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Merissa (14054 KP) created a post

Feb 20, 2023  
THE HONESTY OF TIGERS by David Bridger

Living his life again. Same person, same fishing village, same years. But this time the world shows him a different face.

Ken Jackson builds traditional boats in a small Cornish fishing town, where everyone might not have heard everything about everyone else, but if they haven't, it isn't for the want of listening. Which complicates matters for Ken, because he has a secret: he's living his life all over again.

It sounds like a dream come true. He's got the chance to make things right for his loved ones, and to avoid all his old regrets. But the past is never that simple. Ken's second life opens his eyes to different sides of people and places, and what's a man to do when his hopes and dreams and carefully laid plans are ripped apart?

 #WitchLit
 #Fantasy
 #LGBTQIA+
 #Romance and
 #Relationships

https://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/?n1=publications&id=383&fbclid=IwAR32m_OEV3t24jhpHabbJEYZRSLYkqzgMAeZcm7eTKDCTaFDWvZIz5XEcgM
     
The Marriage Act
The Marriage Act
John Marrs | 2023 | Dystopia, Thriller
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
41 of 235
kindle
The Marriage Act
By John Marrs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?

Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills – the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.

But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives, tracking every word, every minor disagreement . . . and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honour and obey.

This was good and strangely disturbing! It really showed the worst i people and the lengths we as humans will go to to get what we want. Also scarily the trust we put in our government. Gave me chills in parts. But seriously my heart broke with Arthur and June just totally broke.
  
40x40

ClareR (6253 KP) rated Family Lore in Books

Nov 11, 2023  
Family Lore
Family Lore
Elizabeth Acevedo | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Family Lore focuses on the Marie sisters: Matilda, Flor, Pastor and Camille, and two of their daughters, Ona and Yadi. Some of these women have special abilities, and for Flor, that is being able to predict when someone is going to die. So there is great consternation when she decides to hold a living wake.

Ona is an anthropologist and decides to interview the women in her family to find out about their origins: the older sisters come from the Dominican Republic, and their lives there were very different to those of their children.

This is a family with a lot going on! If you like family dramas, then you would be just the reader for this book. There’s a lot about the different relationships between the characters, marriages, unfaithfulness, low self esteem, maternal love, fertility problems, cultural differences, family arguments and resilience.

It’s beautifully written - Acevedo is a poet as well - and all the characters really do have their own voices in this wide-sweeping novel.
  
40x40

ClareR (6253 KP) rated Small Worlds in Books

Sep 20, 2023  
Small Worlds
Small Worlds
Caleb Azumah Nelson | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson is an intensely emotional coming of age story, of a Ghanaian Londoner called Stephen.

As a young black man, Stephen feels safety in his small worlds: music, family and friends. And then there is outside those worlds where Stephen feels less safe: places in London where there is brutality or unrest, and University, which is where he really doesn’t want to be, as it’s so far from his friends and family - and his world.

Stephen needs these constants in his life, and when it’s taken away, he’s lost.

Stephen goes to Ghana to see the people and places of his parents youth, and it’s here that he finds some connection with those he loves. When he goes home, he’s able to come to terms with those people he has lost and rebuild relationships.

This was a really moving novel that made me really think about the challenges of culture, family, race and policing in London (in particular).
Recommended.
  
BA
Breathe, Annie, Breathe
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="https://awindowintobooks.wordpress.com">Full Review</a>
This story, Breathe, Annie, Breathe, is beautifully written. It is a story about running but beyond that it is a story about death, healing and new beginnings. In order to reach the point where healing can occur and new beginnings happen Annie must first take risks. She is scared about taking risks and loosing someone she cares deeply about but taking risks is part of the healing process. Throughout reading this story, my emotions were all over. I was sad, I was worried, but most of all I was happy. I was happy for Annie. Annie's happiness leaped off the page.
When I started to read this book and discovered it was about running, I suddenly became very interested in the story. I have been running competitively for 18 years (Whoa! That's a long time). In all my years running I have never read a book that is so much about running. It made me happy that someone finally did! Like Annie, running clears my head. If you're worried about something, go running. If you're sad, go running. If you're happy, go running. Running de-stresses your life. I appreciated the fact that Kenneally really captured the atmosphere of running, and especially the running "high." Another aspect I appreciated is how Kenneally shows issues that come with running and through the story the readers learn advice that will help; such as drinking gatorade to replace electrolytes, or using vasaline for chafing. While Annie is not someone who grew up running, she had a goal and took the proper and necessary steps to accomplish that goal. In the process she found herself.
The goal was to run and finish a marathon, a goal her boyfriend Kyle had set out to do but was unable to accomplish because of his death. Kyle wanted to run a marathon but is unable to so Annie decides to run a marathon in Kyles honor even though at the start she could barely run a half mile. Kenneally does not immediately tell her readers why Kyle died. In fact it takes most of the book to know but part of the mystery is what keeps the story going.
Kenneally does an excellent job of developing each character and showing their relationship with Annie; even repairing some estranged relationships. One of the characters, Jeremiah (Jere), has a very special place in Annie's heart and ultimately helps the healing process not by forcing her to heal but by first being a friend (a distraction) and later a boyfriend who helps her to take risks, to do things that scare her just a little. The relationship portrayed between Jere and Annie is realistic. I love that their relationship started as friends but developed to something more.
I recommend this book to anyone who like young adult (YA) literature, love story and most of all an intertwinning of sports and relationships. The story will cause you to look at your relationships and maybe you'll be motivated to train and run a marathon.