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ClareR (5589 KP) rated The Fallout in Books
Dec 19, 2019
The Fallout is a thriller that looks at whether it is ever acceptable to keep secrets from, and lie to, your friends. I think you can probably guess the answer to that one before you even open the front page, but there are those who would do just that.
Sarah and Liza are best friends. Their eldest children are the same age, at the same London school, and they met at NCT classes before they had the babies. They both go to a local gym together, and their children go to classes and play there whilst their mothers chat and socialise. Liza has a small baby as well, and is very tired. So she asks Sarah if she’ll check on her older son, Jack, as he’s playing outside and out of sight. However, Sarah is distracted by the appearance of one of the NCT mums that they haven’t seen in a while. And she forgets. Jack has an accident. He falls from a high post and is seriously injured. Sarah then starts the lie that she can’t seem to get herself out of: that she saw Jack playing, and that he was nowhere near the post.
I have to admit that this was a supremely frustrating book. The other school mums and their WhatsApp group would have had me reaching for the ‘Leave Group’ button. Social media isn’t put in a very good light, and accurately portrays the ‘keyboard warriors’ that always come out of the woodwork when something bad happens.
I enjoyed this, whilst at the same time wanting to throw my iPad at the wall. I wanted to tell these women to find something better to do with their time! Gossip and rumour are rife. It’s a great look at human nature and it held my attention throughout - I was desperate to know what was going to happen each day in my Pigeonhole instalment.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, HarperCollins and the author, Rebecca Thornton for reading along. It was a great experience!
Sarah and Liza are best friends. Their eldest children are the same age, at the same London school, and they met at NCT classes before they had the babies. They both go to a local gym together, and their children go to classes and play there whilst their mothers chat and socialise. Liza has a small baby as well, and is very tired. So she asks Sarah if she’ll check on her older son, Jack, as he’s playing outside and out of sight. However, Sarah is distracted by the appearance of one of the NCT mums that they haven’t seen in a while. And she forgets. Jack has an accident. He falls from a high post and is seriously injured. Sarah then starts the lie that she can’t seem to get herself out of: that she saw Jack playing, and that he was nowhere near the post.
I have to admit that this was a supremely frustrating book. The other school mums and their WhatsApp group would have had me reaching for the ‘Leave Group’ button. Social media isn’t put in a very good light, and accurately portrays the ‘keyboard warriors’ that always come out of the woodwork when something bad happens.
I enjoyed this, whilst at the same time wanting to throw my iPad at the wall. I wanted to tell these women to find something better to do with their time! Gossip and rumour are rife. It’s a great look at human nature and it held my attention throughout - I was desperate to know what was going to happen each day in my Pigeonhole instalment.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, HarperCollins and the author, Rebecca Thornton for reading along. It was a great experience!
AJaneClark (3962 KP) rated Forever Pucked (Pucked #4) in Books
Jan 18, 2020
Happy Ever Afters
Book 4 in the series brings us back round to the original characters. Alex “MC” Waters and his beautiful fiancée Violet Hall!
Alex ends up spectacularly getting injured out of the NHL when he has a run in with another team, whilst Violet gets a promotion at work.
After the scare that Alex’s injuries caused, they have both reassessed what they want in life and Violet finally agrees to set a date for the wedding. But in true typical Violet style, things will have to change... much like Alex’s mums hair!
We see again all the other characters we have been introduced to in the series, and it’s so nice to be able to follow the progression of the relationships, and how they all interlink and interact with one another.
The series continues to be well written and doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the ongoing humour and individual character styles. Helena is nothing if not consistent! I look forward to finishing the series!
Alex ends up spectacularly getting injured out of the NHL when he has a run in with another team, whilst Violet gets a promotion at work.
After the scare that Alex’s injuries caused, they have both reassessed what they want in life and Violet finally agrees to set a date for the wedding. But in true typical Violet style, things will have to change... much like Alex’s mums hair!
We see again all the other characters we have been introduced to in the series, and it’s so nice to be able to follow the progression of the relationships, and how they all interlink and interact with one another.
