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Let Sleeping Vets Lie
Let Sleeping Vets Lie
James Herriot | 2006 | Biography
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Comfortable, funny (0 more)
This book is a lovely, easy, comfortable read. It isn't taxing and it won't set the world alight but it is a light hearted depiction of a bygone age with funny stories of James Herriot's early life as a vet.

There were a couple of sections that haven't aged as well like the story where he drives down to late night job after copious tastings of home brewed wine but other than that there is very little to offend and a lot to enjoy.
  
Savannah James: Pendale High Class of ‘87
Savannah James: Pendale High Class of ‘87
Candi Fox | 2021 | Romance
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
117 of 250
Kindle
Savannah James: Pendale High Class of ‘87
By Candi Fox

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

Welcome to 1987, where the high school antics include hot rock stars running beside the smoking jocks.

Savannah James wants love and finds it with Stone Blackwell when he rescues her from an embarrassing speckle with punk metal bassist Aaron Angel.

But all is not fair in love and war, and Stone makes a terrible mistake. Can their connection be saved or will the star QB Thad Harrison make his pass and win the girl?

Pendale High, Class of ’87 is not a YA novel.


I wanted to like it and please don’t be put off this is just
My opinion!
I thought I t started really well but was seriously rushed in places. I know she’s a mature 17 year old but my god she still came across a child or just all felt a little wrong to me. The ending was very predictable and a little cringy. This was a girl damaged from abuse throwing herself at and man showing her attention. I found it quite toxic!
  
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
2018 | Drama, History, Romance
6
7.0 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A little dull and lacking
I didn’t particularly think much of the book for this, it was a little too sickly sweet. The film however appears to ignore most of the sickly sweet fluffiness and at least embraces the serious side of the story about the war. However that doesn’t mean it’s any better. Instead it comes across as rather dull and the plot itself is entirely predictable. It has a great cast, with Lily James, Michiel Huisman and Matthew Goode notably standing out, so at least they make it watchable. It’s just a shame that the story has had most of the detail and heart taken out of it - it seems like a very long film yet isn’t particularly detailed. Another one to add to the ‘read the book instead’ pile.
  
TM
The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories
P.D. James | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's getting a bit late to post these festive reviews so I'll keep it short. It's only a short book, anyway.

This book contains four short stories, all crime/detective tales, starting with The Mistltoe Murder. My personal favourite was the final story, The Twelve Clues of Christmas. Every story was great, though, and A Very Commonplace Murder was particularly surprising.

James manages to include a fantastic little hint/twist at the end of the stories, changing your whole perception on what you've just read. This made the crimes so much more interesting and real. They were relatively simple crimes - stabbings, poisoning - but there's always a lot more going on under the surface than you'd expect.

A fantastic little collection, with a foreword by Val McDermid too. 4 stars.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Fifty Shades Darker (2017) in Movies

Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Feb 15, 2018)  
Fifty Shades Darker (2017)
Fifty Shades Darker (2017)
2017 | Drama, Romance
A Crime Against Passion
Another attempt by E.L. James to solve the global overpopulation crisis by putting people off the idea of having sex. More deeply uninvolving shenanigans between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey: will he win her back? Will she be able to make him commit to a proper relationship? And why the hell should anyone else care?

Very little discernible plot; mostly resembles a blandly aspirational soap opera, or possibly commercial for kitchen design. Scenes of rumpo are occasionally unintentionally funny, never actually erotic. Fifty Shades Darker? Fifty Shades Duller, more like.
  
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
2015 | Mystery
Taron Egerton Excels in the Lead Role (3 more)
Samuel Jackson Makes a Memorable Villain
Stylized Action & Humor Abounds
Intriguing, Well-Written Story
A Bit Off-Color at Times (0 more)
R-Rated Homage to Classic James Bond
If you've ever thought that only problem with James Bond is a lack of black humor and bloody violence, then Kingsman: The Secret Service. Essentially, it does for the spy genre what Kick-Ass did for the superhero genre (oddly enough, Mark Strong stars in both movies). It's a wild and very fun ride; each scene feels fun and exciting. One in particular is most memorable to me, where graphic violence is used to an extreme inside a Westboro Baptist-type Church. I do feel a bit bad for anyone drawn in by the promise of Colin Firth alone though (particularly older folks), they may be more than a little shocked by what they witness.
  
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Midge (525 KP) rated The Paris Apartment (Love Nests, #1) in Books

Dec 10, 2018 (Updated Dec 21, 2018)  
The Paris Apartment (Love Nests, #1)
The Paris Apartment (Love Nests, #1)
Sophia Karlson | 2018 | Erotica, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Take a twenty-four-year-old beautiful virgin and a hot, hugely successful, hunky chap in a minimally furnished apartment in the centre of Paris, the most romantic city in the world and you've got an incredibly sexy and romantic read!

