ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Sirens in Books
Nov 23, 2025
Nature, the sea and the landscape of New South Wales all play a major role in this book, and the descriptions were so evocative. As someone who has never been to Australia, I was able to imagine the setting of this story.
The relationship between the sisters is a strange one: the older sister, Jess, seems very disconnected from her younger sister, doesn’t stay in touch, and when Lucy arrives unannounced at her house, Jess isn’t there. The house is in a state, and no-one knows where she is.
I really enjoyed the 1800 timeline: the oppression of the Transportation ship, the sisters, and their ending was *chef’s kiss* (I’m not saying 🤐).
A book of male violence and manipulation, and an interesting way to deal with it! I enjoyed this, but I do think it could be a marmite book (I like marmite).
The Shutout
6.0
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Sometimes love is where you least expect it, and sometimes it's right where you left it in this slow...
Contemporary MM Romance
ClareR (6256 KP) rated Sun Damage in Books
Jul 4, 2023
Ali and Sean are confidence tricksters: they get people to trust them, and then extract large amounts of money from them. Except something goes wrong when they try to con Lulu, and Ali goes on the run - with a large sum of money from Sean’s safe. Ali thinks she has found the perfect hiding place in a gîte in the South of France, but it seems inevitable that her past will catch up with her.
This is all set in the summer, when the heat is as oppressive as Ali’s paranoia. The whole novel feels claustrophobic - will Ali be found out? Will Sean find her? What will her employers do?
We see Ali’s past and childhood in some detail, and I found myself forgiving her for her terrible behaviour - although I doubt I would have been so forgiving if I was the one being swindled!
This is probably the ideal summer holiday read - great for by the pool, somewhere hot. Although you’ll be a lot more suspicious of anyone you don’t know trying to strike up a conversation!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for another great serialisation.
Andy K (10827 KP) rated The Exorcist (1973) in Movies
Oct 14, 2018 (Updated Oct 15, 2018)
Not until I was an adult in my 30s did I truly appreciate the perfection masterpiece craft of the film.
Simple, slow burn storytelling. Not the scariest or goriest film ever made. More the idea of the film, how it transforms a young innocent girl into a satanic, cruel, vulgar monster which is the most visceral.
When it was released in 2000 with the "Version you've never seen" I happened to be working as a projectionist at the local theatre when I lived in Oregon. I always used to go into the theatre itself or turn the volume up while in the projector room so I could listen to it while I was doing other work.
It truly is one of my favorite films and is a tradition now I watch it every single October 31st.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Long Bright River in Books
Dec 15, 2019
Less a thriller and more a very character-driven tale of Michaela (Mickey,) a cop and her complicated relationship to her drug-addicted sister. When women start turning up dead on Mickey’s patch her concern for her sister intensifies. The book switches between the present day with Mickey’s search for a killer and her sister in a neighborhood suspicious of police and the tale of their growing-up in less than ideal circumstances.
Part police procedural/mystery/thriller I wouldn’t pick this book up if that’s what you are really craving as this isn’t done in a particularly satisfying way with what felt like a slightly rushed resolution after a slow-burn start to this aspect. I would, however, recommend picking it up if you fancy a gritty emotional look into the world of a neighborhood ravaged by drugs and the strong family ties that persevere.
Many thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.
Body Fuel: Calorie-Cycle Your Way to Reduced Body Fat and Greater Muscle Definition
Book
Fitness phenomenon Mark Lauren has shown thousands of people around the world how to get in shape...
Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Apartment in Books
May 22, 2020
I am a fan of K.L. Slater. If you have not read any of Kim's work, start with her most well-known work, Blink. All of her novels average between 3.69 and 4.00 on Goodreads.
While I did enjoy this fast-reading story, it was not an original one. However, that does not make it inferior to those that have come before. Many reviewers compared this to Riley Sager's Lock Every Door. They both are mysteries involving an apartment building where people have been known to disappear. If Sager's novel had not been released so close to this book, I do not think as many people would make the comparison.
Slater's The Apartment is a slow burn. Many reviewers want instant gratification, instant suspense, instant terrors, etc. Not all books are going slam you in the face. Not all books should.
It is those differences that make this book, and any book, worth reading. You can take the view of Mark Hunter in Pump Up the Volume or you can embrace both the similarities and differences in an author's work.
Diver's Clothes Lie Empty
7.0
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From the acclaimed author of Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name comes a taut, spellbinding...
Thriller mystery fiction
Star-Crossed (Cursed Hearts #1)
8.0
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Some rules are meant to be broken. Skye Giovanni has spent her entire life heeding the warning...
The Art of Living
8.0
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Robert Harper has spent the past seventeen years living for his son. He doesn’t know who he is if...
Contemporary MM Romance Single Dad Hurt/Comfort Office Romance