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Forbidden Lust (Sinful Knights)
Forbidden Lust (Sinful Knights)
Oliver Takely | 2025 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
too short but steamy!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is the first I've read of Mr Takely and I do think I might read some more. I liked this, a lot.

Written from both Josh (not Joshua!) and Daniel's point of view, it tells of falling in love with quite possibly the most forbidden person: the son of your best friend. Cos that's basically what happens. Josh meets Daniel, they have amazing chemistry. Then Josh finds out Daniel is best friends with his sperm donor, the man who wants nothing to do with Josh.

There was not too much emphasis on the age gap, 20 years. I liked that. Too often it is the whole focus of a book, but not here. I liked that Daniel falls hard and fast, regardless who Josh is.

I hated Josh's sperm donor, and what he does here. He does redeem himself, but only after being put in his place by Daniel and by his wife. Who was wonderful to Josh once she knows who he is!

I do like how it all played out though!

4 very good, but, far too short, stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Black Mirror - Season 5
Black Mirror - Season 5
2019 | Drama, Sci-Fi
Nothing (0 more)
Everything, bad stories, bad characters, bad acting (0 more)
Absolute poppycock
Contains spoilers, click to show
This has nothing to offer, usually black mirror pulls you in and you feel fearful.
With this I just felt bored.
In Ashley too episode there was nothing on offer at all, cyrus's acting was wooden and unconvincing, the story was throughly unbelievable, and yes some fiction can be unbelievable. But this was just too mainstream in a way.
Striking vipers was just weird in the wrong way, virtual cheating i mean come on are we supposed to think that's all good.
Smithereens was probably the best of them all but that's not saying much.
Essentially enforcing the idea that social media is to blame for all the worlds evils.
They need to do much better for season 6 and bring black mirror back to its terrifying best.
F for effort
  
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas | 2015 | Young Adult (YA)
10
8.7 (107 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Oh my goodness.

I absolutely adored this book! I am a huge sucker for any kind of fairy tale retelling and this one did not disappoint!

Through about the first half of the book, I had this warm, floaty kind of feeling in my chest. The writing actually made me feel like I was in love (or what I assume it to feel like). The way the characters talked to each other and interacted just made me feel so good about this book.

Speaking of the characters, can I say well written? Because, wow! I felt really connected to the characters (especially Feyre's sassy-ness and care for her family). They were very well written and drawn out. I didn't feel like they were flattened or abused in any way, even when they were being beaten up on the pages. There was a great deal of respect that was shown to all of the characters in this book. I really enjoyed the strength that Maas gave to each of her characters. It was as if they had their own way to deal with their weaknesses and strengths. They felt so real! I think what helped with creating this reality was making some of the characters seem super awkward at times. I mean, everyone gets awkward, but the way it was done was to show how the characters really were, not necessarily how the narrator was seeing them.

The plot was amazingly paced. I didn't feel like I was waiting for something exciting to happen because it was always happening. Even down to the smallest of parts in this novel were exciting. But even then, it didn't feel too over the top in excitement. There was a great balance between pacing and excitement (I have said that word too many times in this review, but who cares!)

I didn't feel like there was much missing from this book except for more pages. I didn't want it to end!!

If I could, I would give this a higher rating than a 5 star because it was just that amazing!!

I recommend this to anyone who adores fairy tale retellings, fantasy, fairies, or just a damn good read. Honestly, if you haven't picked this book up, I really recommend that you do. I am kind of kicking myself for not picking up this book sooner!

******Also, spoiler-ish thing ahead:*******
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I just want to know, did anyone else guess that riddle when they first read it, because I did. I started yelling and cheering at the end part when she figured it out!!
  
Creed II (2018)
Creed II (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sport
Same old formula, very predictable (1 more)
Very few fights
Doesn't pack a punch
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the first Creed film that was full of nostalgia for the Rocky films. It was no surprise there would be a sequel. This time bring back Drago from the 4th Rocky film and his son.
Everything happens as you expect fight, rematch, training montage and then the big fight. At 2 hours long it only features a few fights, the pacing was off for me with big lulls between the fights. It just became too predictable and didn't provide a knockout blow.
  
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Hank Green | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
remarkable
did i expect hank green to be a great writer?
no.
was he?
i suppose so.
and did he live up to the expectations i set on this book?
yes.

this book was genuinely an amazing observation on fame and culture. it accurately depicted how change in terms of popularity can affect a person regarding both their relationships and how they percieve themselves. starring a queer lead, this book was quite frankly incredibly well done. i've gotta say, i didn't expect this level from a debut novel. I feel like the only reason i took off some points was because the story dragged a bit or sped up too much at points. there was never a constant, perfect pace to this story, though maybe that just added to the peculiarity of this novel.

also, gotta say;
certainly not YA
  
Train to Busan (2016)
Train to Busan (2016)
2016 | Action, Drama, Horror
The characters, it isn't really obvious what's going to happen later on in the film, it's different from most other zombie films. (0 more)
A gripping Korean zombie film
I was excited to watch Train to Busan the moment I saw the trailer for it. I am a huge fan of horror and zombie films and this one looked different.
I was pretty into it as soon as I started to watch it, I was pulled in and couldn't take my eyes from the screen from the moment the characters first board the train.
There were little details here and there that I loved including the fact that one character has a brand new Nintendo Ds (I love Nintendo).
Most zombie movies bore me after a while and I don't care too much for the characters, but in Train to Busan I was rooting for several of them.
I also loved the fact they were on a train, that was ont of the reasons I wanted to watch this film, I wanted to see exactly how they were gonna survive in such a small space.
I highly recommend this film, give it a try even if you don't like the look of it and it might surprise you.
  
Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files (The Dresden Files, #12.5)
Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files (The Dresden Files, #12.5)
Jim Butcher | 2010 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.1 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
Marvelous! I'd missed more short pieces than I realized, so this book was even more of a treat than anticipated. I read quite a few anthologies, so I had thought that only the much-anticipated new novella would be new to me. Even the ones I've read before are good enough to revisit, though - a sure sign of a very good author. They were like revisiting old friends.

The new novella, <i>Aftermath</i>, was fascinating. I don't want to say too much, as I know that quite a few people ended up with too many spoilers about the end of [b:Changes|6585201|Changes (The Dresden Files, #12)|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1250016196s/6585201.jpg|6778696]. I think I'll just say that the it is well worth reading and leave it there. As promised, it does pick up right at the end of <i>Changes</i>. If you've read that, you want to read <i>Aftermath</i>. Come on, you know you do!
  
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Kindle
Where Good Girls Go to Die ( Good girls book 1)
By Holly Renee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶

It was a bad idea from the beginning.

He was my brother's best friend and the definition of unavailable.

But I didn't care.

I had loved him for as long as I could remember.

He was worth the risk. He was worth everything.

But then he broke my heart as easily as I fell for him. He watched me fall, spiraling out of control, and as I reached for him, he wasn't there to catch me.

So I ran.

Four years later, I never expected to see him again.

He was still my brother's best friend, and he was more unavailable than ever.

He looked every bit the bad boy I knew he was, covered in tattoos and a crooked smile.

Guarding my heart from him was top priority because Parker James was where good girls go to die.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn't a good girl anymore.


I so enjoyed that!! It was really everything you expect from a romance novel. It had very well written spicy bits too. Didn’t take me long to read it as it was such an easy fun read.
  
40x40

Rose (201 KP) rated Gone Girl in Books

Aug 24, 2017  
Gone Girl
Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.7 (142 Ratings)
Book Rating
Twists and turns (0 more)
The ending was a gut punch (0 more)
There were many times while reading this book that I caught myself shouting at it. I love when a book makes me want to read it, and this book wanted me to read it. I enjoyed the twists and turns and the pure human-ness of some of the characters. That being said, some were too human (almost inhuman) and that made me shiver.
  
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here&#039;s The Sex Pistols by The Sex Pistols
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols by The Sex Pistols
1977 | Punk
8.9 (15 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Punk rock changed my life. In 1976 in grim old England – grey days, Thatcherism, strikes, power cuts, unemployment through the roof – it was pretty bad out there. There are similarities to now, I suppose. I was a little kid and I would get up to go to school and it would be freezing as we didn’t have any power. I wondered what was going on. You needed something in life to shake things up and this punk rock movement seemed to come out of nowhere. There was glam rock which was fading by 1975, Bowie had changed identity again and then – bang – in came the Sex Pistols. It wasn’t just them – there were all these bands, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Damned. But, I chose the Sex Pistols’ album as I do think they were leading the race. They had Malcolm [McLaren] and Vivienne [Westwood] who were behind the scenes helping paint the picture – two of the greatest creative people of that time period. They had the most extraordinary image. The Pistols were so stylish. Everyone says it is anti-style but actually it was complete high fashion; their first show was at Central Saint Martins for God’s sake. The whole thing, to me, was incredibly stylish which of course I loved having grown up with glam rock. There was something about punk – it really did upset your parents. All kids need something at some stage that is theirs and doesn’t belong to their parents. Every generation needs to rebel and punk rock really was that. It tore up the rule book. Before that were all these technical bands like Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis – some of which are amazing – but at the time was all too complicated. Emerson, Lake And Palmer had too many notes. Punk rock just had a few chords and it was raw and you could feel the nerves. That’s the first time I realised that maybe I could be in a band. I remember going with John Taylor to Birmingham Barbarella’s to see a punk band – maybe Generation X – and I was stood watching the guitarist play and I knew all of the chords. I went home and got my guitar out and played the chords. I could play the song. That was an epiphany – I realised I could do it. I could never have done anything like that to a Genesis track. I’ve chosen the Sex Pistols album as I think it is the most significant one but I would say I almost chose The Scream by Siouxsie And The Banshees because it is a brilliant record – so enigmatic and different – and I played it so much. Siouxsie was so unique. In fact punk bands were unique, even if they had the same energy. I loved the Buzzcocks’ Spiral Scratch EP and then the album, which Malcolm Garrett designed and went on to do all of our stuff for the first five years. We got him because of Buzzcocks."

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