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Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit in Books
May 16, 2018
If you’re reading this review, chances are you’re either a) a true crime buff or b) curious as to what the source material of Netflix’s latest original series, Mindhunters, is based on. That title, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas is actually a fascinating read that details a division of the FBI that, had it not been created, would leave us without shows like Criminal Minds, where the Behavioral Science Unit profiles killers and races the clock to save victims that may still be alive. (Also, we wouldn’t have our Shemar Moore and wouldn’t that be a crying shame? We need our Morgan and Baby Girl.)
Reading more like Douglas is sitting in the room beside you and recounting his past, Mindhunter, as expected, delves into some pretty deep material. For a while, I had to put it down because the ATKID murders dug beneath my skin. Despite the sometimes gory details Douglas provides readers with, I feel this is an important title for any true crime fan. After all, it is Douglas that a certain character from Silence of the Lambs is based on.
<a href="http://theghastlygrimoire.com/2017/11/19/book-review-mindhunter-inside-the-fbis-elite-serial-crime-unit-mindhunter-1-by-john-douglas/"; target="_new">Read more at <i>The Ghastly Grimoire</i>.</a>
Reading more like Douglas is sitting in the room beside you and recounting his past, Mindhunter, as expected, delves into some pretty deep material. For a while, I had to put it down because the ATKID murders dug beneath my skin. Despite the sometimes gory details Douglas provides readers with, I feel this is an important title for any true crime fan. After all, it is Douglas that a certain character from Silence of the Lambs is based on.
<a href="http://theghastlygrimoire.com/2017/11/19/book-review-mindhunter-inside-the-fbis-elite-serial-crime-unit-mindhunter-1-by-john-douglas/"; target="_new">Read more at <i>The Ghastly Grimoire</i>.</a>
ClareR (5906 KP) rated The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder in Books
Apr 11, 2018
After the first chapter, I didn't think I'd like this AT ALL. It's a grower though! Once you fall in to the rhythm of Jasper's life and the way that he sees the world, it's all rather beautiful. He has synaesthesia - he sees sounds and voices as colours. Numbers and words have colours too. To add to his interesting world, he also has prosopagnosia (face blindness) and autism. He paints pictures of the sounds he experiences, and they sound as though they'll be beautiful.
I really felt for his father: it can't be easy parenting a child with Jaspers complex needs. However, I feel he comes across as being a very capable, loving man. He struggles to understand his son sometimes, but I think he appears to work very hard to help Jasper. And honestly, it must be hard to be Jasper as well.
As someone who works in education, I found it difficult to see how Jasper has slipped through the net of support for his conditions - but it does say in the novel that they have moved around a lot. So this might be the reason (and I'll allow for poetic licence!).
The descriptive language in this novel surrounding Jaspers synaesthesia really is beautiful, and well worth a read purely for that. Then you can stay for the murder mystery event!
I really felt for his father: it can't be easy parenting a child with Jaspers complex needs. However, I feel he comes across as being a very capable, loving man. He struggles to understand his son sometimes, but I think he appears to work very hard to help Jasper. And honestly, it must be hard to be Jasper as well.
As someone who works in education, I found it difficult to see how Jasper has slipped through the net of support for his conditions - but it does say in the novel that they have moved around a lot. So this might be the reason (and I'll allow for poetic licence!).
The descriptive language in this novel surrounding Jaspers synaesthesia really is beautiful, and well worth a read purely for that. Then you can stay for the murder mystery event!
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Goodnight Nobody in Books
May 25, 2018
Sometimes flashbacks are useful, helpful even, and contribute to the story. I find myself having a lot of "Ah-ha!" moments when presented with a flashback scenario in a book. Not the case here. They bored me. I came thisclose to skipping ahead to the present-day chapters. But I didn't.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the story, it dragged a bit in those parts, they could have been shorter and more condensed. The story was in most parts about the balance between being a woman and being a mother. Which, maybe since I'm not a mother, I didn't connect as much, and at times felt like screaming "Get it together lady!" Obviously we all know that these "supermoms" are never whom they appear to be on the outside. Everyone has their issues.
