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I’ll be honest, and my best friend Cheyenne is going to kill me for this, but when I first started reading this at college, I absolutely hated it. Now I can put that just down to the fact that I naturally expected to hate any book we had to learn about in English. Because I love Rebecca and wouldn’t be able to cope without it.
Essentially, it’s an adaptation of Jane Eyre (which I LOVE). I always joke that it’s fanfiction that has become a classic (if only). I didn’t actually read Jane Eyre until after I had read this for the first time, but the book made so much more sense to me then.
The nameless narrator is brilliant, if a little bit childish. I can remember the first time I read it, it really annoyed me that she whined like a child a lot. But then again, when your new husband is still obsessed with his dead wife, who wouldn’t complain?
I fell in love with Maxim in the same way that I fell in love with Mr Rochester. They are so similar – all dark, mysterious, and brooding… what every girl wants in a book! Even through the whole plot, I found it impossible to ever dislike him, despite some of the events. I’m not sure why.
I love that there’s so many different meanings of the book. Spending one year analysing it in college was never enough for me – I’m still constantly digging out new meanings, especially now I’ve got a friend who loves this even more than I do.
I almost always take this to Cornwall with me to re-read on a miserable day. It’s the perfect place to read this book and I can always snuggle down with it.
This is something everyone should read at least once in their life.
Essentially, it’s an adaptation of Jane Eyre (which I LOVE). I always joke that it’s fanfiction that has become a classic (if only). I didn’t actually read Jane Eyre until after I had read this for the first time, but the book made so much more sense to me then.
The nameless narrator is brilliant, if a little bit childish. I can remember the first time I read it, it really annoyed me that she whined like a child a lot. But then again, when your new husband is still obsessed with his dead wife, who wouldn’t complain?
I fell in love with Maxim in the same way that I fell in love with Mr Rochester. They are so similar – all dark, mysterious, and brooding… what every girl wants in a book! Even through the whole plot, I found it impossible to ever dislike him, despite some of the events. I’m not sure why.
I love that there’s so many different meanings of the book. Spending one year analysing it in college was never enough for me – I’m still constantly digging out new meanings, especially now I’ve got a friend who loves this even more than I do.
I almost always take this to Cornwall with me to re-read on a miserable day. It’s the perfect place to read this book and I can always snuggle down with it.
This is something everyone should read at least once in their life.
More Fool Me
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Stephen Fry invites readers to take a glimpse at his life story in the unputdownable More Fool Me....
Stephen Merchant recommended Play It Again, Sam (1972) in Movies (curated)
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Girl Thief in Books
Apr 24, 2024
76 of 220
Book sirens arc
The Girl Thief
By J.A. Schneider
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kate Tilden reaches her delicate, manicured hand next to mine, and I turn to her, startled. She's unsteady, and there's a stain on the bodice of her strappy party dress. Wine, probably. Her big blue eyes are red-rimmed and imploring me, just a caterer's assistant, for help up the stairs. That startles me more… but so it begins.
Kate and her husband Griffin are a troubled glamor couple with dangerous secrets. Some I know because I have researched them, never dreaming that gaining access to them would be this easy. Has it been too easy? That gives me pause, but I feel kind of sorry for Kate. Online gossips say she's miserable, and she took to me the last time I worked here. She even insists that I'd be a good live-in companion just to talk to, help with her problems. The pay would be better. Would I please stay awhile? Maybe longer?
The irony stuns me, because this is what I've long wanted. I have a secret too, something Griff and Kate Tilden could never guess. My only fear, besides being alone with them in this vast, isolated house, is that Griff is reputedly dangerous.
Well, I can be dangerous too. They don't know my real reason for infiltrating their lives…
This was really good I enjoyed it from start to finish. I did see the ending coming but it didn’t really take away from it being a pretty good read. Well written and decently paced. I will be reading more from this author the writing style is right up my street.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Book sirens arc
The Girl Thief
By J.A. Schneider
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kate Tilden reaches her delicate, manicured hand next to mine, and I turn to her, startled. She's unsteady, and there's a stain on the bodice of her strappy party dress. Wine, probably. Her big blue eyes are red-rimmed and imploring me, just a caterer's assistant, for help up the stairs. That startles me more… but so it begins.
