Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
8.0
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In 1943, from a windowless basement office in London, two brilliant intelligence officers conceived...
Midnight in Europe
Book
Paris, 1938. As the shadow of war darkens Europe, democratic forces on the Continent struggle...
Before She Knew Him
8.3
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Catching a killer is dangerous—especially if he lives next door From the hugely talented...
Thriller Psychological Mystery
Puzzle Pieces (La Trattoria Di Amore #1)
8.0
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Sebastian Smythe is an accomplished chef and restaurateur with several businesses and has the...
Contemporary MM Romance Daddy Kink
Steam Park: Play Dirty
8.0
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Tabletop Game
You probably remember the merry town of Roboburg, don’t you? You know: that place full of...
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Hating Game in Books
Apr 22, 2022
The typical chick-lit with a touch of humour, it wasn’t hard to guess the outcome of the book, but it was a joyful and funny ride to get there. There were so many moments where I either laughed out loud or snorted because of a comment, making it a good read in my eyes!
I enjoyed the hatred between Lucy and Josh and all of the little “games” that they played in the office to see who could annoy each other first. I did guess where the story was going to end with them quite early on in the book, but I still needed to find out what some of the things meant (like the marks in Josh’s planner) and the journey was fun to undertake with Lucy and Josh.
At first I found Josh extremely unlikeable, but after the paint balling team building day, I grew to like him more and more with his actions. Although I definitely wouldn’t have come to the conclusion that he was shy and that was the reason for his behaviour like Lucy did.
Sally Thorne’s writing was so easy to get lost in, and I found myself having to make myself put the book down to get some sleep but not being able to wait to be able to pick it back up again. I think this might be a go to book to read again and again. I will have to see if Sally Thorne’s other books are just as good!
Heal Me (Love in the Pacific Northwest #5)
8.0
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A lawyer and an architect walk into a bar… Jocelin: What do you do when your boss’s pushy...
Contemporary MM Romance
Merissa (13524 KP) rated Dead Set (Aspen Falls #2) in Books
Nov 20, 2023
It was nice to see the connection between Lucas and Alaina grow as they worked together to find out the mystery behind Noah's death. It is a slow-burn romance, rather than insta-lust, but I think it works here. After all, if someone is working through the grief of a deceased family member, it would be rather strange to fall straight into bed with the P.I. involved.
This book had no editing or grammatical errors that spoilt my reading, and the storyline was easy to follow, even with all the mystery. We have Blaine and Rosie having small cameos in here, so it was nice to see that things are still going well for them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I hope we will see them in future books so we know how they get along. I would recommend this book.
* 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!
Apr 20, 2018
Kinsey and Me: Stories
7.0
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My name is Kinsey Millhone. I'm a private investigator, licensed, bonded, insured; white, female,...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Apartment (1960) in Movies
May 11, 2018
One of the reasons that I enjoy this is that I end up viewing films that I might not, otherwise, choose to watch. Case in point is the selection for May - the 1960 Oscar winner for Best Picture, THE APARTMENT - a "love story" with some comedy and some dark dramatic moments and themes. A very tricky combination of items that are bundled together, brilliantly, by a master of the craft.
THE APARTMENT tells the story of nebbish office worker C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon in an Oscar nominated performance, more on that later) who is talked into lending his apartment to higher-ups in his company so they can carry out extra-marital affairs. When one of the affairs goes wrong, Baxter is forced to "clean up the mess".
Written and Directed by the GREAT Billy WIlder (SOME LIKE IT HOT, SUNSET BOULEVARD), The Apartment is more than a love story, more than a look into the vacuous lives of those anonymous office workers, it is a look into the lives of those who are victims of abuse of power. Wilder, rightfully so, won the Oscar for Best Director and Best Screenplay for this film. The Apartment is strongly written and directed not flinching at the deep subject matter while also balancing things out with moments of comedy and joy, turning what could have been a dour, dark subject into a more joyous exploration of true humanity and love rising through the corruption and abuse of power heaped upon them.
In the lead role of CC Baxter, Lemmon is perfectly cast. Starting as a pure comedic character who is set upon by a world too strong for him, his character slowly turns sharper, deeper, more serious and more real as the film progresses. Lemmon was nominated for the Oscar for his performance - and rightfully so. I had to look up who beat him out for the statue and found out it was Burt Lancaster's powerhouse performance in ELMER GANTRY, so I can't really argue about this (but I digress).
Matching Lemmon beat for beat is Shirley MacLaine, the wronged girl who's "issues" (I'm not going to spoil what happens, if you haven't seen this) are at the heart of this film - and at the heart of Lemmon's character. MacLaine is charming and tragic in this role and she, too, was nominated for an Oscar (for Best Actress losing to Elizabeth Taylor for Butterfield 8). Rounding out the cast was a pre-MY 3 SONS Fred MacMurray (as the Exec who abuses both Lemmon's and MacLaine's characters). He was terrific as this cad, and thought for sure that he would have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but that honor went to Jack Kruschen as Lemmon's neighbor in the apartment building where they both lived. I am fine with that but preferred MacMurray's performance. Also showing up are such great character actors as Ray Walston (MY FAVORITE MARTIAN), David Lewis (GENERAL HOSPITAL), Willard Waterman (THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE) and David White (Larry Tate in BEWITCHED) as other Execs using The Apartment for their purposes.
This is a terrific motion picture and if you haven't seen it (or if you haven't seen it in quite sometime), I highly recommend you check it out (it is shown on the Turner Classic Movie channel on a fairly regular basis). It certainly shows a slice of life during the MAD MEN days that just doesn't exist anymore - and also presents a type of film, and a type of filmmaker, that just doesn't exist today.
Letter Grade: A+
10 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)