The series continues to be well written and doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the ongoing humour and individual character styles. Helena is nothing if not consistent! I look forward to finishing the series!
Dr Dystopian (526 KP) rated Stonemountain64 in YouTube Channels
Jan 30, 2022
Quality content (4 more)
Great community
Highly engaging
Skilled gameplay
Daily content
Livestreamer from his mums basement!
Having watched Stonemountain64 for many years now I have watched him grow from a YouTube only content creator to a Livestreamer alongside YouTube and various other social media platforms.
He led the charge as the first known serious streamer to move his Live stream content to Facebook gaming and has continued to grow year on year with live viewership growing from a few hundred each stream to routinely over 10k now.
With the team surrounding him and 6 days of live streams he is able to put put quality content regularly on his YouTube channel for those that miss live streams, want to watch the funny clips, catch ups or general gameplay.
His community is, by and large positive and friendly as is the man himself.
A top quality content creator that is well worth a watch.
He led the charge as the first known serious streamer to move his Live stream content to Facebook gaming and has continued to grow year on year with live viewership growing from a few hundred each stream to routinely over 10k now.
With the team surrounding him and 6 days of live streams he is able to put put quality content regularly on his YouTube channel for those that miss live streams, want to watch the funny clips, catch ups or general gameplay.
His community is, by and large positive and friendly as is the man himself.
A top quality content creator that is well worth a watch.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes in Books
Jan 6, 2021
I really liked this; it made me laugh, cry and want to smack Joe a few times, but he tended to look pained enough without my help.
It was certainly a mystery and I was easily drawn into it from the first few chapters. Who'd want to kill a (horrible) old woman? A well known member of the community? I was certainly stumped since I knew it couldn't be Rose, who probably had the motive but was too nice a person.
I really liked both Joe and Rose and was urging them to get together from early on especially when he was being so nice and helpful to her after her mums murder while everyone else treated her like crap. Not the nicest little town to live in.
It wasn't hard to figure something weird was going on with Joe with all his pained looks and disappearing acts and I was intrigued as to what it would be. I wasn't disappointed.
Looking forward to reading more of this series!
It was certainly a mystery and I was easily drawn into it from the first few chapters. Who'd want to kill a (horrible) old woman? A well known member of the community? I was certainly stumped since I knew it couldn't be Rose, who probably had the motive but was too nice a person.
I really liked both Joe and Rose and was urging them to get together from early on especially when he was being so nice and helpful to her after her mums murder while everyone else treated her like crap. Not the nicest little town to live in.
It wasn't hard to figure something weird was going on with Joe with all his pained looks and disappearing acts and I was intrigued as to what it would be. I wasn't disappointed.
Looking forward to reading more of this series!
Jackjack (877 KP) rated The Final Girls (2015) in Movies
Apr 15, 2020
I love it
So me my sister and fiancé have been watching alot of films, I have seen this one a few times on Netflix and ordered it the other day, it finally came through and we all sat down to watch, my sister and fiancé said how shit they thought it was, me on the other hand loved it, everyone knows I love a budget comedy horror.
Sad opening when a mother is put down because she stared in a cheesy 80s slasher, now older and wiser she has a daughter max, you see there bond and relationship very fast and you see how it was taken away in one quick car crash, on the anniversary of Max's mums death she goes to the cinema to watch the film her mother was in, a fire breaks out and in a swift exit behind the screen a handful end up within the film. It's a comical fight to live and it pulls on plenty of heart strings as max is reunited with her late mother. I personally thought it was a brilliant cheesy, funny film and definitely worth the watch!!!
Sad opening when a mother is put down because she stared in a cheesy 80s slasher, now older and wiser she has a daughter max, you see there bond and relationship very fast and you see how it was taken away in one quick car crash, on the anniversary of Max's mums death she goes to the cinema to watch the film her mother was in, a fire breaks out and in a swift exit behind the screen a handful end up within the film. It's a comical fight to live and it pulls on plenty of heart strings as max is reunited with her late mother. I personally thought it was a brilliant cheesy, funny film and definitely worth the watch!!!
