Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1485)

Content

Mushrooms: Deeply Delicious Recipes, from Soups and Salads to Pasta and Pies

Jenny Linford

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A celebration of mushrooms and fungi - from folklore to foraging. Plus a collection of more than 65...

Idle Armies

Games and Stickers

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

Highlighted as a top 10 tapper of 2016 by the Apple App Store. Over 800,000 downloads across all...

Merissa (11643 KP) rated Tempted By Fire (Dragons of Bloodfire #1) in Books

Apr 14, 2023

This is the first in a new series by Erin Kellison. Her stories are always sharp and to the point, and this one is no different. You will follow Emerson as she tries to understand, work with, and live with the Bloodkin, otherwise known as Dragon shifters. She was one of those 'lost in the system' and indeed, only flagged up as Bloodkin when she applied for financial aid whilst at college. Completely fed up with the misogynistic view that most Bloodkin appear to have, she decides that she will quit and move after the job she is currently working on is finished.

This leads you to Thane, a 600-year-old Dragon who is fighting the pull of the Night Song. He knows that one more shift and he won't be able to return to his human shape. If this takes place outside of Havyn, then death and destruction will rain down on the human world, starting the persecution of dragons once more.

Emerson is strong and feisty and will not take any crap from anyone. Thane is also strong, set in his ways, a wonderful ally and a fearsome foe. Their world will draw you in and keep you intent on turning the pages, one after the other. Some of the other characters deserve a mention, in particular, Matthew. I loved him and his attitude towards Thane. Another one is Bryan, Emerson's foster brother who is also a Wolfkin. I am hoping that he will get his story too.

This is a wonderful story that takes you into the world of shifters, allies, and enemies. I personally loved every moment and am looking forward to Book 2 in this series. Highly recommended.

* 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!
Jul 16, 2015

Kudos

Inseparable (Rise of the Iliri #4)

Auryn Hadley

9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

DISASTER! THE BLACK BLADES DISBANDED, AN ALLIANCE IN TURMOIL... Growing ever more tender yet always...

Bokosuka Wars II

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Video Game

"Defeat the tyrant King Ogereth!" Free your allies and lead your armies to invade the Basamu...

simulation role-playing

Choice of the Cat

Games and Book

6.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

App

Knock things over. Take a nap. Enslave humanity. Power, fame, and catnip are yours for the licking! ...

ClareR (5561 KP) rated Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955 in Books

Feb 1, 2022

This is such an informative, interesting book about a period in German history that I know little about: 1945-1955. It shows that German cities were pretty much decimated by the end of the war, that ex-Nazi party members were forced to clean up the rubble and that most importantly, many Germans thought that they were hard done by, by the end of the war - their country in ruins, no industry and no food. But what’s most startling, is how quickly the German recovery was. Jähner states that this was in large part due to the return of the Germans who had been living in occupied countries.

The black market was also a huge earner for many German citizens: one teenager is described as having thousands of Marks worth of cigarettes in his house. Money was there to be made for the improvising, bold, German!

What probably resonated with me most, was the lot of the German woman. They had been expected to be the perfect German Female during National Socialism, then experienced a kind of social and sexual liberation after the end of the war. However, when their husbands and men returned from captivity (or just made their ways home), they found themselves being expected to revert to the stereotypical role of the housewife. But they wanted more. They wanted to continue in careers, they wanted equality, and they didn’t necessarily want to deal with broken, defeated husbands (as cruel as this may seem).

What really surprised me, was how was how former Nazi party members still worked in positions of influence, both politically and in industry - and this was the case in both East and West Germany. Even though the Allies made a point of ‘educating’ German citizens about the holocaust, National Socialists seemed to largely escape punishment and carried on with their lives. Their children may have had their doubts as to their parents innocence, and the real movement to ‘out’ the national guilt didn’t really get going until the 1960’s, but there was dissent in the 1950’s already.

I could go on. This is such an interesting book, and written so accessibly. It didn’t read at all like a dry history book, and the photos and posters from the time are well chosen and really add to the book as a whole. This isn’t just a history book for history buffs.