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Zoe Nock (13 KP) rated The Confessions of Frannie Langton in Books
Jun 26, 2019
“My trial starts the way my life did: a squall of elbows and shoving and spit.”
Sometimes a book just grabs you from the beginning, something tells you that treasure lies here. I felt that within a few paragraphs of The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Sara Collins prefaced the novel with an explanation of her enjoyment of stories from Georgian/Victorian era but also her disappoint that she didn’t feel represented in the literature from that time. Her love of literature and that lack of inclusion drove her to write a novel that filled a gap, filled a need for women like Frances Langton to have a voice.
And what a voice! The author embodies Frannie so well. The first thing that struck me was that Frannie’s voice shone through immediately. She sounds so authentic, within a few lines you are engaged and intrigued. So much of the prose is beautiful and evocative, truly poetic. Sara Collins describes the people and places so deftly, you sense the weight of a sultry Jamaican plantation and the drabness of a grey London suburb. You can almost taste the boiling sugar cane and fall under the sway of the delicious, devilish ‘Black Drop’. It’s difficult to read this book without imagining a BBC period drama, it really would make a good screen adaptation. There is no doubt that Collins is a gifted and accomplished writer, a weaver of words both seductive and threatening. I really enjoyed this novel and would like to read anything new from Sara Collins.
Sometimes a book just grabs you from the beginning, something tells you that treasure lies here. I felt that within a few paragraphs of The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Sara Collins prefaced the novel with an explanation of her enjoyment of stories from Georgian/Victorian era but also her disappoint that she didn’t feel represented in the literature from that time. Her love of literature and that lack of inclusion drove her to write a novel that filled a gap, filled a need for women like Frances Langton to have a voice.
And what a voice! The author embodies Frannie so well. The first thing that struck me was that Frannie’s voice shone through immediately. She sounds so authentic, within a few lines you are engaged and intrigued. So much of the prose is beautiful and evocative, truly poetic. Sara Collins describes the people and places so deftly, you sense the weight of a sultry Jamaican plantation and the drabness of a grey London suburb. You can almost taste the boiling sugar cane and fall under the sway of the delicious, devilish ‘Black Drop’. It’s difficult to read this book without imagining a BBC period drama, it really would make a good screen adaptation. There is no doubt that Collins is a gifted and accomplished writer, a weaver of words both seductive and threatening. I really enjoyed this novel and would like to read anything new from Sara Collins.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated You Will Be Safe Here in Books
Jul 10, 2019
Moving and thought provoking
I can’t lie, history isn’t a strong subject of mine so I knew very little about the South African concentration camps and these New Dawn Type camps when i first started this book. So for me, the events detailed and unfolding in this book are a disturbing revelation. It might be fiction, but it’s based on historical true events so I know it’s not far from the truth. It’s shocking and immensely moving, reading about the plight of a number of characters from 1901 to the present date. At first I didn’t understand why this started off in 1901 and worked it’s way through different characters to the almost present day, but it all makes sense and intertwines in a way as the book goes on and it’s a great way to tell a story. This is wonderfully written, bringing out a number of reactions and the emotions in the reader as it goes on and I felt a mixture of sheer anger and frustration and sadness reading this. The characters are all well developed, with their own flaws and traits that make them both intriguing and sometimes frustrating (but in a good way) to read. My only criticism would be that the ending seemed a little rushed in comparison to the rest of the book, and I wouldn’t have minded a slightly longer book at the benefit of a less rushed ending.
This isn’t a book I would have ordinarily thought of reading, but I’m glad I did and would highly recommend reading it!
This isn’t a book I would have ordinarily thought of reading, but I’m glad I did and would highly recommend reading it!
Paul T (21 KP) rated Deception: Murder in Hong Kong in Tabletop Games
Sep 2, 2019
Hidden roles (4 more)
Quick playtime & set up
More players are better
Easy rules to teach and learn
Tons of replayability
Can be frustrating for those who aren't into bluffing (1 more)
May need to reset if someone talks during set up.
Great social deduction game with a theme that matches perfectly. All of the different roles and cards included in just the base game gives a ton of replayability! Fast paced and discussion start right away unlike some social deduction games where you have to wait a round or two before key information is given. Only downsides I've had with this game are one... having to reassign the hidden roles 4 times in a row before the round started because I was teaching to a new group of 6 players and someone would talk or say okay to confirm their hidden role during the clue and means selection phase or the witness phase. Most games this would be an issue however, everyone got a huge laugh out of it and eventually the game continued as normal. The other issue ive run into is when you play with smaller groups AND the witness role, the witness will sometimes stop the game mid round because the investigators all used their badges/guesses and lost. Regardless of those things I've had only positive experiences with deception murder in hong kong and used it to replace resistance, mysterium, and secret hitler. A must have to any collection and if you enjoy it look for the undercover allies expansion!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Escaping Reality (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen, #1) in Books
Sep 5, 2019
3.5 stars.
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Hmm… I felt slightly disappointed after reading this, and that was knowing that it was going to be in two parts. I think it was the fact that we never actually learnt anything of importance about Amy. We see flashbacks of what made her run in the first place but it’s not enough to make us understand why and the bigger: what happened?
I must say I was seduced by one Liam Stone almost from the first encounter. Girls, he is hot! He just had this way about him that was incredibly sexy, a lot of the time in the bedroom, but sometimes outside of it too. At this point I think I should warn you, it contains quite a lot of sex.
Then there’s the mystery of Jared. Where does he fit into it all? He’s another hot one girls! We don’t see as much of him as we do Liam but there’s something about him too, that I like. Some mystery surrounding him, too.
There’s a lot of mystery and intrigue in this story and it gets worse (can’t think of a better word choice) throughout when things don’t work out how you expect and you are constantly wondering how it’s all going to come together.
