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Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated A Pleasure and a Calling in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/a-pleasure-and-a-calling-by-phil-hogan
<b><I>You won’t remember Mr Heming. He showed you round your comfortable home, suggested a sustainable financial package, negotiated a price with the owner and called you with the good news. The less good news is that, all these years later, he still has the key.
That’s absurd, you laugh. Of all the many hundreds of houses he has sold, why would he still have the key to mine?
The answer to that is, he has the keys to them all.</b></i>
This is a truly chilling novel. With such a unique plot line, excellent narration and beautiful descriptions, I’m amazed this hasn’t found itself being more popular. After scanning this books lower reviews, I can understand some people's frustrations with this because they were expecting a thriller, and while this technically does class as a thriller, it’s not what most people associate with thrillers. When you think of a thriller, you think Jason Bourne, fast-paced, exciting, and, of course, thrilling, so when you open this to find it’s slow-paced narration of Heming’s day-to-day life you’re going to be a bit miffed. So don’t go into this thinking your socks are going to be blown off in super fast-paced action.
Heming is a seriously unreliable narrator. Thanks to his wonderful storytelling, we’re drawn into his life, eager to know what happens next with almost no regard to the horrible things he’s actually doing! The narration is amazing at masking the creepiness of the situations Heming puts himself into, making you want to like his character, when really we know we shouldn’t.
Each character in this novel was presented in an excellent way, giving you enough to know about them without things becoming confusing and too heavy. As for the plot, well, what can I say? It was magnificent! It was so well thought out and solidly presented. I had wanted to read this novel for such a long time, I’m remarkably pleased it didn’t let me down, not even in the slightest!
I don’t have a lot more to say about this other than I loved it completely, I don’t think it let itself down at all and I was prepared for it to be a slow moving, almost dream like novel (which is a writing style I personally adore). In many ways, this is a very Lolita-esque novel, the unreliable narrator, the slow moving pace, in-depth and beautiful descriptions, deep infatuation etc etc, so if Lolita was a novel you enjoyed, for all of those reasons, then definitely give this a try.
<b><I>You won’t remember Mr Heming. He showed you round your comfortable home, suggested a sustainable financial package, negotiated a price with the owner and called you with the good news. The less good news is that, all these years later, he still has the key.
That’s absurd, you laugh. Of all the many hundreds of houses he has sold, why would he still have the key to mine?
The answer to that is, he has the keys to them all.</b></i>
This is a truly chilling novel. With such a unique plot line, excellent narration and beautiful descriptions, I’m amazed this hasn’t found itself being more popular. After scanning this books lower reviews, I can understand some people's frustrations with this because they were expecting a thriller, and while this technically does class as a thriller, it’s not what most people associate with thrillers. When you think of a thriller, you think Jason Bourne, fast-paced, exciting, and, of course, thrilling, so when you open this to find it’s slow-paced narration of Heming’s day-to-day life you’re going to be a bit miffed. So don’t go into this thinking your socks are going to be blown off in super fast-paced action.
Heming is a seriously unreliable narrator. Thanks to his wonderful storytelling, we’re drawn into his life, eager to know what happens next with almost no regard to the horrible things he’s actually doing! The narration is amazing at masking the creepiness of the situations Heming puts himself into, making you want to like his character, when really we know we shouldn’t.
Each character in this novel was presented in an excellent way, giving you enough to know about them without things becoming confusing and too heavy. As for the plot, well, what can I say? It was magnificent! It was so well thought out and solidly presented. I had wanted to read this novel for such a long time, I’m remarkably pleased it didn’t let me down, not even in the slightest!
I don’t have a lot more to say about this other than I loved it completely, I don’t think it let itself down at all and I was prepared for it to be a slow moving, almost dream like novel (which is a writing style I personally adore). In many ways, this is a very Lolita-esque novel, the unreliable narrator, the slow moving pace, in-depth and beautiful descriptions, deep infatuation etc etc, so if Lolita was a novel you enjoyed, for all of those reasons, then definitely give this a try.
