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Driven (Driven, #1)
7.7
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Now a limited series streaming on Passionflix beginning August 2018. From New York Times...
A Curse of Forever
8.5
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Book
Only true love can break the solitude of eternity. Laurel Holgrave never believed her...
Contemporary Supernatural Romance Novella
That Dickinson Girl (Forgotten Women #1)
Book
She’s going to be the greatest orator of the Civil War! Eighteen-year-old Anna Dickinson is...
Historical Biographical Fiction
ClareR (6037 KP) rated Wild Things in Books
Jun 25, 2023
I enjoyed this a lot!
The main character, Eleanor, is stuck in a rut, so she decides to do one wild thing every month for a year. Something that pushes her out of her comfort zone. When one of her best friends splits up with his girlfriend, El and two other of their friends decide to buy their house together - a kind of ‘Queer Commune’. A commune because there’s four of them living there as equal partners in the ownership. And it’s a decent commute time outside of London.
Only El has a huge crush on one of her housemates, Ray. And she’s had an unrequited crush on her for quite a while.
I love Laura Kay’s writing. Yes, it’s a romance, but it’s not teeth-clenchingly sweet, and El’s personal growth is as central to the story as the romance itself.
Jamie is fabulous, Will is the sensible one - all great characters and people you’d love to know and be friends with.
I’m definitely becoming a firm Laura Kay fan!
The main character, Eleanor, is stuck in a rut, so she decides to do one wild thing every month for a year. Something that pushes her out of her comfort zone. When one of her best friends splits up with his girlfriend, El and two other of their friends decide to buy their house together - a kind of ‘Queer Commune’. A commune because there’s four of them living there as equal partners in the ownership. And it’s a decent commute time outside of London.
Only El has a huge crush on one of her housemates, Ray. And she’s had an unrequited crush on her for quite a while.
I love Laura Kay’s writing. Yes, it’s a romance, but it’s not teeth-clenchingly sweet, and El’s personal growth is as central to the story as the romance itself.
Jamie is fabulous, Will is the sensible one - all great characters and people you’d love to know and be friends with.
I’m definitely becoming a firm Laura Kay fan!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated A Dowry of Blood ( Book 1) in Books
Jun 19, 2024
119 of 220
Kindle
A Dowry of Blood ( Book 1)
By S.T. Gibson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .
Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.
Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.
Not sure what I was expecting but I really really enjoyed this. Gothic vampire story full of that old feeling. The characters were so intriguing. Well written gave me Angel and spike early days vibes ( if you know you know).
Kindle
A Dowry of Blood ( Book 1)
By S.T. Gibson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .
Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.
Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.
Not sure what I was expecting but I really really enjoyed this. Gothic vampire story full of that old feeling. The characters were so intriguing. Well written gave me Angel and spike early days vibes ( if you know you know).
Operation Tulip (WW2 Secret Agent #3)
Book
Holland, 1944: Undercover British agent Nancy Callaghan has been given her toughest case yet. A key...
WWII Historical Fiction Holland Romance
Highway Blue
8.0
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Book
In front of me the long length of the road wound out, wound out and wound on under hot sky. And I...
ClareR (6037 KP) rated A Divine Fury in Books
Jul 15, 2025
Ok, so I’m notorious for saying (to myself mostly) that I don’t want to get involved with series of books, and then I “meet” Cesare Aldo and I’m four books in, anxiously waiting for book five* - because of the end of book four!!
Typical.
I quite happy with my Aldo-Addiction, and I honestly think that more people should join me.
I love the historical detail, and how the Catholic Church have a stranglehold on every aspect of life in Florence (well, everywhere Catholic, really). Aldo is just a thoroughly lovely character, as is Officer Strocchi, his wife and Saul (a Jewish doctor).
It’s a fine line these officers have to walk when they find a murdered man, set up in a clearly religious tableau. And the murderer doesn’t just stop at one victim.
There are other issues for Aldo and Strocchi to deal with, but the story never seems over-stuffed with information.
I absolutely love these stories, and I’m REALLY looking forward to getting stuck in to the next one!
Typical.
I quite happy with my Aldo-Addiction, and I honestly think that more people should join me.
I love the historical detail, and how the Catholic Church have a stranglehold on every aspect of life in Florence (well, everywhere Catholic, really). Aldo is just a thoroughly lovely character, as is Officer Strocchi, his wife and Saul (a Jewish doctor).
It’s a fine line these officers have to walk when they find a murdered man, set up in a clearly religious tableau. And the murderer doesn’t just stop at one victim.
There are other issues for Aldo and Strocchi to deal with, but the story never seems over-stuffed with information.
I absolutely love these stories, and I’m REALLY looking forward to getting stuck in to the next one!
