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Proving Grounds
8.0
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Tabletop Game
Maia Strongheart stands alone against the world. A cabal of conspirators has framed her for the...
NIV Live: A Bible Experience
Book and Reference
10.0
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Featuring an ensemble cast of Oscar, Emmy and Grammy Award winners and today's most renowned...
RavenclawPrincess913 (253 KP) rated Star Splitter in Books
Jul 14, 2023
Star Splitter by Matthew J Kirby was one of my favorite books I have read this year. My favorite character in this book would be Duncan, the ships captains sixteen year old son. I like the character due to him being a great friend with an amazing personality. I also love how him and the main character Jessica formed a friendship and how protective he was over her. My favorite part of the book was when they were together. I really loved the part when he saved her. I also loved all the other parts with them together which made the book interesting. This book was very well written kept me interested, and I loved the plot. I honestly had a hard time putting the book down. The author should write more books like this one.
Even though I loved this book and gave it a five out of five stars, the ending made me mad. I just don't like how it ended. It leaves many questions unanswered. Also, the back and forth between Jessica one and Jessica two got me very confused at times. One scene I disliked was when the two crew members talked about Jessica and her family behind her back. Also, the scene where her father killed the ships doctor was scary to me. Her dad's transfer was corrupted, which made him very violent. Another part I didn't like was the fact that Jessica's mother is the reason the ship was destroyed since she didn't leave Jessica's violent Dad locked up like she was supposed to. In my opinion, Jessica and her mother should have just left the ship alone and left her corrupted father behind. Jessica's relationship with her parents was bad from the start, but I imagine this made it even worse. Duncan also had a bad relationship with his dad, so I'm pretty sure them having that in common helped their relationship grow. In conclusion, I can definitely see myself rereading this book. If you love young adult science fiction with teleportation to another planet, you would love this book too.
Star Splitter was my favorite book read this year, so here's some fun facts about the book. Jessica refers to Carver 1061c as Hades, which I found hilarious and very fitting after everything that happened. Jessica's Mom was a geologist, and her dad a biological studying Hades surface. The rest you will just have to read to find out.
Even though I loved this book and gave it a five out of five stars, the ending made me mad. I just don't like how it ended. It leaves many questions unanswered. Also, the back and forth between Jessica one and Jessica two got me very confused at times. One scene I disliked was when the two crew members talked about Jessica and her family behind her back. Also, the scene where her father killed the ships doctor was scary to me. Her dad's transfer was corrupted, which made him very violent. Another part I didn't like was the fact that Jessica's mother is the reason the ship was destroyed since she didn't leave Jessica's violent Dad locked up like she was supposed to. In my opinion, Jessica and her mother should have just left the ship alone and left her corrupted father behind. Jessica's relationship with her parents was bad from the start, but I imagine this made it even worse. Duncan also had a bad relationship with his dad, so I'm pretty sure them having that in common helped their relationship grow. In conclusion, I can definitely see myself rereading this book. If you love young adult science fiction with teleportation to another planet, you would love this book too.
Star Splitter was my favorite book read this year, so here's some fun facts about the book. Jessica refers to Carver 1061c as Hades, which I found hilarious and very fitting after everything that happened. Jessica's Mom was a geologist, and her dad a biological studying Hades surface. The rest you will just have to read to find out.
Doctor Who Main Range: 220 - Quicksilver
Simon Holub, Miranda Raison, Matt Fitton and Jamie Robertson
9.0
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It's the telegram Constance never wanted to read: DEEPLY REGRET TO INFORM YOU LT-CMDR H CLARKE LOST...
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Kind Nepenthe in Books
May 16, 2018
Kind Nepenthe is one of those books I looked at on NetGalley for a while but couldn't bring myself to request for the longest time. It just didn't seem like something I'd over enjoy, honestly. If you frequent NetGalley though, you'll notice the horror section of their available titles has been dwindling over the past few months. As a result, I finally ended up with Matthew V. Brockmeyer's title and I can admit I am pleasantly surprised.
Aside from a single graphically sexual scene, Kind Nepenthe plays the horror genre safely. Brockmeyer keeps things significantly more tame than many of the authors I read, which means he's got to make up for it in other places. In this case, the story itself is rather well developed - even if it does have a few holes. (Seriously, how'd the boy die, dude? You got ghosts you ain't tellin' us the deets on.) A few of the characters, or rather most of them, are almost offensively stereotypical. Diesel, one of the main characters, has a son who quite literally dresses like the photo you've seen of a kid wanting to look gangsta.