Christina Haynes (148 KP) rated Avoiding Alpha in Books
Jun 14, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
So Tessa is now a Werewolf, Human and Bruja (Witch in Spanish) She has accepted the fact she is one and can't do anything about it. She has also accepted that Dastien is her mate. But what she hasn't accepted is that she is going to have to change into a wolf... And that scares her.
With the Vampires gone, and her and Dastien enjoying life as mates. Things couldn't be better (other than the changing into a Werewolf part) However there is a Tribunal approaching because of the whole Dastien biting her thing... (Because wolves aren't allowed to bite human and Dastien broke that rule. They have to have tribubal. Although he bit her due to her being his mate, it still has to happen) She is terrified of what might happen to them both.
Then Meredith her best friend and room neighbor. Was cursed a few years ago so her wolf can't come out and she is never about to change into one again. This curse is now breaking. With Meredith finding her mate in Donovan, who is one of the seven (one of the high Werewolves, who are in charge of all Were.) She freaks and her wolf tries to break out and this gets her really ill. So ill she could die.
Tessa tries to find away to help her by breaking the curse and freeing her wolf. She tries magic and asks for her cousins help. But unfortunately there is no way to break another Witches curse. So Tessa suggests trying to keep the curse to save her life and then working on away to stop this curse later. Once Meredith is better.
We then find out who cursed her and why, Tessa then tries to talk to this Witch and get her to break that curse. But this Witch the leader of the Coven hates all Werewolves and will only break this curse (put the curse back on her and stop the wolf coming back) if she can do the same to Tessa and she joins the Coven she is destined to lead. But Tessa won't join.
Tessa tries to break the curse again and tries to keep Meridith's wolf at bay. But is unsuccessful in doing so. She goes back to the Coven ready to make a deal, but in going there she learns how to break the curse completely. But in order to break this curse she needs to accept she is going to have to change to become a wolf. Which she finally does.
With the Tribunal approaching Tessa has so many emotions. She needs to relax and save Meredith and become one with who she is.
3☕ – NOT A BAD BOOK
Love, Christina ?
With the Vampires gone, and her and Dastien enjoying life as mates. Things couldn't be better (other than the changing into a Werewolf part) However there is a Tribunal approaching because of the whole Dastien biting her thing... (Because wolves aren't allowed to bite human and Dastien broke that rule. They have to have tribubal. Although he bit her due to her being his mate, it still has to happen) She is terrified of what might happen to them both.
Then Meredith her best friend and room neighbor. Was cursed a few years ago so her wolf can't come out and she is never about to change into one again. This curse is now breaking. With Meredith finding her mate in Donovan, who is one of the seven (one of the high Werewolves, who are in charge of all Were.) She freaks and her wolf tries to break out and this gets her really ill. So ill she could die.
Tessa tries to find away to help her by breaking the curse and freeing her wolf. She tries magic and asks for her cousins help. But unfortunately there is no way to break another Witches curse. So Tessa suggests trying to keep the curse to save her life and then working on away to stop this curse later. Once Meredith is better.
We then find out who cursed her and why, Tessa then tries to talk to this Witch and get her to break that curse. But this Witch the leader of the Coven hates all Werewolves and will only break this curse (put the curse back on her and stop the wolf coming back) if she can do the same to Tessa and she joins the Coven she is destined to lead. But Tessa won't join.
Tessa tries to break the curse again and tries to keep Meridith's wolf at bay. But is unsuccessful in doing so. She goes back to the Coven ready to make a deal, but in going there she learns how to break the curse completely. But in order to break this curse she needs to accept she is going to have to change to become a wolf. Which she finally does.
With the Tribunal approaching Tessa has so many emotions. She needs to relax and save Meredith and become one with who she is.
3☕ – NOT A BAD BOOK
Love, Christina ?
Real Tractor Farm Simulator 2017
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Farm simulator Pro is a new adventure concept. Agriculture is the foundation of the development of...
Ross (3284 KP) rated We Ride The Storm in Books
May 18, 2021
Great Asian-inspired twisting, back-stabbing fantasy
'We Ride the Storm' is an epic fantasy book set in an Asian-inspired world, with savage tribes, in-bred empires and age-old family rivalries.