James Sinclair, a successful trader keeps his busy life uncomplicated. Work is about all he has time for. Imagine his surprise when he returns to his Paris apartment to find his little sister’s best friend, Mila Johnson, in his bed. One night of fooling around opens a Pandora’s box which Mila just wants to pry open wider, whereas James just wants to keep the lid on tight. Mila is sweet and innocent and no way is he going to expose her to the real James Sinclair. As his relationship status changes to complicated, James struggles to keep control over his past and his heart. Mila’s teenage fantasy is still larger than life, but James swings between hot and cold. Now that she has him between the sheets, Mila will do anything to keep him there.

Mila Johnson and James Sinclair haven't seen each other for more than twelve years, and when they accidentally meet up again, there is an intense attraction between the two of them. Mila has escaped her narrow-minded parents and limiting family life for two weeks of freedom in Paris, ready to explore the exciting and vibrant City. Then James turns up, her best friend's older brother crush, sexy, broody, full of dark secrets and a man of the world...

Right from the start, this is a phenomenally sexy and incredibly exciting read, with beautifully descriptive love scenes. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters.

"His heart was jolting, his pulse irregular as his eyes glimmered at her, taking in her beautiful face, the even complexion of her untainted skin, her eyes big and wide, accentuated by the dark-rimmed glasses that she wore. Those eyes were something else, and the way she looked at him he wanted to tug off her glasses, lean over the table and kiss her lips. Mark her."

But all is not rosy as there are dark moments and plenty of sordid secrets, too. I enjoyed every moment of The Paris Apartment.

This romance by Sophia Karlson makes for an easy, escapist and thrilling read.

Many thanks to Backlit PR and Netgalley for this ARC.
  
Night Hunter (2018)
Night Hunter (2018)
2018 | Action, Thriller
Good cast (0 more)
Feels slightly low budget (0 more)
Decent Thriller
Heard good things about this Thriller currently on Netflix. It has a very good cast line up in the main roles. To start off with it feels like a James Patterson Alex Cross or Jo Nesbo story, quite similar to @Kiss The Girls (1997) in some ways. The plot is ok but towards the final third of the film it just feels like it's trying to be too much like those style of Thrillers but falls a little short. It had great potential but turns out just ok. One for Thriller fans.
  
Made In Italy (2020)
Made In Italy (2020)
2020 | Comedy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Setting (1 more)
Liam Neeson
Obvious plot (2 more)
Over produced
Bad script
Obvious from the outset
So I understand this is James D'Arcys debut film. The setting was stunning and I liked the general plot, despite it being very obvious.

The reveal of one of the main plot points was done dismissively and quickly. The actors and actresses did well in their roles but the script was poor.

Time was spent on stupid cinematography rather than developing character e.g. there's an eating scene where the camera switches between the characters for far too long, this adds very little to the plot.
  
The Murder of King Tut
The Murder of King Tut
James Patterson | 2009 | History & Politics
10
4.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE MURDER OF KING TUT—THE PLOT TO KILL THE CHILD KING (Audio Book) by James Patterson and Martin Dugard, read by Joe Barrett
Genre: non-fiction thriller
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary: James Patterson tells a story in three parts—one part, the mysterious death of King Tut, the second part the discovery of his tomb by Carter, and the third part his writing, own exploration, research, and discovery of the elusive history of the boy king.

Thoughts: This is one of the best James Patterson books I’ve ever read (listened too). JP has taken an age old mystery and solved it. Yes, it appears as though the mystery of Tut is mystery no more. This book is very alive, even though the plot revolves around a murder. I felt like I was standing right there, watching it all take place. At times, I felt like the characters themselves. This was an amazing escape from reality.

Characters (5/5): Characters should be relatable for a book to be enjoyable, and the characters in Tut’s world were wonderful. They were highly developed right away, and were the kind that either you routed for or hated with a passion.

Writing (4/5/5): James is an awesome writer. I always love reading his work because it’s so lyric. His words flow smoothly and he doesn’t overuse too many phrases (though several “waves” of various things did “wash over” many people).

Content (4/5): There was barely any language in this book, which was a nice change of JP’s work. It wasn’t necessary, either. It just goes to show that the point can be made—and made well—without filthy language. There was a little bit of sex but it wasn’t too graphic, nor was it frequent.

Reader (4/5): I really liked the voice of the reader for this book. I’ve heard some pretty awful ones before, I’ll say that much right now! But Joe’s voice was perfect for this book. The only thing I didn’t like were the voices he put with the characters—the accents were pretty lousy, and when he put on a “fake” voice for the child characters, it just sounded a little silly. I was glad when Tut got old enough that he didn’t have to do that anymore!

Recommendation: Ages 16+ to lovers of fiction, history, nonfiction, thrillers, mystery, or to any James-Patterson-addict.