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The Goldilocks Principle
6.0
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One summer, two men chasing a fresh start, and three meddling Bears. What could go wrong? ELI ...
Fairytale Retelling MM Romance
My Sweetheart Surprise
10.0
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Parker: Everything was going fine. So what if my ex-boyfriend cheated on me and then took everything...
Contemporary MM Romance
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer in Books
Jan 23, 2020
I only picked up <i>Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer</i> for two reasons: 1) Marie Antoinette is a serial killer. I <i>had</i> to see it. 2) I'm in need of a book that's less of a romance. Oh, and I need a break from all of the books out there that do before I blow a gasket. Really, it's for everyone's benefit.
This book is a fantastic break for me – it's <b>not a fluffy book set in Paris with a Paris romance</b> (though there <i>is</i> a sort-of Paris romance I'm totally peachy with), despite the fact Alender starts things off with a gruesome murder involving a head being chopped off by a ghost.
No, I did not actually enjoy reading a person getting her head chopped off by a flying broken mirror shard caused by a ghost. I might be a ninja and secretly evil, but I don't actually enjoy those kinds of things.
France's history in the late 18th century is quite intriguing – from helping the US with the American Revolution against the British and then entering their own Revolution against the monarchy a little over a decade later. Alender's book is <b>full of rich details involving French history and culture circulating the Revolution</b> (despite the fact some facts were liberated by Alender to fit the overall plot of the story) as Colette tours France with her classmates, questions her roots and her friendship with Hannah, and tries to figure out why she's seeing a Marie Antoinette lookalike everywhere.
<b>The amount of French the author uses throughout the book isn't overwhelming</b> – it's enough to keep the intrigue, but not enough where it'll be overly confusing and categorizing the book as a piece of French literature. Then again, it's probably helpful when 1) the main character isn't entirely proficient at French, and 2) the romance languages are so similar, I pretty much understand the basis of the conversations with my sliver understanding of Spanish and Italian.
On the overall basis of the book being well written, I had mixed feelings for Colette for awhile – she's both likable and not likable at the same time. She's not likable because <b>she just seems to have a very snobby attitude of sorts, tries too hard to fit in with the rich and wealthy at her private school, and spends her time being a doormat in the beginning of the book for fear of facing Hannah's wrath</b>. As the book goes on and everyone makes Colette questions her friendship with Hannah, Colette slowly becomes likable – someone who isn't snobby after all, and her ending with Hannah is quite fantastic. Of course, it does become a little obvious there's some sort of gap between their friendship (and growing) since Colette secretly rebels at times without Hannah's knowledge.
All in all, <i>Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer</i> is <b>a book about deception, loyalty, and how even the dead can come back for revenge to complete unfinished business before they can finally rest in peace.</b>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-marie-antoinette-serial-killer-by-katie-alender/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
This book is a fantastic break for me – it's <b>not a fluffy book set in Paris with a Paris romance</b> (though there <i>is</i> a sort-of Paris romance I'm totally peachy with), despite the fact Alender starts things off with a gruesome murder involving a head being chopped off by a ghost.
No, I did not actually enjoy reading a person getting her head chopped off by a flying broken mirror shard caused by a ghost. I might be a ninja and secretly evil, but I don't actually enjoy those kinds of things.
France's history in the late 18th century is quite intriguing – from helping the US with the American Revolution against the British and then entering their own Revolution against the monarchy a little over a decade later. Alender's book is <b>full of rich details involving French history and culture circulating the Revolution</b> (despite the fact some facts were liberated by Alender to fit the overall plot of the story) as Colette tours France with her classmates, questions her roots and her friendship with Hannah, and tries to figure out why she's seeing a Marie Antoinette lookalike everywhere.
<b>The amount of French the author uses throughout the book isn't overwhelming</b> – it's enough to keep the intrigue, but not enough where it'll be overly confusing and categorizing the book as a piece of French literature. Then again, it's probably helpful when 1) the main character isn't entirely proficient at French, and 2) the romance languages are so similar, I pretty much understand the basis of the conversations with my sliver understanding of Spanish and Italian.
On the overall basis of the book being well written, I had mixed feelings for Colette for awhile – she's both likable and not likable at the same time. She's not likable because <b>she just seems to have a very snobby attitude of sorts, tries too hard to fit in with the rich and wealthy at her private school, and spends her time being a doormat in the beginning of the book for fear of facing Hannah's wrath</b>. As the book goes on and everyone makes Colette questions her friendship with Hannah, Colette slowly becomes likable – someone who isn't snobby after all, and her ending with Hannah is quite fantastic. Of course, it does become a little obvious there's some sort of gap between their friendship (and growing) since Colette secretly rebels at times without Hannah's knowledge.