We see the story unfold through the eyes of three characters: a princess of the Kisian empire (who is the step-daughter of the empire, so a princess in name only); an intriguing assassin and a tribal warrior forced into nomadic life. The plot revolves around a building conflict between the empire and its subjects and neighbours, largely driven by the accidental actions of the aforementioned assassin.
The princess is a well-formed character who quickly moves from plotting with her brother to take their family's rightful place at the head of the empire to siding with the crippled cruel emperor, seeking her own place. Her story is straight out of a Disney film, refused her chance to use her martial skills and forced to marry into power as her only contribution to the family's strength.
The nomadic warrior should have been intriguing, given his initial scene where he is cutting the heads off his fallen comrades and enemies, driven by a religious zeal that a person's head must be removed and properly laid to rest to release their soul. However, he quickly became flat and irritating, his zealous nature making him whiny. His story is the most exciting, though, as his tribe is forced into serving the empire (I think) and put aside their traditionally passive nature in order to secure new lands for themselves.
The final PoV character, the assassin, is by far the most original - she has an extra voice in her head (the background still a mystery), a presence who can inhabit corpses, allowing for some interesting escapes and plans. Her role is slightly comedic, dashing from one job to another across the country, often conflicting jobs, in order to try and release herself from the voice in her head.
The story involves a great amount of plotting and double-crossing, some excellent action scenes and a complex, weaving plot. The only downside for me was remembering who was who, who the empire was, their enemies etc, as different names were sometimes given and I found it hard to remember. Also, some major plot points were initially exposed in fairly throw-away style and later passages made no sense without picking up on them (specifically the voice in the assassin's head, but also aspects of the possession and other events which were easy to miss).
A great read and with a sequel already out, a series I will stick with.
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
We see the story unfold through the eyes of three characters: a princess of the Kisian empire (who is the step-daughter of the empire, so a princess in name only); an intriguing assassin and a tribal warrior forced into nomadic life. The plot revolves around a building conflict between the empire and its subjects and neighbours, largely driven by the accidental actions of the aforementioned assassin.
The princess is a well-formed character who quickly moves from plotting with her brother to take their family's rightful place at the head of the empire to siding with the crippled cruel emperor, seeking her own place. Her story is straight out of a Disney film, refused her chance to use her martial skills and forced to marry into power as her only contribution to the family's strength.
The nomadic warrior should have been intriguing, given his initial scene where he is cutting the heads off his fallen comrades and enemies, driven by a religious zeal that a person's head must be removed and properly laid to rest to release their soul. However, he quickly became flat and irritating, his zealous nature making him whiny. His story is the most exciting, though, as his tribe is forced into serving the empire (I think) and put aside their traditionally passive nature in order to secure new lands for themselves.
The final PoV character, the assassin, is by far the most original - she has an extra voice in her head (the background still a mystery), a presence who can inhabit corpses, allowing for some interesting escapes and plans. Her role is slightly comedic, dashing from one job to another across the country, often conflicting jobs, in order to try and release herself from the voice in her head.
The story involves a great amount of plotting and double-crossing, some excellent action scenes and a complex, weaving plot. The only downside for me was remembering who was who, who the empire was, their enemies etc, as different names were sometimes given and I found it hard to remember. Also, some major plot points were initially exposed in fairly throw-away style and later passages made no sense without picking up on them (specifically the voice in the assassin's head, but also aspects of the possession and other events which were easy to miss).
A great read and with a sequel already out, a series I will stick with.
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated I'll Be Your Blue Sky in Books
Feb 26, 2018
Revisits former characters (3 more)
Features unexpected twists and turns
Beautiful characters that fit together well
Funny and touching
Lovely look at some favorite characters
The weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman, Edith Herron, at the venue. While they only have a few brief conversations, they provide Clare with the insight and courage she so badly needs. So much that she finds the strength to call off her wedding and return home alone. A few weeks later, Clare receives some sad and surprising news: Edith has passed away and left Clare a seaside home in Delaware. Desperately seeking a place to reevaluate her life, Clare decamps to the "Blue Sky House" and there begins to learn more about Edith and the remarkable life she led. This includes the discovery of two ledgers--one depicting a list of the guests who stayed at Edith's home when it was a beach guesthouse and another, "shadow" ledger, with mysterious notations. With the help of her former boyfriend, now best friend Dev Tremain, Clare starts to unravel Edith's brave and fascinating past. Along the way, she starts to get closer to working out more about herself as well.