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Silent Dead (Detective Jackie Cooke #2) in Books
Nov 6, 2022
A great addition to what is fast becoming a great series and whilst this can be read as a standalone, I would recommend reading the first so you get the most out of this and also because it's an excellent read.
Like the first in the series, there is a lot to like about The Silent Dead - the characters, the plot, the twists, the back-stories, the writing style, the pacing - pretty much everything really!
Jackie Cooke is an excellent character; battling with a boss who clearly doesn't like her very much and a soon-to-be ex-husband who's moved on to pastures younger and left her with a new baby and twin boys and having to rely on her mum more than either of them would like all whilst trying to find a heinous murderer who is targeting single mums.
From the very first to the very last word, this book had me hooked and thanks must go to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Silent Dead and I am very much looking forward to the next in the series.
Like the first in the series, there is a lot to like about The Silent Dead - the characters, the plot, the twists, the back-stories, the writing style, the pacing - pretty much everything really!
Jackie Cooke is an excellent character; battling with a boss who clearly doesn't like her very much and a soon-to-be ex-husband who's moved on to pastures younger and left her with a new baby and twin boys and having to rely on her mum more than either of them would like all whilst trying to find a heinous murderer who is targeting single mums.
From the very first to the very last word, this book had me hooked and thanks must go to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Silent Dead and I am very much looking forward to the next in the series.
ClareR (5589 KP) rated A Tidy Ending in Books
Oct 2, 2022
I loved A Tidy Ending! Joanna Cannon has created a really interesting character in Linda. On the surface, she’s a woman who hasn’t done much with her life - other than marry Terry and work in a charity shop. She begrudgingly visits her manipulative mother more often than she’d like to, and becomes obsessed with the woman who owned her house before she and Terry moved in.
When she tracks Rebecca (the ex-homeowner) down, Linda believes she’s found a new best friend. Rebecca wouldn’t agree with her. And so begins what looks like a story of manipulation and lies. But who is manipulating who? I mean, they’re ALL lying - that’s a given!
Linda is fascinating, her mum is unpleasant, and Terry comes across as underwhelmed by everything except his fishing. No wonder he annoys Linda so much!
There’s a mystery running alongside all of Linda’s relationships - women go missing, and Linda begins to think Terry might be involved.
That’s where I’ll leave the plot, because I don’t want to give anything away. I will say that I just loved the way that Joanna Cannon wrote about the characters in this: confidence tricksters, nosy neighbours, bossy mums, seemingly depressed husbands. A thoroughly good read!
When she tracks Rebecca (the ex-homeowner) down, Linda believes she’s found a new best friend. Rebecca wouldn’t agree with her. And so begins what looks like a story of manipulation and lies. But who is manipulating who? I mean, they’re ALL lying - that’s a given!
Linda is fascinating, her mum is unpleasant, and Terry comes across as underwhelmed by everything except his fishing. No wonder he annoys Linda so much!
There’s a mystery running alongside all of Linda’s relationships - women go missing, and Linda begins to think Terry might be involved.
That’s where I’ll leave the plot, because I don’t want to give anything away. I will say that I just loved the way that Joanna Cannon wrote about the characters in this: confidence tricksters, nosy neighbours, bossy mums, seemingly depressed husbands. A thoroughly good read!
LucyB (47 KP) rated Big Little Lies in Books
Jul 23, 2017
Magnificently clever, darkly humorous, thought-provoking read.
Sigh. I do so love it when I finish a book and wish it wasn't finished! Big Little Lies is absolutely one of the best books I've read for a while, and absolutely had me hooked from start to finish.
The story focuses on three main characters: bolshy Madeleine, mousy Jane and beautiful Celeste - who share a common bond; they have children starting the same kindergarten class. However, things go swiftly wrong when Jane's child Ziggy is accused of trying to strangle another child - a situation that soon escalates with alarming consequences.