There are some good twists and turns of this story of a woman named Kate, former writer/investigator turned stay at home "surburban supermom wannabe" who uses her past to help "find" her future when a mystery presents itself. Who better than Kate to solve the crime?! There is wit and charm in the writing as we all know and love from Jennifer Weiner, and the plot is well-developed, but the story didn't grab me all the way throughout, with an ending that just wasn't very convincing.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the story, it dragged a bit in those parts, they could have been shorter and more condensed. The story was in most parts about the balance between being a woman and being a mother. Which, maybe since I'm not a mother, I didn't connect as much, and at times felt like screaming "Get it together lady!" Obviously we all know that these "supermoms" are never whom they appear to be on the outside. Everyone has their issues.
There are some good twists and turns of this story of a woman named Kate, former writer/investigator turned stay at home "surburban supermom wannabe" who uses her past to help "find" her future when a mystery presents itself. Who better than Kate to solve the crime?! There is wit and charm in the writing as we all know and love from Jennifer Weiner, and the plot is well-developed, but the story didn't grab me all the way throughout, with an ending that just wasn't very convincing.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Book of Fires in Books
Feb 15, 2019
[b:The Book of Fires|6402584|The Book of Fires|Jane Borodale|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hnp5vgo-L._SL75_.jpg|6591386] was not an easy book for me to get through. Not that it's a bad book, far from it, but because of its slow and steady pace I had to stop quite often to get my bearings. This is a very well-written book but it is also a very detailed one as well, sometimes to the detriment of the book; I felt like I was wading through facts and the story fell to a standstill at times. The lectures on fireworks and how they were made in the 18th century could have been fascinating, but they bored me, mainly because they were lectures and didn't fit into the book. Agnes was a confusing narrator, and while I can buy the uneducated yet bright and thoughtful type of character, I never felt for her as a human, she had no identity. The whole book was this way, and to put it bluntly, it felt dead, there was no sense of living in these pages. I think many people will enjoy <b><i>The Book of Fires</i></b>, but it left me cold, and for a book that features fireworks, there isn't much of a spark and bang between its covers.
Provided for review via Amazon Vine.
Provided for review via Amazon Vine.
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Phoebe's Light (Nantucket Legacy #1) in Books
Feb 25, 2019
I believe in giving honest reviews, and this one will be the same as all my other. Honest. My thoughts on this book? Ugh. That's right. Ugh. I was very disappointed in how this book turned out. I am usually a big fan of all of Suzanne Woods Fisher's novels but this one was......well, frankly, bland. Very bland. I could not get into it easily. It took me many tries to actually get to the end of the story and by that point I was so frustrated with the way it was written that it lost all appeal to me.
That said, I personally can not give this book more than 2 stars. However, just because I found the characters lacking and the story line flat, does not mean that you or someone you know may feel the same way, so I do still encourage you to give it a try. It's just not a book for me. Does this mean I have given up on reading Suzanne's books? Absolutly not. Sometimes, an author goes through down times just like every person in life. I will definitely give the next book in this series a try and hope that it's not quite so bland.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
That said, I personally can not give this book more than 2 stars. However, just because I found the characters lacking and the story line flat, does not mean that you or someone you know may feel the same way, so I do still encourage you to give it a try. It's just not a book for me. Does this mean I have given up on reading Suzanne's books? Absolutly not. Sometimes, an author goes through down times just like every person in life. I will definitely give the next book in this series a try and hope that it's not quite so bland.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Stephen (210 KP) rated As Above So Below (2014) in Movies
Mar 1, 2019 (Updated Mar 2, 2019)
Worthy Of A Watch
Contains spoilers, click to show
As I watched this tonight, all I could think of was ‘Tomb Raider meets The Descent’ - although much more emphasis is placed on the Tomb Raider element, which, when the film is classed as a horror movie just ends up watering down the horror element. Don’t get me wrong, there are some excellent ‘jump off the sofa’ moments, however a lot of what could have been achieved (e.g. the claustrophobic terror of ‘The Descent’) has been lost and overwhelmed by the Tomb Raider element, and to be honest this lets the film down slightly as some of the storyline is just plain stupid. I mean, OK it’s fine to search for an ancient relic, but finding the Philosopher’s Stone and then using it to heal fellow team members is just a bit too silly in my opinion.
