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Huh...well I enjoyed the first book in the series more, it had a more compelling storyline for me (4.5 star worthy!). This, I kinda had to read to see if Katya got her HEA after the events of the last book but it all got a little twisted for me.

There was so much sex in this compared to the last and for me, and I think for the story too, it was unnecessary. Everyone was with everyone (or it seemed like it anyway).

I was only really interested in the relationship between Ezra and Katya (and Cortez, I guess, though not as desperately as the first two) and a lot more than that happened. Weddings, fights, sex...

If this is the sort of thing that's going to continue throughout the rest of the series, then I'm not sure I'm interested.
  
Bedwrecker (Men Of Laguna, #2)
Bedwrecker (Men Of Laguna, #2)
Kim Karr | 2016
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I liked this. I think I expected the bedwrecker thing to actually happen not just be a reference to a song but the sex scenes were certainly abundant and rather scorching.

It was rather romantic, too.

I thought it was pretty obvious they were going to get together in the end, they just went a really long and complicated journey on what could have happened in five minutes if they both weren't so stubborn and just admitted their feelings for each other.

As for the end bit, that was fun, and super cute! Keen--bit of an unusual name there, and he was taking the mick out of people with normal names!--had me grinning like a loon. SUPER CUTE!

If the next book is Brooklyn's I may just have to read it so see who catches his eye.
  
The Empire's Ghost
The Empire's Ghost
Isabelle Steiger | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good worldbuilding (1 more)
Well-rounded characters
Too many points of view (0 more)
An alright debut novel
So I’ve had pretty good luck with debut novels, overall. This one was good – not what I’d called spectacular, like those three, but good. If the sequel was out now, I’d read it. Knowing my reading habits, I probably won’t, because by the time the sequel does come out, I’ll have forgotten too much of this first book. (I strongly dislike only reading the first book in a series and then having to wait.)

What I really liked was how the author painted every character. Even the would-be Emperor, who is probably the closest to evil any character is in this book, was interesting and had clear motivations that made sense. I wouldn’t even call him evil, just ambitious. His assassin shows a different side in part of the book that also removes him from the “evil” category. I’m impressed that Steiger manager to set up several factions at odds with each other without making any of them evil. Wrong, perhaps, misguided perhaps, but not evil. Which is unusual in high fantasy.

What I disliked was there was a point in the middle where I had to set aside the book for real life – and I almost never picked it up again. Three days later, I finally did, but to me, that means I wasn’t invested in the characters or the story. I could have moved on to a different book, and I almost did. I liked most of the characters – but without liking any of them enough to truly care what happened. I also wish the pacing was a little faster, but that’s a victim of too many viewpoints, I think.

So I could go either way on this book. It was well-written but a little slow and didn’t just GRAB me the way some books do.

See all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
The Grownup
The Grownup
Gillian Flynn | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.4 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I would rather be a librarian, but I worry about the job security. Books may be temporary; dicks are forever.</b></i>

This is no Gone Girl, nothing even remotely as good as Gone Girl, but, because it's so short, it was better at keeping my attention, so I wasn't so fussed about the kinda crappy ending.

This was a funny novel. Flynn is really good at inputting humour into moments of a book that could be taken more seriously, and that's what I loved so much about this book, the humour. The story was good... well the beginning and middle were, and then the end lacked any oomf, but it was our funny narrator who made this book something worth reading.

The plot for this was cliche as cliche can be, but I think that was intentional, because our narrator made fun of how cliche everything sounded. It was there to add some comedy value. The ending, as I said, was disappointing, only because it goes exactly as you would expect it to. I was hoping Flynn was going to pull another "oh-my-god" twist out after the initial twist, but alas.

Worth a read if you can get it cheap, but don't expect anything too amazing... that sounds weird to say after rating it 4 stars, but I did actually like this and it did hold my attention... it's just... I don't know, I can't explain it.
  
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ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Split in Books

Nov 4, 2021  
The Split
The Split
Laura Kay | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, LGBTQ+, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
There aren’t many books that make me laugh out loud, but The Split did just that - and more than once. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a book with much to laugh about. I mean, Ally is dumped by her girlfriend who is already seeing someone else, she’s having a career crisis after managing to escape teaching, and she moves back in with her dad in Sheffield - which is a long way from London. At the last minute, Ally impulsively takes the cat - Emily’s cat. I think this surprises Ally too, as the cat doesn’t seem to like anyone, least of all Ally.

