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Paper Girls: Volume 1
Paper Girls: Volume 1
8
8.4 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Okay, as I wrote in my Comments for Reading Progress, this was a re-read, as I recently purchased Vol 4 as part of the SDCC Sale this past weekend on Comixology. I may have run through it first time out, because so much of what I read seemed as if this were my beginning go-round instead of a re-read. Hmm.. Time Slip anyone?

So, yes, just as with other BKV-helmed series, the characters are well-defined, given depth that is a progressional unfolding. Each issue allowed for me to see each of the main characters - Erin, KJ. Tiffany and Mac - for who they were and some of their moral fibers, if you will.

As good as Vaughn was at the writing, equally impressive was Cliff Chiang's art. The muted colors (except where needed, as deep red for a wound) really helped the story, making me feel like it was really the eighties instead of 2018! From the cars driven to the newspaper headlines to the housing developments layouts, it felt just like the time frame as the setting!

The easiest way to sum up this series is it is like Netflix's STRANGER THINGS but with all-girl main characters. I recall the later volumes being more science fiction-y as the series progress, but, yeah, definitely like STRANGER THINGS.

All I can say in closing is this is an awesome series! It is a lot of fun, and it is clear during reading it that BKV and Chiang had as good a time making it as I did reading! DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT!
  
ID
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hold on just one moment, please. *Reflects* Ahem. Okay. Now, I can review this book. This book. What can say about this poignant, stunning novel of epic proportions? I can tell you that this book will pull you in and twist you up inside, as you get to know Hephzibah, or Ishma as she's first known. The pages within this book come to life, the characters moving before you like you are really there, learning of Isaiah, Hephzibah,Yaira,Hezekiah and all the happenings of Jerusalem.

Seeing all that young Ishma went through, really tugged at my heart. Watching her grow with Hezekiah was an experience I won't soon forget. I felt all of Zibah's feelings, all her pain and love for the Father. I cried when Isaiah and his wife adopted Zibah, I cried when Hezekiah and Zibah fell in love, I cried when I reached the end of this amazing novel.

This book is a book of true love. Of sacrificial love. Of a love that will never end, both within family, even if it's not blood family, and the never ending love of our amazing Father above. This story is utterly heartbreaking, yet it's heart-reviving. It is rich in detail, it is throroughly researched, and it's stitched perfectly together like that of a beautiful handmade quilt.

Ms. Andrews has gone beyond 5 stars with this book. This book is so much more than just that. If you want a book that will carry you away to a land, and a time, that we've only read about in the Bible and imagined with our minds and hearts, then this is a book for you. If you want a book that steals your mind, and soul long after you've shut the book, then this is for you. If you want a book that will leave you contemplating all you've learned in Bible study, then please, look no further than the first book in a Biblical series that is sure to be a best seller.
 
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
  
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
1967 | Pop, Psychedelic, Rock

"I associate this album with a specific moment in my life. We never had a TV until I was about 16, so we would only hear about stuff like The Simpsons and Neighbours from friends. They seemed exotic and distant. But this one time I did see an episode of Neighbours in which one of the main characters got hit by a car, and it really fucked me up! I'd never seen anything like it before. And so, as I was driving home, my mum had Sgt. Pepper's on in the car and I was listening to 'A Day In The Life', and I was looking at a certain spot in the road, and I heard the line, which goes ""he blew his mind out in a car"", and it all suddenly came together. I imagined a car crash and I imagined this spot on the road and I imagined what I'd just seen with this song. And I think that is the first time that I genuinely understood the concept of death. I was probably only about five. That's the thing about The Beatles, you can get it into you from zero up. I never forgot that feeling of being petrified and understanding death for the first time. And the music did that to me. It wasn't Neighbours or the road, it was the fact that somehow that song had transported me and helped me to understand a real emotion. He [Lennon] had been dead about five years at that point. Children love The Beatles, and they love Queen, because there is something about those bands that is so colourful and fun and they create such a world. And the Sgt. Pepper's world is so easy to visualise, you can literally hear the crowd and the characters and the colours, the carnival air. It's all just magical. I've always enjoyed the fact that my band doesn't sound the same from song to song, and I think we get that from The Beatles. The Beatles were every type of band for ten years, and then they were nothing, which is probably why they are the most famous band in the world."