I absolutely adore Marisa de los Santos and was really excited to see she had written another book picking up on the characters first introduced in Love Walked In: A Novel and Belong to Me. Both still hold a place of honor on the bookshelves of my home. Still, Goodreads told me it was nearly ten years since I'd read those gems. Considering I can forget a lot of what I've read a few months ago, it took a little remembering and time to get back into the characters. There's a lot to keep track of in the beginning. Still, once I got into the groove, it was like being back with old friends.
Getting to know more about Clare--all grown up now--is lovely. You find yourself drawn to her immediately. Her finance, Zach, made me nervous from the start, and in many ways, the novel can be a little stressful, between Clare navigating Zach, learning about what Edith was up to, and just some of the general topics of the novel. I always know a book is well-written when I find myself getting nervous on the characters' behalf.
The book generally alternates chapters between Clare and the story of Edith, the woman she meets at her wedding venue. Edith's story mainly takes place in the 1940s and 1950s, and I found myself always wishing for more and more of her tale, as she's a fascinating character in her own right. As Clare moves into Edith's old home and starts to investigate the woman's past, we learn a little more about her through Clare and Dev's sleuthing. It's a very effective format, and I found the book surprisingly suspenseful, with several unexpected twists and turns thrown in along the way.
Indeed, I was never really sure where this one was going. It meanders a bit and kept surprising me as it did. There are points where the sadness can be really hard and heartbreaking (in a wow, this novel is incredibly well-written and I feel as if these characters are real way). All the characters fit together so well and come to life before you--no surprise to anyone who has read a Marisa de los Santos novel before. It's so easy to get lost in the world she creates for us. At other times, I just found myself laughing, as Clare and Dev, for instance, could just be so funny and real.
In the end, I just wound up really loving this one. I was along for the ride wherever Clare and her gang were going to take me. I loved her, I loved Edith, and now I'd wait ten years for another book without any issue whatsoever. It's a lovely book about connections and about the family we have and the family we make. It's about love (very appropriate that I finished it on Valentine's Day). Thanks for revisiting these characters, Ms. de los Santos. I didn't know I needed them again, but I'm glad you did. 4+ stars.
I I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for a honest review. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/
I absolutely adore Marisa de los Santos and was really excited to see she had written another book picking up on the characters first introduced in Love Walked In: A Novel and Belong to Me. Both still hold a place of honor on the bookshelves of my home. Still, Goodreads told me it was nearly ten years since I'd read those gems. Considering I can forget a lot of what I've read a few months ago, it took a little remembering and time to get back into the characters. There's a lot to keep track of in the beginning. Still, once I got into the groove, it was like being back with old friends.
Getting to know more about Clare--all grown up now--is lovely. You find yourself drawn to her immediately. Her finance, Zach, made me nervous from the start, and in many ways, the novel can be a little stressful, between Clare navigating Zach, learning about what Edith was up to, and just some of the general topics of the novel. I always know a book is well-written when I find myself getting nervous on the characters' behalf.
The book generally alternates chapters between Clare and the story of Edith, the woman she meets at her wedding venue. Edith's story mainly takes place in the 1940s and 1950s, and I found myself always wishing for more and more of her tale, as she's a fascinating character in her own right. As Clare moves into Edith's old home and starts to investigate the woman's past, we learn a little more about her through Clare and Dev's sleuthing. It's a very effective format, and I found the book surprisingly suspenseful, with several unexpected twists and turns thrown in along the way.
Indeed, I was never really sure where this one was going. It meanders a bit and kept surprising me as it did. There are points where the sadness can be really hard and heartbreaking (in a wow, this novel is incredibly well-written and I feel as if these characters are real way). All the characters fit together so well and come to life before you--no surprise to anyone who has read a Marisa de los Santos novel before. It's so easy to get lost in the world she creates for us. At other times, I just found myself laughing, as Clare and Dev, for instance, could just be so funny and real.