The only real let down for me was not finding more out about Amy’s past but I’m sure it will be covered in the second, Infinite Possibilities, due out later this year.
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Hmm… I felt slightly disappointed after reading this, and that was knowing that it was going to be in two parts. I think it was the fact that we never actually learnt anything of importance about Amy. We see flashbacks of what made her run in the first place but it’s not enough to make us understand why and the bigger: what happened?
I must say I was seduced by one Liam Stone almost from the first encounter. Girls, he is hot! He just had this way about him that was incredibly sexy, a lot of the time in the bedroom, but sometimes outside of it too. At this point I think I should warn you, it contains quite a lot of sex.
Then there’s the mystery of Jared. Where does he fit into it all? He’s another hot one girls! We don’t see as much of him as we do Liam but there’s something about him too, that I like. Some mystery surrounding him, too.
There’s a lot of mystery and intrigue in this story and it gets worse (can’t think of a better word choice) throughout when things don’t work out how you expect and you are constantly wondering how it’s all going to come together.
The only real let down for me was not finding more out about Amy’s past but I’m sure it will be covered in the second, Infinite Possibilities, due out later this year.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Clan of the Jersey Boys (Fangsters #1) in Books
Sep 6, 2019
DNF
I hate DNFs. I always feel bad for not finishing them but sometimes I just cant get into a story. I stopped at 38%.
Right. Well, I expected this to be betterthat sounds bad I knowbut I was expecting them to be these tough vampires who kicked arse while running an illegal empire. In a way it was, but it didnt seem bad-arse enough for me. Sure there were a few scenes with retribution/warnings handed out to people but I didnt feel it.
Another thing that got me was all the mention of family and its many members. Yeah I know families are important in Italian/Sicilian cultures but more people kept getting mentioned and I found myself getting confused. What with Anton and someone else being turned by one person and his dad and uncle turned by someone else and this guy turned by the brother of that guy making them cousins I got lost. It was a little too much for me to keep up with.
The relationship between Anton and Leo happened a little too fast for me to believe. Not the sexhes an attractive guy after allbut the love yous and how strong their feelings were after the one night they spent together. Or maybe I just missed something?
Its not a bad story, it was just a little different to what I normally read; the mobster/gangster bit anyway. If you like vampires, mobsters and m/m stories then you will probably like this.
I hate DNFs. I always feel bad for not finishing them but sometimes I just cant get into a story. I stopped at 38%.
Right. Well, I expected this to be betterthat sounds bad I knowbut I was expecting them to be these tough vampires who kicked arse while running an illegal empire. In a way it was, but it didnt seem bad-arse enough for me. Sure there were a few scenes with retribution/warnings handed out to people but I didnt feel it.
Another thing that got me was all the mention of family and its many members. Yeah I know families are important in Italian/Sicilian cultures but more people kept getting mentioned and I found myself getting confused. What with Anton and someone else being turned by one person and his dad and uncle turned by someone else and this guy turned by the brother of that guy making them cousins I got lost. It was a little too much for me to keep up with.
The relationship between Anton and Leo happened a little too fast for me to believe. Not the sexhes an attractive guy after allbut the love yous and how strong their feelings were after the one night they spent together. Or maybe I just missed something?
Its not a bad story, it was just a little different to what I normally read; the mobster/gangster bit anyway. If you like vampires, mobsters and m/m stories then you will probably like this.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Logan (2017) in Movies
Sep 20, 2019 (Updated Sep 20, 2019)
The crown jewel in Fox's X-Men saga
Logan is easily one of the best comic book movies out there.
This is the third solo outing for Wolverine (following one garbage pile attempt, and one annoyingly average attempt), James Mangold really pulled it out of the bag for this one.
The characters are great - Hugh Jackman at the top of his game for his final performance as Logan. He's a grizzled and pain ridden man, in this bleak, mutantless future.
Patrick Stewart is also at his best here as Charles Xavier. The two of them are the beating heart of this movie.
We're introduced to Dafne Keen (playing a young X-23) who rounds out the small cast nicely.
As Logan fights a shadowy organization to keep her safe, the stakes have never been higher, and no one feels safe at any point - something that has never really been explored in the X-Men franchise.
Logan is a hard film to watch, it's bleak, its gritty, it's not particularly colourful (especially if you opt for the brilliant Noir version), and it's brutally violent in parts.
The set pieces are nasty in places, and sometimes pretty shocking, but it all aids the narrative here - the narrative that Wolverine is an ailing old man, who is struggling against all odds to do one last good deed, and protect the few people that still mean something to him.
It's an emotional and powerful film, that deserves all the praise bestowed upon it - amazing work from everyone involved .
This is the third solo outing for Wolverine (following one garbage pile attempt, and one annoyingly average attempt), James Mangold really pulled it out of the bag for this one.
The characters are great - Hugh Jackman at the top of his game for his final performance as Logan. He's a grizzled and pain ridden man, in this bleak, mutantless future.
Patrick Stewart is also at his best here as Charles Xavier. The two of them are the beating heart of this movie.
We're introduced to Dafne Keen (playing a young X-23) who rounds out the small cast nicely.
As Logan fights a shadowy organization to keep her safe, the stakes have never been higher, and no one feels safe at any point - something that has never really been explored in the X-Men franchise.
Logan is a hard film to watch, it's bleak, its gritty, it's not particularly colourful (especially if you opt for the brilliant Noir version), and it's brutally violent in parts.
The set pieces are nasty in places, and sometimes pretty shocking, but it all aids the narrative here - the narrative that Wolverine is an ailing old man, who is struggling against all odds to do one last good deed, and protect the few people that still mean something to him.
It's an emotional and powerful film, that deserves all the praise bestowed upon it - amazing work from everyone involved .
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