Whilst I felt the film was well crafted, it does suffer from the annoying ‘camera jerking all over the place’ syndrome, meaning it’s sometimes virtually impossible to work out what is going on, and also means that when something scary is happening, it fails as you can’t see what it is you’re supposed to be scared by.
Overall, the film was enjoyable apart from the above mentioned negatives - oh, and the ending just SUCKS - a complete letdown.
Whilst I felt the film was well crafted, it does suffer from the annoying ‘camera jerking all over the place’ syndrome, meaning it’s sometimes virtually impossible to work out what is going on, and also means that when something scary is happening, it fails as you can’t see what it is you’re supposed to be scared by.
Overall, the film was enjoyable apart from the above mentioned negatives - oh, and the ending just SUCKS - a complete letdown.
MaryAnn (14 KP) rated An Unexpected Role in Books
Mar 5, 2019
It's hard being a teenager, but when your mother is an author and uses your life as inspiration it can make living difficult. That was life for Josie DelRio. When her mother's newest book comes out, it sends Josie's classmates into a frenzy of malicious teasing, so Josie heads to North Carolina to spend the summer with her aunt.
Josie plans on spending her summer on the beach, taking it easy and trusting that she can find a place to fit in and have a summer on anonymity.
This was a delightful story, everyone can relate to being a teenager and what high school can be like. It is full of mystery, suspense, and some romance.
I enjoyed this book, it was a fast easy read. I do like that the author was able to insert Bible verses to help encourage the main character. What I saw in the book is that sometimes you just have to let go of things, don't carry your problems... let God take control and see what He can do!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Josie plans on spending her summer on the beach, taking it easy and trusting that she can find a place to fit in and have a summer on anonymity.
This was a delightful story, everyone can relate to being a teenager and what high school can be like. It is full of mystery, suspense, and some romance.
I enjoyed this book, it was a fast easy read. I do like that the author was able to insert Bible verses to help encourage the main character. What I saw in the book is that sometimes you just have to let go of things, don't carry your problems... let God take control and see what He can do!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
,
Peter_mark84 (59 KP) rated Days Gone in Video Games
Jun 9, 2019
Deep story (3 more)
Interesting characters
Cool mechanics
Beautiful environment
Bit fiddy control choices (1 more)
AI sometimes seems asleep
Gone are the days!
Just started this game.
Days Gone is a really good game. Taking tropes from The Last Of Us and The Walking Dead. Days Gone, combines the threat on 'zombies' with the ongoing threat of humans in a number of guises.
From opening the game in pursuit of Leon, you are drawn into a beautiful world. One that is full of dangers. Freakers are tough and varied from Swarmers and Newts to things I am yet to run into.
Mechanics are nothing new. But as the saying goes 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Great use of classic cover, stealth and instinct vision mechanics that we have seen in other games. However a mechanic that is relevantly new is that of monitoring the fuel usage. Only Mad Max used this idea before and this is supplemented by the mechanic of maintaining the bike. If either run low at the wrong time then it going be a nightmare to survive.
The only issue I have is the touch pad being used to access the menu. This leads to accidental opening of the menus.
Overall in the early days of playing this is a solid game. Hopefully the developers will add more content.
Days Gone is a really good game. Taking tropes from The Last Of Us and The Walking Dead. Days Gone, combines the threat on 'zombies' with the ongoing threat of humans in a number of guises.
From opening the game in pursuit of Leon, you are drawn into a beautiful world. One that is full of dangers. Freakers are tough and varied from Swarmers and Newts to things I am yet to run into.
Mechanics are nothing new. But as the saying goes 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Great use of classic cover, stealth and instinct vision mechanics that we have seen in other games. However a mechanic that is relevantly new is that of monitoring the fuel usage. Only Mad Max used this idea before and this is supplemented by the mechanic of maintaining the bike. If either run low at the wrong time then it going be a nightmare to survive.
