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Taste the Dark ( Elwood Legacy book 1)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
38 of 230
Kindle
Taste the Dark ( Elwood Legacy book 1)
By Nicola Rose
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I never meant to fall for another bad boy... let alone two.

My name is Jess. I don't know what I am, with my random magical outbursts, but I do know that getting tangled up with deliciously deadly vampire brothers is going to get me in trouble.

There’s Zac — brooding and mesmerizing. Tormented by an ancient legacy he refuses to fulfill. Fighting the darkness within, balancing on the line between light and dark, living in the grey of morality. Drawn to my blood with ravenous need thanks to a fated sanguine bond.

Then there’s Alex —disarmingly playful, evil wrapped up in a pretty package. Zero boundaries. Takes what he wants, when he wants. Crawling under my skin like an unwelcome itch that I need to scratch.

Never one to shy from adventure, I find myself right in the middle of their century-long feud. Zac’s touch feels like the very thing I’ve spent my life chasing. But if he’s so right for me, what is this haunting desire that burns inside for Alex?

With everyone against us, from the ruthless vampire government, vampire hunters, and even our own friends — will I even come out of this alive? Just how far will my insatiable appetite for all things dark and dangerous take me?

2 vampire brothers at war enter a human girl and a new toy to fight over! Sound familiar? The big difference between them and this was Jess and omg she is one sassy,bitchy,slutty, crazy bitch and absolutely brilliant! I did wander at half way whether the story was going down a road of whinny relationship crap but nope! It was pulled back. I always measure a book on how it makes me feel at the time and this had me caught up in all the emotions at one point or another. One of the better vampire books I’ve read in a while. If you’re looking for smutty vampire action this is the book for you.
  
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Merissa (11961 KP) rated Boldly (Breakers Hockey #2) in Books

Aug 31, 2021 (Updated Jul 17, 2023)  
Boldly (Breakers Hockey #2)
Boldly (Breakers Hockey #2)
Elise Faber | 2021 | Contemporary, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
BOLDLY is the second book in the Breakers Hockey series and hold onto your hats, folks, because you're in for one helluva ride!

Oliver was the Captain of the Breakers. Yes, he'd made mistakes along the way, but he had the respect of his teammates and the management team. But then one foul tackle and he's out. A shattered leg and an infection that won't go leaves him with a prosthetic and his dreams on ice are gone.

A year later and he's back, although not as he would wish to be. He finds himself attracted to Hazel and immediately works on making her his own. Of course, Hazel isn't prepared to just sit there and take it. Trust me, she makes her own stands too. Together, these two are sappy, hot, and crazy for each other.

I read this book in one sitting - simply unable to put it down. I really respected and admired Oliver's way of thinking, which helped him move forward after such a devastating thing happened to him. He hadn't had it easy but, with his mindset, he was able to make the best of a bad situation. Hazel is simply stunning. I loved her go-get-em attitude and how she thinks outside the box if she thinks it will help her boys. Both of these know how to communicate and the book is so much better for not having oodles of misunderstandings and hurt feelings caused by not speaking to each other!!!

This story made me smile and laugh out loud. I adored the scene with Luc, Lexi, and Noah! Those babies sure know how to run a parent ragged!

Oh, and fair warning - if you're like me, you just might need a Kleenex to help you through the last part of the book. I will admit to tears streaming down my face during the epilogue, and I'm not ashamed!

Absolutely fantastic, and highly recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 31, 2021
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Us (2019) in Movies

Apr 2, 2019  
Us (2019)
Us (2019)
2019 | Horror, Thriller
Not what I expected
I need to start off by saying that I wasnt a fan of Get Out, and I hadn't even see the trailer for Us, so I went into this with low/no expectations, and I was actually pleasantly surprised.

The first half an hour or so is a bit of a slow burn introduction to the family, almost lulling you into a false sense of security before abruptly flipping into full on horror film mode. There are a lot of things I liked about this film; it doesn't rely on obvious jump scares and instead focuses on being massively creepy and almost downright terrifying. I liked the pop culture references like Home Alone, and for me the bits of humour thrown in worked quite well to lighten up an otherwise tense film. And going against the usual horror movie tropes (I.e. victims not being so helpless after all) was refreshing. I also thought this was going to be a bog standard home invasion film, and it really isn't. The wider plot and story going on here is a great idea and the twist at the end too was brilliant, entirely unexpected and I usually pride myself on being able to spot these things coming a mile off.

