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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life in Books
Sep 21, 2017
Fascinating, important look into microbes
This is complex, I'm not going to lie. At times some of the science went over my head as I wasn't concentrating. However, the idea that microbes live on all surfaces and beings like a planet and have such an important role in creating and even treating diseases is fascinating.
Ed Yong opens our eyes and invites us to marvel at ourselves and other animals in a new light, less as individuals and more as thriving ecosystems. We learn the invisible and wondrous science behind the corals that construct mighty reefs and the squid that create their own light shows. We see how bacteria can alter our response to cancer-fighting drugs, tune our immune system, influence our evolution, and even modify our genetic make-up. And we meet the scientists who are manipulating these microscopic partners to our advantage. Great book for science nerds like me.
Ed Yong opens our eyes and invites us to marvel at ourselves and other animals in a new light, less as individuals and more as thriving ecosystems. We learn the invisible and wondrous science behind the corals that construct mighty reefs and the squid that create their own light shows. We see how bacteria can alter our response to cancer-fighting drugs, tune our immune system, influence our evolution, and even modify our genetic make-up. And we meet the scientists who are manipulating these microscopic partners to our advantage. Great book for science nerds like me.
Merissa (11787 KP) rated Water Weaver (Wraidd Elfennol #2) in Books
Jun 24, 2017
Water Weaver (Wraidd Elfennol #1) by Morgan Sheppard
This book has certainly earned the #Epic tag - at over 600 pages this is a book that you can submerge yourself into. However, it certainly doesn't feel like that amount when you are reading it as the pages almost turn themselves as the story carries you along.
The characters are all well-developed and grow throughout the story as they have to learn how to work together, using and acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses. There are not only the four human main characters, but also we have four animal Life Partners too, who all have their own individual characters and quirks.
With a smooth and flowing pace and a gentle tone, this book is suitable for all ages, with no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes that I noticed. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The characters are all well-developed and grow throughout the story as they have to learn how to work together, using and acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses. There are not only the four human main characters, but also we have four animal Life Partners too, who all have their own individual characters and quirks.
With a smooth and flowing pace and a gentle tone, this book is suitable for all ages, with no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes that I noticed. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Alphas Pack (Kit Davenport #6) in Books
Jul 18, 2020
128 of 200
Kindle
The Alpha’s pack ( Kit Davenport 6)
By Tate James
The time is now.
It seems all I’ve ever wanted was vengeance. I did everything right: I protected my friends, I pushed myself to the limits, and I saved lives. Once upon a time, I was an internationally renowned thief known as The Fox. Nobody knew me. Nobody could catch me.
Nobody but them, my men, my partners in crime. But their love for me, it's cost them dearly.
Our enemies keep coming for blood. They cut me. They hurt my friends. They push and push to see what will happen.
I’m Kit Davenport, and I’m going to show them what happens.
This is the end.
Theirs.
This has been one hell of a series! I’ve enjoy it so much. Absolutely loved this book Kit going dark was one of the best parts! I thought it was finished off well, I’m looking forward to reading more from Tate James!
Kindle
The Alpha’s pack ( Kit Davenport 6)
By Tate James
The time is now.
It seems all I’ve ever wanted was vengeance. I did everything right: I protected my friends, I pushed myself to the limits, and I saved lives. Once upon a time, I was an internationally renowned thief known as The Fox. Nobody knew me. Nobody could catch me.
Nobody but them, my men, my partners in crime. But their love for me, it's cost them dearly.
Our enemies keep coming for blood. They cut me. They hurt my friends. They push and push to see what will happen.
I’m Kit Davenport, and I’m going to show them what happens.
This is the end.
Theirs.
This has been one hell of a series! I’ve enjoy it so much. Absolutely loved this book Kit going dark was one of the best parts! I thought it was finished off well, I’m looking forward to reading more from Tate James!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Devour (Unbreakable Bonds, #4) in Books
Jan 7, 2021
I gave the first 3 books in this series 5 star. But I read them one after another, whereas it's been a good 8 months or so since I read them and I'd forgotten a lot of what went down. I just remember the couples names.
