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The Naked Jungle (1954)
The Naked Jungle (1954)
1954 | Action, Drama, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Nothing to do with Keith Chegwin, thank God. Slightly stodgy romance as plantation owner Charlton Heston sorts himself out with a mail-order bride and gets more than he bargained for in the form of Eleanor Parker. He is very stern and formal and calls her 'Madam' a lot; she is self-willed and feisty; sexual tension hangs in the air like the pong from a backed-up toilet but they seem stuck in an impasse until ferocious marabunta ants start swarming through the neighbourhood. (The ants only appear in the final act of the movie; one could wish they'd turn up sooner.)

Hard to say which is more awkward to watch nowadays, the depiction of the locals or the gender politics, but there is a certain camp fun to be had once the army ants finally show up: there are various scenes of people watching the ants through binoculars, while Heston's aargh-I'm-being-eaten-alive acting is as earnestly stoic as you might expect. Just about succeeds at what it sets out to do, and the structure of the story is solid, but very old-fashioned and corny.
  
First Year (Black Mage #1)
First Year (Black Mage #1)
Rachel E Carter | 2020 | Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Magic. Romance. War. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Falling Kingdoms, and Tamora Pierce.

Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice —pursue a trade or enroll in a trial year in one of the realm’s three war schools to study as a soldier, knight, or mage…

For fifteen-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a mage and train in Combat, the most prestigious faction of magic.

Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Everyone is rooting for her to fail—first and foremost among them is Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived.

Will Ry survive, or will her dream go down in flames?

A very good read! The book and story flowed effortlessly. All sorts of emotions coming from the young prince, also a lot of hatred for Precilla. Slightly predicable in places but Ry is a strong character with strong friends backing her up!
Looking forward to hearing more in the Apprentice.
To answer the question Ry survives and kick starts her dream.
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Jun 28, 2020  
Today on my blog, I have a fascinating interview with Cindy K Sproles, author of the Christian historical romance WHAT MOMMA LEFT BEHIND. There's also a GIVEAWAY to win a copy of the book and a $20 Barnes & Noble or $5 Starbucks GIFT CARD!

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Worie Dressar is seventeen years old when influenza and typhoid ravage her Appalachian Mountain community in 1877, leaving behind a growing number of orphaned children with no way to care for themselves. Worie's mother has been secretly feeding a number of these little ones on Sourwood Mountain. But when she dies suddenly, Worie is left to figure out why and how she was caring for them.

Plagued with two good-for-nothing brothers—one greedy and the other a drunkard—Worie fights to save her home and the orphaned children now in her begrudging care. Along the way, she will discover the beauty of unconditional love and the power of forgiveness as she cares for all of Momma's children.

Storyteller and popular speaker Cindy K. Sproles pens a tender novel full of sacrifice, heartache, and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/06/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-what-momma.html
     
Return to Paradise
Return to Paradise
Simone Elkeles | 2010 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Meh...I guess I was expecting more romance and a grovelling Caleb after the way he left her in the last one and we didn't really get that. No it was all arguments and then apologies and then more arguments.

If I'm honest I was going to give it two stars up until the epilogue, and then one bit bumped it up half a star or so because Caleb from [b:Leaving Paradise|17558140|Leaving Paradise (Leaving Paradise, #1)|Simone Elkeles|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363610968s/17558140.jpg|531712] appeared and made good on something he said in the first.

As for some of the other characters. They really grew on me, Lenny definitely had by the end after some of the stupid things he'd said and done in the first part of the book. Julio wasn't such a bad guy. Kendra...huh. <spoiler>Leah did the right thing. Lou and Maggie's mum getting together was nice.</spoiler>

I wasn't all together impressed with this but there were some quite sweet bits and some rather hot bits that made it worthwhile if you want to read how Maggie and Caleb's story ends.
  
Whiskey Beach
Whiskey Beach
Nora Roberts | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
4
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's taken me almost two months to read this, on and off because it was taking far too long to get anywhere interesting. I'd read every page up until about the 40% mark and then because it was taking forever for anything even remotely interesting to happen I just couldn't muster the want to read it.

It was only a couple of days ago when I was re-viewing my to-read list that I saw how many paperbacks I still had left to read and just decided to skim the remaining pages. It still didn't grab me as something amazing happening so I was a little disappointed. I loved the last book I read by her, The Witness, and really enjoy her J.D. Robb In Death series but this failed to get any good response out of me.

To put it bluntly, I was bored. So freaking bored!

