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Mrs Moneypenny's Financial Advice for Independent Women
Moneypenny and Heather McGregor
Book
Get a money makeover from the legendary FT columnist, Mrs Moneypenny, author of Mrs Moneypenny's...
Cherish Me (Banger Triolgy #3)
5.5
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Book
She wants a sexy summer fling. He wants more. And he won’t stop until he gets it. NOTE: This...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Last Librarian in Books
Jul 24, 2020
Poorly written and unoriginal
I wanted so much to like this book. The synopsis makes it sound like a more modern take on Fahrenheit 451 or 1984, however no matter how many times this book tries to reference these classics, it will never live up to these.
The good thing about this book is that the idea behind it. Set in a futuristic society where a pandemic has wiped out a large part of the population, the thought behind it is fairly relevant and in keeping with today’s events and you can almost imagine that this could’ve easily happened today. That however is where the good stops. The story is far too overly complicated and predictable, and also pretty dull. It doesn’t help that the author has decided that despite being set less than 80 years from today, everything has changed - the language, the continents, technology to the point where everything has a ridiculous and laughable new name. I never understand why authors try and rename everything just because it’s classed as a futuristic book, it’s entirely unnecessary. And then there’s the acronyms. Within the first half of the book so many silly acronyms are introduced that I quickly lost the will to even try and remember what they stood for, it’s far too many.
The characters are whiny and self absorbed, with a large part of the chapters taken up by their monotonous and rambling inner monologuing. And then they all seem to inexplicably talk in literary quotes all the time, to constantly stress their self importance and the worthiness of the books. The relationships between characters also seem poorly developed yet progress far too quickly.
Overall I really didn’t enjoy this book, and the fact that it has been set up for 2 further sequels doesn’t interest me in the slightest. I’d have to be very desperate to read those.
The good thing about this book is that the idea behind it. Set in a futuristic society where a pandemic has wiped out a large part of the population, the thought behind it is fairly relevant and in keeping with today’s events and you can almost imagine that this could’ve easily happened today. That however is where the good stops. The story is far too overly complicated and predictable, and also pretty dull. It doesn’t help that the author has decided that despite being set less than 80 years from today, everything has changed - the language, the continents, technology to the point where everything has a ridiculous and laughable new name. I never understand why authors try and rename everything just because it’s classed as a futuristic book, it’s entirely unnecessary. And then there’s the acronyms. Within the first half of the book so many silly acronyms are introduced that I quickly lost the will to even try and remember what they stood for, it’s far too many.
The characters are whiny and self absorbed, with a large part of the chapters taken up by their monotonous and rambling inner monologuing. And then they all seem to inexplicably talk in literary quotes all the time, to constantly stress their self importance and the worthiness of the books. The relationships between characters also seem poorly developed yet progress far too quickly.
Overall I really didn’t enjoy this book, and the fact that it has been set up for 2 further sequels doesn’t interest me in the slightest. I’d have to be very desperate to read those.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Newly Undead in Dark River (Dark River Days, #1) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
I was once again trying to do my A-Z of paranormal books and saw this on Amazon and it just sounded good, so I added it to my wish-list and a few days ago it was free, so I bought it.
I'm glad I did.
This starts with Mika waking up in a storm drain at some point in the night and wandering into a small town called Dark River, which is home to vampires. It turns out that one of the inhabitants killed her and turned her and local sheriff Walker Walton tries to find out who as Mika settles into the town she can never really leave again. Add in drifter Judge, and shape shifter Brody, and Mika finds herself caught in a little reverse harem that she grows to love.
I was intrigued over who Mika/Raine's creator was. It seemed like everyone was really welcoming and showed her no ill will so to find out who it was did come as a bit of a shock but they did have a bit of a good reason for it.
I actually enjoyed the reverse harem side of this one. Some just seem to instantly happen whereas this one, each guy came about in their own time. It wasn't all at once. Some tried to fight it, some gave in straight away. There were some really sizzling scenes of threesomes with the guys having a little fun with each other too.
One thing I do have a little complaint about is the editing. It has a handful of errors throughout with words repeated or sentences that appear to have been changed slightly but left the previous word in there, too. It doesn't take away from the story but it just niggles me a little.
The story was well written and had been thought out. I am very intrigued by this group of lovers and the town of Dark River and can't help wondering what is next in store for them, so I will be buying book 2 soon.
I'm glad I did.
