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The Death House
The Death House
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I think this book leaves a lot of unanswered questions that stops this from being 5 stars. It doesn't explain how the death house came to be-why some were infected and others weren't... Sarah Pinborough has written some really good books but this one was a let-down.
  
Murder on Sisters’ Row
Murder on Sisters’ Row
Victoria Thompson | 2011 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Rescue Leads to Murder
Midwife Sarah Brandt’s latest client is a woman in an elegant house. However, over the course of her labor, Amy reveals that she is being held against her will by a madam. Sarah enlists some others to help her free Amy and her baby only for someone to turn up dead. With Frank Malloy assigned to the case, the duo finds themselves investigating another intriguing mystery. Can they figure out what happened?

While the book delves into a serious subject, it does it without forcing the details on us, something I appreciated as I read. Instead it does an excellent job of bringing life in 1890’s New York City to life once again and shining the light on another part of society during the time. I love Sarah, Frank, and the rest of the gang. While all the characters shine, there isn’t any movement in the ongoing storylines, so you could jump in here without being too lost. The new characters represent a wide part of society, and they are all brought to life well. The plot kept me engaged. I was a step or two ahead of Sarah and Frank at times, at others I was heading in the wrong direction. Everything comes together for a page turning climax. I’m doing my best to catch up on this series. If you are as behind as I am, you’ll be delighted with this entry in the series.
  
Jellyfish (2018)
Jellyfish (2018)
2018 | Drama
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Verdict: Tragic & Heart Breaking

Story: Jellyfish starts as we meet school student Sarah Taylor (Hill) who is in struggling through her drama classes, taking care of her young siblings, while trying to work to give them any sort of extra money, her mother Karen (Matthews) is unemployed suffering from a mental illness.
When Sarah’s teacher Adam Hale (Nri) sees her talent for comedy, he pushes her into trying stand up comedy for a show, just when Sarah’s life starts to fall apart, with her losing her job and the family losing their benefits because of her mother not attending her meetings. Sarah is left needing to turn to darker sides of her life, to make sure her siblings stay with her and don’t get put into the foster system.

Thoughts on Jellyfish

Characters – Sarah is a 15-year-old girl that must look after her younger siblings, while her mother is struggling with her own mental illnesses, Sarah is trying to get through her GCSEs, working part time and being the only adult in her house, she is facing a future that isn’t going to happen unless things change quickly, everything is slowly piling up on her, with life situations she shouldn’t have put on her. Karen in the mother who has been suffering through depression making it difficult for her to even get out of the house to keep the benefits coming in. Adam Hale is the drama teacher that does see some potential in Sarah, he encourages her to find her talent for comedy, being supportive, where nobody else is. Vince is the boss that is trying to be strict, he gives Sarah chances unaware of her problems at home, even if he ends up being like any boss who hasn’t gotten more out of their own life.
Performances – Liv Hill gives us one of the strongest performances you will ever see, from every expression of pain she is going through, to just holding in the explosion of emotion that wants to come out of her. Sinead Matthews does make her character look like she is struggling with life. The rest of the supporting cast are strong, they all let Liv take the centre stage.
Story – The story here shows a 15-year-old that must take care of her younger siblings, manager school life and work life just to keep a roof over their heads. This is a story that will put a startling light on how some children will be living and just what they will need to do to get through each day, it shows the poverty line in England and how people will often not even give you the time of day to see what is wrong with somebody’s life, with only one person trying to offer support to Sarah. We see just how desperate she has become to make sure the family stays together even going against the law in her attempts. You will find yourself being incredibly moved by the struggles of Sarah and watching her slowly see her life unravel makes you want to help her.
Settings – The film is set in Margate a small coast town that doesn’t have the luxury life many people living there would have, it shows that small towns don’t offer big futures for people.

Scene of the Movie – The routine.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Is drama the only class Sarah takes?
Final Thoughts – This is one of the most emotionally charged movies you will see, we have a truly brilliant performance that will leave you feeling heart broken by what Sarah goes through, a must watch.

