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ClareR (5945 KP) rated The Safekeep in Books
Jan 26, 2025
The house in The Safekeep is at the centre of this story. Isabel lives alone in the large family home in the countryside, whilst her brothers, Louis and Hendrik, live in the city. Isabel and Hendrik are invited to meet yet another of Louis’ girlfriends, and they don’t seem to take either one of them seriously. Shortly afterwards, Louis has to leave for France on business, and his girlfriend doesn’t want to stay in their city flat alone. So she asks to stay with Isabel.
Isabel lives a very rigid life. Not religious as such, but close to the Calvinist religion that their mother brought them up in. She’s paranoid about things going missing from inside the house, she constantly counts everything and tries to keep the house as her mother would have done. It becomes clear towards the end why she does this.
Isabel clearly doesn’t want Eva to stay. She wants to be alone in the house. Isabel also doesn’t want the attention of a rather over-enthusiastic male “friend”. She goes on dates with him, barely tolerating his company.
As Isabel and Eva’s relationship develops, we see another side of Isabel, and in the latter half of the book there are diary entries that explain a lot about her (I love a book with diary entries). This is a love story, but also a story about what happened to the property of returning Jews after WW2. It’s a psychological novel with a lot of secrets at its heart. It must have been a tough call for this book NOT to win the Booker in 2024.
Isabel lives a very rigid life. Not religious as such, but close to the Calvinist religion that their mother brought them up in. She’s paranoid about things going missing from inside the house, she constantly counts everything and tries to keep the house as her mother would have done. It becomes clear towards the end why she does this.
Isabel clearly doesn’t want Eva to stay. She wants to be alone in the house. Isabel also doesn’t want the attention of a rather over-enthusiastic male “friend”. She goes on dates with him, barely tolerating his company.
As Isabel and Eva’s relationship develops, we see another side of Isabel, and in the latter half of the book there are diary entries that explain a lot about her (I love a book with diary entries). This is a love story, but also a story about what happened to the property of returning Jews after WW2. It’s a psychological novel with a lot of secrets at its heart. It must have been a tough call for this book NOT to win the Booker in 2024.
Debbiereadsbook (1487 KP) rated Daddy Protector (Night Ops Daddies #1) in Books
Aug 21, 2025
cute read
Independent reviewer for GRR, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I'm not sure whether or not I liked this book, so I will try to keep my comments positive. There are a couple of negatives that DO need adressing though.
I liked the story. It's an easy read, with very little brain power required. The plot is not complicated, or full of twists that you can't keep up with. It was one of those reads that you go to bed early to read a bit and the next thing, you've finished the book.
I liked that Richie and Cole both have a say. I liked that Cole took the fact that Richie was a little in his stride, and slotted himself into the Daddy role accordingly.
This is point one, though. One minute Cole is just Richie's bodyguard, the next, calling him Daddy. I know these sorts of relationshops move fast, but still, felt a little too fast for me. there was no discussion about punishments or rewards or anything. It was just straight in.
The emotional connection between Richie and Cole was missing, for ME. I stress the ME bit. Others might find it perfect but not so much for me.
And there is MUCH repetition of certain phrases. Night Ops Guard is one. Richie is the son of Hunter is another. Almost every page, there was one or the other, sometimes more than once a page. It was annoying to say the least.
A nicce book, an easy read. Maybe I'll try something else by this author, this was my first.
3 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
I'm not sure whether or not I liked this book, so I will try to keep my comments positive. There are a couple of negatives that DO need adressing though.
I liked the story. It's an easy read, with very little brain power required. The plot is not complicated, or full of twists that you can't keep up with. It was one of those reads that you go to bed early to read a bit and the next thing, you've finished the book.
I liked that Richie and Cole both have a say. I liked that Cole took the fact that Richie was a little in his stride, and slotted himself into the Daddy role accordingly.
This is point one, though. One minute Cole is just Richie's bodyguard, the next, calling him Daddy. I know these sorts of relationshops move fast, but still, felt a little too fast for me. there was no discussion about punishments or rewards or anything. It was just straight in.
The emotional connection between Richie and Cole was missing, for ME. I stress the ME bit. Others might find it perfect but not so much for me.
And there is MUCH repetition of certain phrases. Night Ops Guard is one. Richie is the son of Hunter is another. Almost every page, there was one or the other, sometimes more than once a page. It was annoying to say the least.