This one, I struggled with from the beginning. I couldn't remember who Boris Jagger was or why Ian and co were so afraid/wary of him, and to be honest--brutally honest--I wasn't all that bothered either. I was reading it for the romance and since I couldn't really remember the previous books, I missed out on a lot of Ian and Hollis' back story. And then I started struggling some more, skipping sex scenes when I wasn't connecting with the characters.\
I did like some parts of this book, though. The Ranger bits in the forest/cabin were cool. The friendship and camaraderie between the friends and partners. I won't be reading the wedding book though.
This one, I struggled with from the beginning. I couldn't remember who Boris Jagger was or why Ian and co were so afraid/wary of him, and to be honest--brutally honest--I wasn't all that bothered either. I was reading it for the romance and since I couldn't really remember the previous books, I missed out on a lot of Ian and Hollis' back story. And then I started struggling some more, skipping sex scenes when I wasn't connecting with the characters.\
I did like some parts of this book, though. The Ranger bits in the forest/cabin were cool. The friendship and camaraderie between the friends and partners. I won't be reading the wedding book though.
AJaneClark (3962 KP) rated Pucked Off (Pucked #5) in Books
May 30, 2020
Pucked Off is the story of the sweet and haunted Lance and sports physio Poppy. Lance met Poppy when he was at his lowest, recovering not only from a sports injury playing ice hockey, but also when he was struggling to recover from the emotional abuse that seemed to follow him through his life.
Whilst this is predominantly part of a comical and erotic driven romance series, there is something sweet about this edition to the series. It allows this kind genuine man, surrounded by his "family" of ice hockey players and their partners,getting the girl of his dreams, a girl who will nurture and support him even on his darkest days. But will it be smooth running? Will it be a happy ending?
Helena Hunting again demonstrates her sense of humour and wickedness with Pucked Off, leaving the reader in stitches whilst their heart melts. Really enjoyed this story and couldn't think of a cuter pair!
Whilst this is predominantly part of a comical and erotic driven romance series, there is something sweet about this edition to the series. It allows this kind genuine man, surrounded by his "family" of ice hockey players and their partners,getting the girl of his dreams, a girl who will nurture and support him even on his darkest days. But will it be smooth running? Will it be a happy ending?
Helena Hunting again demonstrates her sense of humour and wickedness with Pucked Off, leaving the reader in stitches whilst their heart melts. Really enjoyed this story and couldn't think of a cuter pair!
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated A Landscape of Lies (2011) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
After a fairly violent opening to the film, A Landscape of Lies tells the story of Jacob who is inflicted with PTSD after spending his time in the Gulf war, as he tries to adjust to being back in the UK and is helped along by his former commanding officer, Hilt.
But after Hilt is murdered by a serial killer, Jacob’s reality comes crashing down, Jacob decides that the only thing that he can now do is find out who the killer was and to help bring closure for Louise, Hilt’s widow, after the murder. Jacob then goes head to head with DCI Lane and his partners Sergeant Egan and DC Carter as he tries to discover the killer his life starts to mix with the suspects, such as East End villain and property tycoon Brannigan Woods, Marcus Clancy a workaholic who has put a strain on his marriage to his wife Claire, who is also cheating on him, and their rebellious daughter, Hannah.
But after Hilt is murdered by a serial killer, Jacob’s reality comes crashing down, Jacob decides that the only thing that he can now do is find out who the killer was and to help bring closure for Louise, Hilt’s widow, after the murder. Jacob then goes head to head with DCI Lane and his partners Sergeant Egan and DC Carter as he tries to discover the killer his life starts to mix with the suspects, such as East End villain and property tycoon Brannigan Woods, Marcus Clancy a workaholic who has put a strain on his marriage to his wife Claire, who is also cheating on him, and their rebellious daughter, Hannah.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Mario Party 3 in Video Games
Feb 5, 2021
Let The Party Continue
Mario Party 3- is the third game in the mario party franchise. You have new boards and new mini games. Plus the additon of Waluigi and Daisy. This is the last game on the N64. So it went out with a bang.
The game features duel maps, where two players try to lower each other's stamina to zero using non-player characters such as Chain Chomps.
Mario and his friends witness the descent of the Millennium Star, a mystical star born once every thousand years that allows whoever possesses him to become the "Superstar of the universe". When the group begins to debate the Star's ownership, the Star transports the group into a large toy box and proclaims that the group members must prove their worthiness and earn the Millennium Star's acceptance by collecting the seven "Star Stamps" scattered across several lands.