So not the cheeriest subject, but the way it was written - and the narration by Imogen Church - was what made me empathise with Ally. And the situations Ally found herself in were so relatable. I felt really mean laughing at her and Jeremy going out for their first few runs, but they were hilarious (and I’ve been there too!).

I even found myself talking to Ally (should I own up to this, and the fact that I was wearing headphones at the time?!), and was helpfully reminded by the 17 year old, that telling a fictitious character not to email her ex-girlfriend was pretty pointless. I stand by what I said though!

I loved this book, and it brightened my day for a week of dog walks and (the dreaded) dinner preparation!
Recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus for my original e-copy (even though I listened to it on Audible!).
  
Alex, Approximately
Alex, Approximately
8
7.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a super-cute Young Adult Romance. I actually read it for free off RivetedLit - it's free to read there through the end of July. I really enjoyed the change in formatting for the online conversations between Mink and Alex, and the explanation for why Bailey hadn't shared any identifying information online at all. That was pretty well done.

The book is a Young Adult take on the enemies-to-lovers trope, but it mostly avoided the "he picks on you because he likes you" line. The initial conflict between our two characters is really just due to misunderstandings, and the boy quickly apologizes. (With cookies!) I really enjoyed both of these characters, and I was definitely cheering for them as they revealed more of their histories and insecurities to each other.

I REALLY enjoyed their date to Monterey, California - they visited the Natural History Museum and the aquarium, both of which I have been to personally! I lived in Monterey many years ago, so it was neat to see them in a place I have personal memories of.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent young adult romance. There was some mention of sex, but nothing too graphic. I loved the setting; it brought me back to the Pacific Ocean, even if it was California beaches instead of the cold, rocky Pacific Northwest.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
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Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated the PlayStation 2 version of Need for Speed: Underground 2 in Video Games

Aug 17, 2019  
Need for Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Underground 2
2004 | Action, Racing
Just about everything (0 more)
Some race's feel too similar (0 more)
Get Low
From a young age I was more into action adventures than anything, I remember great memories of NFSU2 also many arguments haha, taking in all comers and rarely losing (big head 😁) there was nothing like the feeling that ran through me during the opening, that is until the the game started, stunning graphics, an epic playlist, thrilling race's and a really enjoyable story thrown in.

NFSU2 is without a shadow of a doubt one of my all time favourite games.
  
Wildling (2018)
Wildling (2018)
2018 | Fantasy, Horror
Contains spoilers, click to show
Wasn't sure what I was expecting from this one but got more than I thought. At first glance I thought it was going to be more of a "psychological' horror flick. Turned out to be more of a "creature feature". There was some killing in it, but nothing too gory. Things literally got hairy in this movie. The actors all did a decent job and the cinematography was good. I'd have liked more of a "back story" on the main character but they filled in some of the gaps about her. Overall this was an entertaining movie. Not really scary at all, but held the interest well enough to watch it all the way through. Interesting take on the werewolf genra. Worth a watch if you're bored some night.
  
You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine
You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine
Alexandra Kleeman | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Slightly overhyped with massive plot gaps
I had read a great number of reviews about this eccentric book, but perhaps it was a little too quirky for my liking. There are major similarities with Chuck Palahniuk in terms of the exaggerated style of writing and general shock factor, unfortunately it did not seem to deliver. The characters were undeveloped and there seem to be a lot of loose ends at the end of the book such as what actually happened to B and C? While I can understand the moralistic nature of the story, attacking the usage of food as a means to control people, there seemed to be something missing.
  
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Toni Lynn Donald (2027 KP) rated Freaks (2018) in Movies

Apr 19, 2020 (Updated Apr 19, 2020)  
Freaks (2018)
Freaks (2018)
2018 | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Different and weird (0 more)
Takes most of the movie to figure out what's going on. (0 more)
It is about a little girl who is not allowed to go outside, it's dangerous out there. You're wondering through half the movie, why can't she go outside cause everything seems normal out there. Without giving away anything, she does end up getting outside without her father seeing her and you learn what's actually going on. It is better than how I described it, but I didn't want to give it away. There are a couple of bloody parts in it too. It really was a good movie when you finally figured out what's going on.