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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Home Front in Books

Jan 15, 2018  
HF
Home Front
10
10.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have read several Kristin Hannah books and enjoyed every one that I've read to date. I must say that this one takes the cake however. I don't think there was a chapter in the entire book that didn't bring tears to my eyes or have me laughing or even cussing out one of the characters.
This book tells the story of Jolene & Michael. He is a successful criminal defense attorney, she is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the National Guard. Michael has always thought Jo's involvement in the service was strange to say the least. Like many couples, Jo & Michael were watching their marriage crumble to pieces. After Michael makes a particularly heart wrenching admission, Jo finds out that she is being deployed with her Raptor unit to Iraq, which of course includes Jo's best friend & next door neighbor Tami. The book centers around this deployment and the effects it has on Jo, Michael, & their 2 young daughters. It is both heart breaking and encouragining. You will find yourself rooting for Michael and Jo, but for very different reasons.
I will warn you however, it is not all happy endings. Of course how could it be when war is involved?
Bottom line....READ IT!
  
Year One (2009)
Year One (2009)
2009 | Action, Comedy
4
4.1 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Jack Black 'comedy' (and I use that term in the loosest possible sense) that sees his caveman character - along with his friend Oh, played by Michael Vera - leave (or, rather, be banished from) his society and embark on a journey across biblical lands, encountering all sorts of (early) Biblical characters and ending this part of his journey - and the final acts - in the city of Sodom.

Not the greatest, with very few - if any - laughs.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Stranger in Books

May 30, 2021  
Stranger
Stranger
Karen Perry | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am sad to say that I couldn't get into this at all and found my mind wandering to other things. I have read Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry and enjoyed it but this one just didn't do it for me unfortunately, however it won't put me off reading more from these authors. Not sure why it didn't grab me but sometimes it just doesn't happen.

Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
Book #5 in Michael Arnold's 'Civil War Chronicles', this picks up not long after then end of the previous ([b:Assassin's Reign|16281347|Assassin's Reign (Civil War Chronicles #4)|Michael Arnold|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373968716s/16281347.jpg|22383365]), with Stryker and his men off to retrieve a treasure from the Scilly Islands for the cause of King and Country.

Of course, agents of Parliament are also after the same treasure.

Meanwhile, Stryker's friend Capt Lancelot Forester is also sent deep into Parliamenterian held country in order to shore up the will of an outpost that is still holding out for the king ...

Surviving shipwreck, imprisonment and torture, the two distinct plot strands (Stryker and the treasure/Forester' mission) eventually mesh at the defense of Basing House, in another enjoyable entry in the series.
  
The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2001)
The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2001)
2001 | Drama, Musical
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"It’s a very, very intense movie. Isabelle Huppert, I think, is the greatest living actress. She goes on such a crazy journey in this movie. It’s an incredible performance, and it’s just an impeccably made movie. It’s a perfect movie. You haven’t seen it? Oh, you need to watch it. It’s so intense and so disturbing. Nobody does that kind of glowing sense of dread like Michael Haneke, where you just feel it coming and you’re like, “Oh god, oh my god, what’s going to happen?” I think he’s such a master. I was at a party one time with a friend of mine and I said, “Oh my God, it’s Michael Haneke!” And she was like, “How do you know?” I was really starstruck to see him — like, “How do you know what he looks like?”"

Source
  
Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1)
Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1)
L.A. Witt | 2018 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
warm and fuzzies, people, warm and fuzzies!
Independent review for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Jason is faced with two choices: an increase in pain medication, or a visit to the acupuncturist his friend keeps recommending. He opts for the latter to relieve his shoulder pain, but it is costly. Finding out Michael was also struggling financially, Jason suggests they become room mates, since Jason has room. Jason just never factored in the attraction he has for Michael, especially since Michael is straight, right?

Warm and fuzzies, right here! I really enjoyed this! I mean, I must have. I went to bed to read a few pages before sleep and 90 minutes later, I'm done! One late night sitting and I made a new shelf for them too!

My only niggle is that only Jason has a say! Even though it;s first person, I think if Michael had been given a voice, this would have been a 5 star read. Michael does go against his feelings. Well, not really AGAINST them, more he lets his TRUE feelings free and I wanted to ear from him at key points along the way. There were many of them, too, but mostly his first meeting with Jason; when Michael does what he does to set Jason off and the bits in between, when they are fighting the attraction so bloody hard it made my teeth hurt!

