or simply is it due to the way they were brought up and their early life?"

Alex Wolfe is great in the leading role as Dohmer, he plays the role very convincingly.

If you are interested in serial killer documentaries etc, definitely check out this film
  
Pulse (Collide, #2)
Pulse (Collide, #2)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read the first book, Collide, last year sometime and it just about killed me at the end. There was one paragraph/speech near the end from Gavin that broke my heart and made me cry buckets and I couldn't wait to read this to find out what happened...

But then I sorta went off NA...

And then I went for it and read it.

I didn't find it as good as the first, though how anyone can resist Gavin Blake *points at Emily* I'll never know. He's funny, sexy, sweet; he's like a woman's fantasy man...and to think Emily tried to pick that d*ck Dillon over Gavin!

I'm happy that they got their HEA, I just kinda lost interest with some parts of the book and found it a little long for what actually happened. Nevertheless this is probably one of my favourite NA series'

If you haven't tried this series yet, you really should!
  
Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018)
Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Smh
ok, I wasn't going to watch this one because sequels like these, I find, tend to be worse than the originals. Someone wanted me to check it out so, against my better judgements, I did. What I found was a watered down(pun intended) version of the first film(which I really liked and enjoyed). The cinematography wasn't too bad with some decent effects but the acting was weak and the storyline was too. It was very predictable and had your typical Hollywood leave-it-open-for-a-sequel ending(something the original didn't do). This could've been a stand alone film except for the glaring similarities in characters and plot(only on a much lower budget). I don't think I'll be watching the third one. Honestly, you wouldn't be missing anything if you didn't see this one yourselves. Just go watch the first one again. Much more entertaining. NOT worth a watch.
  
Amalgamated (Coming Home #2)
Amalgamated (Coming Home #2)
Becca Seymour | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
fabulous easy read!
This is book two in the Coming Home series, but other than the long absence from home, there is no direct link between the two. I did read that, but I did not write a review, I would have given it 4 stars.
Leo left his home in Australia to work in the UK five years ago. Now on a trip home, he comes face to face with part of the reason he left: Zak. Leo has loved Zak all this time, but will Zak even speak to Leo, after what he did?
My first thought when finishing this was: cute! Really cute! I liked it, a lot, but I can’t quite love it.
It’s written only from Leo’s point of view in the first person. And of course I’m gonna say I needed to here from Zak, you know I am. I fell here though, I am more than justified in saying it!
Leo wrecked Zak’s bike, after he saw Zak kissing someone else, and I wanted, no NEEDED to know what went through Zak’s mind at that point, but more so, when he finally admits to Leo why he did what he did all those years ago. Zak NEEDED his voice, and he doesn’t get it.
I also found I wanted to know what Leo was doing in the UK! I mean, I read the book, but I don’t think I saw what his work was!
Still, those points aside, I really did enjoy it.
It is one of those bath-tub/lunch break reads, that don’t take any concentrating on, and you can just fall into, and read, you know? It’s not a negative thing, not at all! Sometimes, you need a nice, sweet read, that allows you to decompress from a much longer, difficult read. Or in my case, a nice, easy read that allows you to sit out in the sun, on your lunch break in a 14 hour shift and ignore the world.
Thank you, Ms Seymour, for the very warm and fuzzies, too stinking cute read that was ABSOLUTELY needed today!
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**