Now, I'm aware this sounds mostly negative, but in a way it allowed me to better formulate the type of behaviors associated with Brockmeyer's cast. It's not very complex, so for me to have read this book in two days means that Brockmeyer must have succeeded elsewhere in his work - and he did! The flow of Kind Nepenthe can be likened to the river that runs through Homicide Hill. It's a constant, rolling movement from one even to another. Not hurried, but steady.
There are two separate stories that take place here and four different endings. Despite its lack of originality in characters, Kind Nepenthe manages to wiggle its way into the reader's sympathies. I felt for Katie, the young, pregnant girlfriend of Diesel's son. My heart ached for Rebecca, whose loneliness begins to eat at her as the story progresses. Even Diesel managed to find an endearing resonance with me, much to my surprise.
While I was hoping for a little bit more boo! than I received, I look forward to more of Brockmeyer's work in the future. This book was a nice, relaxing read and I simply was not able to put it down. I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book for the purpose of review.
Aside from a single graphically sexual scene, Kind Nepenthe plays the horror genre safely. Brockmeyer keeps things significantly more tame than many of the authors I read, which means he's got to make up for it in other places. In this case, the story itself is rather well developed - even if it does have a few holes. (Seriously, how'd the boy die, dude? You got ghosts you ain't tellin' us the deets on.) A few of the characters, or rather most of them, are almost offensively stereotypical. Diesel, one of the main characters, has a son who quite literally dresses like the photo you've seen of a kid wanting to look gangsta.
Now, I'm aware this sounds mostly negative, but in a way it allowed me to better formulate the type of behaviors associated with Brockmeyer's cast. It's not very complex, so for me to have read this book in two days means that Brockmeyer must have succeeded elsewhere in his work - and he did! The flow of Kind Nepenthe can be likened to the river that runs through Homicide Hill. It's a constant, rolling movement from one even to another. Not hurried, but steady.
There are two separate stories that take place here and four different endings. Despite its lack of originality in characters, Kind Nepenthe manages to wiggle its way into the reader's sympathies. I felt for Katie, the young, pregnant girlfriend of Diesel's son. My heart ached for Rebecca, whose loneliness begins to eat at her as the story progresses. Even Diesel managed to find an endearing resonance with me, much to my surprise.
While I was hoping for a little bit more boo! than I received, I look forward to more of Brockmeyer's work in the future. This book was a nice, relaxing read and I simply was not able to put it down. I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book for the purpose of review.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Golden Couple in Books
Aug 25, 2021
I've read every book that Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have wrote together, so when I got the chance to read their latest book entitled The Golden Couple, I jumped at the chance! I've loved every novel they've written together, and I definitely loved The Golden Couple.
The synopsis for The Golden Couple reeled me in. The plot was solid albeit a little farfetched towards the ending when everything is revealed. Still, the writing was done fantastically, and I was instantly transported to this world Hendricks and Pekkanen had created. With all that was going on, I felt like there was one main storyline and two minor storylines going on. It was fun reading The Golden Couple and trying to figure out who all was guilty. In fact, there were times I thought it may even be Marissa creating problems for herself to make herself look more like the victim. While this book is more predictable and doesn't have as many plot twists as Hendricks' and Pekkanen's previous novels, the plot twists in this novel were interesting to say the least. I kind of suspected the culprit of the story, but then again, everyone was a suspect in my head. The ending is tied up nicely with no loose ends which is always a plus for me.
Hendricks and Pekkanen know how to write some stellar characters! I felt as if every character in The Golden Couple was fleshed out enough to feel realistic instead of just some writing on paper. Marissa showed that she was only human through her mistakes. (Personally, I don't think I would be as forgiving as her husband, Matthew, appeared to be if my spouse cheated on me.) I felt that I would probably be like Marissa if I were in her shoes. She was fairly easy to relate to. I loved how much love she had for her young son, and I liked how willing she was to work on her marriage. I felt sorry for Marissa's husband, Matthew, when Marissa revealed she had cheated on him. I did like how forgiving he was and how much it seemed that he wanted to work on the marriage even though he wasn't the one who cheated. Sometimes I did think he tried to hard though to make Marissa feel loved. Polly, Marissa's assistant, was definitely an interesting character for sure. I didn't know what to make of her or if she could be trusted. She seemed to eager to please Marissa and like she was trying to hard to be Marissa. Still, she was a well written and likeable character. I enjoyed Avery and her very logical mind as well as her very different approach to non-traditional therapy. Her tactics she used were definitely different (and probably illegal), but they always seemed to work. I also admired how dedicated she was to her clients and how much she wanted to help them. Avery came across as very smart and sophisticated.