Kate and her husband Griffin are a troubled glamor couple with dangerous secrets. Some I know because I have researched them, never dreaming that gaining access to them would be this easy. Has it been too easy? That gives me pause, but I feel kind of sorry for Kate. Online gossips say she's miserable, and she took to me the last time I worked here. She even insists that I'd be a good live-in companion just to talk to, help with her problems. The pay would be better. Would I please stay awhile? Maybe longer?
The irony stuns me, because this is what I've long wanted. I have a secret too, something Griff and Kate Tilden could never guess. My only fear, besides being alone with them in this vast, isolated house, is that Griff is reputedly dangerous.
Well, I can be dangerous too. They don't know my real reason for infiltrating their lives…
This was really good I enjoyed it from start to finish. I did see the ending coming but it didn’t really take away from it being a pretty good read. Well written and decently paced. I will be reading more from this author the writing style is right up my street.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Yes Infinity War was good... but for me, Ant-Man And The Wasp was better. Yes IW was epic and devastating, but out of the two I didn't have any quibbles about this one. The CGI was what really did it for me. In IW Thanos' minions looked terrible, even when you take into consideration that they're aliens. But seeing the CGI in the flashback scenes in this one I was impressed at how real it all looked.
This is another film that makes me wish companies would think before they make their trailers. Fallout showed you a trailer that makes it look like Cavill is fighting Cruise and gives away a plot point that, at that point in the actual film, isn't certain. Fallen Kingdom shows you the shot of our giant aquatic friend playing with surfers, which in the actual movie doesn't happen until the closing scenes. In one of the Ant-Man trailers we see what amounts to the end of credits scene... yes there are things that are added to fit with the MCU timeline, but I don't feel like that really makes any difference to the situation. I also think that they should have left the shrinking building out of the trailers to give that a bigger impact in the release.
As far as the movies of the MCU go there are definitely some that are on the funnier side, and this fits that bill. Paul Rudd is obviously still a little goofy, and has an amazing montage sequence as he battles with his last few days of house arrest. But the real comedic star of this for me was Michael Peña. Lovable and an absolute gem. His face when he gets his hands on the Hot Wheels case... kid in a candy store. I truly hope that he survived the dusting of Infinity War. Pipe dreams I know, but I'm hoping he makes it through so he can Neville Longbottom Thanos.
To briefly cover the mid credit scene, which obviously left me with my jaw dropped a bit. There's one thing I'm wondering about, Scott says... "our new ghost friend"... now initially you'd think that he's talking about Ava, but she went off separately at the end of the film and it's got to take a fairly long time to make a new Quantum Tunnel, so could he be talking about someone else?
I still don't quite understand the decision to release this after IW considering the film itself is based before in the timeline, the only thing requiring it to be that way were the after credit scenes. Bit of a shame as I feel like after the epic nature of IW this has suffered as it's not on the same world ending and story completing level
This is another film that makes me wish companies would think before they make their trailers. Fallout showed you a trailer that makes it look like Cavill is fighting Cruise and gives away a plot point that, at that point in the actual film, isn't certain. Fallen Kingdom shows you the shot of our giant aquatic friend playing with surfers, which in the actual movie doesn't happen until the closing scenes. In one of the Ant-Man trailers we see what amounts to the end of credits scene... yes there are things that are added to fit with the MCU timeline, but I don't feel like that really makes any difference to the situation. I also think that they should have left the shrinking building out of the trailers to give that a bigger impact in the release.
As far as the movies of the MCU go there are definitely some that are on the funnier side, and this fits that bill. Paul Rudd is obviously still a little goofy, and has an amazing montage sequence as he battles with his last few days of house arrest. But the real comedic star of this for me was Michael Peña. Lovable and an absolute gem. His face when he gets his hands on the Hot Wheels case... kid in a candy store. I truly hope that he survived the dusting of Infinity War. Pipe dreams I know, but I'm hoping he makes it through so he can Neville Longbottom Thanos.
To briefly cover the mid credit scene, which obviously left me with my jaw dropped a bit. There's one thing I'm wondering about, Scott says... "our new ghost friend"... now initially you'd think that he's talking about Ava, but she went off separately at the end of the film and it's got to take a fairly long time to make a new Quantum Tunnel, so could he be talking about someone else?