Kyera (8 KP) rated Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue in Books
Jan 31, 2018
As the second and final graphic novel (for now) chronicling Iko's adventures after the events of the Lunar Chronicles, Gone Rogue does a brilliant job catching us up on what all of our favourite characters have been up to in the last year. Despite the fact that Wires and Nerve continues the story in graphic novel form, rather than the original book - I never felt like I was missing anything.
As the story focuses on Iko, there was less time dedicated to the other pairs from the series. In the first graphic novel, I felt that Cress and Thorne were given a lot of story time and that they weren't as present in the second novel. On the other hand, Scarlet and Wolf were almost nonexistent in the first and had more of a presence in the second. Meyer did a brilliant job developing the relationships further and showing readers how they have evolved despite the limited amount of text she had to work with because it was a graphic novel.
Although Iko was a supporting character in the original series, she completely stole the show and lit up every scene that she was in. It was wonderful to see her take the lead in this series and adapt to a world in which she looked human, although there were still those that constantly reminded her that she was not. She struggles to deal with the reminders that she is an android and programmed to be the way that she is, despite the fact that her closest friends never see her as anything but normal.
The three main additions to the series are the villain, the guard Kinney and his sister Tressa. I felt that the two male characters were well developed and you could understand their motivations throughout the story. Tressa felt less real and I honestly forgot who she was from the first book to the second, until reminded in the course of the story. She is an exuberant character who loves a lot of the same things as Iko, but I don't feel that I know as much about her as I wish I did so that I could connect to her more.
Overall, the plot was brilliant and the story was so engaging that I didn't put the book down from the moment I began reading it until I was on the final page. While I am saddened that this is the final graphic novel in the Lunar Chronicles, I love the world and characters so much that I hope that the series continues in some manner. I felt satisfied with the ending and feel that if it is in fact the end of the story - I am happy. I loved this series so much and being able to watch Iko shine in her own adventures.
As the story focuses on Iko, there was less time dedicated to the other pairs from the series. In the first graphic novel, I felt that Cress and Thorne were given a lot of story time and that they weren't as present in the second novel. On the other hand, Scarlet and Wolf were almost nonexistent in the first and had more of a presence in the second. Meyer did a brilliant job developing the relationships further and showing readers how they have evolved despite the limited amount of text she had to work with because it was a graphic novel.
Although Iko was a supporting character in the original series, she completely stole the show and lit up every scene that she was in. It was wonderful to see her take the lead in this series and adapt to a world in which she looked human, although there were still those that constantly reminded her that she was not. She struggles to deal with the reminders that she is an android and programmed to be the way that she is, despite the fact that her closest friends never see her as anything but normal.
The three main additions to the series are the villain, the guard Kinney and his sister Tressa. I felt that the two male characters were well developed and you could understand their motivations throughout the story. Tressa felt less real and I honestly forgot who she was from the first book to the second, until reminded in the course of the story. She is an exuberant character who loves a lot of the same things as Iko, but I don't feel that I know as much about her as I wish I did so that I could connect to her more.
Overall, the plot was brilliant and the story was so engaging that I didn't put the book down from the moment I began reading it until I was on the final page. While I am saddened that this is the final graphic novel in the Lunar Chronicles, I love the world and characters so much that I hope that the series continues in some manner. I felt satisfied with the ending and feel that if it is in fact the end of the story - I am happy. I loved this series so much and being able to watch Iko shine in her own adventures.
"As far as I’m concerned, I came out of the womb spouting cynicism and wishing for rain."
"As far as I’m concerned, I came out of the womb spouting cynicism and wishing for rain."
A while back, I read an online comic strip by the same author, Heartstopper Volume 1. I found it by chance and I literally flew through it. I adored it and I went ahead and TBR’d some of her other books. I found this one on Scribd and come to find this was her baby. This was her debut novel. The story was pretty good, it is NOT a love story, but I sometimes found myself getting frustrated with the main character. Reasons why are listed below.
The story is told from a teenager named Victoria ‘Tori’ Spring. She has two younger brothers and she is quite…indifferent. She has one best friend, and honestly one friend only, and she’s very much the pessimist. I can’t fully fault her for that, but some things that I just CANNOT tolerate. I found myself gasping and GLARING at the words as I read them.
She hates books. Yes, she said she hates books (-1 point). She knows the name of each book and the author who wrote them, but she won’t actually read them.
Though she loves film so I’ll give the point back to her (0).
"When you watch a film, you’re sort of an outsider looking in. With a book – you’re right there. You are inside. You are the main character."
She thinks Pride and Prejudice is ridiculous and boring…she gets positive points for that (+2) – I’m sorry I’m in the minority. I do not care for Jane Austen and find her so called romance novels dull and boring. Not sorry!
