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Shadow of Murder (A Mac Faraday Mystery #14)
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You can't move to the next chapter of your life without tying up loose ends in the previous. True...
Mystery Thriller Fiction Paranormal Crime / Detective
Taylin's Temptation (Divergent Omegaverse #2)
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Taylin doesn't have a clue how the universe works, but he believes that given the right conditions...
Omegaverse MM Mpreg Paranormal Romance Shifters
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Happy Girl Lucky (The Valentines, #1) in Books
Feb 3, 2020
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2685992062">Happy Girl Lucky</a> - ★★★★★
<img src="https://gipostcards.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/book-review-title.png?w=636"/>;
<b> I am hosing a GIVEAWAY on my instagram page, ending on 22nd February 2019. Enter for a chance to win 5 signed copies with 5 pop sockets! </b>
Happy Girl Lucky is the first book from The Valentines Series. This is a story about a famous family, The Valentines, who have been Hollywood stars for ages. Hope is one of the daughters of the famous couple, but she grows up without all that paparazzi attention and hype. It is a family rule not to involve their children into the famous world until they are sixteen. Hope can’t wait to turn sixteen and start living this amazing life.
Hope spends her teenage years as a normal girl – she steals clothes from her sisters and makes movie scenarios in her head. She reads her horoscope every day and knows what the magazines say is true. She is naive and funny and so unique. And when one day, her horoscope says she is on her way to finally meet her true love, she has to make everything possible to make this come true.
And when she meets this boy, we follow Hope’s adventures from touring London, to travelling to the US, to making decisions she never thought she could make. I loved how we are with Hope every minute of her journey and we watch her slowly grow and make us giggle.
Even though Hope gives the life of this story, and makes us all want to be friends with her, all of the other characters have their own little unique spark, which I loved so much.
A wonderfully written story, but also a very meaningful one. Holly Smale managed to perfectly capture some of the issues that some teenage girls are facing today. Living their own reality while their family lives a completely different world is not so uncommon, and girls need to know this. Sometimes, we wake in a reality we don’t know and think we are the ones to blame, but there is nothing wrong with you. All you ladies out there, you need to hear this. There is nothing wrong with you. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You are unique, and you should believe in what you are, who you are, and what makes you truly happy. And through Hope’s story, we can understand this so well, and I am forever grateful!
A fun and entertaining story, meant to capture all the teenage hearts out there. This is definitely a must-read for every girl out there, to find her true self and be happy for what she truly is.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2685992062">Happy Girl Lucky</a> - ★★★★★
<img src="https://gipostcards.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/book-review-title.png?w=636"/>;
<b> I am hosing a GIVEAWAY on my instagram page, ending on 22nd February 2019. Enter for a chance to win 5 signed copies with 5 pop sockets! </b>
Happy Girl Lucky is the first book from The Valentines Series. This is a story about a famous family, The Valentines, who have been Hollywood stars for ages. Hope is one of the daughters of the famous couple, but she grows up without all that paparazzi attention and hype. It is a family rule not to involve their children into the famous world until they are sixteen. Hope can’t wait to turn sixteen and start living this amazing life.
Hope spends her teenage years as a normal girl – she steals clothes from her sisters and makes movie scenarios in her head. She reads her horoscope every day and knows what the magazines say is true. She is naive and funny and so unique. And when one day, her horoscope says she is on her way to finally meet her true love, she has to make everything possible to make this come true.
And when she meets this boy, we follow Hope’s adventures from touring London, to travelling to the US, to making decisions she never thought she could make. I loved how we are with Hope every minute of her journey and we watch her slowly grow and make us giggle.
Even though Hope gives the life of this story, and makes us all want to be friends with her, all of the other characters have their own little unique spark, which I loved so much.
A wonderfully written story, but also a very meaningful one. Holly Smale managed to perfectly capture some of the issues that some teenage girls are facing today. Living their own reality while their family lives a completely different world is not so uncommon, and girls need to know this. Sometimes, we wake in a reality we don’t know and think we are the ones to blame, but there is nothing wrong with you. All you ladies out there, you need to hear this. There is nothing wrong with you. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You are unique, and you should believe in what you are, who you are, and what makes you truly happy. And through Hope’s story, we can understand this so well, and I am forever grateful!