I still don't quite understand the decision to release this after IW considering the film itself is based before in the timeline, the only thing requiring it to be that way were the after credit scenes. Bit of a shame as I feel like after the epic nature of IW this has suffered as it's not on the same world ending and story completing level
Lilyn G - Sci-Fi & Scary (91 KP) rated Deadpool 2 (2018) in Movies
May 30, 2018
Well, I’ve got to eat crow. See, when I reviewed the first Deadpool movie, I said there was no way they could pull a sequel off. That it was one trick pony. I was… wrong. Horribly wrong. I’m just back from Deadpool 2, and I’ve got to tell you that it was ridiculously funny and they did a great job overall. It was filled with typical Deadpool crudeness, was completely over the top, and yet still managed to have a scene that walloped me in the gut. (Yes, I sniffled.)
As for the actors: Zazi Beetz, who I was first introduced to in Geostorm, is an extremely charismatic actress. She’s a sheer pleasure to watch on the screen as Domino, and I can’t wait to see her in more movies. Josh Brolin did Cable right. (Well, I don’t know that he did him right, considering I’d never heard of the character before, but you get the point.) Julian Dennison (Firefirst), Leslie Uggams, and Morena Baccarin all deserve their nods as well. Oh, and Ryan Reynolds performed as expected.
As with the first Deadpool, this is not a movie to take a kid to. The jokes are sometimes offensive, the language is strong, and there’s a wee bit of dick jokes involved. I actually heard one of the fellow moviegoers go quite loudly “Not cool!” at one particular crack.
Deadpool 2 didn’t nail everything. As stated, the jokes could be a bit offensive. They definitely strung out some things a bit further than they needed to go. However, on the whole, it was an enjoyable experience that had me giggling at several points during the movie.
On a side note: The advertising for Deadpool 2 has been on point. I’ve snickered at basically every single piece of advertising I’ve seen. I think that’s what made me so willing to go watch the movie even though I was for sure there would be suckage.
As for the actors: Zazi Beetz, who I was first introduced to in Geostorm, is an extremely charismatic actress. She’s a sheer pleasure to watch on the screen as Domino, and I can’t wait to see her in more movies. Josh Brolin did Cable right. (Well, I don’t know that he did him right, considering I’d never heard of the character before, but you get the point.) Julian Dennison (Firefirst), Leslie Uggams, and Morena Baccarin all deserve their nods as well. Oh, and Ryan Reynolds performed as expected.
As with the first Deadpool, this is not a movie to take a kid to. The jokes are sometimes offensive, the language is strong, and there’s a wee bit of dick jokes involved. I actually heard one of the fellow moviegoers go quite loudly “Not cool!” at one particular crack.
Deadpool 2 didn’t nail everything. As stated, the jokes could be a bit offensive. They definitely strung out some things a bit further than they needed to go. However, on the whole, it was an enjoyable experience that had me giggling at several points during the movie.
On a side note: The advertising for Deadpool 2 has been on point. I’ve snickered at basically every single piece of advertising I’ve seen. I think that’s what made me so willing to go watch the movie even though I was for sure there would be suckage.
Becs (244 KP) rated Words That Kill in Books
Oct 2, 2019
I’ve always had a thing for poetry and have loved every single poetry collection that I have gotten my hands on. My husband got me Words That Kill by Vivid Vega for this past Christmas. When I started to read it, I couldn’t put it down, it was just so good and so emotional. But I eventually had to take a break because it was starting to mess with me. There are not many poetry collections that touch on the mental health subject and I’m glad that there is now one available to the public.
Genre: Mental Health, Young Adult
Audience: Young Adult but also mature audiences as well
Reading level: Middle to High School
Interests: Depression, Mental Health, Anxiety, Suicide, Abuse, Hope, and Love.
Style: Light to hard – depending on the person.
Point of view: First person
Difficulty reading: Very easy to read but be warned, it does make you very emotional.
Promise: Words That Kill promises a poetry collection that talks about mental health and it delivers.
Quality: I believe everybody should read this even if they haven’t dealt with mental health.
Insights: Not taking the grammatical and spelling errors, the poems were a lot lighter to read compared to Rupi Kuar or even Shakespeare.
Ah-Ha Moment: There wasn’t really a moment where I went ‘Ah yea, that’s the turning point’. This is only because it wasn’t really a story, more of a poem that brings memories of the past back to life.
Favorite quote: “There is no need to hide in the shade, the light will come and your pain will fade.” – This is a great representation of how depression works. You have your good and your bad moments.
