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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Five Feet Apart in Books
Nov 18, 2019
So we meet Stella in this, a cystic fibrosis sufferer who is entering hospital to fight a throat infection and high temperature. The hospital is like her second home after going in and out of it over the years to fight whatever illnesses are troubling her. She knows where everything is and has free movement of the hospital. In the process of having to come to the hospital for an extended stay, she is missing out on a school trip to Cabo with her friends which she helped organise.
Already at the hospital is her long time friend and fellow CF sufferer, Poe. And then there's new to the hospital Will, who's on a drug trial to stop his B. cepacia - which is a dangerous bacteria that can eventually kill CFers.
There's an instant attraction between Stella and Will but initially Stella's a little antagonistic towards Will as he seems too ready to give up on his treatment so he can travel before he dies. While Will thinks she's a teachers pet and a goody two shoes with how close she is to the nurses who've treated her since she was 6.
They eventually come to realise that they can help each other and the attraction grows - making them shrink the required 6 feet to 5 - and they fall in love.
I cried about three times during my reading of this because I had grown to like the characters and for being so young they'd all been through a lot.
I thought it was a cute story, falling in love while being poorly but did they really get their HEA?
Already at the hospital is her long time friend and fellow CF sufferer, Poe. And then there's new to the hospital Will, who's on a drug trial to stop his B. cepacia - which is a dangerous bacteria that can eventually kill CFers.
There's an instant attraction between Stella and Will but initially Stella's a little antagonistic towards Will as he seems too ready to give up on his treatment so he can travel before he dies. While Will thinks she's a teachers pet and a goody two shoes with how close she is to the nurses who've treated her since she was 6.
They eventually come to realise that they can help each other and the attraction grows - making them shrink the required 6 feet to 5 - and they fall in love.
I cried about three times during my reading of this because I had grown to like the characters and for being so young they'd all been through a lot.
I thought it was a cute story, falling in love while being poorly but did they really get their HEA?
ClareR (5885 KP) rated My Mother’s Secret in Books
May 13, 2018 (Updated May 13, 2018)
Lizzie Bradshaw witnessed a terrible crime and had to pay the ultimate price. Emma Taylor has a terrible secret that she seems to have hidden even from herself. Stella Taylor, Emma’s teenaged daughter, knows that something is going on with her mum.
This is such a good story with lots of twists and turns. It’s quite sad, really. Even when you think everything is going to be all right, well, it’s not.
I didn’t see the end coming at all!!
Kay writes teenagers really well: how confused they are, and ultimately, vulnerable. Speaking of vulnerability, Emma is a sad character who clearly has a lot of issues.
A very entertaining story.
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for their serialisations of this book, and the publisher Corvus for making it available!
This is such a good story with lots of twists and turns. It’s quite sad, really. Even when you think everything is going to be all right, well, it’s not.
I didn’t see the end coming at all!!
Kay writes teenagers really well: how confused they are, and ultimately, vulnerable. Speaking of vulnerability, Emma is a sad character who clearly has a lot of issues.
A very entertaining story.
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for their serialisations of this book, and the publisher Corvus for making it available!
Debbiereadsbook (1449 KP) rated My Pulse (Town of Broward #1) in Books
Mar 2, 2020
really does creep up on ya!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
You know what? I really REALLY enjoyed this book! You'll laugh at me though, cos its first person, present tense AND multi point of view!
If you follow my reviews, you'll know that this, for ME, is the worst way for a book to be written and I have dumped many a book when realising it is written this way. I am, however, so very glad I did NIT dump this one!
So, I went to look to see what else I have read by Ms Dale, and lookit! This is the first book by this author name and I was extremely impressed!
I love the family legend of how each and every one of them would know who their other half was instantly, much like you get with the mates thing in shifter books, but there are no shifters in this book. A witch is mentioned, when Owen is telling Tristan about the legend, and the family legend itself borderes on paranormal, but thats all.
I loved that who was causing problems for Tristan wasn't obvious, and there were a lot of red herrings thrown about!
I loved Stella, Tristan's daughter, and how Owen took to her immediately, with the help of his dog, Huck and that Owen had that MINE moment for Stella as well as Tristan.
It's deeply emotional in places, hilarious in others. Dark and very deadly in places, and super sexy in others. Owen's family are a lot of fun, but Tristan's are . . not so much. I loved the hints that pop up to maybe future books in this series, and I hope I picked those clues up correctly. Be fun, I think, but I sense some of them might be way WAY more emotional than Tristan's!
Can't quite stretch to 5 stars, but a good solid, GREAT . .