Source
  
The Twyford Code
The Twyford Code
Janice Hallett | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Twyford Code is written in the form of a transcribed voice recording from a mobile phone. It was a bit of a ‘Marmite’ book on The Pigeonhole (where I read it), and I came firmly down in the ‘love’ camp. It was such an original idea.

Steve a former criminal, has recorded messages to the adult son he has only met a couple of times. His son has decided that he doesn’t want to see him, but Steve has something important that he wants to share with him. He repeatedly says that he hopes his son will get to listen to what he has to say. But as the book goes on, it looks increasingly less likely. Danger is around him at every turn.

Steve has joined the hunt for hidden treasure, and he believes the clues are hidden in a series of children’s books by Edith Twyford.

Ok, so apparently the clues can be found in this book, but I’m afraid my brain just doesn’t seem to work like that. So, I’m here to say that I read this, enjoyed it immensely, and was just happy to sit back, read the book, and let the story unfold. If you like puzzle solving, you might enjoy that aspect to it. But it’s not imperative!

I thought it was fascinating. The writing style took a couple of pages to get used to, and often the words were written phonetically. Steve’s Remedial English teachers name was written as ‘missiles’ instead of Miss Isles, for example. There are lots of spellings that follow this pattern, because the recordings have apparently gone through a computer programme that changes the spoken word into text. I did wonder if Steve’s own writing would have been much different, as we learn that he only really learnt to read and write whilst in prison.

I don’t want to say too much and spoil the book, but I will say that this had me hooked. I enjoyed each and every stave on The Pigeonhole. This book deserves the hype!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Janice Hallett and her publisher.
  
U(
Ultraviolet (Ultraviolet, #1)
10
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
(This review can be found on my blog (<a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).


Wow, wow, wow! This is one of the best books that I've read this year! I absolutely loved this book!

Alison is in a mental institution after she went crazy the night she claimed to have killed Tori Beaugrand, the most popular girl in school, by making her disintegrate. However, Tori's body hasn't been found. Alison also has the weird ability to see numbers as colors and to taste words amongst other things. Ali just wants to know what's wrong with her and why people won't help her find out what happened to Tori.

To be honest, I didn't really know what to think when I saw the title. It doesn't really capture my attention. While the title does have something to do with the book, I think there could've been better titles. But please, don't let the title fool you. Ultraviolet is amazing!

I felt the same with the cover as I did with the title. I feel like the cover is a bit bland which is a shame because there is an excellent story underneath. I just feel like the cover could've been a bit more interesting so that people would actually pick up the book.

I loved the fact that this book was mainly set in a mental asylum. Anything to do with those kind of institutions makes me want to read a book instantly! The world building is definitely believable. I felt as if I was right beside Ali in everything she did. I loved getting a glimpse at the inside of this institution. Even when the plot takes a twist, I still found everything to be quite believable.

The pacing was fantastic! I was always reading a few words ahead just because I wanted to see what was coming next. Ultraviolet is a real page turner, and I couldn't read this book fast enough. Most of the time, I felt like shutting myself in a room where no one could disturb me. I am even saddened that it ended because I was enjoying it so much.

The plot was fantastic! While the whole girl locked up in mental institution even though she thinks she's fine thing has been done before, Anderson puts her own spin on it to make it her own. I even enjoyed the plot twist even though it was kind of predictable. I also enjoyed the fact that there was minimal romance in this book. I'm not big on romances, so this was perfect for me.

The characters were fantastic! I loved Alison! I felt that she was such a strong character especially with what she had to endure. I sympathized with her a lot of the time, and I even felt what she was feeling most of the time. I just wish she would've chose to tell her therapist about her condition rather then hiding it although I can totally understand why she was scared to tell him. I found Kirk to be annoying, but I think that's how the author wanted us to feel about it. Faraday was an interesting character. I loved how he was willing to listen, and I mean really listen, to what Ali had to say. I loved his helpful nature as well. Tori was super interesting as well, but I'll just leave it at that because of spoilers.

The dialogue was fantastic! I enjoyed reading about what Alison was going through and what she was thinking. It was super interesting. It did annoy me that we were told over and over what a certain noise looked like or what color a number was, etc. I really wish there was just a bit less then that. Overall though, I found the dialogue to flow quite well and feel natural. There was also no swearing in this book.