A fun and entertaining story, meant to capture all the teenage hearts out there. This is definitely a must-read for every girl out there, to find her true self and be happy for what she truly is.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
Maya Flowers sees a new commuter on her train, and knows that he’s The One, so she becomes obsessed, imagining what his life is like and who he is until she plucks up the courage to give him a note.
When I realised that this was based on a true story, I decided to read it, thinking that because it was meant that it wouldn’t to be too pink and fluffy. And I was quite glad that I picked it up because it was entertaining.
I really liked Maya, the fact that she seemed so normal. I loved that her obsession with James was so obvious, it made her such a relatable character.
I did struggle a bit with the pace of the novel. It was quite slow all the way through, when I’m more into novels that jump straight into a good juicy plot. But I should have expected this from a book that’s about missed chances.
It was definitely an enjoyable read, with some funny parts. It also definitely made me smile. However I did definitely struggle with it, and to say that it’s only short, it took me a bit longer to read than I thought it would. It just seemed to be missing something.
But since it’s based on a true story, I’m not sure I can really comment much on the plot.
It’s definitely worth reading if you like Jojo Moyes, and I did enjoy it. My only comment is that the pace seemed to let it down.
When I realised that this was based on a true story, I decided to read it, thinking that because it was meant that it wouldn’t to be too pink and fluffy. And I was quite glad that I picked it up because it was entertaining.
I really liked Maya, the fact that she seemed so normal. I loved that her obsession with James was so obvious, it made her such a relatable character.
I did struggle a bit with the pace of the novel. It was quite slow all the way through, when I’m more into novels that jump straight into a good juicy plot. But I should have expected this from a book that’s about missed chances.
It was definitely an enjoyable read, with some funny parts. It also definitely made me smile. However I did definitely struggle with it, and to say that it’s only short, it took me a bit longer to read than I thought it would. It just seemed to be missing something.
But since it’s based on a true story, I’m not sure I can really comment much on the plot.
It’s definitely worth reading if you like Jojo Moyes, and I did enjoy it. My only comment is that the pace seemed to let it down.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Adrift (2018) in Movies
Jul 10, 2018
A very sad true story
I hadn't read many good reviews for this film so I honestly hadn't been expecting much, but it is actually quite good.
The film works well as it doesn't follow a linear narrative which would've been a little boring. Instead it opts to throw us straight into the immediate aftermath of the disaster, but flashing back to the couple and how they met, and how they came to be at sea. It also helps that Shailene Woodley is a great actress and very engaging and believable. This film wouldn't have worked half as well without her in it. Sam Claflin is perhaps a tad underused and I think there parts of this that maybe go a tad overboard (sorry) on the romance side. The effects may be slightly dodgy at times but the scenes at sea and in the aftermath are so harrowing and disturbing enough that it takes your mind off everything else. There is also a small "twist" in this which even I didn't see coming, which was quite refreshing. My only criticism is that despite it's short run time, the film does drag in a few parts and most of this run time is spent either on the boat or in flashbacks. Very little time is given to the ending so it feels a bit rushed and not quite wrapped up properly.
Overall though a very good and heartwrenching true story. Definitely one that could put you off sailing for life!
The film works well as it doesn't follow a linear narrative which would've been a little boring. Instead it opts to throw us straight into the immediate aftermath of the disaster, but flashing back to the couple and how they met, and how they came to be at sea. It also helps that Shailene Woodley is a great actress and very engaging and believable. This film wouldn't have worked half as well without her in it. Sam Claflin is perhaps a tad underused and I think there parts of this that maybe go a tad overboard (sorry) on the romance side. The effects may be slightly dodgy at times but the scenes at sea and in the aftermath are so harrowing and disturbing enough that it takes your mind off everything else. There is also a small "twist" in this which even I didn't see coming, which was quite refreshing. My only criticism is that despite it's short run time, the film does drag in a few parts and most of this run time is spent either on the boat or in flashbacks. Very little time is given to the ending so it feels a bit rushed and not quite wrapped up properly.
Overall though a very good and heartwrenching true story. Definitely one that could put you off sailing for life!
A thoroughly enjoyable and informative book which brings the history of Highclere to life in energetic and engaging story telling.
Initially, the author shows their 'upper class' voice a little too often but as the story progresses and you begin to engage more with the people involved, it becomes less obvious, therefore making the book much more easy to read and enjoyable.