Even the romance aspect of it didn't bring me any joy, though good for Abra for going after what she wanted.

I'm not in any hurry to return to a Nora Roberts book for a while after this.
  
Legend
Legend
Marie Lu | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.8 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
I tend not to read books with characters under the age of 17 because they can come across as being immature and annoying.

However that is not the case in this, both Day and June are really mature for 15, maybe it's their upbringing; life on the streets and growing up in a posher area and being a member of the Republic.

I'll admit it took me a while to get into the story--about the 20-25% mark--what with the dual POV and one hunting the other down but once they finally met and got to now each other I became quickly engrossed in their story.

I wasn't sure how to feel about June's brother, Metias, but the more I read and grew to know him through June's memories and his journal, the more I liked him and was sorry that he'd died. He seemed like a really great big brother.

Action, political corruption, dystopia, a bit of romance; it was everything I like in a book and I liked a lot of things about it. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for the rest of the series
  
Heartstopper Volume One
Heartstopper Volume One
Alice Oseman | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
8
9.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
This review and more can be found at my blog https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com/

A Romance Reader's Reviews

This was a recommendation on Goodreads after finishing Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda so when I saw it on Amazon today as a 99p deal, I just went and bought it. As a graphic novel, it's a quick read and I did find it very cute.

So Charlie is an openly gay young man in an English all-boys school. He's a really good runner and is invited by his form group seating partner, Nick, to join the rugby team as they are needing new players. The pair grow close as they spend time practising the game and talking in their form group and spend time around at each others houses. Charlie quickly falls for Nick but Nick's straight, right?

I did really like this. The storyline was engaging and I really felt for these two characters.

The artwork was a little strange at times but really detailed at others. I loved head on shots, the dog ♡, the trainers/converse near the end.

I would love to continue this at some point since it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.
  
Try (Temptation, #1)
Try (Temptation, #1)
Ella Frank | 2013
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars

I've read a fair few mm romances and this was different to the rest and that was a good thing. This is a fairly good introduction to the genre for those who haven't read mm before and want to try it.

I'm still unsure about the beginning of the book, the first couple of chapters anyway when Logan was having sex with women. I know he swings both ways at the beginning but that doesn't mean I want to read about it when I bought it for the mm aspect.

That aside, I have to admit that I did like it when Logan put all of his focus on Tate. His persistence and seduction of the other man was kinda hot and I liked how we saw it from both sides. How Logan, who's a cocky bugger, changed his ways because of one barman...nawwww! And how one straight man could be seduced by said cocky bugger to change his entire life to be with him.

The romance aspect, once it started, was right up my street and i think i will continue the series when the books are released.
  
Every Little Piece (Second Chances, #1)
Every Little Piece (Second Chances, #1)
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one of the oldest books still on my Kindle - from 2017 - so it's about time I read it.

It starts with Haley and her friends meeting up to decide what to do the day before graduation. They play pool and meet up with her boyfriend, Seth, and his friends for a few games before heading home to get ready for the big party that's happening. Things don't go well at the party, though, and when Seth disappears Haley and her friends search for him only to end up in a car accident. Fast forward a year and both Haley and Seth find themselves in the same place at the same time and Seth decides to try and make amends for what happened.

I'll admit I wasn't entirely into this. The characters were rather immature at times and how they acted really began to put me off the story. I didn't really gel with the romance or the storyline but I was intrigued about who was behind the accident so I continued to read.

This is a story of love, friendship, forgiveness and second chances. It just didn't work for me.
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Feb 4, 2021  
Come read my rave book review for the Young Adult clean romance novel PUDGE & PREJUDICE by Allison Pittman Author Page. "I'm so happy that I did get a chance to read this book because I have become totally smitten with it!" Be sure to enter the giveaway to win a hair scrunchie, a signed copy of the book, and a $25 Visa gift card - three winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/02/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-pudge.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
A Mixtape of Big '80s Style, High School Angst, and a Classic Jane Austen Tale

It’s 1984 and after moving to Northenfield, Texas, with her family, Elyse Nebbit faces the challenge of finding her place in a new school, one dominated by social status and Friday night football. When Elyse’s effortlessly beautiful older sister Jayne starts dating golden boy Charlie Bingley, Elyse finds herself curious about Charlie’s popular and brooding best friend, Billy Fitz. Elyse’s body insecurities eventually complicate her relationship with Billy, leaving Jayne and Elyse’s exceedingly blunt friend, Lottie, to step in and help Elyse accept herself for who she is, pant size and all.