All in all, <i>Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer</i> is <b>a book about deception, loyalty, and how even the dead can come back for revenge to complete unfinished business before they can finally rest in peace.</b>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-marie-antoinette-serial-killer-by-katie-alender/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Mothergamer (1536 KP) rated Mass Effect Andromeda Deluxe Edition in Video Games
Jul 19, 2017
Interesting story (2 more)
Beautiful environments
Great voice acting
Enjoyable Game and Addition to the Series
I love the Mass Effect series so I was excited to play this latest game in the series. I liked the story a lot because it was interesting and there were some great characters. The romance options were fairly decent and I did like the introduction of a new alien race and one of them became my favorite character in the entire game. The environments are beautiful and the game play is pretty good. I did have fun playing it. I just wish they had worked on the facial animations more because during cut scenes the expressions barely emote and appear wooden and robotic. It was also frustrating just how many bugs were in the game ranging from a character not showing up in a cut scene to the game freezing up. That aside, this is an enjoyable game and a good addition to the series, so it's worth checking out.
Read full Mother Gamer review here: http://lorrie28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2017/04/mass-effect-andromeda-fun-adventure-in.html
Read full Mother Gamer review here: http://lorrie28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2017/04/mass-effect-andromeda-fun-adventure-in.html
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Another Piece of My Heart in Books
Jan 15, 2018
This was such a great book! I wasn't sure what to expect...some chic lit, sugary sweet book or what. But let me tell you, it is NOT that all! Was it feel good? Yes, but it was all also very raw, emotional, & unexpected.
It tells the story of Ethan and Andi who meet through an on-line dating service and eventally marry. Ethan is a divorcee with 2 girls, the oldest of whom, Emily, resents Andi's presence in their lives from day 1. The book tells the story of Andi's fertility troubles, the marriage, interaction with her step-daughters, and their day to day lives.
Eventually the toxic environment that Emily creates & Ethan's enabling of her, leads to the downfall of the marriage...almost. But then, Emily gets pregnant. That's where the real action begins. I don't want to say much more for fear of giving away too much of the plot. I can say that this book has all the hallmarks I look for in a great read...romance, drama, deep characters, believability, etc.
Check it out!
It tells the story of Ethan and Andi who meet through an on-line dating service and eventally marry. Ethan is a divorcee with 2 girls, the oldest of whom, Emily, resents Andi's presence in their lives from day 1. The book tells the story of Andi's fertility troubles, the marriage, interaction with her step-daughters, and their day to day lives.
Eventually the toxic environment that Emily creates & Ethan's enabling of her, leads to the downfall of the marriage...almost. But then, Emily gets pregnant. That's where the real action begins. I don't want to say much more for fear of giving away too much of the plot. I can say that this book has all the hallmarks I look for in a great read...romance, drama, deep characters, believability, etc.
Check it out!
Rachel King (13 KP) rated The Doctor's Forever Family (Forever, Texas, #3) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I try to make a point of posting a review of everything I read, even cheesy Harlequin romances. Unfortunately, I do not have a whole lot to say about this one. The romance was sweet, and at times sexy, but it was predictable that the two main characters would end up together, since that is the focus of the book. My favorite character was actually the owner of the diner, simply because she seemed to be the one really running the town. I found the doctor to be melodramatic and behave at times as if he had a split personality, which was kind of a turn-off for me. I felt sorry for the baby, since he rarely seemed to see much of his mom at all, what with her passing him off to the baby-sitters so she could go fool around with the doctor. Tina could have planned the motherhood vs. dating aspects better by having Dan come to her place instead, and then Dan could have spent some time with the baby, too.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) in Movies
Mar 3, 2018 (Updated Mar 3, 2018)
Weather Forecast says 'Sun Everywhere'
Apocalyptic British SF movie shows how this sort of thing should be done. Nuclear tests shift the Earth on its axis, send it closer to the sun: civilisation struggles to cope with the prospect of looming extinction. Story is told from the point of view of the journalists of the Daily Express (don't laugh, it was a newspaper back in the 60s).