4 star read!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
You know what? I really REALLY enjoyed this book! You'll laugh at me though, cos its first person, present tense AND multi point of view!
If you follow my reviews, you'll know that this, for ME, is the worst way for a book to be written and I have dumped many a book when realising it is written this way. I am, however, so very glad I did NIT dump this one!
So, I went to look to see what else I have read by Ms Dale, and lookit! This is the first book by this author name and I was extremely impressed!
I love the family legend of how each and every one of them would know who their other half was instantly, much like you get with the mates thing in shifter books, but there are no shifters in this book. A witch is mentioned, when Owen is telling Tristan about the legend, and the family legend itself borderes on paranormal, but thats all.
I loved that who was causing problems for Tristan wasn't obvious, and there were a lot of red herrings thrown about!
I loved Stella, Tristan's daughter, and how Owen took to her immediately, with the help of his dog, Huck and that Owen had that MINE moment for Stella as well as Tristan.
It's deeply emotional in places, hilarious in others. Dark and very deadly in places, and super sexy in others. Owen's family are a lot of fun, but Tristan's are . . not so much. I loved the hints that pop up to maybe future books in this series, and I hope I picked those clues up correctly. Be fun, I think, but I sense some of them might be way WAY more emotional than Tristan's!
Can't quite stretch to 5 stars, but a good solid, GREAT . .
4 star read!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Distant Dead in Books
Jul 1, 2021
The protagonist in this novel is Stella, but there are multiple storylines going on in this book. Stella is a quite complicated character, she has a lot of things going on in her life. It does not help that while running from her past life she stumbles onto a murdered true-crime podcaster. And once again she gets involved with another investigation. The characters of this book are very interesting personalities, and I was very curious to know more about them. And there is a very wide variety of characters, so sometimes it can be a little difficult to remember who is who.
The beginning of the book was quite slow and confusing for me. This book carries two separate investigations, the one going on in 1940 during WWII, and another investigation happening at the present day. I would have liked more suspense in this book, the culprits were quite easy to guess, but I enjoyed the interactions between the characters while solving both of the crimes. I especially liked the investigation that happened in the 1940ies, I loved reading about that era and the description of West London was very intriguing and educational to me. Also, I really liked to see how different police work was compared to the present day, and I did feel annoyed with the police ignoring the obvious. 😀
The writing style of this book was very enjoyable and well researched. I liked the different settings and atmospheres as well. The chapters have medium length, but it did not leave me bored. As I mentioned before, the ending of the book was quite predictable, but I liked how this book was rounded up. Even though this book was part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
So, to conclude, it was a cleverly written crime story, filled with a very wide variety of different and intriguing characters as well as the murder stories that were different but very entwined.
The beginning of the book was quite slow and confusing for me. This book carries two separate investigations, the one going on in 1940 during WWII, and another investigation happening at the present day. I would have liked more suspense in this book, the culprits were quite easy to guess, but I enjoyed the interactions between the characters while solving both of the crimes. I especially liked the investigation that happened in the 1940ies, I loved reading about that era and the description of West London was very intriguing and educational to me. Also, I really liked to see how different police work was compared to the present day, and I did feel annoyed with the police ignoring the obvious. 😀
The writing style of this book was very enjoyable and well researched. I liked the different settings and atmospheres as well. The chapters have medium length, but it did not leave me bored. As I mentioned before, the ending of the book was quite predictable, but I liked how this book was rounded up. Even though this book was part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
So, to conclude, it was a cleverly written crime story, filled with a very wide variety of different and intriguing characters as well as the murder stories that were different but very entwined.
Kristie (106 KP) rated The Art of Escaping in Books
Sep 18, 2018
Fast read
I really enjoyed The Art of Escaping by Erin Callahan a lot more than I thought I would. This novel was a super cute contemporary and a fast, fun read. I loved seeing the characters grow and develop as the story went on. The friendship that starts between Mattie and Will, and later with Frankie and Stella, is an inspiring relationship that most people can connect with and would love to have in their own lives. Together, they overcome their fears and come into their own, as well as helping the people around them grow and learn. The character of Miyu was probably my favorite, I loved her attitude and learning about her and her mom Akiko. I would love to read a whole book based off of these two characters, and to learn more about their relationship. Overall, I really enjoyed this ya contemporary story, and would definitely recommend for all ages.
Merissa (12929 KP) rated Rare Form (Descended of Dragons #1) in Books
Apr 19, 2023
This is the debut novel of Jen Crane and she has started with a belter! There are some brilliant one-liners in here, and she has given a new meaning between a younger girl and an older man!