Trigger warnings for The Golden Couple include infidelity, profanity, alcohol use, some violence, gun violence, death, and murder.
Overall, The Golden Couple is a highly entertaining read that you will not want to put down. It will leave you guessing until the very end. I would definitely recommend The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen to those aged 18+ who are after a fantastic thriller that will stay with them for awhile.
--
(A special thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC eBook of The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.)
The synopsis for The Golden Couple reeled me in. The plot was solid albeit a little farfetched towards the ending when everything is revealed. Still, the writing was done fantastically, and I was instantly transported to this world Hendricks and Pekkanen had created. With all that was going on, I felt like there was one main storyline and two minor storylines going on. It was fun reading The Golden Couple and trying to figure out who all was guilty. In fact, there were times I thought it may even be Marissa creating problems for herself to make herself look more like the victim. While this book is more predictable and doesn't have as many plot twists as Hendricks' and Pekkanen's previous novels, the plot twists in this novel were interesting to say the least. I kind of suspected the culprit of the story, but then again, everyone was a suspect in my head. The ending is tied up nicely with no loose ends which is always a plus for me.
Hendricks and Pekkanen know how to write some stellar characters! I felt as if every character in The Golden Couple was fleshed out enough to feel realistic instead of just some writing on paper. Marissa showed that she was only human through her mistakes. (Personally, I don't think I would be as forgiving as her husband, Matthew, appeared to be if my spouse cheated on me.) I felt that I would probably be like Marissa if I were in her shoes. She was fairly easy to relate to. I loved how much love she had for her young son, and I liked how willing she was to work on her marriage. I felt sorry for Marissa's husband, Matthew, when Marissa revealed she had cheated on him. I did like how forgiving he was and how much it seemed that he wanted to work on the marriage even though he wasn't the one who cheated. Sometimes I did think he tried to hard though to make Marissa feel loved. Polly, Marissa's assistant, was definitely an interesting character for sure. I didn't know what to make of her or if she could be trusted. She seemed to eager to please Marissa and like she was trying to hard to be Marissa. Still, she was a well written and likeable character. I enjoyed Avery and her very logical mind as well as her very different approach to non-traditional therapy. Her tactics she used were definitely different (and probably illegal), but they always seemed to work. I also admired how dedicated she was to her clients and how much she wanted to help them. Avery came across as very smart and sophisticated.
Trigger warnings for The Golden Couple include infidelity, profanity, alcohol use, some violence, gun violence, death, and murder.
Overall, The Golden Couple is a highly entertaining read that you will not want to put down. It will leave you guessing until the very end. I would definitely recommend The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen to those aged 18+ who are after a fantastic thriller that will stay with them for awhile.
--
(A special thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC eBook of The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.)
David McK (3251 KP) rated Labyrinth of Evil (Star Wars: The Dark Lord Trilogy, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Following the now-infamous Disney acquisition of Star Wars (which saw the abolition of the old Expanded Universe), I'm actually no-longer sure where this sits in the hierarchy of canon: is this 'Legends' (i.e pre acquisition) material, or is it stil canon?
This is set between the events of 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith' - actually leading directly into that movie, with Anakin and Obi-Wan jetting off back to Coruscant - and, in many ways, seeks to bolster the reputation of one of the missed opportunities from that movie: that of General Grievious (not his face on the cover ...).
I'm also not sure where it sits alongside the Genndy Tartakovsy animation which also seeked to do exactly that, though the latter portion of the novel does seem to describesome of the actions shown in that animation (the surprise attack on Coruscant, and the capturing of Senator Palpatine) in prose form.
This is also the first of the so-called 'Dark Lord' trilogy (comprising of this, [b:Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith|35458|Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388228249s/35458.jpg|476816] and [b:The Rise of Darth Vader|359848|The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars The Dark Lord Trilogy, #3)|James Luceno|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388209667s/359848.jpg|574260]); while I have previously read - and enjoyed - the middle of those three, I now feel like reading the series in its entirity, from start to finish.
This is set between the events of 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith' - actually leading directly into that movie, with Anakin and Obi-Wan jetting off back to Coruscant - and, in many ways, seeks to bolster the reputation of one of the missed opportunities from that movie: that of General Grievious (not his face on the cover ...).