Very similar in its downbeat tone to the Quatermass movies Val Guest had previously made for Hammer - no B-movie this, but a serious, hard-edged naturalistic drama. Personal story of romance between lead journo Edward Judd and met office secretary Janet Munro is woven into the main plot with considerable skill; scenes of devastated London are well-mounted. A bit dated in some of its attitudes, but its concerns with the disastrous effects of climate change and its political cynicism mean it still feels surprisingly relevant today. Much better than any of the Roland Emmerich movies which have arguably ripped it off.
Very similar in its downbeat tone to the Quatermass movies Val Guest had previously made for Hammer - no B-movie this, but a serious, hard-edged naturalistic drama. Personal story of romance between lead journo Edward Judd and met office secretary Janet Munro is woven into the main plot with considerable skill; scenes of devastated London are well-mounted. A bit dated in some of its attitudes, but its concerns with the disastrous effects of climate change and its political cynicism mean it still feels surprisingly relevant today. Much better than any of the Roland Emmerich movies which have arguably ripped it off.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2163 KP) rated Murder on Washington Square in Books
Mar 31, 2018
Another Outstanding Trip Back in Time
When midwife Sarah Brandt gets a note form Nelson Ellsworth, her neighbor’s son, she is intrigued. She agrees to their meeting only to learn that Nelson has gotten a woman pregnant, a woman who doesn’t seem to want to marry him. Nelson asks Sarah to examine the woman, but something about their encounter seems off. Sarah doesn’t give it much thought until the woman is murdered and Nelson is arrested for the crime. With the help of NYC detective Frank Malloy, she begins to investigate. What is happening?
I hadn’t realized how much I’ve come to enjoy this series until I picked up the book. I was immediately lost in the world of 1890’s New York City, and Sarah and Frank are outstanding guides. They lead a cast of strong characters, and I love watching them interact and their slow burn romance. I did figure some things out early, but I was still glued to the page as there were twists and complications I didn’t see coming.
I hadn’t realized how much I’ve come to enjoy this series until I picked up the book. I was immediately lost in the world of 1890’s New York City, and Sarah and Frank are outstanding guides. They lead a cast of strong characters, and I love watching them interact and their slow burn romance. I did figure some things out early, but I was still glued to the page as there were twists and complications I didn’t see coming.
Felicia (44 KP) rated To All The Boys I've Loved Before (2018) in Movies
Aug 19, 2018
They story of Lara Jean and her hat box with 5 love letters is a teen romantic for the ages. This movie found on netflix is based off of the book with the same name by Jenny Han. Lara Jean writes a love letter for every boy that she has had a huge crush on, she places them in a hat box in her closet in an attempt to hide her feelings. But all that changes when the letters get sent out. Life changes for Lara Jean as she has to deal with new found male attention and her own sense of self.
This movie was really good, the cast was terrific and the storyline doesn't ever really drag as the hour and a half plays out. My only real complaint is that they left out some of my favorite plots from the books but that is to be expected.
I would totally recommend this movie to anybody who wants to watch a cute fluff romance type movie.
This movie was really good, the cast was terrific and the storyline doesn't ever really drag as the hour and a half plays out. My only real complaint is that they left out some of my favorite plots from the books but that is to be expected.
I would totally recommend this movie to anybody who wants to watch a cute fluff romance type movie.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2163 KP) rated Death of a Russian Doll in Books
Oct 12, 2018
The Body Nesting Next Door
It's been a year since police chief Ken's wife Marya showed up, nipping Liz's romance with Ken in the bud. She hasn't completely recovered from the shock and hurt, but when Marya shows up murdered in the barbershop next to Well Played, Liz knows she and Ken will both be suspects. With her father stepping in as police chief, Liz begins to find an alternative suspect. But who in town knew Marya well enough to kill her?
The plot spends equal time digging into Marya's past while also attempting to figure out how what we learn can bring us any suspects. The result is a fast paced and fun mystery that leads to a logical solution. The characters are strong as always, and provide plenty of fun. I laughed at some of the situations and the puns we got over the course of the book. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark Baker return in a larger roll this time around. Add in the Christmas setting, and you've got a winner will many layers of fun.
The plot spends equal time digging into Marya's past while also attempting to figure out how what we learn can bring us any suspects. The result is a fast paced and fun mystery that leads to a logical solution. The characters are strong as always, and provide plenty of fun. I laughed at some of the situations and the puns we got over the course of the book. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark Baker return in a larger roll this time around. Add in the Christmas setting, and you've got a winner will many layers of fun.