So many characters in here to draw you in! Stella herself is cracking! She deals with life-changing events with attitude and aplomb, whilst committing herself fully. Gresham is simply gorgeous and I can't get enough of him. Timbra is sweet but with a sassy edge. Ewan - what can I say about him? He intrigues me and I can't wait to see where this story will take him.
Well-written, smoothly paced, and laced with humour, this is a book to savour! Definitely recommended by me and I can't wait for book 2!!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 6, 2015
So many characters in here to draw you in! Stella herself is cracking! She deals with life-changing events with attitude and aplomb, whilst committing herself fully. Gresham is simply gorgeous and I can't get enough of him. Timbra is sweet but with a sassy edge. Ewan - what can I say about him? He intrigues me and I can't wait to see where this story will take him.
Well-written, smoothly paced, and laced with humour, this is a book to savour! Definitely recommended by me and I can't wait for book 2!!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 6, 2015
Karla Dee (6 KP) rated They'll Never Catch Us in Books
Nov 19, 2021
I was very creeped out by the background of the town from the very beginning. I don't know how the girls were able to be brave enough to run around town by themselves ever again but I agree that they should be able to instead of being too afraid to train for their dreams.
Stella and Mila were my favorite characters and I could not stand how people were not really looking for Mila just as they hadn't after the first murder. The cops were trying to say girls just do these things when clearly it was a generalization. The teenage boys also treated the girls unfairly. Nick clearly was abusive and controlling and I automatically suspected him of killing Mila just because Ellie had told her what had happened between her and Nick. I don't want to give away any spoilers to this thriller but I def recommend because it grabs your attention from the very beginning.
Stella and Mila were my favorite characters and I could not stand how people were not really looking for Mila just as they hadn't after the first murder. The cops were trying to say girls just do these things when clearly it was a generalization. The teenage boys also treated the girls unfairly. Nick clearly was abusive and controlling and I automatically suspected him of killing Mila just because Ellie had told her what had happened between her and Nick. I don't want to give away any spoilers to this thriller but I def recommend because it grabs your attention from the very beginning.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated A Nearly Normal Family in Books
May 14, 2019
Legal thrillers usually aren't my thing. In fact, I find them to be more a snooze fest than anything else. However, when I read the synopsis for A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson, I was intrigued. I just want to say that this book blew me away! It was that good!
The plot for A Nearly Normal Family is very intriguing indeed. Eighteen year old Stella becomes involved with an older man named Christopher. She's having the time of her life. When she learns more about her romantic interest, she's having a hard time believing the bad stuff is true. It's not long before Christopher is found murdered, and Stella is the main suspect. Told from the point of view from Stella's father, Stella, and Stella's mother, we learn what really happened that night, what led to all of this drama, and what happens afterwards. We also learn how far people will go to protect the ones they love. I found myself not wanting to guess what happened with this book. I wanted everything to be a complete surprise which it was. There are a few twists and turns throughout this novel which I did enjoy. I loved that this book tied up any loose ends by the end of the book, and nothing was left to speculation. I hate having to guess what happened after the main mystery has been solved, so I was thrilled when I had all my answers. I'm a stickler for closure!
The characters were all very well developed and fleshed out enough that they felt real. We are introduced to Adam, Stella's father, first. We see his relationship with his daughter, his wife, and with God since he's a pastor. He relies heavily on his faith to get him through things. He's an upstanding member of the community and very trustworthy. I found Adam to be the most interesting to read about. It was interesting to read about his response to his daughter being accused of murder. Next, we are introduced to Stella's point of view. Stella is accused of murdering her boyfriend, Christopher. She's eighteen and has a devil may care attitude when it comes to everything. Some points throughout the book, I felt she was innocent of the crime, but there were other times she seemed very guilty. I couldn't figure her out. It was interesting to read about what had happened throughout her young life to get to the predicament she was in. Finally, we learn the perspective from Ulrika, Stella's mother. I didn't think I would be able to connect with Ulrika right at first, but I found myself understanding her quickly. Ulrika is a criminal defense attorney, so it was interesting reading about her perspective on everything. I was happy that Ulrika didn't use legal jargon too often. Although we don't get to read things from her perspective, the character of Amina, Stella's best friend, was also intriguing. I loved reading about the girls' friendship throughout the years and how loyal they were to one another.
The pacing was spot on! Every time the story would change perspectives, I thought I'd get bored with the change of character, but I was sucked in right away same as before. I devoured page after page of A Nearly Normal Family. I couldn't wait to find out more and learn about motives and what would happen.
Trigger warnings include profanity, alcohol use, drug use, violence (not very graphic), rape (not very graphic, mentions of sex (not graphic), and murder.
