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Lies We Tell Our Kids
Lies We Tell Our Kids
Brett Wagner | 2018 | Humor & Comedy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
short, entertaining book is that more appropriate for adults than children
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Lies We Tell Our Kids by Brett Wagner is a short, entertaining book is that more appropriate for adults than children. This book is an example of some of the lies parents tell their children, mostly to keep them in line and behave well. It is funny as a "look back" to the lies we were told as children and, in return, told younger children. I remember my grandmother telling me that thunder was caused by angels bowling. That lightning occurs when angels take a picture was new to me.

This book is less than 100 pages and each page states a "lie" that is one sentence so it is a very fast read. For every lie, there is a corresponding, colorful illustration which are imaginative and allow for eye rolling and shaking of my head. I have heard of a few of the lies mentioned but most of them were new to me and gave me a good chuckle.

I read reviews of this which were posted on Goodreads. Many reviews rated it low. I think they should have taken into consideration that this book is not intended to be taken seriously. Just enjoy its quirkiness and have fun!
  
Great and Small Easter
Great and Small Easter
B&H Kids Editorial Staff | 2021 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Looking forward to the spring. Well, this book I found is just right. It is called Great and Small Easter. It is a good one to have on your little ones' bookshelves. It is a flap book. Which is good for the little one to open the flap.

You and your child can open the flaps and learn new animal sounds. I am rating this book 4.5 only because I got it in the format of a digital and not the board book. I could not open the flaps like in a physical copy. This one should be only in a physical copy and not a digital copy. Other than that this book is good.

The pictures are done well. The picture is pretty to look at. The rhyming is sweet. The animals that are shown tell about a new spring and holiday is about. It is not too complicated. If I had received his book in the physical copy I would have reviewed it and then sent it to my little cousin who would be enjoying them.

I do enjoy these little flap books. They can be enjoyed by all and little ones throughout the year. Any child or children would enjoy opening the flaps and learn different animal sounds or sounds that deal with the spring-like weather.
  
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Merissa (11805 KP) rated Cruising in Books

Jan 30, 2018  
Cruising
Cruising
Cate Ashwood | 2017 | Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cruising by Cate Ashwood
Cruising is a short book, told from dual perspectives, about best friends who are both in love with each, but completely unaware of the other one's feelings. As it is told by both Jake and Dylan, you get the whole picture about why neither of them had made a move before, whilst hoping that they make a move sooner rather than later. Both characters are well rounded, having their own foibles which just makes their cuteness even higher!

This is only a short story, but it is complete in its build up, cruise, and hopefully HEA. The writing was smooth, the pacing perfect, and there were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and have no hesitation in recommending it.

* 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!
  
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Ollie SB (2279 KP) created a post

Apr 22, 2020  
Hey Smashbombers!

I wanted to tell you about a cool feature we have here on Smashbomb!

Did you know that you can link items that relate to each other? For example: a Movie that is based on a Book, you can link the Book and the Movie together - or link a Movie with the Movie soundtrack - or link a Tech item with a corresponding App - or a Podcast that is based on a TV Show.

You can link these related items together to help us all discover more items!

It's really easy to do, simply go to one of the relevant items, for example Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (MOVIE), click edit, scroll down to 'related items' and search for the other item, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (BOOK) - then hit 'SAVE' and the items will be linked, just like the picture example below!

Hopefully you will find this feature helpful,
Happy Reviewing & Linking!
Ollie.
     
Show all 3 comments.
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) Apr 22, 2020

All I want to be able to do in my boring quarantine life is to be able to add DLC to Video Game items in the same way you can add seasons to TV items. I'm just sad like that 😭

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Erika (17788 KP) Apr 22, 2020

I love the ability to link items! It's been super helpful!

Picture You Dead (Roy Grace #18)
Picture You Dead (Roy Grace #18)
Peter James | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I can't believe I'm saying this but ... this is the first book by Peter James I have read!!! I know, where have I been all this time given that this is book 18 ... living under a rock obviously!!! Although this is book 18, I think it worked well as a standalone; there is obviously character development and back stories that I've missed but it didn't detract too much from the story as a whole.

The story delves into the world of art dealing and centres around the potential discovery of an extremely rare and sought after painting which, if genuine, is worth a fortune. The plot involves a cold case, murder, forgery, burglary and the Antiques Roadshow!

With all manner of twists and turns, this is a highly entertaining story with great characters and I must give a thank you to Pan Macmillan, Macmillan and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Picture You Dead.
  
True North (Yule Lads #1)
True North (Yule Lads #1)
TA Moore | 2023 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
TRUE NORTH is the first book in the Yule Lads, and this is not a Hallmark story!

It is intricate and intriguing, but I always felt as though I wasn't getting the full picture. It is fast-paced and non-stop, including the relationship between Dylan and Somerset. This is definitely something I want more of, as I just didn't feel as though I had enough.