This starts with Mika waking up in a storm drain at some point in the night and wandering into a small town called Dark River, which is home to vampires. It turns out that one of the inhabitants killed her and turned her and local sheriff Walker Walton tries to find out who as Mika settles into the town she can never really leave again. Add in drifter Judge, and shape shifter Brody, and Mika finds herself caught in a little reverse harem that she grows to love.
I was intrigued over who Mika/Raine's creator was. It seemed like everyone was really welcoming and showed her no ill will so to find out who it was did come as a bit of a shock but they did have a bit of a good reason for it.
I actually enjoyed the reverse harem side of this one. Some just seem to instantly happen whereas this one, each guy came about in their own time. It wasn't all at once. Some tried to fight it, some gave in straight away. There were some really sizzling scenes of threesomes with the guys having a little fun with each other too.
One thing I do have a little complaint about is the editing. It has a handful of errors throughout with words repeated or sentences that appear to have been changed slightly but left the previous word in there, too. It doesn't take away from the story but it just niggles me a little.
The story was well written and had been thought out. I am very intrigued by this group of lovers and the town of Dark River and can't help wondering what is next in store for them, so I will be buying book 2 soon.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2163 KP) rated One for the Books in Books
Aug 6, 2021 (Updated Aug 6, 2021)
Lindsey and Sully Face Complications on the Way Down the Aisle
With a week to go before her wedding, Lindsey suddenly realizes her small wedding is going to be larger than she had planned. That necessitates a trip to Bell Island, the island where Sully’s family lives and where the couple is planning to get married. Once there, Lindsey and Sully make a horrific discovery – the body of Steve Briggs, the justice of the peace who is supposed to marry them. Sully has been friends with Steve since they were both kids, so he takes the death hard. For Sully’s sake, they start seeing what they can uncover. Can they solve the crime, find a new officiant, and still get married as planned?
This is a book for the fans. If you are new to the series, I suggest you go back and read the earlier books before picking up this book because you’ll enjoy it more that way. I love spending time with these characters, and watching their relationships grow as the characters themselves evolve, and we get more of that here. Overall, the book could have used a good polish, but it was mostly minor stuff that was bothering me as I read. I was certainly interested in the story as I was reading. I especially appreciate the police chief here – she does her job, but is willing to listen to Lindsey and is up front when she is following the evidence but still open to other possibilities. While the wedding is the focus, the book does take place during December, and I enjoyed the bits of Christmas that slipped into the book as well. As usual, I laughed at some of the scenes as I was reading. I also might have teared up at the wedding itself. Fans will be rewarded with this book. If that isn’t you yet, be sure to check out the entire series.
This is a book for the fans. If you are new to the series, I suggest you go back and read the earlier books before picking up this book because you’ll enjoy it more that way. I love spending time with these characters, and watching their relationships grow as the characters themselves evolve, and we get more of that here. Overall, the book could have used a good polish, but it was mostly minor stuff that was bothering me as I read. I was certainly interested in the story as I was reading. I especially appreciate the police chief here – she does her job, but is willing to listen to Lindsey and is up front when she is following the evidence but still open to other possibilities. While the wedding is the focus, the book does take place during December, and I enjoyed the bits of Christmas that slipped into the book as well. As usual, I laughed at some of the scenes as I was reading. I also might have teared up at the wedding itself. Fans will be rewarded with this book. If that isn’t you yet, be sure to check out the entire series.
iRail European Rail Timetables
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iRail is a route planner for train journeys for your iPhone. Enter the departure and destination...
Papa John's Pizza
Food & Drink and Lifestyle
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Download the Papa John's App and order your favorite pizza and sides in a flash! It's easy to locate...
Debbiereadsbook (1166 KP) rated A Little Christmas! Matty's Secret in Books
Jan 23, 2024
Loved the way Wes fit Matty's foxes into his life.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This book is part of the 2nd season of A Little Christmas. You don't need to read the others, they all stand alone within the series. I would recommend you read Hanging With Daddy, by JP Sayle though before this one. We first met Matty there, he is Gaines' best friend. And since Gaines and his Daddy Austin play a large part here, it might help to have their story first. Not necessary, just a personal point.
Matty keeps picking the bad ones, and now questions everything. Weston comes across the cute little Pumpkin in the park and is smitten. But can Matty let Weston in??
What this is, is a wonderfully written, delightfully told tale of letting someone into your heart, even though you know it might get broken.
It's sweet and smexy, cute and cuddly, and all sorts of things that might take too long to type!