The book captures playground politics to perfection (I'm wagering the author MUST have kids of her own), but goes far beyond exploring the behaviour of over-zealous school mums. It also examines the insanity of bullying, how quickly situations can spiral out of control, and the horror of domestic abuse. In spite of handling some weighty issues, it also manages to be quite darkly amusing and highly wry.
The characters are likeable, engaging and relateable (I'd guess most mothers reading this book would instinctively 'gravitate' towards one of the three protagonists). And the ending? I won't spoil it - but put it like this, I certainly didn't see it coming.
Love love love this book. Definitely one to read, folks!
The story focuses on three main characters: bolshy Madeleine, mousy Jane and beautiful Celeste - who share a common bond; they have children starting the same kindergarten class. However, things go swiftly wrong when Jane's child Ziggy is accused of trying to strangle another child - a situation that soon escalates with alarming consequences.
The book captures playground politics to perfection (I'm wagering the author MUST have kids of her own), but goes far beyond exploring the behaviour of over-zealous school mums. It also examines the insanity of bullying, how quickly situations can spiral out of control, and the horror of domestic abuse. In spite of handling some weighty issues, it also manages to be quite darkly amusing and highly wry.
The characters are likeable, engaging and relateable (I'd guess most mothers reading this book would instinctively 'gravitate' towards one of the three protagonists). And the ending? I won't spoil it - but put it like this, I certainly didn't see it coming.
Love love love this book. Definitely one to read, folks!
Merissa (11734 KP) rated Fall for You in Books
Oct 23, 2023
FALL FOR YOU is a sweet and steamy standalone where, sometimes, you find the job you need and the person you love in the most unusual ways.
Davis hasn't found the work he needs in the time since he left his hometown, running away from a very bad situation. Instead, he finds himself working in a diner. Carson has come back home to rescue the family firm from bankruptcy after his father and brother drove it into the ground. It's hard for him to find an assistant who is prepared to work as hard as he does.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Their relationship grew and changed in a completely natural way. And I loved how Carson knew he'd found a gem with Davis, even before they acted on the attraction between them.
I enjoyed the scenes with the mums, but I did find it easier with Carson's mum. Davis' mum, Jenny, was a bit high maintenance but also funny. It all worked out in the end.
Low angst in all the best ways, this was a great read that I can definitely 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!
Oct 19, 2023
Davis hasn't found the work he needs in the time since he left his hometown, running away from a very bad situation. Instead, he finds himself working in a diner. Carson has come back home to rescue the family firm from bankruptcy after his father and brother drove it into the ground. It's hard for him to find an assistant who is prepared to work as hard as he does.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Their relationship grew and changed in a completely natural way. And I loved how Carson knew he'd found a gem with Davis, even before they acted on the attraction between them.
I enjoyed the scenes with the mums, but I did find it easier with Carson's mum. Davis' mum, Jenny, was a bit high maintenance but also funny. It all worked out in the end.
Low angst in all the best ways, this was a great read that I can definitely 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!
Oct 19, 2023
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Child's Play (2019) in Movies
Apr 12, 2020
Very good remake
Contains spoilers, click to show
If you watch the movie with the intention to compare it to the original, chances are you won't like it. This is exactly what I did upon first putting the movie on, when it first showed the ibuddy doll I almost immediately turned it off, I mean come on that is NOT how a good guy doll should look. Instead I stopped trying to compare, took it for what it was and ended up enjoying it. The storyline is completely different to original child's play. instead of a murderers soul trapped in a doll trying to find another human to transfer into, it is essentially a smart doll which goes haywire trying to keep Andy for himself. However, for a doll I found it funny that Andy could have conversations with him like he really was human and he thought nothing of it. I don't know about you but if a toy started understanding and communicating with me I would freak out! Anyway, this aside I really enjoyed the movie, the humour was spot on (I laughed way too hard when chucky presented Andy with his mums boyfriends face as a present, including a bow 😂😂), the death scenes were good and gory and acting was great. OK so it wasn't Brad douriff but tear yourself away from the original and you've got a pretty decent slasher.