In the end, I just wound up really loving this one. I was along for the ride wherever Clare and her gang were going to take me. I loved her, I loved Edith, and now I'd wait ten years for another book without any issue whatsoever. It's a lovely book about connections and about the family we have and the family we make. It's about love (very appropriate that I finished it on Valentine's Day). Thanks for revisiting these characters, Ms. de los Santos. I didn't know I needed them again, but I'm glad you did. 4+ stars.
I I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for a honest review. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/
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We believe that the term "meditation" is a result of differing sets of practices that are found...
Michael J. Bess (2 KP) rated Facebook in Apps
Jul 6, 2018
Great way to maintain relationships, but bad if you do not want your personal life all out there
I use Facebook to keep in contact with men and women I served with when I was in the Marine Corps. Whenever I remember the name of one, I go online and try to track them down. At least 1/4 of my 1000+ friend's list consists of veterans and current servicemembers and civilian employees.
But one thing that Facebook needs to improve on is it's verification process. My 13-year-old niece has had a page (TWO pages in fact!) since she was barely ten. I immediately contacted Facebook about this because I didn't want my niece to be another stat where she is preyed upon online by some phedophile. Facebook continued to keep the pages up.
Another reason the process needs to be improved is because someone may end up being "Catfished," for a lack of better term. My personal business was posted online by a woman whom I never met and I had no idea why this person would do something like that. More than two years later, I found that it wasn't a woman who posted the info, but it was a male friend of mine! A person who I had played practical jokes on the past but never to this extreme. Needless to say we are not longer friends as his ex-wife (my current girlfriend) informed me of other scrupulous things he had done with this particular page.
But one thing that Facebook needs to improve on is it's verification process. My 13-year-old niece has had a page (TWO pages in fact!) since she was barely ten. I immediately contacted Facebook about this because I didn't want my niece to be another stat where she is preyed upon online by some phedophile. Facebook continued to keep the pages up.
Another reason the process needs to be improved is because someone may end up being "Catfished," for a lack of better term. My personal business was posted online by a woman whom I never met and I had no idea why this person would do something like that. More than two years later, I found that it wasn't a woman who posted the info, but it was a male friend of mine! A person who I had played practical jokes on the past but never to this extreme. Needless to say we are not longer friends as his ex-wife (my current girlfriend) informed me of other scrupulous things he had done with this particular page.
Scott Tostik (389 KP) rated Halloween (2018) in Movies
Nov 2, 2018
.....Fuckin comedians
Michael Myers is back.... And this is supposed to be what actually happened... 40 years later???
I'm sorry if any of you disagree with me... But this movie blew....
Don't get le wrong. I love the fact that Jamie Lee is back and more of a badass than i wpuld have ever expected.
But come on...
Denying the fact that almost 40 years worth of mythology happened... Thats a hard sell. Let's do some math as well.
You expect me to believe that Michael is wandering around at 61 years old, after being locked up for 40 years... And he's picking up 200 pound men one handed and crushing their windpipes???
I love the Halloween series of films. Even the Rov Zombie offerings... I love the fact that Rob gave us a back story. You found out why Michael was the way he was...
But this??? This was nothing more than two morons... And yes, I think Danny McBride is an idiot. And he should stick to Vice Principals and Eastbound and Down. And stay the fuck away from horror films.
He should've taken a hint from his lackluster and shitty preformance in Alien Covenant... And leave horror to the pros.
I'm sorry but the only person who should've carried on this franchise was John Carpenter himself... But even he knows that you shouldn't dip your pen in the company ink too many times.
Ignoring the mythology of the films and expecting die hard fans to believe that characters like Jamie Lloyd and Tommy Doyle didn't exist in the history is ludicrous.
Some people enjoyed the sequels and some people didnt. But expecting us to forget forty years of horror history???
Not on your life, comedian.
I'm sorry if any of you disagree with me... But this movie blew....