I loved catching up with Gaines and Austin, but also with Terrence and Warner, for the first Little Christmas series. Austin, Warner and Weston turn out to be very close friends, and I loved how they all slot into each other's lives here.
There is very little drama between Wes and Matty. The drama is called by Matty's ex, Putrid Peter. Have to say, that did make me laugh, calling him that but it fits perfectly!
Loved the way Wes fitted Matty's foxes into his life. The plates were a particularly cute touch. But Weston wants Matty happy, and he will do what Matty needs him to.
I did like being made to wait for the main event though! While there are smexy, steamy times, they don't go all the way til very near the end of the book, and I loved that!
I loved it, exercises and all! (But I'm with Matty on that front, walking is enough :-) )
5 full and shiny stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This book is part of the 2nd season of A Little Christmas. You don't need to read the others, they all stand alone within the series. I would recommend you read Hanging With Daddy, by JP Sayle though before this one. We first met Matty there, he is Gaines' best friend. And since Gaines and his Daddy Austin play a large part here, it might help to have their story first. Not necessary, just a personal point.
Matty keeps picking the bad ones, and now questions everything. Weston comes across the cute little Pumpkin in the park and is smitten. But can Matty let Weston in??
What this is, is a wonderfully written, delightfully told tale of letting someone into your heart, even though you know it might get broken.
It's sweet and smexy, cute and cuddly, and all sorts of things that might take too long to type!
I loved catching up with Gaines and Austin, but also with Terrence and Warner, for the first Little Christmas series. Austin, Warner and Weston turn out to be very close friends, and I loved how they all slot into each other's lives here.
There is very little drama between Wes and Matty. The drama is called by Matty's ex, Putrid Peter. Have to say, that did make me laugh, calling him that but it fits perfectly!
Loved the way Wes fitted Matty's foxes into his life. The plates were a particularly cute touch. But Weston wants Matty happy, and he will do what Matty needs him to.
I did like being made to wait for the main event though! While there are smexy, steamy times, they don't go all the way til very near the end of the book, and I loved that!
I loved it, exercises and all! (But I'm with Matty on that front, walking is enough :-) )
5 full and shiny stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Robin Hood: Hero of the People in Tabletop Games
Jun 13, 2019
“Yer a hero, Travis!” … said no Hagrid to me ever in my life. However, I do enjoy playing heroes in my board games. As Robin Hood you live by few rules: rob from the rich, give to the poor, and save your fellow Merry Men. That dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham is out to foil and jail you and your crew. Can you use your skills to rob enough from the rich, recruit your fellows, and keep your bounty on your head low enough to win the game? Such is your plight in this one-player game from first-time designer, Rodney Owen.
Disclaimer: This review is for a Kickstarter preview. We are not being paid for this preview, but we were sent the game from the designer. Components and rules may be changed before the product and project is finished. -T
As this game is not yet in full production, I will paraphrase the rulebook here for you so you can get an idea of how the game plays. Then I will give my opinions on this little card game.
Robin Hood: Hero of the People is a one-player card game that is played over three phases. To win the game you must have all Merry Men and Maid Marian recruited and active, while the bounty on your head is less than 500. You lose by seeing the bounty at or above 1,000 or by playing through the entire deck of Story Cards without winning. You may set the difficulty level by choosing how much you would like the bounty to start at before you begin play (100, 200, or 300). The rulebook instructs you how to setup the game using several piles of cards to create the play area. Deal yourself three Loot (skill) cards and the game is on!
The first phase of the game is Robbing from the Rich. During this phase you draw three (or more depending on other cards currently in play) Loot cards from the big deck. These cards consist of different skills to use later – like Archery, Strength, Swords, etc. You will also find Gold and Influence cards. These Loot cards are needed to recruit Maid Marian and all the Merry Men, as well as used for negating powerful negative Story Card effects in the third phase of the game. Once you have drawn your Loot cards, you may play up to three of them into your Inventory in front of you (unless a card instructs you otherwise). Only your cards in the Inventory will be used to recruit and rescue Merry Men, or be affected by Story Cards.
You have placed your skills and bargaining cards in the Inventory. It is now time to use them to recruit your Merry Men! The second phase is the Actions phase. You have several options of actions to take on your turn, but you may only take one action. One option is to recruit Merry Men characters. Each character card begins the game face-down in a grid. The card backs show the recruitment costs (paid in skills) for each. They all have different skill cost combinations on each back so you must choose your Inventory cards carefully in the first phase. During the game some characters may become jailed through the Story Cards. Also on the backs of the character cards are the costs to rescue your friends from jail, and the costs are different than the recruitment costs. This throws a wrench into your plans as you are trying to recruit and protect all your Merry Men, just to have them thrown in jail and made unavailable to you. Curse you, Sheriff of Nottingham!
