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Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated No One Gets Out Alive in Books
Mar 15, 2018
It has been a while since I read anything scary, so I decided to give this one a go. Unfortunately, while this wasn't exactly a bad book, for being horror it was pretty light in the scares department. Following a very down-on-her-luck girl who rents a room from a rather shady landlord in what turns out to be a haunted boarding house, it would seem like a good set-up for creepy goings-on, and there are all manner of upsetting things that happen. The problem lies in the way they are presented. Most of the situations that have the strongest potential at building suspense are set-up, and then suddenly told after the fact. In doing so, it removes pretty much all fear from the equation, as we already know more-or-less what transpired before reading about it in grisly detail. Nevermind that the protagonist's actions require some extreme suspension of disbelief, at least try to scare me from time to time. Things do improve in the markedly different (and better) second half, but by then it's a case of too little too late. A decent enough read that I might check out some more of this author's books, but I can't say I recommend this one.
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated It Looks Like This in Books
Jun 22, 2018
Hoo boy. I went into this book expecting to hate it. It's teen fiction, which can be okay, and I knew from the blurbs on the front cover and back that it was probably not a happy ending. I hate books like that, especially LGBT-themed books aimed at that audience. BUT!
This is the first book to make me cry in ages. I'm not a crier by nature. There's something very effective and hard-hitting about Mittlefehldt's style. It's spare and haunting and leaves a lot of room to read between the lines. It reminded me a lot of books I had to read growing up like Bridge to Terebithia and Where the Red Fern Grows. You have the vague notion that something is going to go wrong, but it still takes your breath away when it does.
It Looks Like This is a story about small towns, religion, young love, and tragedy. In many ways, it has universal appeal: we all remember our first love and how gut-wrenching it is when it's over. But it also describes a story that many queer people know very well: what it feels like to know that this will always be harder for you than the people who "hate the sin but love the sinner."
This is the first book to make me cry in ages. I'm not a crier by nature. There's something very effective and hard-hitting about Mittlefehldt's style. It's spare and haunting and leaves a lot of room to read between the lines. It reminded me a lot of books I had to read growing up like Bridge to Terebithia and Where the Red Fern Grows. You have the vague notion that something is going to go wrong, but it still takes your breath away when it does.
It Looks Like This is a story about small towns, religion, young love, and tragedy. In many ways, it has universal appeal: we all remember our first love and how gut-wrenching it is when it's over. But it also describes a story that many queer people know very well: what it feels like to know that this will always be harder for you than the people who "hate the sin but love the sinner."
I read this book while away for work, away from my family, stuck in a hotel room in the evenings, exhausted and spent. It might not have been the best choice in hindsight, as this book is rather brutal and sad in its own right, but it wound up being a great diversion. I love Elin Hilderbrand's books, and this was an enjoyable one, despite the sadness. I liked the characters, but loved the Josh the most, our wannabe writer who finds himself caught up in the drama of these women.
And it was easy to get caught up in their lives and craziness. Brenda and Melanie had melodrama, but Vicki, oh Vicki, her storyline broke my heart. I've always had this fear of cancer and leaving my own kids, so this one struck me right in the gut. This book is really heart-wrenching--and doesn't shy away from the hard stuff: Vicki's chemo, her fears of dying and leaving behind her kids, how sick and terrified she feels. It's a tough read, but it's also hopeful and a great story of friendship and family.
Overall, I enjoyed this one, and it only cemented my desire to keep reading Hilderbrand's back catalog. 3.5+ stars.
And it was easy to get caught up in their lives and craziness. Brenda and Melanie had melodrama, but Vicki, oh Vicki, her storyline broke my heart. I've always had this fear of cancer and leaving my own kids, so this one struck me right in the gut. This book is really heart-wrenching--and doesn't shy away from the hard stuff: Vicki's chemo, her fears of dying and leaving behind her kids, how sick and terrified she feels. It's a tough read, but it's also hopeful and a great story of friendship and family.
Overall, I enjoyed this one, and it only cemented my desire to keep reading Hilderbrand's back catalog. 3.5+ stars.
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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Bear-Ever Yours (Polar Heat #1) in Books
May 20, 2020
84 of 200
Kindle
Bear-ever yours ( Polar heat book 1)
By Terry Bolryder
Leah Maitland isn't expecting much when she wins an unexpected, all-expenses paid trip to the Caribbean. Just some sunshine, fruity drinks, and maybe a break from her demanding job as an office manager to the worst boss ever. She definitely isn't expecting Sky Weston, a hot, athletic local dive instructor with surfer blond hair and Caribbean blue eyes who seems determined to rock her world.
Sky is tall, intensely handsome and a polar bear shifter whose family moved to warmer climates. From the moment he looks into Leah's sparkling brown eyes from across the room, he knows he wants the curvaceous beauty for his own.
But as things heat up in the Caribbean, danger is also close on their heels. And if Sky can't convince Leah to trust the passion igniting between them, he might just lose her to the evil bear that is willing to do anything to make her his.
Short but a very sweet story! A bit rushed in places but pretty much straight to the point! Starting to see a pattern with Terry Bolryder maybe they are becoming a bit too predictable!
Kindle
Bear-ever yours ( Polar heat book 1)
By Terry Bolryder
Leah Maitland isn't expecting much when she wins an unexpected, all-expenses paid trip to the Caribbean. Just some sunshine, fruity drinks, and maybe a break from her demanding job as an office manager to the worst boss ever. She definitely isn't expecting Sky Weston, a hot, athletic local dive instructor with surfer blond hair and Caribbean blue eyes who seems determined to rock her world.
Sky is tall, intensely handsome and a polar bear shifter whose family moved to warmer climates. From the moment he looks into Leah's sparkling brown eyes from across the room, he knows he wants the curvaceous beauty for his own.
But as things heat up in the Caribbean, danger is also close on their heels. And if Sky can't convince Leah to trust the passion igniting between them, he might just lose her to the evil bear that is willing to do anything to make her his.
Short but a very sweet story! A bit rushed in places but pretty much straight to the point! Starting to see a pattern with Terry Bolryder maybe they are becoming a bit too predictable!