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    Pocket Vedas

    Pocket Vedas

    Book and Reference

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    Pocket Vedas includes the full text of all these books: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is / Śrīmad...

    Word Chums!

    Word Chums!

    Games, Entertainment and Stickers

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    More fun than Words With Friends and more addicting than Scrabble, WORD CHUMS: the highest rated...

    Otogi: Spirit Agents

    Otogi: Spirit Agents

    Games, Entertainment and Stickers

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    "Help wanted! Calling everyone with spirit essence! Become a spirit agent today!" Um… I just have...

    Knuddels Chat, Freunde, Flirt

    Knuddels Chat, Freunde, Flirt

    Social Networking and Entertainment

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    Chat, flirt, get to know new friends. Childs play with Knuddels, the unique community from Germany....

Playing the Palace
Playing the Palace
Paul Rudnick | 2021 | Humor & Comedy, LGBTQ+, Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Funny and sweet romantic comedy
Carter Ogden fantasized about the Prince of England growing up--who didn't? Openly gay Prince Edgar is handsome and easy to adore. When Carter meets Edgar through a work event, sparks fly. Before he knows it, it seems like the two are dating. But their relationship receives intense media scrutiny--and the disapproval of the Queen of England. Can they find a happily ever after when it seems like everything--and everyone--are against them?

"He was destined to become the king of England, and I was a nice Jewish boy from New Jersey; we both knew what we were supposed to be doing, but we were fighting it. When it came to emotional stability, neither of us had a prayer."

This is a cute and funny story overall. We have Carter, who is reeling from a breakup and does not feel worthy of love and then Edgar, who is scared to trust. It's not easy to be in a relationship when you're the Prince of England. As Edgar states, he's "a symbol and an institution." The two meet at the United Nations and there's definitely some insta-chemistry, but they are also pretty sweet together. You can't help but root for this pair.

"Because ever since I can remember, there's been only one unthinkable sin, and that was disgracing my family and my country, in any way. I was being held to a different standard, which I agreed with. I had one job: to represent the royal household and to make England proud, and I was a calamity."

The book is a little ping pong-ish in its highs and lows. Everything is good... and then it's not. Rinse and repeat. At times, it seems a little insane that Edgar and his family cannot trust Carter, yet you can understand how utterly crazy and invasive the British media is--we see it all the time. I would have liked to see the two communicate a bit more, but new relationships are hard.

The cast of characters in PALACE are wonderful--completely engaging. Carter's family and friends are adorable, especially his sister and aunt Miriam. They make you laugh and cry. There's an excellent vomiting scene with poor Carter that will have you cringing and chuckling. Parts of this story are just plain hilarious. But it's also serious in its look at finding love after loss, insight into homophobia, and seeking acceptance for yourself and your partner, no matter what kind of relationship you may be in.

Overall, this is a fast and fluffy romantic read that also offers a good take on acceptance. 3.5 stars.
  
The Craftsman (The Craftsman, #1)
The Craftsman (The Craftsman, #1)
Sharon J. Bolton | 2018 | History & Politics, Paranormal, Thriller
10
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
My Queen of crime and thrillers is back, with another marvelous story to tell. I read all her books, and every time she surprises me with something different and original.

The story is set in a small town with a hill, where witches were meeting since the 16th century. As you can see in the description above, this story is told in two different times – 1969 and 1999. In 1969 Florence was a WPC in the local police station, which she recently joined. Moreover, she was the first woman in that station, surrounded by men, who are not very friendly. She is assigned a disappearance of three teenagers, but what she discovers is way more complex and sinister than she could imagine.

Florence is the protagonist of this novel, and this story is told from her perspective. I love strong, smart and rebellious female leads in the books, and I absolutely loved Florence. Even though she is facing cruel workplace bullying and constant demeaning behavior, she is still fighting for what she believes to be right, and she wipes noses to those stuck up men. BRAVO! 😀 I really liked the wide variety of characters, which Bolton offered in this novel. All of them were very well rounded and unique personalities, who brought more richness to the book.

The narrative of this book was very well planned out and delivered. I was sucked in from the first pages of this book, I just wanted to find out what in a world was going on there! I really enjoyed all the twists, turns and diversions which Bolton creatively incorporated in this book. Sharon Bolton always follows an intriguing topic in her novels, and I am very glad that she was discussing workplace bullying and sexism, alongside witches and witchcraft. Even though I am not a believer in witchcraft, It was amusing to read about the people who believe in it and practice it.

Sharon Bolton is a very talented storyteller, she has a very absorbing and suspense building writing style, which I thoroughly enjoy every time. I loved the setting of this book, it compliments the atmosphere of this book with all those mills, hills, cemeteries and complex houses. The pages just fly while reading those short chapters. The climax was absolutely unexpected and left me very surprised. So, to conclude, for now, this book was the best read of 2018 for me. I enjoyed it from first to the last page, I think it has very intriguing and absorbing characters and very well crafted narrative, which is fast paced and very amusing. I do strongly recommend this book, I think you are in for a treat. Enjoy! 🙂
  
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Felipe (17 KP) rated Chaplin (1992) in Movies

Dec 7, 2020  
Chaplin (1992)
Chaplin (1992)
1992 | Drama
The story and how Chaplin is a tragic figure who falls prey to his own faults but how in the end he triumphs over his demons. (0 more)
The film focuses more on Chaplin's career after his success as a movie star. I would have liked to have seen more of his childhood. (0 more)
A modern tragedy meant to be one of the greats
Contains spoilers, click to show
Richard Attenborough delivers another masterpiece of cinematic biography and is a worthy successor to Ghandi. The structure of the film is told as a flashback while Charlie Chaplin is writing his autobiography with a fictional editor that does not exist. We see for the first time the flaws of who Chaplin is as a person and we see him confront his past in a way that is painful not unlike how it is painful when we relive moments in our lives we would rather choose to forget. However, the success of the film is how it strips the illusion of who Chaplin was and presents to us a person who is tragically flawed but who is unbale to appreciate his own genius. An example is when Chaplin's version of the invention of the Tramp is seen for what he imagined it to be an idealized moment in which the character is calling to him except for what it really was, We see the reality of the movies during this time; a hectic spur of the moment improvised invention drawn from real life. Yet we see Chaplin as the midwife to this new artform the movies and we see him develop it for what it is, the highest expression of art that stirs our imagination and makes us believe anything is possible. We even cry during Chaplin's moments of personal tragedy; the insanity and loss of his mother; repeated failed marriages; the death of his best friend, Douglas Fairbanks and finally his tragic and painful exile from America the only place he knew as home all taking place in the backdrop of the invention and evolution of cinema. However, I feel that in the end Chaplin is the one that comes out triumphant. In the last moments of the movie we see how Chaplin despairs that he feels that he has been forgotten and made irrelevant by the changing times; he feels that the weight of not only his age but the weight of the world on his shoulders and yet we see that everything he believes himself to be is completely wrong when Hollywood bestows on him the greatest honor which is not only the special Oscar but also a standing ovation. His final triumph is to be made a knight by Queen Elizabeth II, we are truly made to see that although flawed he is triumphant in the end.