Overall, A Nearly Normal Family is a very intriguing read that pulls you in from the very first page and doesn't let you go even after it ends. I would definitely recommend A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson to those aged 18+ who like to get lost in well written thrillers!
--
(A special thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC paperback of A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
The plot for A Nearly Normal Family is very intriguing indeed. Eighteen year old Stella becomes involved with an older man named Christopher. She's having the time of her life. When she learns more about her romantic interest, she's having a hard time believing the bad stuff is true. It's not long before Christopher is found murdered, and Stella is the main suspect. Told from the point of view from Stella's father, Stella, and Stella's mother, we learn what really happened that night, what led to all of this drama, and what happens afterwards. We also learn how far people will go to protect the ones they love. I found myself not wanting to guess what happened with this book. I wanted everything to be a complete surprise which it was. There are a few twists and turns throughout this novel which I did enjoy. I loved that this book tied up any loose ends by the end of the book, and nothing was left to speculation. I hate having to guess what happened after the main mystery has been solved, so I was thrilled when I had all my answers. I'm a stickler for closure!
The characters were all very well developed and fleshed out enough that they felt real. We are introduced to Adam, Stella's father, first. We see his relationship with his daughter, his wife, and with God since he's a pastor. He relies heavily on his faith to get him through things. He's an upstanding member of the community and very trustworthy. I found Adam to be the most interesting to read about. It was interesting to read about his response to his daughter being accused of murder. Next, we are introduced to Stella's point of view. Stella is accused of murdering her boyfriend, Christopher. She's eighteen and has a devil may care attitude when it comes to everything. Some points throughout the book, I felt she was innocent of the crime, but there were other times she seemed very guilty. I couldn't figure her out. It was interesting to read about what had happened throughout her young life to get to the predicament she was in. Finally, we learn the perspective from Ulrika, Stella's mother. I didn't think I would be able to connect with Ulrika right at first, but I found myself understanding her quickly. Ulrika is a criminal defense attorney, so it was interesting reading about her perspective on everything. I was happy that Ulrika didn't use legal jargon too often. Although we don't get to read things from her perspective, the character of Amina, Stella's best friend, was also intriguing. I loved reading about the girls' friendship throughout the years and how loyal they were to one another.
The pacing was spot on! Every time the story would change perspectives, I thought I'd get bored with the change of character, but I was sucked in right away same as before. I devoured page after page of A Nearly Normal Family. I couldn't wait to find out more and learn about motives and what would happen.
Trigger warnings include profanity, alcohol use, drug use, violence (not very graphic), rape (not very graphic, mentions of sex (not graphic), and murder.
Overall, A Nearly Normal Family is a very intriguing read that pulls you in from the very first page and doesn't let you go even after it ends. I would definitely recommend A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson to those aged 18+ who like to get lost in well written thrillers!
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(A special thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC paperback of A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
David McK (3562 KP) rated Fall of Kings (Troy #3) in Books
May 14, 2023
The final part in David Gemmell's 'Troy' trilogy, this was also the final book he ever wrote, as he passed away (in 2006) before it was finished by his wife Stella Gemmell and published in 2007.
As evidenced by the title, this particular volume deals with events leading up to and the actual fall of the city of Troy itself, with the Trojan Horse largely responsible (still) for this fall, but having a more mundane explanation than in the legend.
The same characters appear in this version: Agamemnon, Odysseus and Hektor chief among them, with supporting work by Cassandra and both Andromache (Hektor's wife) and Helikaon proving to be more prominent than I remember from that legend (both of whom were also prominent in the first two entries in this series i.e. 'Lord of the Silver Bow' and 'Shield of Thunder'). There's also room for some of the cast of those earlier novels (such as Banokles or Gershom), but this particular entry, I felt, was not so much about them as about the 'power players' (if you will) of Hektor, Achilles and Odysseus.
As evidenced by the title, this particular volume deals with events leading up to and the actual fall of the city of Troy itself, with the Trojan Horse largely responsible (still) for this fall, but having a more mundane explanation than in the legend.
The same characters appear in this version: Agamemnon, Odysseus and Hektor chief among them, with supporting work by Cassandra and both Andromache (Hektor's wife) and Helikaon proving to be more prominent than I remember from that legend (both of whom were also prominent in the first two entries in this series i.e. 'Lord of the Silver Bow' and 'Shield of Thunder'). There's also room for some of the cast of those earlier novels (such as Banokles or Gershom), but this particular entry, I felt, was not so much about them as about the 'power players' (if you will) of Hektor, Achilles and Odysseus.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) in Movies
Aug 21, 2019
Obviously I'm not familiar with the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books that this movie is based on - a series of three books containing short horror stories for children and drawing heavily on urban legend and folklore for it's subject matter, first published in 1981. Apparently, the series is listed by the American Library Association as being the most challenged series of books from the 1990s, with complaints relating to the violence and disturbing subject matter portrayed within them not being suitable for the children it was aimed at. The illustrations within the book also drew criticism, vividly portraying the nightmare creatures and scenes contained within the stories. Perfect material for a movie version!