It's not really a Happy Ever After ending, either, at least I didn't think so. Oh they get together and announce it to every one and they are happy, I just feel there might be more to come from these guys! Is there?? I hope so!

This appears to be the first book in a series written by (that I can see) 3 different authors, set in Tucker Springs which is the series name. I'd certainly read more of them, by Witt especially. Her book "Nine Tenths of The Law" spurned a new shelf too, "too stinking cute". I'd quite happily read other books in the series, just to see who pops up along the way!

So, ONLY because Michael doesn't get a voice

4 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Sundays at Tiffany's
Sundays at Tiffany's
James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.2 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
James Patterson never ceases to amaze me. I read this book in a matter of hours.

when Jane's imaginary friend, Michael, leaves and promises that she'll forget him, Jane is heartbroken. She goes through her life, seemingly in mediocrety, until one day after a terrible break-up with her crappy-boyfriend (dude, you so had it coming.), she visits her favorite childhood restaurant and is bombarded by memories of Michael.

then she looks across the room and sees him.

and then it takes off. Jane changes her life, no longer afraid to be who she really is. Michael calls into question who he is, and struggles through his own identity crisis--is he human, or angel, or something else? and why didn't Jane's "imaginary" experience go the way it was supposed to?

but then Michael realizes his mission in New York--and his whole world comes crashing down. how is he supposed to do this, and how is he supposed to live with it?

the whole time reading this book, i kept thinking questions. for the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I won't tell you what they were. one of them was "will he forget, like he did with all his other past experiences?" I couldn't see a way out of the climax... but the ending was all too sweet. i squealed (don't believe me? my sister was in the room at the time. ask her. it's true).

all in all, this book is a treasure to me. it's staying on my bookshelf where it belongs, i won't ever sell it or give it away (yeah, you can borrow it if you really want to. be careful of the pages.). maybe i loved it more than anyone else ever has, because of a strange connection I share with Jane Margaux. my imaginary friend's name was Michael, too.
  
Imagine Me & You (2006)
Imagine Me & You (2006)
2006 | Comedy, Romance
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Charming performances by Piper Parabo (Coyote Ugly), Lena Heady, and Anthony Michael Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (2 more)
A LGBTQ movie before the time of legal gay marriage
Witty humor and inspiring chemistry
Annoying misogynist supporting male character as the best friend of the unlucky husband (0 more)
A film just slightly ahead of its time
Contains spoilers, click to show
A woman falls in love with another woman at her wedding reception. As they try their best to fight their love, it becomes so much clearer that despite her husband is a good man, he doesn't hold her whole heart, proving that love can be found in the most unexpected ways.
  
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
1990 | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Honestly, this might be my favorite of the three! I have a friend who said I shouldn't watch this one and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. I really enjoyed it! I love Michael J. Fox and Marty even more. I love Mart and Doc's relationship and that each of the stories felt fresh but still like they belonged together. I love the history that's in the film between the Tannen's and the McFly's - I think it makes for a well-rounded story through all the films.

I'm super glad I watched these, especially now when I can understand a lot more about what's happening and the different nuances. Definitely a good film!
  
Divided Paths (Afterlife #4)
Divided Paths (Afterlife #4)
Katrina Cope | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Although the fourth book in the Afterlife series released, this serves as the back story to both Zacharius and to events in the related Supernatural Evolvement series. This can also be read as a stand alone or as an introduction to both series.

Zacharius is an angel used to fighting demons and protecting his friend Archangel Michael from danger. When Michael gives him an important mission he doesn't expect it to be protecting a young girl living on a remote farm. However he soon discovers that the girl may indeed be as special as Michael suspects.

This is a great read from cover to cover. After the jaded and somewhat embittered version of Zacharius in the earlier books, it is good to see him not only fully fit but a suitable angelic hero. This story answers a few of the questions left over from the two series it touches upon and further expands the world of angels, demons, witches and shape changers that Cope has managed to conjure.

The story isn't complex but that just allows the characters to stand out, particularly Zacharius and Ava for obvious reasons, but also the other players in the cast.

As usual with any of Cope's stories the only disappointment is getting to the last page and having to wait to see what happens next.