The only issue I have is the touch pad being used to access the menu. This leads to accidental opening of the menus.
Overall in the early days of playing this is a solid game. Hopefully the developers will add more content.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated DAT Poker Podcast in Podcasts
Jun 15, 2019
A news and gossip podcast focusing on the world of poker. Hosted by poker legend Daniel Negrenu, Terrance Chan and Adam Shwartz. Adam is a veteran of the poker podcast world having formerly hosted the long-running Two Plus Two podcast.
This podcast is light on the poker strategy talk but if you want all the details on all the latest gossip you have come to the right place. Daniel offers a good look into the world of high stakes poker with no holding back (language can be very colourful.) We get to hear not just about the action on the felt but also a lot on the gambling that goes alongside whether it’s golf, fantasy leagues or hockey (there is a lot of hockey talk - they are Canadian!) All the latest scandals get a good going over.
It doesn't usually bother going over too many tournament results unless they are significantly interesting or it’s World Series of Poker time. As well as the news in the poker world they also cover the best of the tweets (generally hilarious ones) in the poker world and answer questions from listeners. I enjoy it to keep up to date with what’s going on and find it generally entertaining if sometimes a little grating when they get too opinionated or side tracked.
This podcast is light on the poker strategy talk but if you want all the details on all the latest gossip you have come to the right place. Daniel offers a good look into the world of high stakes poker with no holding back (language can be very colourful.) We get to hear not just about the action on the felt but also a lot on the gambling that goes alongside whether it’s golf, fantasy leagues or hockey (there is a lot of hockey talk - they are Canadian!) All the latest scandals get a good going over.
It doesn't usually bother going over too many tournament results unless they are significantly interesting or it’s World Series of Poker time. As well as the news in the poker world they also cover the best of the tweets (generally hilarious ones) in the poker world and answer questions from listeners. I enjoy it to keep up to date with what’s going on and find it generally entertaining if sometimes a little grating when they get too opinionated or side tracked.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Cursed (Beholder, #1) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is not my normal read as lately I have been hitting the erotica/contemporary romance hard. However, it had to do with necromancy and that is something I simply cannot pass up. Necromancy is something I am highly interested not only because it is rarely written about (compared to vampires, shifters, etc.), but also because rarely is the hero/heroine ever the necromancer. Usually the necromancer is the villain/antagonist.
This story was refreshing, like a breath of fresh air from what I have been reading. Elea is such a powerful character, both in magic and personality. I could definitely get behind her and her ideals. The authors created world was also fascinating. I felt she not only created a marvelous world but also did a good job at explaining it. Sometimes in fantasy novels, I get lost concerning the authors created mythology, but I wasnt with this novel.
It definitely has a young adult feel to it though. Regardless, I loved it and cant wait to read more. If you are a fan of strong heroines with interesting magic, and a fascinating world beyond imagination, then you may enjoy this novel. Not to mention the young love that spurs main characters. I am all for young, dewy eyed love
This is not my normal read as lately I have been hitting the erotica/contemporary romance hard. However, it had to do with necromancy and that is something I simply cannot pass up. Necromancy is something I am highly interested not only because it is rarely written about (compared to vampires, shifters, etc.), but also because rarely is the hero/heroine ever the necromancer. Usually the necromancer is the villain/antagonist.
This story was refreshing, like a breath of fresh air from what I have been reading. Elea is such a powerful character, both in magic and personality. I could definitely get behind her and her ideals. The authors created world was also fascinating. I felt she not only created a marvelous world but also did a good job at explaining it. Sometimes in fantasy novels, I get lost concerning the authors created mythology, but I wasnt with this novel.
It definitely has a young adult feel to it though. Regardless, I loved it and cant wait to read more. If you are a fan of strong heroines with interesting magic, and a fascinating world beyond imagination, then you may enjoy this novel. Not to mention the young love that spurs main characters. I am all for young, dewy eyed love