If the aim was to keep the reader in the dark, along with Dylan, so you learn at the same time as him, then it worked. I kept reading in the hope I would understand more of what was going on.

This was an absorbing story that I look forward to reading more of.

** 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!
Dec 9, 2023
  
Fall to Pieces
Fall to Pieces
Becky Flade | 2021 | Contemporary, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
loved the back seat the romance takes!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I liked this book, I liked it a lot!

Xavier is sent to assess Alexandra's mental capacity to do her job, following the suicide of her detective husband. But things are not as they seem and Xavier and Alex are soon fighting her department as well as a child killer hellbent on driving Alex mad.

This is a dark book. Suicide, child murder and abuse. How cops deal with stress. And I liked that. I liked that it made me think about those things. I have no triggers though, and some readers might not like it.

Both Alex and Xavier have a say, and they have a lot to say about a lot of things! Both of them are suffering from things that happened but while Alex' is (mostly) clear from the start, it takes time to get the whole picture. Xavier's pain is far deeper and we don't get the whole picture there til much later. I like being made to wait.

The romance between Alex and Xavier takes a back seat to the crime aspect of the book and I loved the twist that took. I did think Alex would push Xavier away more than once and, Lord she tries! But Xavier is strong and even though the reasons he comes into Alex' life are beyond his control, keeping her safe is within his control and he will do that.

I liked this, a lot. It's the first I've read of this author, I would like to read more.

4 stars

*same worded review ill appear elsewhere
  
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Lumos (380 KP) rated Book Catalogue in Apps

Jan 29, 2018  
Book Catalogue
Book Catalogue
Book
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
App Rating
Fast to add books (0 more)
So easy!
Holy pickles! I can not say enough about this app! I have been looking for a way to better categorize my books for years. I recently rearranged my loving room (where all my books live) and I needed to take all my books from the shelves to move the book cases I have. It was quite a process but I figured, since all the books needed to come off the shelves anyway, I might as well put them away in a much more organized fashion.

 Luckily, I was able to find this wonderful app. It was SO easy to use! All I needed to do was scan the ISBN on my books and it loaded them onto my virtual bookshelves. It must pull the information from the internet somewhere because when you add a new book, it provides so much information for you (if it is part of a series, who published it, a description, a picture of the cover, how many pages). It also allows you to edit the books on your shelves. You can give a rating, note if you read the book, indicate when you started and finished the book, and you can note if you loaned the book to a friend! The best part is that you can organize your books in SO many different ways (author’s last name, unread books first, title, series, genre, publication date, date added, etc).

This app is such a life saver! It took me just over an hour to scan all 488 books I own and mark them read. It made the process of putting them all back on the shelves so much faster because it was all listed in the order that I wanted. Also, it provided a picture of the cover of the book so I knew what I was looking for when trying to find them to put back on the shelf. I love that it tells you if you have already entered the book when you scan one in… that way you don’t make the mistake of buying extra copies of books, unless you intend to.
  
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Tayla (27 KP) rated Red Rising in Books

Jun 19, 2018  
Red Rising
Red Rising
Pierce Brown | 2014 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
9
8.5 (35 Ratings)
Book Rating
Futuristic Story (2 more)
Strong Characters
Good Momentum
How do you get power when you are born to less?
How do you get power when you are born to less? You take it. I love Pierce Brown's story of Darrow, a low red, rising above his color to infiltrate the golds to start an uprising. Red Rising is one of my favorite books. Even though the setting is on Mars it is still relevant to our society today. Some people are born more privileged than others and at times it take a miracle to overcome those obstacles. This book reminds us to fight for not only what we want, but for what is right.

This book has good momentum throughout. At no point was I bored by the story. The ending really builds for the second book, gently encouraging you to continue with the story. I've both read and listened to this book and recommend each. Listening after reading, allowed me to really paint a clearer picture of Mars in my mind and develop more love for the series.

I recommend this book to those who like The Hunger Games or Divergent. Additionally, if you are a fan of the movie Gattaca (1997), this will be right in your wheelhouse! The similarities are striking!
  
The Moor
The Moor
Sam Haysom | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Horror
4
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Moor is Sam Haysom’s debut novel and though it seems to have pretty high ratings, I found it to fall short of my expectations. The book encompasses the story of a handful of thirteen-year-old boys on a hiking trip through the moors. During this trip, things go wrong and… well, that’s where it tries to be two stories at once: a ghost story and a creature feature.

The ghost story side of this book is fantastic. It’s written in a way that captures the reader’s imagination and honestly, I could picture the details quite well. What I didn’t like was the creature feature side of the book. The monster that makes up this horror tale should be terrifying, but instead I found it to be one dimensional–in fact, every single time the creature shows up, it’s described the same way which really put me off.

I felt no emotions or connections to the boys in the book, and this greatly diminished the emotional/fright factor of the novel for me. I really wanted to taste the fear that these teenaged boys were going through.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.