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Her Mountain Rescuer (Honey Ridge #1)
Her Mountain Rescuer (Honey Ridge #1)
Alyson Archer | 2025 | Contemporary, Erotica, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
HER MOUNTAIN RESCUER is the first book in the Honey Ridge series, but features two characters we have met before. Hailey is Logan's daughter, and Beau is his best friend. We met Logan in Accidentally Kidnapping the Mountain Man, when Kaylee kidnaps him.

I love this author's books! She gives you exactly what she promises - a hot and spicy age-gap Daddy Romance with a breeding kink. AND IT WORKS! Even though this is a one-sit novella, you will get swept up in Hailey's story, feeling her heartbreak when she thinks Beau is out of her reach. You will feel his frustration at wanting his best friend's daughter. So when they get together and work it out? Sheer perfection!

If you're after a short and hot instalove story, then I recommend not only this book, but any by this author. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.

** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 27, 2025
  
The Great Maple Mistake (Love in Maplewood #8)
The Great Maple Mistake (Love in Maplewood #8)
Beck Grey | 2025 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE GREAT MAPLE MISTAKE is the eighth book in the Love in Maplewood series, although you don't have to have read any of the others.

Alex is a photographer, born and bred in Maplewood, with no plans to go anywhere else. Cody is a firefighter/EMT, newly arrived in Maplewood. He is having a private conversation with Alex and his best friend, Finn, about not liking Maple, when he is overheard and mistakenly assumed to be allergic to Maple. This is a running theme through the story.

Events move slowly but firmly in the right direction, with neither Alex nor Cody playing games. They are honest and open about what they want, and are happy to be together.

As with all books set in Maplewood, this is sweet enough to give you toothache, with little to no angst. A feel-good story that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend.

** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 4, 2025
  
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
2020 | Drama
Glenn Close - deserving of the Oscar nom (0 more)
Choppy story telling failed to engage me fully (0 more)
General Shoutiness and a glowering Glenn Close
I missed Ron Howard's "Hillbilly Elegy" when it came out at the end of last year, but principally wanted to catch up on it to see Glenn Close's Oscar nominated performance before Sunday's Oscars.

Positives:
- When this film started, I suspected that the Glenn Close nomination might be another 'Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love' - - where her acceptance speech is longer than the time spent on screen! But no. Because of the flashback format deployed in the film, she actually gets a good amount of air time. And it's a really solid and impressive performance.
- The supporting cast is also good. Amy Adams is given a lot to do with a challenging role, and (just about) pulls it off. And young Owen Asztalos as the younger J. D. particularly impressed me.

Negatives:
- Although it's based on J. D. Vance's true life story, I really struggled to get very invested in the story. The choppy nature of the narrative - hopping repeatedly between 'the present' and multiple flashback timelines - really doesn't help with this.
- The whole J. D. / Usha romance element almost felt like it belonged in a different film. In fact, I found it frustrating that I found the elements with J. D.'s struggles at college, with the emerging love and guidance of Usha, as a more compelling narrative than the druggie mother lead story. Perhaps the movie was just trying to be too ambitious?
- Apart from one 'personal decision' scene in a motel bedroom, there's not much of an "up-side" to the story for the viewer to take away. It's not a movie that I found a positive experience.

Viewer Advisory;
If you've had any history of life in a dysfunctional family, there is a lot of shouting, slapping and general tension in this movie which you might find disturbing.

Summary Thoughts:
So, I came to this to see the performance of Glenn Close, and it's very good. I would personally be surprised if she takes the Oscar for this. However, having been nominated eight times before and never won, the 'sympathy vote' may play here.

But one of my bellweathers for a movie is to think whether I'll remember it in six months time. I'm afraid this one is unlikely to pass the test. If you say "Hillbilly Elegy" to me in October, I'll probably recall a whole lot of shouty people and Glenn Close glowering at me from the screen. That's not a wholly great recommendation for a movie. Sorry Mr Howard, but this one's a 'miss' for me.

(For the full graphical review, please see the One Mann's Movies review here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/04/21/hillbilly-elegy-review/ ).
  
Northern Lights
Northern Lights
Philip Pullman | 2015 | Children
9
7.8 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
A great YA novel
I read this over 10 years ago, remember enjoying it but for some reason never bothered with the other books in the trilogy. So I decided to try again.

This is a fantastic first novel in the trilogy, and a great fantasy story. I love the idea of people having daemons, and the plight of Lyra is intriguing and full of twists and turns. There are some great characters, all well developed and I really found myself caring for some and hating others, as intended. Pullman id a fantastic writer. My only criticisms would be the heavy emphasis on religion, and that the plot does seem a little bit over the top at times. Still can't wait to read the rest!
  
The Mortal Instruments 2: City of Ashes
The Mortal Instruments 2: City of Ashes
Cassandra Clare | 2016 | Children
8
8.3 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
Relatable Characters (1 more)
Colorful Prose
Slower Pace (1 more)
Obvious Love Triangles
Second Installment of Solid YA Series
I just recently re-read the entire Mortal Instruments series and thoroughly enjoyed it (maybe even more so than the first time around). This book is a solid sequel to the first one, and continues to develop Claire's creative world and characters.

The action is fun, the romance is hot (although sometimes a little too distracting from the plot), and the writing is good. Claire does a great job mixing in humor and emotion with her story, so the characters are engaging - even when they are unreasonable, selfish, and childish.


Give the series a chance if you like YA. It's a fantastic source of entertainment.
  
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Mark Halpern (153 KP) created a post

Dec 30, 2017  
So I just watched the movie All Eyez on Me. The life of Tupac Shakur. The acting was amazing and the story line was right on key. Considering all the press recently about the murders of Shakur and Biggie this was the best I have seen. I do wish they went a little more into the feuds between east coast and west coast rap sensations the profile of Shug Knight was awesome. It was better than the character of him used in Straight out of Compton. I also love that they go into his time with the Digital Underground which really was his rise to stardom. All and all this movie I say this is a must see for Shakur fans and raps fans alike.
     
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
2003 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
acting,story (0 more)
Why Rum Gone
Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) plays our beloved pirate to love and hate in this adaption of a Disney ride. The movie from the word go is filled with action,comedy and suspense as we follow our captain take possession of a powerful boat with the help of Orlando bloom and try to rescue our damsel in distress Nightly and recover the last gold coin of a lost treasure to try and break and long time curse. This movie storyline took time and patience to make sure everything flowed right and it does. To me there is not a moment of down time and my favorite line when marooned on an island is "Why Rum Gone" Enjoy
  
Watchmen
Watchmen
Dave Gibbons, Alan Moore | 1986 | Comics & Graphic Novels
9
8.8 (22 Ratings)
Book Rating
The characters (4 more)
The ending
The art work
How dark and real the whole story feels
Characters that are so flawed they feel real.
Can freaking drag (1 more)
Way too much dialog at times.
You either love it or hate it but it does change how you see super heroes.
This is one comic book I honestly believe everyone should read but art the same time don't make it your first like I tried to do because HOLY hell does thing drag along at some points but at about half way it finally sinks its teeth in and does not let you go.

To date I think this has one of the best conclusions I've ever read. And you definitely find your looking at superheroes different after reading this.