Aesthetics: The thing that drew me to the book in the first place, minus the topic of mental health of course, was the fact that the entire book is white words on an entirely black background. I’ve never seen a book have that aesthetically pleasing style and I love it!
“Like a flower, I will bloom again – depression.”
Genre: Mental Health, Young Adult
Audience: Young Adult but also mature audiences as well
Reading level: Middle to High School
Interests: Depression, Mental Health, Anxiety, Suicide, Abuse, Hope, and Love.
Style: Light to hard – depending on the person.
Point of view: First person
Difficulty reading: Very easy to read but be warned, it does make you very emotional.
Promise: Words That Kill promises a poetry collection that talks about mental health and it delivers.
Quality: I believe everybody should read this even if they haven’t dealt with mental health.
Insights: Not taking the grammatical and spelling errors, the poems were a lot lighter to read compared to Rupi Kuar or even Shakespeare.
Ah-Ha Moment: There wasn’t really a moment where I went ‘Ah yea, that’s the turning point’. This is only because it wasn’t really a story, more of a poem that brings memories of the past back to life.
Favorite quote: “There is no need to hide in the shade, the light will come and your pain will fade.” – This is a great representation of how depression works. You have your good and your bad moments.
Aesthetics: The thing that drew me to the book in the first place, minus the topic of mental health of course, was the fact that the entire book is white words on an entirely black background. I’ve never seen a book have that aesthetically pleasing style and I love it!
“Like a flower, I will bloom again – depression.”
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Grinch (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
After watching The Grinch my heart grew three times.
This is the first time that I've ever encountered The Grinch... yes, ever. Apart from calling people a grinch when they moan about Christmas. Never read the book, never seen previous incarnations. I really don't know how.
I'm really pleased that this film was good. After most of Secret Life Of Pets and all of Sing I was starting to lose faith in Illumination. This is a much better offering and genuinely a nice film. It's funny, it's thoughtful and it's Christmassy all rolled into one.
Despite the film being called The Grinch the stars of the show were Max and Fred. Max shows you just how happy a dog can be all of the time even if they're surrounded by negative feelings, and Fred, well... those puppy dog eyes... good boys! I did also love Cindy-Lou Who. That kids has a fantastic eye for gadgets that must come from repeated viewings of other holiday classics like Home Alone.
There really isn't a lot else to say about this other than it's a great film. Cindy-Lou is a great motivational speaker and the whole film in general fills you with the desire to do good things and take a new perspective on things... well it did for me... this film might have brainwashed me.
As a little extra we also take a step back to the good old days where you got a cartoon before the main screening! Yellow Is The New Black. An amusing diversion. Those poor little minions.
(P.S. The reason this is getting four and a half stars and not five is that the alarm clock. If you've seen the trailer you'll understand my slight disappointment... I suppose what they've done is more in keeping though. *grumpy sigh*)
What you should do
Don't be a Grinch. You should go and see this... kids, no kids, it doesn't really matter. It's brilliant animation with a wonderful story to tell.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'll take a giant portion of Cindy-Lou's ingenuity please!
This is the first time that I've ever encountered The Grinch... yes, ever. Apart from calling people a grinch when they moan about Christmas. Never read the book, never seen previous incarnations. I really don't know how.
I'm really pleased that this film was good. After most of Secret Life Of Pets and all of Sing I was starting to lose faith in Illumination. This is a much better offering and genuinely a nice film. It's funny, it's thoughtful and it's Christmassy all rolled into one.
Despite the film being called The Grinch the stars of the show were Max and Fred. Max shows you just how happy a dog can be all of the time even if they're surrounded by negative feelings, and Fred, well... those puppy dog eyes... good boys! I did also love Cindy-Lou Who. That kids has a fantastic eye for gadgets that must come from repeated viewings of other holiday classics like Home Alone.
There really isn't a lot else to say about this other than it's a great film. Cindy-Lou is a great motivational speaker and the whole film in general fills you with the desire to do good things and take a new perspective on things... well it did for me... this film might have brainwashed me.
As a little extra we also take a step back to the good old days where you got a cartoon before the main screening! Yellow Is The New Black. An amusing diversion. Those poor little minions.
(P.S. The reason this is getting four and a half stars and not five is that the alarm clock. If you've seen the trailer you'll understand my slight disappointment... I suppose what they've done is more in keeping though. *grumpy sigh*)
What you should do
Don't be a Grinch. You should go and see this... kids, no kids, it doesn't really matter. It's brilliant animation with a wonderful story to tell.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'll take a giant portion of Cindy-Lou's ingenuity please!
Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated The Forgotten Girls in Books
Jan 13, 2018
Received an ARC from First To Read for an honest review:
First, I like many others it seems, did not know from the blurb that it was book 6 in a series. That scared me just a tiny bit when I started it, but as I read the book I realized it definitely also works as a standalone.
Second, I'm not big on crime novels that are not of the "cozy mystery" variety. That being said, the more violent scenes in this book were not...bothersome. It worked it's way up in intensity, but there was nothing that forced me to step away from the book and take a breather.
That being said, though, the book was full of amazing scenes beautifully described that you couldn't, as a reader, NOT picture, even if you didn't want to. Lines like: "Even the sky seemed static, just a blank wall, a paint swatch, 'chronic depression gray'." were scattered throughout, and they place you in the wintry, desolate, desperate situation of the characters so that you are right beside them, experiencing what they are, for better or worse.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book, even though the content was not a topic of my normal choosing (sorry, serial killers hunting women freak me out).
Extra bonus for the techy geek stuff I didn't know about the "cloud" that I had to double check with the more "techno-advanced" member of our household about. Definitely makes me think twice about the idea of even donating a used phone.
First, I like many others it seems, did not know from the blurb that it was book 6 in a series. That scared me just a tiny bit when I started it, but as I read the book I realized it definitely also works as a standalone.
Second, I'm not big on crime novels that are not of the "cozy mystery" variety. That being said, the more violent scenes in this book were not...bothersome. It worked it's way up in intensity, but there was nothing that forced me to step away from the book and take a breather.
That being said, though, the book was full of amazing scenes beautifully described that you couldn't, as a reader, NOT picture, even if you didn't want to. Lines like: "Even the sky seemed static, just a blank wall, a paint swatch, 'chronic depression gray'." were scattered throughout, and they place you in the wintry, desolate, desperate situation of the characters so that you are right beside them, experiencing what they are, for better or worse.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book, even though the content was not a topic of my normal choosing (sorry, serial killers hunting women freak me out).
Extra bonus for the techy geek stuff I didn't know about the "cloud" that I had to double check with the more "techno-advanced" member of our household about. Definitely makes me think twice about the idea of even donating a used phone.
TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Matching Points (Driftwood Cove, #1) in Books
Feb 24, 2021
<b>MATCHING POINTS – A GREAT STORY OF FORGIVENESS, SECOND CHANCES, AND LEARNING TO OVERCOME YOUR PAST.</b>
This is my first time reading a book by Nancy J. Farrier but after reading this one I can tell you it will not be my last by her. I was drawn to read this book by the cover and description both were intriguing and made me want to read more.
<i>“She wanted to run, but she couldn’t. She had no place to go. Nowhere to call home. No one. You have Me.”</i>
This story about Asia and Ian was interesting and pushed all the right buttons for me. It was a story about Asia finding a place to call home and a way to overcome her tragic past; and about Ian learning that he is not defined by his earthly father, but by his heavenly one. I enjoyed Nancy J. Farrier’s take on the theme of forgiveness. Her interwoven plots, the family aspects, and the secondary characters really helped me feel like I was immersed in this story from the first page. I very much enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to what happens next to the other characters introduced in the story.
I highly recommend checking this book out if you like second chances, a hint of mystery, and a sense of family. 5 out of 5 stars.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
This is my first time reading a book by Nancy J. Farrier but after reading this one I can tell you it will not be my last by her. I was drawn to read this book by the cover and description both were intriguing and made me want to read more.
<i>“She wanted to run, but she couldn’t. She had no place to go. Nowhere to call home. No one. You have Me.”</i>
This story about Asia and Ian was interesting and pushed all the right buttons for me. It was a story about Asia finding a place to call home and a way to overcome her tragic past; and about Ian learning that he is not defined by his earthly father, but by his heavenly one. I enjoyed Nancy J. Farrier’s take on the theme of forgiveness. Her interwoven plots, the family aspects, and the secondary characters really helped me feel like I was immersed in this story from the first page. I very much enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to what happens next to the other characters introduced in the story.
I highly recommend checking this book out if you like second chances, a hint of mystery, and a sense of family. 5 out of 5 stars.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.