However there are some things I really didn't like about this film which have led me to mark it down. The cast were great, but I could not stand the voice that Lupita Nyong'o gave Red. For me it wasn't creepy or scary, it was just silly and verging on the hysterically funny. I couldn't take her seriously every time she was speaking on screen. Also, I didn't like some of the more animalistic behaviours and vocalisms they gave the rest of the doppelgangers. It detracted from their overall creepy and terrifying appearance and I think they could have maybe made them a little quieter for a better effect. I hated the soundtrack - it seemed far too dramatic and over the top and not in keeping with the tone of the rest of the film. And I think the dancing scene in the final act, was very stylish but completely unnecessary and I found myself getting very irritated by it as it was just silly and a little confusing.

Overall this film isn't perfect by any means, but it was a lot better than I had ever expected. I feel like going into a film without having seen dozens of trailers etc beforehand actually makes for a far more enjoyable experience.
  
A Margin of Lust (The Seven Deadly Sins, Book One)
A Margin of Lust (The Seven Deadly Sins, Book One)
Greta Boris | 2017 | Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the definition of a throwaway thriller. It’s fast paced and exciting, but it’s not clever and it’s not particularly unique.

I liked the premise being about an estate agent trying to sell a million-dollar home, while someone else, our killer, wanted to keep the house off the market for himself. It was unique enough and what initially drew me into requesting this. Another big part of this story was marriage under stress, between our two main characters, Gwen & Art. I found this part of the story a little bit annoying and the way things happened between them at times, felt unrealistic. I understand that this book was supposed to represent the pressures of work life, marriage life and lusting after what you think you deserve, but it wasn’t necessary. It could have made a more unique book without the domestic part to it.

In terms of characters, there are quite a few to keep up with, but it doesn’t ever become confusing as to who is who. Gwen, our main character was a little hysterical, which definitely got on my nerves on more than one occasion, and I think she treated her husband unfairly, but it was fun to see her playing detective. Art’s character was OK, nothing special. Honestly the story could have been just as good without his character. Side characters like Maricela and Lance were interesting and well developed, but all complete cliches.

For me, this is definitely one of the easiest to guess thrillers. At 44% there is a scene where Boris practically hands you the killer’s name on a plate. Usually, this annoys me, but I didn’t mind it so much with this one because I didn’t think it was going to be shockingly twisty and turny from the start.

This book is a perfect holiday read. It’s good but not great. You’ll find yourself whizzing through it, but it won’t take up too much headspace.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Fawkes Press for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
  
The Scent Keeper
The Scent Keeper
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Scent is the strongest sense tied to memory. One smell can conjure up a whole moment in your life, that you thought you had completely forgotten about. "When you change a scent, you change the memory..."(Quote taken from advanced copy)

Emmeline and her father live on a remote island. It's just the two of them and Emmeline has learned all she knows from her father, but the greatest thing she has learned, is how to use scents to determine what is going on in the world. Cut off from the rest of society, people are just objects in books, and her father is the only other physical person she knows. When she turns 13 and is forced into the "real" world, she quickly discovers that it's more than scents that she will need to make it in life.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I first heard about this book, I was quite intrigued. A whole book about a cottage filled with drawers of scents. How was this going to play out? Would it hold my attention? Boy did it ever. will admit, when I started reading, I was skeptical about which direction the book would take me. The journey was exciting and thrilling and it left me wanting more.

The Scent Keeper is the first book I have read by Erica Bauermeister, but I do look forward to reading more books by her. This is the type of book that is kind of hard to review without giving too much of the story away. This is a story that you will feel in your heart. You will start to understand and smell scents in a different way.

This book has something for everyone in it. A little bit of magic, thrills, just a touch of romance, and scents from all over. I think that if you pick up this book you will enjoy it. I wasn't sure after the description and reading the first couple of chapters, but this story really grew on me and it will stay with me for a while.
  