A nicce book, an easy read. Maybe I'll try something else by this author, this was my first.
3 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Steven Sklansky (231 KP) rated The Snowman (2017) in Movies
Oct 19, 2017
Not enough suspense (2 more)
poor twist
Plot that just didn't fit or make sense
The Movie that Melted Away
The Snowman was not put together very well. Just like the snowmen that were built in the movie They were missing a lot. No carrot for the noise, no coal for the eyes and not enough suspense to keep me gripped to my seat. I walked in to this movie thinking this would be a thriller, with twists and turns. Right out of the box at the little boys house with the mom was so down played. They could have add a little bit more of a score to show how dramatic the situation was. This was kind of the theme the whole movie.
The acting was actually strong, but the story was not written very well, there were no twists and turns. The flipping from present to past and back was done very poorly and hard to follow sometimes. The characters were not built up to understand their whole story.
The deaths in the movie were not presented very well, I thought there was going to be more bodies stuck in snowmen, but it seemed that the snowmen were more to show that bad things are going to happen. The way the women were murder was so boring. I get what the killer was going for and his MO was very standard, but the presentation could have been so much better.
The one thing that I actually liked was the location that they shot the movie in. It looked very classic with the snow. The landscape and the way they used it in the story was very good.
I had such high hopes for this movie, but by the end of the movie my hope melted away like a snowman at the end of winter.
The acting was actually strong, but the story was not written very well, there were no twists and turns. The flipping from present to past and back was done very poorly and hard to follow sometimes. The characters were not built up to understand their whole story.
The deaths in the movie were not presented very well, I thought there was going to be more bodies stuck in snowmen, but it seemed that the snowmen were more to show that bad things are going to happen. The way the women were murder was so boring. I get what the killer was going for and his MO was very standard, but the presentation could have been so much better.
The one thing that I actually liked was the location that they shot the movie in. It looked very classic with the snow. The landscape and the way they used it in the story was very good.
I had such high hopes for this movie, but by the end of the movie my hope melted away like a snowman at the end of winter.
Jack and Lily were the best of friends from a young age and as they got older and realised that they were developing feelings for each other, they decided to have a little distance, that was the most miserable time of their lives. With Lily meeting Alfie, Jack know he will always be part of her life, but not as import and now it would be Just Jack, and he had to work out the missing half of him.
After breaking up with his ex, Rosie because he wasn’t in love with her, he meets a girl called Gini and feels a connection, but it doesn’t work out.
Deciding to take a break from everything Jack heads away for six months and when he returns after trying to reunite with Rosie with no success, Jack takes the opportunity to tour with Rick’s band.
Seeing a music technician that stirs feelings in him, Jack is surprised to find out that it’s Rick’s niece Mya, even more surprised when Rick tells her it’s up to her, he doesn’t tell her what she can and can’t do. With Mya and Jack slowly becoming closer friends and with a little push, one night after a accidently kiss, Jack feels like he never has before.
After they left the tour and returned home, Jack knew he had to work out things with Lily. Holidaying with Mya, he realises that life is too short for what if’s and on a day that they should be so happy Jack gets news that will change their lives.
I loved happily ever after ending and how Jack although he was still Jack, he ended up with more than he could have ever imagined and was more than Just Jack.
After breaking up with his ex, Rosie because he wasn’t in love with her, he meets a girl called Gini and feels a connection, but it doesn’t work out.
Deciding to take a break from everything Jack heads away for six months and when he returns after trying to reunite with Rosie with no success, Jack takes the opportunity to tour with Rick’s band.
Seeing a music technician that stirs feelings in him, Jack is surprised to find out that it’s Rick’s niece Mya, even more surprised when Rick tells her it’s up to her, he doesn’t tell her what she can and can’t do. With Mya and Jack slowly becoming closer friends and with a little push, one night after a accidently kiss, Jack feels like he never has before.
After they left the tour and returned home, Jack knew he had to work out things with Lily. Holidaying with Mya, he realises that life is too short for what if’s and on a day that they should be so happy Jack gets news that will change their lives.
I loved happily ever after ending and how Jack although he was still Jack, he ended up with more than he could have ever imagined and was more than Just Jack.