Green spaces marked with a Shy Guy initiate a single-player Game Guy mini-game, in which the player may either win a multiplied amount of their coins or lose all of their coins
The players can obtain items for use on the board, and can each carry up to three at a time.
Mario Party 3 includes a Duel mode, in which two players use a selection of up to two partners to attack their opponent and deplete their health. The partners can be positioned in front of or behind the player,[and must be paid a salary at the beginning of each turn; the partner will leave if their salary cannot be paid. The partners do the battling to reduce the opponent's health, and defend the player from incoming attack. Each partner has its own health, and if it reaches zero, they disappear, and if the attacking partner deals more damage than the defending partner can take, the player takes damage equal to the difference.
In the Story Mode to the series, one player starts a campaign through every board, challenging computer controlled opponents at a shortened version of Party Mode. The player's objective is to defeat the other characters and earn stamps from the Millennium Star. After all seven stamps are acquired the player is challenged to a final duel with the Millennium Star, in which the player must hit the Millennium Star three times (six times on Normal difficulty and nine on Hard difficulty) with stars in order to defeat story mode. Each time the player completes an objective, they are given a rank of S to C depending on how well they completed that objective. When all the objectives have been completed, a title representing the player's overall progress in the game is awarded. This is determined by the ranks they earned for each objective. If enough "S" ranks are acquired, that character becomes a "Miracle Star" and the Game Guy Room in the Mini Game House is opened for use. Simply beating the Story Mode and not earning a high title will cause the character's face to be sculpted into the mountain.
Its a fun game and the last of the N64 triolgy.
The game features duel maps, where two players try to lower each other's stamina to zero using non-player characters such as Chain Chomps.
Mario and his friends witness the descent of the Millennium Star, a mystical star born once every thousand years that allows whoever possesses him to become the "Superstar of the universe". When the group begins to debate the Star's ownership, the Star transports the group into a large toy box and proclaims that the group members must prove their worthiness and earn the Millennium Star's acceptance by collecting the seven "Star Stamps" scattered across several lands.
Green spaces marked with a Shy Guy initiate a single-player Game Guy mini-game, in which the player may either win a multiplied amount of their coins or lose all of their coins
The players can obtain items for use on the board, and can each carry up to three at a time.
Mario Party 3 includes a Duel mode, in which two players use a selection of up to two partners to attack their opponent and deplete their health. The partners can be positioned in front of or behind the player,[and must be paid a salary at the beginning of each turn; the partner will leave if their salary cannot be paid. The partners do the battling to reduce the opponent's health, and defend the player from incoming attack. Each partner has its own health, and if it reaches zero, they disappear, and if the attacking partner deals more damage than the defending partner can take, the player takes damage equal to the difference.
In the Story Mode to the series, one player starts a campaign through every board, challenging computer controlled opponents at a shortened version of Party Mode. The player's objective is to defeat the other characters and earn stamps from the Millennium Star. After all seven stamps are acquired the player is challenged to a final duel with the Millennium Star, in which the player must hit the Millennium Star three times (six times on Normal difficulty and nine on Hard difficulty) with stars in order to defeat story mode. Each time the player completes an objective, they are given a rank of S to C depending on how well they completed that objective. When all the objectives have been completed, a title representing the player's overall progress in the game is awarded. This is determined by the ranks they earned for each objective. If enough "S" ranks are acquired, that character becomes a "Miracle Star" and the Game Guy Room in the Mini Game House is opened for use. Simply beating the Story Mode and not earning a high title will cause the character's face to be sculpted into the mountain.
Its a fun game and the last of the N64 triolgy.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated When Katie Met Cassidy in Books
Jun 20, 2018
This was one of my Book of the Month picks this month, so I got it a little early. It's a very quick read, and a sweet story. Basically, it's lesbian romance fluff. We need more fluff with non-heterosexual romances, so this is great stuff!
The book touches on gender issues - Cassidy is a woman, and seems happy to be so, but abhors feminine clothing and instead dresses solely in men's suits. (The scene with her fabulously gay tailor was an absolute delight!) She flashes back a little onto her childhood when she wasn't allowed to wear the clothing she felt best in. She also has a few conversations with Katie about gender roles. Katie is much more traditionally feminine, wearing dresses and heels and long hair.