Also during this phase, in addition to recruiting and rescuing your allies, you may purchase King Richard cards, Sherwood Forest cards, or decrease your bounty. King Richard cards are very very costly (requiring up to nine skills to purchase!) but also very powerful and very helpful to your cause. There are three of these in the game and when you have used one you must discard it out of the game. Do you have an abundance of skills and Loot cards to use? Would you like to protect your Merry Men from becoming jailed? Well during this phase you may also purchase Sherwood Forest cards to begin building a hideout. It costs two Strength skills, but once you have acquired all six Sherwood Forest cards, most of the Merry Men are protected from being jailed. Huzzah! The final option you have in this phase is spending any three Loot cards from your Inventory to reduce your bounty by 100.
The third and final phase is the Story Card phase. During setup you are instructed to separate this deck into two piles, shuffle them independently, and place the Story Cards in set one on top of the story cards in set two. Set one cards are annoyances that can bleed you of skill cards or raise the bounty on your head. Annoying! The cards in set two are far worse, as they will jail your unprotected Merry Men and set you back further from victory… also whilst raising your bounty. Super annoying!! Curse you again, Sheriff!!
If no win or lose conditions have been met at this time, you will return to the first phase with this additional rule: switch your active character (you start the game with Robin Hood) with another character you have recruited in the grid. Each character has a different special ability to be used on your next turn as well as a different set of skills printed on the face that you may use as discounts for recruitment, rescues, and purchasing of King Richard and Sherwood Forest cards. Example: Much the Miller shows 1x Sword and 1x Strength. You can use his skills as a discount to purchase a Sherwood Forest card by spending just one Strength card from your Inventory. Time to stick it to the Sheriff!
So how does it all shake down? Overall I say the game is really good. It is unfinished, and has not yet made it to Kickstarter, and I suspect that has something to do with any drawbacks I have experienced. Upon reading the provided rulebook and attempting Game 1, I had several rules questions. Rodney was quick to provide answers and it made the game so much more playable and enjoyable. Since it is a solo game only, every decision you make directly impacts how the game is played (duh, right?). There’s nobody else to mess with your plans, nor help them succeed. There’s no AI or ghost player. Just you versus the game. I have played this many times now on different difficulty levels and have won and lost on each. It would seem balanced, however…
There are a few strategies I attempted to use on my different plays to see how they might add to the complexity and change the results. I noticed that I won more when I completely ignored Sherwood Forest and King Richard’s cards. Yes, one of the King Richard cards reduces the bounty by quite a bit, and that’s just in one turn, but the cost is so mighty that I rarely found them enticing enough to pull the trigger. Same goes for Sherwood Forest. Though the cards cost a paltry two Strength, I found that I needed those Strength cards to recruit or rescue my Men and could not justify spending two per card (and six total cards to build the hideout) for that protection. Your play style may vary, and I am itching to play again to try new things out. Maybe I’m wrong about Sherwood Forest. I think that’s a really great trait for a game – to have its players thinking about different strategies while not playing, and just waiting for when they can play again.
I have to say, I am very excited to see this go to Kickstarter, and to learn what Rodney has in mind for improvements to the components, or rule tweaks, and the almighty stretch goals. I might be backing this one, even though I have a great working version of it now…
Disclaimer: This review is for a Kickstarter preview. We are not being paid for this preview, but we were sent the game from the designer. Components and rules may be changed before the product and project is finished. -T
As this game is not yet in full production, I will paraphrase the rulebook here for you so you can get an idea of how the game plays. Then I will give my opinions on this little card game.
Robin Hood: Hero of the People is a one-player card game that is played over three phases. To win the game you must have all Merry Men and Maid Marian recruited and active, while the bounty on your head is less than 500. You lose by seeing the bounty at or above 1,000 or by playing through the entire deck of Story Cards without winning. You may set the difficulty level by choosing how much you would like the bounty to start at before you begin play (100, 200, or 300). The rulebook instructs you how to setup the game using several piles of cards to create the play area. Deal yourself three Loot (skill) cards and the game is on!