While this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. The second book in the series is about another character that was mentioned in the book and is more of a companion novel.

Overall, Ultraviolet was a fantastic book that has an incredible plot as well as interesting characters. This book taught me a bit more about Synthesia which I was thrilled about learning. This is one of those books that I know I'll be thinking about for a long time.

I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 13+ because it is just that amazing!
  
Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1)
Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1)
S.M. Reine | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1) by S.M. Reine
Yet another book about werewolves (but no vampires to be seen of yet!) but this one is very good. It holds your interest from the beginning and takes you on a journey with the main character as she progresses through each New and Full Moon to become closer to being a fully-fledged werewolf. The "history" into the werewolf that is given is very well written and done in such a way that you don't feel like it is just something that needed to be done! There is a slight spark of romance in this but nothing that goes beyond the boundaries of Young Adult!

The pace of this book is continuous, not jerky, and the characters are well-written. Very few grammatical or editorial errors so it was a pleasure to read and I already have the second one to start.

Recommended.

* Verified Purchase ~ January 2013 *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
A Monster Calls
A Monster Calls
Patrick Ness | 2016 | Children
10
8.6 (40 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beautiful story (2 more)
Relateable characters
Absolutely gorgeous illistrations
Personally, it hurt to read (0 more)
No matter your age this book will affect you in some way.
A Monster Calls is one of those books that really stuck with me after reading it and I can really see it sticking with me for years to come because at its bare bones it is a book about grief and just how unfair life can seem to be.

I will admit that this book did make me cry like a freaking baby even though I was reading it on the train on the way home from work, and the thing was that it wasn't really the ending( I pretty much figured where the story was going from the beginning) but it was that it brought up so many not only memories but the feelings I went through under a similar event.

Even though this book is listed as a children's book it really is a book for a person of any age.
  
Isn&#039;t It Romantic (2019)
Isn't It Romantic (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Romance
Great idea but could've been better
This film really is a great idea - who doesn't want to see a rom-com that makes fun of rom-coms? The problem is that despite some decent attempts at highlighting some of the major flaws in rom-coms, it is in fact a rom-com itself, and a fairly average one at that.

Whilst there are some vaguely funny moments, most of the humour in this falls flat. This probably isn't helped by the fact that I really dislike Rebel Wilson and although she isn't massively irritating in this, I still don't particularly like her. The best person in this is probably Liam Hemsworth and purely for his fun over the top Aussie performance. In all the film is just a little bit predictable and way too cheesy, not in the slightest what I was expecting from something that's meant to be making fun of rom-coms.
  
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Jean (18 KP) rated One More Light by Linkin Park in Music

Jan 21, 2018  
One More Light by Linkin Park
One More Light by Linkin Park
2017 | Alternative
The last from Linkin Park as we knew them
My other half got me this on CD for Christmas and I'm so glad he did.

For me, it was a very bittersweet listen. There were many times on that first listen that I had a lump in my throat, especially with track titles such as "Talking To Myself", "Invisible" and "Nobody Can Save Me" and it makes it a doubly difficult listen when we remember that the band won't be able to make any new music ever again with Chester (Bennington, frontman of Linkin Park who very sadly died, possibly by his own hand on July 20th 2017). As soon as I'd listened to One More Light Live I recommended it to a friend of mine that is also a Linkin Park fan.

If you're a fan of live recordings, or even just a fan of Linkin Park the band, I think you'll like this. I love it, personally.
  
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Luke (278 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Assassin's Creed: Origins in Video Games

Jan 22, 2018  
Assassin&#039;s Creed: Origins
Assassin's Creed: Origins
2017 | Action/Adventure
Base Concept (0 more)
They Broke Stealth (4 more)
They Broke Fighting
They Broke Story Telling
They Broke Logic
They Broke My Heart
Swing & A Miss For The Origin Of The Creed
I was so excited for this game, this franchise is my favourite.
There are only around 4 franchises that i have never missed a midnight launch or a ultimate addition,
But this game breaks logic unlike the others that created a beautiful landscape to tell stories, but this game doesn’t fit.
I’m all about stealth and planning my way through missions, but this game doesnt really let you do that, instead it cares too much about fighting,
I did like the bird, was a different unlogical but different idea that i did enjoy,
For me this is the worst of the franchise and i had to use so much will just to finish the main story so i could say i gave it my best try