I'm a little torn on whether I dislike the use of the trope "straight woman turned gay after breakup" or like the point that Katie isn't sure she likes women, but she knows she likes Cassidy. Cassidy's gender is secondary to her personality. And it's not like Katie decided to go hit on women after her fiance cheated on her; she got practically dragged to the lesbian bar by Cassidy, who saw how much she was hurting and decided to help her.
I enjoyed seeing that Cassidy has casual sex partners, many of them former sex partners, who are still good friends with her. Granted, she has lots of one-night stands who are upset with her since she's quite the player, but there are several women who she's been involved with before the book opens, who are close friends of hers and care about her future. I wish we saw more relationships like this in heterosexual romantic fiction instead of only in GLBT fiction! These kinds of relationships do exist in heterosexual groups, but it seems like romantic fiction is always divided between "heterosexual monogamy" and "everything else." I did read an exception in Next Year, For Sure, but I greatly disliked the ending.
I really loved this book. It was sweet, and light-hearted, and a pleasant breath of fresh air from a lot of what I've been reading recently!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
The book touches on gender issues - Cassidy is a woman, and seems happy to be so, but abhors feminine clothing and instead dresses solely in men's suits. (The scene with her fabulously gay tailor was an absolute delight!) She flashes back a little onto her childhood when she wasn't allowed to wear the clothing she felt best in. She also has a few conversations with Katie about gender roles. Katie is much more traditionally feminine, wearing dresses and heels and long hair.
I'm a little torn on whether I dislike the use of the trope "straight woman turned gay after breakup" or like the point that Katie isn't sure she likes women, but she knows she likes Cassidy. Cassidy's gender is secondary to her personality. And it's not like Katie decided to go hit on women after her fiance cheated on her; she got practically dragged to the lesbian bar by Cassidy, who saw how much she was hurting and decided to help her.
I enjoyed seeing that Cassidy has casual sex partners, many of them former sex partners, who are still good friends with her. Granted, she has lots of one-night stands who are upset with her since she's quite the player, but there are several women who she's been involved with before the book opens, who are close friends of hers and care about her future. I wish we saw more relationships like this in heterosexual romantic fiction instead of only in GLBT fiction! These kinds of relationships do exist in heterosexual groups, but it seems like romantic fiction is always divided between "heterosexual monogamy" and "everything else." I did read an exception in Next Year, For Sure, but I greatly disliked the ending.
I really loved this book. It was sweet, and light-hearted, and a pleasant breath of fresh air from a lot of what I've been reading recently!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Heartless in Books
Apr 27, 2018
This book is devastating.
first of all, listening to the audio, it was a bit silly. The accent switched between American and British, and it was weird. The story itself was bonkers (which is to be expected, this is Hearts we're talking about).
What killed me is there's no way for this story to turn out happy. And I am 100% sure of it, so I quit right after the meadow scene. I'll let it work itself out happily in my head. Because I don't feel like having to explain to my boss why I'm crying about a YA novel.
So in my head, Jest took Cath to the Hatter, who made her a hat to make her brave. She marries the king, kills him, kills the jabberwock, and partners with the white queen in Chess to save their kingdom. And she marries Jest and becomes the happiest girl in the world.
EVEN THOUGH I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AND THAT'S NOT IT. Here, Marissa Meyer, just take my heart and stomp on it already.
first of all, listening to the audio, it was a bit silly. The accent switched between American and British, and it was weird. The story itself was bonkers (which is to be expected, this is Hearts we're talking about).
What killed me is there's no way for this story to turn out happy. And I am 100% sure of it, so I quit right after the meadow scene. I'll let it work itself out happily in my head. Because I don't feel like having to explain to my boss why I'm crying about a YA novel.
So in my head, Jest took Cath to the Hatter, who made her a hat to make her brave. She marries the king, kills him, kills the jabberwock, and partners with the white queen in Chess to save their kingdom. And she marries Jest and becomes the happiest girl in the world.
EVEN THOUGH I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AND THAT'S NOT IT. Here, Marissa Meyer, just take my heart and stomp on it already.