Merissa (13169 KP) rated Caressed by Shadows (Rulers of Darkness #4) in Books
Dec 20, 2017
Caressed by Shadows (Rulers of Darkness #4) by Amanda J. Greene
Caressed by Shadows is the fourth book in the series, and one I was looking forward to. Falcon and Sonya just had to get together! There was just a couple of issues - they were breaking the law if they did, which could result in Falcon's death; Sonya is suffering the throes of the Death Curse; Falcon has such a high sense of honour it threatens to strangle him at every turn. Still, with Silvie's help, there may just be hope for these two.
I would recommend that you read this series in order to get the full enjoyment out of the characters and the situations. With each story, you learn more about the world in which they live, and how they became the vampires they are. Sonya is a warrior queen throughout, and makes no pains to hide it. Accept her as she is, or not, she doesn't really care either way. She is a great character that constantly livens things up. Falcon is a good boy in public, and a bad boy in private, so you get the best of both worlds. Their story has been building up over the past couple of centuries, so no insta-love here.
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the thing that lets it down is the editing. There are constant errors throughout which I'm afraid did jolt me out of the story. There was one scene with Gabriel and Gannon where, at best, half a sentence was completely missing. At worst, it could be more. I love this series, but the editing is a problem.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I would recommend that you read this series in order to get the full enjoyment out of the characters and the situations. With each story, you learn more about the world in which they live, and how they became the vampires they are. Sonya is a warrior queen throughout, and makes no pains to hide it. Accept her as she is, or not, she doesn't really care either way. She is a great character that constantly livens things up. Falcon is a good boy in public, and a bad boy in private, so you get the best of both worlds. Their story has been building up over the past couple of centuries, so no insta-love here.
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the thing that lets it down is the editing. There are constant errors throughout which I'm afraid did jolt me out of the story. There was one scene with Gabriel and Gannon where, at best, half a sentence was completely missing. At worst, it could be more. I love this series, but the editing is a problem.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Merissa (13169 KP) rated Twell and the Army of Powers (Como Chronicles #1) in Books
Jun 21, 2017
Twell and the Army of Powers (Como Chronicles #1) by Kate O'Leary
Twell and the Army of Powers is the first book in the Como Chronicles. It gives us an in-depth view into the lives of those who live there, how their lives are regulated, what is forbidden, and what isn't. Twell is the main character, and the story is told from her perspective, and yet is still rounded out enough that you don't feel like you are missing out on anything.
Twell is a bit of a brat at the start of the book, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Her character grows in ways unforeseen, by her own actions and by the 'gentle' advice from her friends. All of the characters have grit though, whether you like them or not. There is not a weak character amongst them, and they all grow and change throughout the book.
There is so much I want to say about this book, but won't in case of spoilers. Things happened that I never saw coming; my heart was broken on more than one occasion; it jumped into my mouth as I desperately held onto hope (even knowing that the author wouldn't make it so easy). The story is concise and gripping, thrilling and action-packed, ending on a cliffhanger that had me shouting out "NO!" even though I had already suspected the outcome!
This is a fantastic Young Adult Dystopian story with a dash of romance, that is guaranteed to enthral the reader. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Twell is a bit of a brat at the start of the book, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Her character grows in ways unforeseen, by her own actions and by the 'gentle' advice from her friends. All of the characters have grit though, whether you like them or not. There is not a weak character amongst them, and they all grow and change throughout the book.
There is so much I want to say about this book, but won't in case of spoilers. Things happened that I never saw coming; my heart was broken on more than one occasion; it jumped into my mouth as I desperately held onto hope (even knowing that the author wouldn't make it so easy). The story is concise and gripping, thrilling and action-packed, ending on a cliffhanger that had me shouting out "NO!" even though I had already suspected the outcome!
This is a fantastic Young Adult Dystopian story with a dash of romance, that is guaranteed to enthral the reader. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
tapestry100 (306 KP) rated Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book in Books
Aug 2, 2017
Originally reviewed on http://www.frommybookshelf.com
I have never heard of Jomny Sun, nor his twitter feed, @jonnysun, and after having read everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too, I feel like I've been missing out on something fairly amazing. everyone's a aliebn opens with the alien Jomny being dropped off on Earth, to study the planet and what it means to be an earthling. Never feeling like a part of his people, Jomny at first feels lost on Earth, but as he learns what it means to be an earthling thru his encounters with a varied cast of characters, he actually discovers what it means to be human instead, and begins to finally feel like he has found his place in the universe.
