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Murder in Midtown
Murder in Midtown
Liz Freeland | 2019 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Louise Faces a Hot Second Case
Louise Faulk is following her desire to become a New York City police officer by taking the entrance exam, something that is rare for women in 1913. Taking it makes her late for work, which is why she is the last to arrive and find the building completely burned down. What’s more shocking is when she learns that one of her bosses was inside. Guy rarely started before noon, if that early, so what was he doing there already? With time on her hands, Louise digs into what happened. Can she learn the truth?

I’m sad I waited so long to get to this book because it was a delight. There is plenty here to keep us guessing, with some great twists along the way. The suspects in this book were supporting players in the first, so it was fun to see them more developed. The series regulars are all back and it was great to spend more time with. In fact, one of them brings a real person into the book, which I enjoyed. The world of 1913 came to life as I was reading. I was kept guessing until I reached the end. I need to move on to book three sooner rather than later.
  
ARK Survival Evolved
ARK Survival Evolved
2017 | Action/Adventure
The survival aspect and the lore created. (0 more)
The devolpers greed for money. (0 more)
Amazing Concept
Like many of the survival/crafting games of the genre it partially helped popularize, ARK dumps you on the beaches of a massive, foreboding island with just enough clothing to stay modest and your own two fists. From there, the challenge is to stay fed and hydrated while avoiding a huge variety of terrifyingly detailed dinosaurs and other beasts long enough to progress up the tech tree. Early in the life of a character, you might be taking out dilophosaurs with throwing spears and hoping a triceratops doesn’t come and knock your thatch hut over in the middle of the night.

From there, there’s a really nice flow of technological progression that makes advancement feel like more than just an increase in stats. Thirty hours later, you may preside from a sturdy stone castle from atop which you snipe pterasaurs out of the air with a rifle. By the endgame, it’s possible to have a massive steel fortress full of blast furnaces, complete with electric lighting and gas generators, churning out components for building rocket launchers and SCUBA gear.
  
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Nest in Books

May 10, 2018  
TN
The Nest
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.3 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Plumb family are anxiously awaiting the youngest, Melody's, 40th birthday that's when they are allowed to get "The Nest", an inheritance their father has left for them later in life, when they will be able to use it more sensibly. When the oldest, Leo gets into some trouble, their mother decides to use some of The Nest to help get him out of the jam. The time has now come for them to retrieve The Nest, but will Leo give them the money they need in order to get the amount they were expecting.

I found it very hard to connect with the characters in this book. No one grabbed my attention or made me interested to read the book. The story, overall has some interesting aspects to it, the connection to 9/11 and each individual character had an interesting enough story. The family as a whole seemed like a bunch of whiney babies that should be better able to handle their issues at 40 and over. I'm not sure if I will read other books by this author, but I'm down to try.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Taken Girls in Books

Mar 24, 2019  
The Taken Girls
The Taken Girls
G.D. Sanders | 2018 | Crime, Mystery
6
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A good debut
The Taken Girls is a unique take on the usual abduction stories in that girls are being taken but returned seemingly unharmed a short while later. It is down to DI Edina Ogborne (Ed) to find out just what the heck is going on.

Ed is a complex character and I have to admit that I found her frustrating and quite difficult to like particularly because of some of the decisions she makes in her personal life but she did end up growing on me by the end however, I'm not going to lie ... it was hard going. Having said that, this makes her all the more believable and if this is a start of a series, I am really interested to see how she develops and grows.

Written at a pretty good pace, although a little slow at times, with a few twists along the way, this book is a decent debut and G D Sanders is yet another author to put on my radar.

My thanks go to the publisher, Avon Books UK, and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review of which this is.
  
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Lenard (726 KP) rated Shazam! (2019) in Movies

May 8, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2019)  
Shazam! (2019)
Shazam! (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
Did you ever dream of becoming a superhero? Thaddeus Sivana does. Bullied by his father and older brother because they think he is weak, Thaddeus dreams of becoming the most powerful being in the world. However, Wizard, the last remaining guardian of the secrets of the universe, doesn't think he is pure of heart and worthy of being a superhero. Thaddeus decides to become a supervillain and waits for a champion of the downtrodden, Captain Marvel (I refuse to call him Shazam since he IS Captain Marvel unlike Carol Danvers who got a promotion to Captain after being Ms Marvel for decades). A couple decades later, Billy Batson who was abandoned by his mother at a state fair spends his day researching and looking for the woman who abandoned him while running away from various foster homes. That is, until he is placed in a foster home full of damaged children. He learns the value of family while learning how to be a hero. I watched the TV series every Saturday growing up and while the movie is good, the show remains a pivotal time in my life.
  
Heart to Mouth by LP
Heart to Mouth by LP
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
LP is a singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Not too long ago, she released a dynamic emo-alternative tune, entitled, “Shaken”, produced by Fred Gibson.

“All night, sipping on a feeling. Won’t lie, was nervous for this evening. Then you arrive. Oh god, why you gotta look so, so hot? Remembering your body on mine, I wanna cry. I, I knew that you’d be here tonight but suddenly I’m paralyzed. Who’s she by your side?” – lyrics

‘Shaken’ tells a heartbreaking tale of a young woman who sees her ex-lover at a public place.

Apparently, she is hidden in the corner, shaking, and jealously looking at her ex and the ex’s new girlfriend having a great time.

Later, when her ex gets up to leave, the woman admits that it feels like she’s watching someone else living her life.

‘Shaken’ contains a gripping storyline, ear-welcoming vocals, and dynamic instrumentation flavored with musical highs and lows.

The likable tune is featured on LP’s “Heart to Mouth” album, which can be streamed online via Spotify.

LP’s “Heart to Mouth” album recently hit #1 in Italy and will continue to break charts around the world.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/lp-shaken/