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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Naked Jungle (1954) in Movies
Jan 29, 2020
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.
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.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated First Year (Black Mage #1) in Books
Feb 10, 2020
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.
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.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Jun 28, 2020
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Return to Paradise in Books
Jan 6, 2021
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.
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.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Whiskey Beach in Books
Jan 6, 2021
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.
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.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Legend in Books
Jan 6, 2021
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
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
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Heartstopper Volume One in Books
Jan 6, 2021
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.
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.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Try (Temptation, #1) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
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.
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.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Every Little Piece (Second Chances, #1) in Books
Jan 8, 2021
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.
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.
