Moments Like This (From Kona with Love #1)
Anna Gomez and Kristoffer Polaha
Book
After Andrea “Andie” Matthews chooses her career over a marriage proposal and then loses a...
Adult Contemporary Romance
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters (Momotaro, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
I think I've grown out of reading middle grade books now. I find that a little sad - the first book in Dilloways Momotaro series isn't even a bad book, aside from the fact I kept expecting a Percy Jackson vibe (which, in a way, it kind of does).
Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters - if we're going down the Percy Jackson vibe (I'm pretty sure the synopsis makes the comparison .) - is basically Japanese folklore set in modern day, with plenty of Japanese mythological creatures making an appearance. Unfortunately, Xander definitely resembles a Japanese version of Percy Jackson - blue eyes, black hair, twelve years old, and the only difference? Xander has a bit of silver streak in his hair (oh wait ) and he's mixed (Asian and Irish).
It's no wonder I expected a lot of humor out of Dilloway's book (comparisons = high expectations). The first Momotaro book does have the occasional funny moment, but it just isn't as funny as I hoped it would be. (That might just be the fact I'm nineteen.)
Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters is set in a comic book like format with illustrations featured throughout the book, and it will definitely appeal more to younger audiences than the older ones. (And hopefully, it'll be more funny to them than to me.)
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-xander-and-lost-island-of-monsters-by-margaret-dilloway/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
I Used to be in Pictures: An Untold Story of Hollywood
Austin Mutti-Mewse and Howard Mutti-Mewse
Book
I Used to be in Pictures is a collection of unpublished correspondence between English born...
Stargazers' Almanac: A Monthly Guide to the Stars and Planets: 2015
Book
Explore the night skies with this beautiful illustrated monthly guide to the stars and planets. This...
The Score
John Banville and Richard Stark
Book
You probably haven't ever noticed them. But they've noticed you. They notice everything. That's...
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Other Countess (The Lacey Chronicles, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
The story itself isn't exactly original and doesn't go into any unfamiliar territory, but it's ably told and fairly inoffensive, making it suitable for older teens (there are numerous allusions to sexual situations but that's as far as it goes). The dialogue and sensibilities are more modern in nature and don't always ring true to the era, but some liberties are always taken in young adult fiction, therefore making it something I can forgive. Very light on historical content, this is more for the romantics out there who like a historical backdrop to a love story. For the first half, I wasn't very involved into either the characters or their story, and it didn't help that it moved at a slow pace, though at the halfway point it picked up and started charming me. However, the hero and heroine were a little too perfect, more so in Ellie's case, as she didn't seem to really have any negative attributes other than she has a bit of a temper. Maybe if they had a few more rough edges I would have rooted for them to have their happy ending, as it is, I wasn't that invested. I do think that the secondary character, Lady Jane Perceval, has promise on that front since her narrative had a more realistic feel to it, so I may just pick up her story when it comes out ([b:The Queen's Lady|8805112|The Queen's Lady (The Lacey Chronicles, #2)|Eve Edwards|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327950501s/8805112.jpg|13679272]). The resolution to Will and Ellie's story came far too easily and some more conflict would have made it much better. Still, as I said, it's a sweet story, even if nothing sets it apart from other books. An easy read that should appeal to teenage girls.
Cranky Crabbie’s Hissy Fit
Book and Education
App
New from Finland! Helping preschool children learn emotional intelligence the fun way! What do you...
Three Cheers for Cheeraffe
Book and Education
App
New from Finland! Helping preschool children learn emotional intelligence the fun way! What do you...
Book Creator for iPad
Education and Book
App
* THE No.1 Book app for the iPad in 90+ countries. * Voted Best Educational App in the 2015 BETT...
Sam (74 KP) rated Attachments in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Attachments follows the life of Lincoln, a man who works in IT at a newspaper office in 1999. Lincoln is a loner who works night shifts mainly monitoring ‘WebFence’, checking that employees emails aren’t inappropriate. This is where he discovers Beth and Jennifer – two best friends whose emails are constantly being flagged up. Lincoln finds himself reading these emails and falling for one of them.
I never expected this novel to be very deep, after all, it’s about a man who stalks the emails of two women. However, it goes into the issues both Beth and Jennifer have in their lives such as their relationships and happiness.
Lincoln is such a lovable character. He’s nerdy, rubbish at making friends and still lives with his mum.
I was shocked when I saw that the Goodreads rating for this one is only 3.9 because I actually preferred it to any of her other books I’ve read. I don’t know whether it’s because I’ve only ever read her YA before but I just thought this was so much better. In some places, it did feel a little bit slow, but it soon picked up again. It’s definitely better than Rainbow Rowell’s YA novels.