That movie version comes from Troll Hunter director André Øvredal and producer/co-writer Guillermo del Toro and attempts a Goosebumps style movie, taking some of the better known stories from the 80+ contained within the books and weaving them into a larger narrative, set in Mill Valley Pennsylvania during the fall of 1968.
It's Halloween and a group of teens are preparing to go out for an evening of trick or treating - applying makeup, getting into their costumes, fishing in the toilet for turds in preparation for a Halloween trick. They head out on their bikes but it's not long before they run into some idiot jocks from their local school, and that turd trick suddenly comes in handy! We've already been introduced to the jocks earlier in the movie, out in a cornfield where they were hitting a creepy looking scarecrow about the head with a baseball bat. Yep, they're certainly going to regret that a little bit later on!
The teens manage to escape the jocks, working their way into a drive through movie that's showing "Night of the Living Dead" and into the car of another teen called Ramón. The group strike up a bond with Ramón after he helps them out and they all decide to go and break into an abandoned local house which is reportedly haunted. They find their way into the basement where legend has it that Sarah Bellows, the daughter of a prominent local family, was locked away in the late 1800s. Horror nerd Stella comes across a book containing short scary stories that were written in blood by Sarah, and she decides to take it with them. As Stella opens the book’s pages, she sees that Sarah’s stories are literally beginning to write themselves - stories that put her friends in some pretty unpleasant situations, stories which immediately become reality the moment they're written. As Stella later puts it, "You don't read the book, the book reads you".
The setup and the scenarios within each story are enjoyable enough and are certainly creepy, however the execution doesn't always work so well and the payoffs aren't quite as scary as I would have liked. The movie also suffers from some slightly dodgy CGI at times too, which doesn't help. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the final story, and the return to the house in order to try and stop Sarah Bellows worked really well for me. It all ends with a definite opportunity for a sequel and with plenty more scary stories to choose from within the source material, I'm sure we'll be seeing another one soon. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark taps nicely into the "It" and "Stranger Thing" vibe, with it's group of teens rising up together against evil, and despite it's faults I did have a lot of fun with it. I'm definitely interested in seeing more.
That movie version comes from Troll Hunter director André Øvredal and producer/co-writer Guillermo del Toro and attempts a Goosebumps style movie, taking some of the better known stories from the 80+ contained within the books and weaving them into a larger narrative, set in Mill Valley Pennsylvania during the fall of 1968.
It's Halloween and a group of teens are preparing to go out for an evening of trick or treating - applying makeup, getting into their costumes, fishing in the toilet for turds in preparation for a Halloween trick. They head out on their bikes but it's not long before they run into some idiot jocks from their local school, and that turd trick suddenly comes in handy! We've already been introduced to the jocks earlier in the movie, out in a cornfield where they were hitting a creepy looking scarecrow about the head with a baseball bat. Yep, they're certainly going to regret that a little bit later on!
The teens manage to escape the jocks, working their way into a drive through movie that's showing "Night of the Living Dead" and into the car of another teen called Ramón. The group strike up a bond with Ramón after he helps them out and they all decide to go and break into an abandoned local house which is reportedly haunted. They find their way into the basement where legend has it that Sarah Bellows, the daughter of a prominent local family, was locked away in the late 1800s. Horror nerd Stella comes across a book containing short scary stories that were written in blood by Sarah, and she decides to take it with them. As Stella opens the book’s pages, she sees that Sarah’s stories are literally beginning to write themselves - stories that put her friends in some pretty unpleasant situations, stories which immediately become reality the moment they're written. As Stella later puts it, "You don't read the book, the book reads you".
The setup and the scenarios within each story are enjoyable enough and are certainly creepy, however the execution doesn't always work so well and the payoffs aren't quite as scary as I would have liked. The movie also suffers from some slightly dodgy CGI at times too, which doesn't help. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the final story, and the return to the house in order to try and stop Sarah Bellows worked really well for me. It all ends with a definite opportunity for a sequel and with plenty more scary stories to choose from within the source material, I'm sure we'll be seeing another one soon. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark taps nicely into the "It" and "Stranger Thing" vibe, with it's group of teens rising up together against evil, and despite it's faults I did have a lot of fun with it. I'm definitely interested in seeing more.