Don't get le wrong. I love the fact that Jamie Lee is back and more of a badass than i wpuld have ever expected.
But come on...
Denying the fact that almost 40 years worth of mythology happened... Thats a hard sell. Let's do some math as well.
You expect me to believe that Michael is wandering around at 61 years old, after being locked up for 40 years... And he's picking up 200 pound men one handed and crushing their windpipes???
I love the Halloween series of films. Even the Rov Zombie offerings... I love the fact that Rob gave us a back story. You found out why Michael was the way he was...
But this??? This was nothing more than two morons... And yes, I think Danny McBride is an idiot. And he should stick to Vice Principals and Eastbound and Down. And stay the fuck away from horror films.
He should've taken a hint from his lackluster and shitty preformance in Alien Covenant... And leave horror to the pros.
I'm sorry but the only person who should've carried on this franchise was John Carpenter himself... But even he knows that you shouldn't dip your pen in the company ink too many times.
Ignoring the mythology of the films and expecting die hard fans to believe that characters like Jamie Lloyd and Tommy Doyle didn't exist in the history is ludicrous.
Some people enjoyed the sequels and some people didnt. But expecting us to forget forty years of horror history???
Not on your life, comedian.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Homefront (2013) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The new movie Homefront stars Jason Statham (Phil Broker), James Franco (Gator Bodine), Winona Ryder (Sheryl Gott), Kate Bosworth (Cassie Bodine), Chuck Zito (Danny T), Omar Benson Miller (Tito), Izabela Vidovic (Maddy Broker).
Written by Sylvestor Stallone. The film opens with a major drug bust going down, and inside undercover DEA agent Phil Broker (Statham) gives chase to the head of the drug ring and his son. While trying to arrest the father and son team, the son is shot to death, and his father promises to kill Broker and his children.
The rest of the movie takes place a few years later in a small town in Louisiana, where a now widowed Broker and his pre-teen daughter have moved to rebuild their life. An entire series of events is set off by Broker’s daughter standing up for herself against the school bully. The bully’s mother Cassie, demands an apology and doesn’t get one enough to her liking. She escalates the situation by going to her brother, Gator, who is the town’s resident “drug kingpin”.
After Gator discovers that Broker is actually an ex-undercover DEA agent, he tries to use that information as leverage to gain business ground for his drug running enterprise, and that’s where the rest of the movie plays out.
There are a lot of action and shooting scenes, which is what one would expect from a Statham movie, but it is still pretty predictable. Once Gator brings in the “big dogs” from the city, things quickly escalate and spin out of his control. The remainder of the movie is one gun fight after another, interspersed with chase scenes, swearing, explosions and hand to hand fighting. If you’re a fan of Statham, then there are really no surprises here. If you know to expect the movie’s complete predictability and his somewhat stiff acting, you’ll enjoy it.
Written by Sylvestor Stallone. The film opens with a major drug bust going down, and inside undercover DEA agent Phil Broker (Statham) gives chase to the head of the drug ring and his son. While trying to arrest the father and son team, the son is shot to death, and his father promises to kill Broker and his children.
The rest of the movie takes place a few years later in a small town in Louisiana, where a now widowed Broker and his pre-teen daughter have moved to rebuild their life. An entire series of events is set off by Broker’s daughter standing up for herself against the school bully. The bully’s mother Cassie, demands an apology and doesn’t get one enough to her liking. She escalates the situation by going to her brother, Gator, who is the town’s resident “drug kingpin”.
After Gator discovers that Broker is actually an ex-undercover DEA agent, he tries to use that information as leverage to gain business ground for his drug running enterprise, and that’s where the rest of the movie plays out.
There are a lot of action and shooting scenes, which is what one would expect from a Statham movie, but it is still pretty predictable. Once Gator brings in the “big dogs” from the city, things quickly escalate and spin out of his control. The remainder of the movie is one gun fight after another, interspersed with chase scenes, swearing, explosions and hand to hand fighting. If you’re a fan of Statham, then there are really no surprises here. If you know to expect the movie’s complete predictability and his somewhat stiff acting, you’ll enjoy it.
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