This is one of those rare treats of a book for me that reminds me how you can be fooled by a book, and in a beautiful way. Remarkably told thru the sparsest of illustrations and text, everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too has an emotional impact I was not expecting. The illustrations and text are so basic, I initially thought I was just reading a cute little story about an alien on Earth and his misadventures, but what Jonathan Sun provides is actually a guide to the ups and downs of all human emotion, and it is surprisingly powerful. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately flipped back to the beginning as soon as I finished and read the whole thing again. I think this would be a perfect book for anyone who is having a hard time finding their place in the world; if Jomny can do it, any of us can.
I have never heard of Jomny Sun, nor his twitter feed, @jonnysun, and after having read everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too, I feel like I've been missing out on something fairly amazing. everyone's a aliebn opens with the alien Jomny being dropped off on Earth, to study the planet and what it means to be an earthling. Never feeling like a part of his people, Jomny at first feels lost on Earth, but as he learns what it means to be an earthling thru his encounters with a varied cast of characters, he actually discovers what it means to be human instead, and begins to finally feel like he has found his place in the universe.
This is one of those rare treats of a book for me that reminds me how you can be fooled by a book, and in a beautiful way. Remarkably told thru the sparsest of illustrations and text, everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too has an emotional impact I was not expecting. The illustrations and text are so basic, I initially thought I was just reading a cute little story about an alien on Earth and his misadventures, but what Jonathan Sun provides is actually a guide to the ups and downs of all human emotion, and it is surprisingly powerful. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately flipped back to the beginning as soon as I finished and read the whole thing again. I think this would be a perfect book for anyone who is having a hard time finding their place in the world; if Jomny can do it, any of us can.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Chimera (Parasitology, #3) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
This was the final book in the Parasitology series that I started reading back when the first book came out. I really have the same thing to say about it as I did the other two books.
This whole book was filled with great plot twists and great characters. I didn’t expect the curveballs that were thrown at me, and I enjoyed the discovery and the unfolding of the story.
My complaints were the same as the other books as well. The series was a good concept with poor execution. I was frustrated on a regular basis by the writing style, grammar, and sentince structure (or lack therof). It was repetitive, exhausting, and at times, quite petty. I normally don’t comment on the writing style, except when it’s a problem. And in this case, it did distract from the story, and Sal’s constant interior monologue made me want to slap her. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed the book, I just would have enoyed it more if it had been written well.
The ending was somewhat lacking, and I would have liked to see more finality and more resolution from some of the characters. The plot ending itself was everything it needed to be, it was just a few little things that were missing; conversations that were never had, conflicts that were never resolved, characters that never fixed (or ended) their relationship. It wasn’t at all an “open ending,” but it wasn’t as closed as it could have been.
All in all I gave it the 3 star rating because it wasn’t a bad book and it wasn’t a waste of my time, it just wasn’t a good book either.
This whole book was filled with great plot twists and great characters. I didn’t expect the curveballs that were thrown at me, and I enjoyed the discovery and the unfolding of the story.
My complaints were the same as the other books as well. The series was a good concept with poor execution. I was frustrated on a regular basis by the writing style, grammar, and sentince structure (or lack therof). It was repetitive, exhausting, and at times, quite petty. I normally don’t comment on the writing style, except when it’s a problem. And in this case, it did distract from the story, and Sal’s constant interior monologue made me want to slap her. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed the book, I just would have enoyed it more if it had been written well.
The ending was somewhat lacking, and I would have liked to see more finality and more resolution from some of the characters. The plot ending itself was everything it needed to be, it was just a few little things that were missing; conversations that were never had, conflicts that were never resolved, characters that never fixed (or ended) their relationship. It wasn’t at all an “open ending,” but it wasn’t as closed as it could have been.
All in all I gave it the 3 star rating because it wasn’t a bad book and it wasn’t a waste of my time, it just wasn’t a good book either.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Sons of Thunder (Brothers in Arms Collection) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
I loved the concept of Sons of Thunder. It had great potential and I’ve seen tons of five-star reviews for it. Sadly it didn’t meet my expectations.
