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The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)
The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)
Julia Quinn | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Humor & Comedy, Romance
6
7.9 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
189 of 235
Book
The Viscount who loved me ( Bridgertons 2)
By Julia Quinn
⭐️⭐️⭐️


1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...

-Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry-he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield-the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate's the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes to not make the best husbands-and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate's determined to protect her sister-but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...

I love Julia Quinn and this series has become so popular. I’ve managed to avoid the tv series as I always prefer to read the book first. And this was really good I enjoyed Anthony’s story, not as much as the first book but it was exactly what I expected.
  
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Midge (525 KP) rated The East End in Books

May 8, 2019  
The East End
The East End
Jason Allen | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Brilliant Début!
My word, how exciting and enthralling was this début novel by newcomer Jason Allen?!

Being honest, I went into The East End without much enthusiasm, thinking “Oh well, yet another novel about dysfunctional behaviour and taking drugs.” (Huge sigh). But if I had continued with that line of thought and not read The East End, I would have missed out on so much as it turned out to be one of the best reads of the year, so far.

I was immediately blown away by all of the drama, from page one. Yes, there was some drug-taking - well a lot actually - however, it was absolutely essential to the story-line.

The book opens with a break-in. Living with his mum, Gina, in the Hamptons, Corey Halpern has just graduated from high school and Gina is employed as a housekeeper for billionaire Leo Sheffield. Full of angst towards the filthy rich, Corey spends much of his time breaking into their homes, not to steal but to play pranks on them. He decides to break into the Sheffield mansion which is home to Leo, wife Sheila and teenage daughter, Tiffany and witnesses something he wished he had not. But what will he choose to do next?
The East End was told from several different perspectives which is normally something I am not too fond of, however, Jason Allen achieved this admirably and without any confusion for me.

The characters that Jason Allen created were so well drawn it was almost unbelievable. I felt that I was part of the unfolding drama with every chapter, as I found myself shouting out advice to the particular character who was facing their latest dilemma. I found it difficult to choose a favourite character so I opted for three of them - Leo, Gina and Angelique. Leo, I felt huge sadness for, as he was so down on his luck, though he did habitually make a lot of bad choices. I had so much empathy with Gina and who could not adore Angelique? She was so feisty, gutsy and full of hope despite her start in life.

The emotional complexity of the story was definitely one of the highlights of The East End and I loved the tenderness between Corey and Angelique.

Jason Allen’s writing style was very unique. There were longer paragraphs of narrative and less dialogue in this book than I’m used to, however, the plot was so engrossing that it didn’t prevent me from loving the story.

This book has everything from secrets, love and family to addiction, scandal, desperation, tragedy and greed. The plot was presented in the form of a slow-burning mystery with underlying themes of class, social structure and discrimination packaged as a family drama but with added comedic aspect.

The ending was a surprise and, for me, very fitting and fulfilling. All in all, I found this book to be a fantastic and very worthwhile read and I look forward to reading more from Jason Allen.

Thanks to NetGalley, Park Row Books and the author, Jason Allen for my complimentary ARC of The East End. My honest review is entirely voluntary.

My review will be published on my blog, Brianne’s Book Reviews on May 8, 2019.
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) created a post

Feb 21, 2019  
Last night I went to watch a stage version of The Full Monty at Manchester’s Opera House. The film is fantastic, so I was interested to see how well they pulled the stage version off.

The play was great, and such a lot of fun. It was really funny although maybe a little too foul mouthed in parts (I’m sure people from Sheffield don’t swear that much!), but highly entertaining. They used all of the songs and scenes from the original film, and some extra backing music that fit in with the rest. The plot was identical to the film so they haven’t really changed much, and the set design was quite good. They’ve pulled off a steel works well, however the only issue is that because of the steel works design, there wasn’t a lot of moveable set pieces and while they tried their best, some of the switches to none steel works scenes didn’t work as well. Cast wise, this is the first play I’ve seen where I actually recognised the majority of the main actors. Admittedly they weren’t Hollywood stars, but in the UK at least they’re fairly recognisable faces if you’ve ever seen soaps or sitcoms - Gary Lucy (Hollyoaks, Footballers Wives) , James Redmond (Hollyoaks), Louis Emerick (Brookside), Andrew Dunn (Dinnerladies) and Kai Owen (Torchwood) made it all the more enjoyable to watch. They all performed well too, although my only criticism is that there were some very dodgy Yorkshire accents from some. Maybe not something everyone would notice.

In all though this is hilarious and highly entertaining play, and a really fun night out. Definitely worth seeing if you liked the film 9/10
     
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Andy K (10821 KP) Feb 23, 2019

Wish I could see this!

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JT (287 KP) rated Ca$h (2010) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
Ca$h (2010)
Ca$h (2010)
2010 | Mystery
2
2.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A contender for one of the worst thrillers ever, this is nothing more than a total disaster. And that is being generous!

Director Stephen Milburn Anderson’s last outing was with Dead Men Can’t Dance back in 1997, and after such a long break you wonder why he stepped back behind the camera. The film’s central plot has been graced in Hollywood one way or another, at least in a different guise.

A bag of money from a robbery falls in the lap of Sam (Chris Hemsworth) and Leslie Phelan (Victoria Profeta) and so beings the moral dilemma. It doesn’t take long for the couple to blow and hide most of the money.

Sean Bean complete with trademark Sheffield accent steps in as Pyke Kubic tasked with recovering the half million dollar loot to split between himself and his brother who is in prison (also played by Bean).

For most you’d expect a game of cat and mouse, gripping edge of seat stuff. Forget that, what you are handed is a rather boring plot of Bean meticulously accounting for all the missing cash and spending time with the couple inside their home as some sort of unwanted house guest.

There is no need for violence here, he’s polite and calm but at the same time attempts to be chilling even insulting the couple for their lack of meat in home cooking. Christ, he even goes out to buy them food for their fridge!

It really is embarrassing to watch and sad, as put in the right hands this could have been a real sleeper hit. Two simple words, “don’t bother”!