The first phase of the game is Robbing from the Rich. During this phase you draw three (or more depending on other cards currently in play) Loot cards from the big deck. These cards consist of different skills to use later – like Archery, Strength, Swords, etc. You will also find Gold and Influence cards. These Loot cards are needed to recruit Maid Marian and all the Merry Men, as well as used for negating powerful negative Story Card effects in the third phase of the game. Once you have drawn your Loot cards, you may play up to three of them into your Inventory in front of you (unless a card instructs you otherwise). Only your cards in the Inventory will be used to recruit and rescue Merry Men, or be affected by Story Cards.
You have placed your skills and bargaining cards in the Inventory. It is now time to use them to recruit your Merry Men! The second phase is the Actions phase. You have several options of actions to take on your turn, but you may only take one action. One option is to recruit Merry Men characters. Each character card begins the game face-down in a grid. The card backs show the recruitment costs (paid in skills) for each. They all have different skill cost combinations on each back so you must choose your Inventory cards carefully in the first phase. During the game some characters may become jailed through the Story Cards. Also on the backs of the character cards are the costs to rescue your friends from jail, and the costs are different than the recruitment costs. This throws a wrench into your plans as you are trying to recruit and protect all your Merry Men, just to have them thrown in jail and made unavailable to you. Curse you, Sheriff of Nottingham!
Also during this phase, in addition to recruiting and rescuing your allies, you may purchase King Richard cards, Sherwood Forest cards, or decrease your bounty. King Richard cards are very very costly (requiring up to nine skills to purchase!) but also very powerful and very helpful to your cause. There are three of these in the game and when you have used one you must discard it out of the game. Do you have an abundance of skills and Loot cards to use? Would you like to protect your Merry Men from becoming jailed? Well during this phase you may also purchase Sherwood Forest cards to begin building a hideout. It costs two Strength skills, but once you have acquired all six Sherwood Forest cards, most of the Merry Men are protected from being jailed. Huzzah! The final option you have in this phase is spending any three Loot cards from your Inventory to reduce your bounty by 100.
The third and final phase is the Story Card phase. During setup you are instructed to separate this deck into two piles, shuffle them independently, and place the Story Cards in set one on top of the story cards in set two. Set one cards are annoyances that can bleed you of skill cards or raise the bounty on your head. Annoying! The cards in set two are far worse, as they will jail your unprotected Merry Men and set you back further from victory… also whilst raising your bounty. Super annoying!! Curse you again, Sheriff!!
If no win or lose conditions have been met at this time, you will return to the first phase with this additional rule: switch your active character (you start the game with Robin Hood) with another character you have recruited in the grid. Each character has a different special ability to be used on your next turn as well as a different set of skills printed on the face that you may use as discounts for recruitment, rescues, and purchasing of King Richard and Sherwood Forest cards. Example: Much the Miller shows 1x Sword and 1x Strength. You can use his skills as a discount to purchase a Sherwood Forest card by spending just one Strength card from your Inventory. Time to stick it to the Sheriff!
So how does it all shake down? Overall I say the game is really good. It is unfinished, and has not yet made it to Kickstarter, and I suspect that has something to do with any drawbacks I have experienced. Upon reading the provided rulebook and attempting Game 1, I had several rules questions. Rodney was quick to provide answers and it made the game so much more playable and enjoyable. Since it is a solo game only, every decision you make directly impacts how the game is played (duh, right?). There’s nobody else to mess with your plans, nor help them succeed. There’s no AI or ghost player. Just you versus the game. I have played this many times now on different difficulty levels and have won and lost on each. It would seem balanced, however…
There are a few strategies I attempted to use on my different plays to see how they might add to the complexity and change the results. I noticed that I won more when I completely ignored Sherwood Forest and King Richard’s cards. Yes, one of the King Richard cards reduces the bounty by quite a bit, and that’s just in one turn, but the cost is so mighty that I rarely found them enticing enough to pull the trigger. Same goes for Sherwood Forest. Though the cards cost a paltry two Strength, I found that I needed those Strength cards to recruit or rescue my Men and could not justify spending two per card (and six total cards to build the hideout) for that protection. Your play style may vary, and I am itching to play again to try new things out. Maybe I’m wrong about Sherwood Forest. I think that’s a really great trait for a game – to have its players thinking about different strategies while not playing, and just waiting for when they can play again.
I have to say, I am very excited to see this go to Kickstarter, and to learn what Rodney has in mind for improvements to the components, or rule tweaks, and the almighty stretch goals. I might be backing this one, even though I have a great working version of it now…