I'm also not sure where it sits alongside the Genndy Tartakovsy animation which also seeked to do exactly that, though the latter portion of the novel does seem to describesome of the actions shown in that animation (the surprise attack on Coruscant, and the capturing of Senator Palpatine) in prose form.
This is also the first of the so-called 'Dark Lord' trilogy (comprising of this, [b:Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith|35458|Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388228249s/35458.jpg|476816] and [b:The Rise of Darth Vader|359848|The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars The Dark Lord Trilogy, #3)|James Luceno|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388209667s/359848.jpg|574260]); while I have previously read - and enjoyed - the middle of those three, I now feel like reading the series in its entirity, from start to finish.
Lenard (726 KP) rated A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) in Movies
Nov 22, 2019
Based on a magazine article written by an Esquire investigative reporter assigned a profile on Fred Rogers, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is the Tuesdays With Morrie adaptation of the man who guided generations of children through the perils of childhood. Opening in the style of the famed PBS series Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, we begin by learning the story of journalist Lloyd Vogel, a man very much in need of a change in attitude. He harbors a lot of father issues. The editor of Esquire wants him to write one of the articles for an issue on Heroes, but everyone has read his work and is afraid to talk to him. That is,except for the one man in the world who never judges others until he has walked in his shoes. In other words, you need to know a person in order to really be able to know someone. Tom Hanks is a national treasure and perfectly captures the heart and soul of a man who exuberates compassion and willing teaches everyone the most important lesson of life. Matthew Rhys capably plays Lloyd as he comes to grips with all the buried feelings of the childhood he had which turned him into the man he is. Chris Cooper stands out as Jerry, the father who abandoned his family when life became too rough. Overall, the movie is good, and the movie achieves its goal: telling the story of how one person can make a huge difference in the lives of others just by listening.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Redeemed ( Jenny Cooper 3) in Books
Apr 2, 2023
39 of 235
Book
The Redeemed (Jenny Cooper 3)
By M.R. Hall ( Matthew Hall)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A man's body is discovered in a church yard, the sign of the cross carved into his abdomen. Later he is found to be Alan Jacobs, a troubled psychiatric nurse. It seems to Jenny Cooper, Severn Vale District Coroner, this is likely to be an open and shut suicide case, but something tells her to probe a little deeper ...Then an enigmatic young priest, Father Lucas Starr, entreats Jenny to hold an inquest into the death of reformed porn actress, Eva Donaldson. Jenny's investigations will lead her to a powerful new religious group The Mission Church of God; and when it later emerges that Jacobs was also a member of the church, Jenny realises that more could link the deaths of these victims than she could have realised. Meanwhile Jenny must finally confront the demons of her past; and as her private life threatens to shatter, faces intense pressure from all angles to cease her investigations. But to Jenny Cooper, whose whole life has been governed by deception, the truth is everything..
I really like this series I really do but this one while it was good and I enjoyed it to a point it was just lacking a little. Seemed very rushed at the end and I’m not quite sure that the ending with Craven was needed. Maybe it’s just me? Overall I like the writing style and detail in his books I just wanted more from this. Still a decent read.
Book
The Redeemed (Jenny Cooper 3)
By M.R. Hall ( Matthew Hall)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A man's body is discovered in a church yard, the sign of the cross carved into his abdomen. Later he is found to be Alan Jacobs, a troubled psychiatric nurse. It seems to Jenny Cooper, Severn Vale District Coroner, this is likely to be an open and shut suicide case, but something tells her to probe a little deeper ...Then an enigmatic young priest, Father Lucas Starr, entreats Jenny to hold an inquest into the death of reformed porn actress, Eva Donaldson. Jenny's investigations will lead her to a powerful new religious group The Mission Church of God; and when it later emerges that Jacobs was also a member of the church, Jenny realises that more could link the deaths of these victims than she could have realised. Meanwhile Jenny must finally confront the demons of her past; and as her private life threatens to shatter, faces intense pressure from all angles to cease her investigations. But to Jenny Cooper, whose whole life has been governed by deception, the truth is everything..
I really like this series I really do but this one while it was good and I enjoyed it to a point it was just lacking a little. Seemed very rushed at the end and I’m not quite sure that the ending with Craven was needed. Maybe it’s just me? Overall I like the writing style and detail in his books I just wanted more from this. Still a decent read.