She despises Disney because the movies are total fake and unrealistic. WELL NO SHIT! It’s DISNEY! (-200) – I’m a Disney nerd and while I don’t agree with sugar coating the original fair tales, I still LOVE Disney. You can’t fault me for that!
Anyway…
Tori is highly cynical and while I can appreciate that in her, sometimes she made my favorite cartoon character, Daria, seem like a sweetheart. Two guys come into Tori’s life. One was an old childhood friend, Lucas, and the other is someone she met before, Michael. At the same time, a blog group called ‘Solitaire’ starts making trouble…almost in Tori’s honor.
I won’t go into great detail, mostly because I would definitely give more away than I want to. I breezed through this story quickly, but there are just some things in the story that just didn’t sit well with me.
This guy Lucas was so sketchy that he nearly drove Tori crazy with his change in personality.
Her parents…they literally do not seem to care. Her mother most of all. She is mostly on her computer and seems to kind of be absent, mentally, as a parental figure. That never gets resolved, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing. In the end, it really bothered me at how disinterested her parents really were. I get that perhaps it’s something you do when you’re bringing up teenagers, but damn!!
"I swear to God I’m a freak! I mean it. One day I’m going to forget how to wake up."
You’re probably thinking that this really doesn’t seem like it would be in the mental health genre. It is. Tori goes through an awful lot in this story, not to mention the mental strain with her brother, Charlie. I will say there are some MILD trigger warnings regarding implied self harm.
I was kind of left with mixed emotions with this book. I have great respect for this author and this being her first story. I know it’s near and dear to her heart. I wouldn’t say that this was at the top of my list, but it’s not at the bottom either. I definitely appreciated it NOT BEING a love story. Although it seemed like it would, despite the subtitle of the book, but I’m glad it wasn’t.
A while back, I read an online comic strip by the same author, Heartstopper Volume 1. I found it by chance and I literally flew through it. I adored it and I went ahead and TBR’d some of her other books. I found this one on Scribd and come to find this was her baby. This was her debut novel. The story was pretty good, it is NOT a love story, but I sometimes found myself getting frustrated with the main character. Reasons why are listed below.
The story is told from a teenager named Victoria ‘Tori’ Spring. She has two younger brothers and she is quite…indifferent. She has one best friend, and honestly one friend only, and she’s very much the pessimist. I can’t fully fault her for that, but some things that I just CANNOT tolerate. I found myself gasping and GLARING at the words as I read them.
She hates books. Yes, she said she hates books (-1 point). She knows the name of each book and the author who wrote them, but she won’t actually read them.
Though she loves film so I’ll give the point back to her (0).
"When you watch a film, you’re sort of an outsider looking in. With a book – you’re right there. You are inside. You are the main character."
She thinks Pride and Prejudice is ridiculous and boring…she gets positive points for that (+2) – I’m sorry I’m in the minority. I do not care for Jane Austen and find her so called romance novels dull and boring. Not sorry!
She despises Disney because the movies are total fake and unrealistic. WELL NO SHIT! It’s DISNEY! (-200) – I’m a Disney nerd and while I don’t agree with sugar coating the original fair tales, I still LOVE Disney. You can’t fault me for that!
Anyway…
Tori is highly cynical and while I can appreciate that in her, sometimes she made my favorite cartoon character, Daria, seem like a sweetheart. Two guys come into Tori’s life. One was an old childhood friend, Lucas, and the other is someone she met before, Michael. At the same time, a blog group called ‘Solitaire’ starts making trouble…almost in Tori’s honor.
I won’t go into great detail, mostly because I would definitely give more away than I want to. I breezed through this story quickly, but there are just some things in the story that just didn’t sit well with me.
This guy Lucas was so sketchy that he nearly drove Tori crazy with his change in personality.
Her parents…they literally do not seem to care. Her mother most of all. She is mostly on her computer and seems to kind of be absent, mentally, as a parental figure. That never gets resolved, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing. In the end, it really bothered me at how disinterested her parents really were. I get that perhaps it’s something you do when you’re bringing up teenagers, but damn!!
"I swear to God I’m a freak! I mean it. One day I’m going to forget how to wake up."
You’re probably thinking that this really doesn’t seem like it would be in the mental health genre. It is. Tori goes through an awful lot in this story, not to mention the mental strain with her brother, Charlie. I will say there are some MILD trigger warnings regarding implied self harm.
I was kind of left with mixed emotions with this book. I have great respect for this author and this being her first story. I know it’s near and dear to her heart. I wouldn’t say that this was at the top of my list, but it’s not at the bottom either. I definitely appreciated it NOT BEING a love story. Although it seemed like it would, despite the subtitle of the book, but I’m glad it wasn’t.