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Embracing the Outcast (Crowns Legacy #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the second time I have had the pleasure of reading a book by Nadine C. Keels. It is book two in her Crowns Legacy series titled Embracing the Outcast; it can be read as a standalone, although I still recommend reading the first book. After reading the first book in the series I was not quite sure what to expect of the second book (as just how many follow up books are as good as the first?). I had high hopes for this second book when I started reading and it ended up being so much more than I imagined it would be.

In this story, Nadine C. Keels has such a way with putting words to emotions and feelings that I’ve rarely seen, and she does it subtlety as you get sucked into the character’s lives. I Loved learning about something I was totally unfamiliar with, it was a good learning experience for me. Nadine covers it in a very no-nonsense way and tries to help her characters understand why God does this sometimes. Which I truly found interesting. My favorite quote I think gives a glimpse as to the depth of Nadine’s characters:

“Perhaps it is not given or preferable for everyone to see. They may not all notice or rightly recognize what’s in front of them, but beauty is experienced by those with the capacity to perceive and behold it. Those without the capacity or the will to behold beauty are the ones who miss out, and they’re the poorer for it.” -Pg. 115

Nadine C. Keels created characters that had such vivid emotions, and she covered some very difficult topics. Which in the end gave a beautifully written story about how everyone is special and is used by God for His glory. I give this story 5 out of 5 stars for the creativity and research put into making this such a well-crafted story, for the characters I could relate to, and for helping me see things from a different perspective. I highly recommend this book/series and I am so excited to see where Nadine C. Keels goes next with this series.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
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Richard Hell recommended Kiss Me Deadly (2008) in Movies (curated)

 
Kiss Me Deadly (2008)
Kiss Me Deadly (2008)
2008 | Action, Drama, Mystery
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Noir, of course, typically displays shadows, rain, urban darkness, blunt seediness, and the realization that since not just at the end but at the center of things are death and other hopeless mysteries, human striving is meaningless. There’s something soothing about realizing that all is futile. It’s liberating. Kiss Me Deadly might be the most cynical and fatalistic noir of them all. It happens to take place in sunny LA, but it’s certainly got the seediness too, including fantastic location shooting in long-gone slums. It’s one of those flicks that’s too good to be true. You’re stopped alone at a motel somewhere in the desert late at night, dead tired, but you can’t sleep, so you switch on the TV . . . and there’s a near-teenage Cloris Leachman running towards you, moaning and sobbing in the darkness, too blonde and naked to believe. But there she is. What a world. Ralph Meeker speeds up in a Jaguar! Nat King Cole warbles on the radio. Cloris is named after Christina Rossetti! It’s 1955. She’s a bitter feminist escapee from a mental asylum. And it just gets better, all the way till after the last second. Along with the action, corruption, sadism, and sex (when the blonde in her car, who happens to be behind Mike Hammer when he parks in a driveway, is immediately compelled to press herself against him and kiss him, framed with bulging taillights protruding from the fin of the forward auto, somehow it's sexier than the porniest pornography), the photography/mise-en-scène would make this movie immortal alone. It’s the kind of movie that makes me laugh at the notion of “art” photography. A few thousand frames from this one film would make a better life’s work in photography than any artist has yet created. Cindy Sherman has a right to a living like everyone else, but, Jesus . . . Nicholas Raymondo (“Very Smart. Very Bright. Very Sad.”) was “sad . . . for the way the world is,” but as Christina tells us: if you should forget me for a while And afterwards remember, do not grieve: For if the darkness and corruption leave A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, Better by far you should forget and smile It’s actually misquoted in the movie, but it’s still probably the nicest thing that’s happened to Christina Rossetti in a hundred years . . ."

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The Marriage of Innis Wilkinson
The Marriage of Innis Wilkinson
Lauren H Brandenburg | 2020 | Mystery, Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonists of this story would be Margarette and Roy, but this novel is told from multiple perspectives, including Innis herself. Margarette and Roy belong to the families, that hate each other. Both of the families trying to outdo each other with better events and showing off, and Margarette has to endure all that competing behaviour. Innis is a character, who’s story is running in the background. Innis is an incredibly strange woman. Her story is revealed little by little, but it is very sweet and heartbreaking. I really liked all the main characters, they are very kind, sensitive and pleasant people. Margarette has patience made of steel, she does so much for both of the families, scared to offend them, I know I would have lost my patience in no time. 😀 😀

The book is set in a very small town called Coraloo, during a festival, and the whole vibe feels like Bruge (Belgium) for some reason. I imagine little shops down the little alleys, cobblestone everywhere… It just seems cosy, small and inviting. The narrative is quite slow and steady, the characters are sharing their thoughts about family, love, relationships, but it is quite funny at times when crazy family members join in. The topics discussed in this novel are family relationships, marriage preparations and stress, abandoned dreams, wish to be accepted and many more. This novel has some mystery elements, but the whole novel is more oriented towards romance and wedding.

I really liked the writing style of this book. It was very creative, and even though some of the things kept repeating, I could feel the love for everything through the characters. I am very happy that the author used her experience as a teacher in this novel, I think it was very well utilised. The chapters are medium length, and some of the information was a little repetitive, but I was quite curious to find out more about Innis, so the chapters didn’t feel draggy to me. The ending was very unexpected but left me very satisfied with the outcome.

So, to conclude, I really enjoyed this funny, heart-warming book, that is filled with unique and entertaining characters, as well as very soothing and “cuddly” plot. I think this book is perfect for these long and cold evenings, it feels like a hug.