Overall: Brilliant.
  
A Court of Wings and Ruin
A Court of Wings and Ruin
Sarah J. Maas | 2017 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.8 (113 Ratings)
Book Rating
Utterly magical, fantastically epic and action-packed, A Court of Wings and Ruin deserves all the stars in the universe, the story is a masterpiece
  
Possession (2008)
Possession (2008)
2008 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
4
4.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I was surprised to see this went straight to DVD for a Sarah Michelle Gellar film, so didn't expect much. It does have a certain made for TV feel to it. It's a fairly odd film and a bit misleading as well, more like a poor mans Sleeping with the enemy.
  
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
1997 | Drama
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I’m going to go with The Sweet Hereafter. I just love the sort of darkness of that movie, and I just think the performances in that movie… I love Sarah Polley and I always have. That movie, it stayed with me. It stayed with me for a very long time."

Source
  
Buffy the Vampire Slayer  - Season 1
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 1
1997 | Horror
Sarah Michelle Gellar (3 more)
Vampires
Great make-up effects
Cast chemistry
A kick ass series!
One of the best series around in the late 90's! Cool, slick, sexy and funny as well. It had a great mix of martial arts, horror, humour and a great cast. Check it out if you missed it.
  
FH
2
2.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
11/09/2009

This book sucked eggs. Where's the continuity? It came out after <i>Freshman Fury</i>, but there's no mention of KC witnessing Brooks falling to his death, or Winnie's miscarriage.

It also has some insipid kidnapping plot and Lauren sucking up to her parents. Lame.

<2013> Nice ableism there, Sarah.
  
Behind Her Eyes
Behind Her Eyes
Sarah Pinborough | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.9 (18 Ratings)
Book Rating
NO SPOILER(S)...

This is the first book that I have read of Sarah Pinborough.

This book is fantastic in the way you never fully know how it's going to end.

Although the characters are often two-faced, their personalities still makes you care.

Fantastic read!

I am now reading 13 minutes.
  
The Secrets of the Forest
The Secrets of the Forest
Helena Brady | 2019 | Horror, Mystery
4
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
It was well thought out as to what the requirements were for someone to become a spirit or not (0 more)
I did not find this book to be very original at all. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
The Secrets of the Forest by Helena Brady is a creepy-pasta in a slightly longer book. It takes on elements of the 2016 movie “The Forest” and Slenderman who showed up sometime around 2009. It also talks of depression and suicide a lot, along with murder, death, and abuse. If these topics bother you please be advised.

 Sarah-Rose has entered the hardest time of her life. Her father has recently died and her mother blames Sarah-Rose for his death. Not only is Sarah-Rose’s mother blaming her but she has turned to alcohol and beating her daughter as a way to cope. Understandably enough Sarah-Rose can not handle all this, even more so because it is her sixteenth birthday.

 To escape all of this Sarah-Rose heads into The Forest that is on the edge of town, the one no one goes into for fear of death. She is hoping that the stories are true and like everyone else who has entered The Forest that she either won’t come out or will come out as a corpse floating in the river. What Sarah-Rose didn’t expect was that The Forest had its own plans for her. Upon entering The Forest, Sarah-Rose starts discovering secret after secret about her town’s past and herself. The only question that remains is if and when The Forest plans on claiming her as well.

 It was well thought out as to what the requirements were for someone to become a spirit or not. The same goes for if said person’s spirit becomes bound to The Forest or if they can leave it of their own free will. I did not find this book to be very original at all. It seemed to be a combination of a few different popular stories of recent years. The name and cover even immediately made me think of other things.

 This is a young adult book, but it is largely about depression and suicide. With these extremely tough subjects being at the front of the story I encourage anyone extremely sensitive about these topics to put the book down. All others, please enjoy it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Overall the story was good. It was just too unoriginal for my taste. I do believe this book will be enjoyed by those who choose to read it. There are a few small surprises that the unsuspecting reader will find interesting.

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