Ultimate Collection: 8 Original Albums by Billie Holiday
Ultimate Collection: 8 Original Albums by Billie Holiday
2005 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Grasshopper gave me Lady in Satin for my 30th birthday. People were startled by the quality of Billie’s voice on this, her final album before she died, you can hear the years of her life in her voice. As a singer you’re always doing everything you can to imagine your voice being clear, non-crackly and not having any cobwebs, you’re doing everything you can to sing perfectly. “Yet here was someone singing imperfectly, but with all the vulnerability of a life well and certainly intensely lived. That changed everything for me, hearing the crackle in her voice, the years making their way out of her windpipe, almost by clawing their way out. “I’d read that Ray Ellis, who conducted and produced the album, cried when she first sang these songs, because he knew her as someone whose voice had a very full, rich-sounding tonal quality. Yet on this album you can hear the cobwebs, the lisping gasps of air between words. He cried because he thought this shouldn’t be Billie Holiday on record. It was only later that he thought it was her masterpiece. “It was the first time I began to see the connection between the singer, their voice and the listener, that it had nothing to do with the pureness of tone, being perfectly in tune or singing as loud as could be. It was all about the emotions that came out via the breath and the notes together that made the connection. “It changed everything, not only about my singing, but the way I began to understand what people appreciated in a singers’ voice. I could really understand and take some of the pressure off trying to be what I thought was a perfect singer, I know I’m not, but you always have it in mind that you’ve to belt it out and sing perfectly. “I finally began to accept that what comes out of me is my voice and no one else’s, this song and the album as a whole finally released that anxiety in me. The next record we made was Deserter’s Songs.”"

Source
  
One of us is Lying
One of us is Lying
Karen M. McManus | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
6
8.3 (41 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love it when the edges of the pages in a book are bright colours! It makes me so happy to find books that look like this, and it automatically makes me want to read the book more. It’s a lovely touch.

However, I feel like the cover could have been better. It definitely doesn’t sell the book with how simplistic it is and I feel that it doesn’t fit the novel too well. This is just my opinion, but for a whodunnit I expected a darker colour scheme for the cover.

I’ve actually never read a whodunnit within the YA genre, and I really feel like it’s a gap that wants covering more.

It did take me a short while to get into the book, but after the first hundred pages, I quickly finished the book within a few hours. It had me gripped with all of the twists and turns.

I was making theories all the way through of who killed Simon, but I wasn’t ever even close to being right. This is so cleverly written that you really have no idea at all until the final few pages.

The characters were definitely realistic. I really liked that there was a real mixture of personalities rather than sticking with just one clichéd group.

The only reason that I can’t get past three stars with this one is just the fact that I almost gave up on it. The start seems to drag a bit and get a bit boring.

Other than that, though, One Of Us Is Lying is really thrilling and mysterious, and definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for something different to read.
  
The Princess of Draga (Draga Court #1)
The Princess of Draga (Draga Court #1)
Emma Dean, Jillian Ashe | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
a slow burner
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

A bit of a slow burner, long build up kinda book, this one!

It reminds me a little of reading Game of Thrones, NOT in the content, not at all but in the way the stage is set with many players, who have their own agendas. Many players who have a say. Many players who did NOT get a say too!

But my overwhelming reaction to finishing this was, I missed something. Something was missing and I cannot figure out what.

There is a book before this one, Royal Guard of Draga, but reading the blurb, it isn't what I'm missing. I think what I'm missing is more history of Draga, more about the original invasion of the Neprijat monsters who have returned to take over the galaxy. We get bits and pieces, but not enough for me to get the whole picture, the whole history. Maybe that will come with future books, I dunno. That's just how I feel, and ya'll know I love to share how I feel!

I did think it would be a little more on the explicit side, given how we are introduced to Nadyah and why she is in court with Adelina, but it isn't overly.

It's a GOOD book, well written from lots of those players, it just didn't grab me and it took far longer for me to read the 276 pages than it should have. Maybe book two will be better. Off to read it now!

A good solid 3 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**