I had a hard time reading it for a few reasons. One was the writing. It had a sort of funny style. It was as if short dramatic phrases were placed at the end of a paragraph, but the phrases were not dramatic in any way, nor were the necessary. It made the whole thing feel awkward. It was also hard to follow and I got confused a lot.
The second was the romance. I immediately saw and understood how Markos looked at Sofia. But their relationship jumped around from courteous to in-love to friends to not-talking, and I couldn’t understand where they actually stood or how they saw each other. It was like a whole first chunk of their relationship was missing from the book. There was no connection to the characters.
Third, I didn’t like the Chicago club stuff at all. It turned me off right away.
As I mentioned above I didn’t finish Sons of Thunder. There was nothing compelling me to continue, there wasn’t any plot, and the characters were beginning to aggravate me and I didn’t connect with them. I skipped to the very last page just to see what happened, and was not surprised to see that exactly what I thought would happen, did happen.
I was very disappointed by Sons of Thunder, especially considering all the five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I really wish I had loved it, but I must share my 100% honest opinion. Please know that I and the few other readers who didn’t like it are the minority by a landslide. I hope you’ll consider other reviews before you make a decision.
I had a hard time reading it for a few reasons. One was the writing. It had a sort of funny style. It was as if short dramatic phrases were placed at the end of a paragraph, but the phrases were not dramatic in any way, nor were the necessary. It made the whole thing feel awkward. It was also hard to follow and I got confused a lot.
The second was the romance. I immediately saw and understood how Markos looked at Sofia. But their relationship jumped around from courteous to in-love to friends to not-talking, and I couldn’t understand where they actually stood or how they saw each other. It was like a whole first chunk of their relationship was missing from the book. There was no connection to the characters.
Third, I didn’t like the Chicago club stuff at all. It turned me off right away.
As I mentioned above I didn’t finish Sons of Thunder. There was nothing compelling me to continue, there wasn’t any plot, and the characters were beginning to aggravate me and I didn’t connect with them. I skipped to the very last page just to see what happened, and was not surprised to see that exactly what I thought would happen, did happen.
I was very disappointed by Sons of Thunder, especially considering all the five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I really wish I had loved it, but I must share my 100% honest opinion. Please know that I and the few other readers who didn’t like it are the minority by a landslide. I hope you’ll consider other reviews before you make a decision.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Forgotten (John Puller #2) in Books
May 10, 2018
John Puller is on vacation from his duties as a CID officer for the Army when his father, receives a letter from Betsy Simon. Betsy Simon is Puller's aunt, and was instrumental in his upbringing while his father served as a General in the Army. The letter instantly puts Puller on high alert and he heads to Paradise, FL to check on his aunt. When he arrives, he finds that she has died in her backyard and the local police have written it off as an accident. Puller does not believe this to be true, despite his aunt's ailments and age. Conducting his own investigation, he is determined to find out what happened to his aunt and what is going on in Paradise that had her so rattled.
Another gripping John Puller novel from David Baldacci. Even on vacation, Puller can't escape crime. He thought he would go down to Paradise, FL and just be able to talk to his aunt about what was troubling her in the letter she sent to his father. She did ask for his help in the letter, but Puller never expected she would be killed for it. While investigating his aunt's murder, more people end up dead, friends of his aunts, and people go missing. Things just don't seem to be so great in Paradise after all. With the help of the local police, Puller tries to get to the bottom of what is going on. Are the police in on the disappearances of people? Are they trying to cover up what really happened to his aunt by calling her death an accident?
During this investigation, Puller finds out some disturbing happenings in Paradise. Will the local police accept his help to get to the bottom of it or is this small town in on the whole thing.
Another gripping John Puller novel from David Baldacci. Even on vacation, Puller can't escape crime. He thought he would go down to Paradise, FL and just be able to talk to his aunt about what was troubling her in the letter she sent to his father. She did ask for his help in the letter, but Puller never expected she would be killed for it. While investigating his aunt's murder, more people end up dead, friends of his aunts, and people go missing. Things just don't seem to be so great in Paradise after all. With the help of the local police, Puller tries to get to the bottom of what is going on. Are the police in on the disappearances of people? Are they trying to cover up what really happened to his aunt by calling her death an accident?
During this investigation, Puller finds out some disturbing happenings in Paradise. Will the local police accept his help to get to the bottom of it or is this small town in on the whole thing.