As an avid Downton Abbey fan from day one, I was engrossed with learning the true history of the actual house, and can honestly say that the connections between Downton and Highclere are not limited to merely the house. The Carnavons are a wonderful and very energetic family with fingers in so many pies and so rich a history that they truly deserve the accolade this book should give them. They do not come across as typical aristocrats at all, rather 'real' human beings who are committed to the improvement in lifestyle of all they are connected with, true philanthropists and dedicated historians.
I can honestly say that this book reads like a fiction story, and you have to pinch yourself at times to realise that these were real people who lived and breathed and carried out all of these wonderful acts. Truly, it is a fantastic read which is fully deserving of more than 5 stars and something that anyone interested in either Downton, late Victorian/early Edwardian society, the First World War and it's aftermath, or even the tomb of Tutankhamen should most definitely add to their 'to read' list.
Initially, the author shows their 'upper class' voice a little too often but as the story progresses and you begin to engage more with the people involved, it becomes less obvious, therefore making the book much more easy to read and enjoyable.
As an avid Downton Abbey fan from day one, I was engrossed with learning the true history of the actual house, and can honestly say that the connections between Downton and Highclere are not limited to merely the house. The Carnavons are a wonderful and very energetic family with fingers in so many pies and so rich a history that they truly deserve the accolade this book should give them. They do not come across as typical aristocrats at all, rather 'real' human beings who are committed to the improvement in lifestyle of all they are connected with, true philanthropists and dedicated historians.
I can honestly say that this book reads like a fiction story, and you have to pinch yourself at times to realise that these were real people who lived and breathed and carried out all of these wonderful acts. Truly, it is a fantastic read which is fully deserving of more than 5 stars and something that anyone interested in either Downton, late Victorian/early Edwardian society, the First World War and it's aftermath, or even the tomb of Tutankhamen should most definitely add to their 'to read' list.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Unbelievable in TV
Oct 16, 2019
A hard to watch but a must watch mini series
This is a true-crime story done so right. It focuses on a series of rapes so if that’s a trigger for you; stay well away; there is detail about the rapes.
I came across the story from a podcast episode on This American Life which had based an episode on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and was rerunning the story because of this series coming out. It’s a hard-hitting story that strongly shines a light on the issues between differences of how victims can be treated. This adaptation does the story justice and is an engrossing watch.
We start off meeting Marie a young woman fresh out of the foster system who is raped by an intruder; her story and in particular how she is treated are hard to watch but important for people to understand the full horror of having to come forward as a victim.
As the series progresses we still see Marie’s journey but more of the action is on investigations into other rapes in different jurisdictions. We meet Det. Karen Duvall and Det. Grace Rasmussen who are both great and the story gets easier to watch as we see them get down to some hard-hitting police work.
What sets this apart in the current influx of true-crime TV is the real focus on the victims rather than the all too common focus on the perpetrator. It works so well; making a strong emotional watching experience.
I came across the story from a podcast episode on This American Life which had based an episode on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and was rerunning the story because of this series coming out. It’s a hard-hitting story that strongly shines a light on the issues between differences of how victims can be treated. This adaptation does the story justice and is an engrossing watch.
We start off meeting Marie a young woman fresh out of the foster system who is raped by an intruder; her story and in particular how she is treated are hard to watch but important for people to understand the full horror of having to come forward as a victim.
As the series progresses we still see Marie’s journey but more of the action is on investigations into other rapes in different jurisdictions. We meet Det. Karen Duvall and Det. Grace Rasmussen who are both great and the story gets easier to watch as we see them get down to some hard-hitting police work.
What sets this apart in the current influx of true-crime TV is the real focus on the victims rather than the all too common focus on the perpetrator. It works so well; making a strong emotional watching experience.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2196 KP) rated Trust Me in Books
Mar 29, 2020
Claustrophobic Game of Cat and Mouse
Mercer Hennessey is a former reporter who is getting over a deep personal loss. Her life is altered when her former editor, Katherine, asks her to cover the Baby Boston trial. Ashlyn Bryant is about to go on trial for the death of her daughter, Tasha Nicole. Mercer is among those who is certain that Ashlyn is guilty, and Katherine is asking Mercer to write a book about the case and the trial. With the way it grabbed headlines, it is certain to be a best seller. Mercer reluctantly agrees, but Ashlyn’s constant claims of innocence begin to get to Mercer. As Mercer delves further into the book, Ashlyn begins to get into her head. What is true? Is Ashlyn guilty?
I had intended to read Hank Phillippi Ryan’s stand-alone suspense novels before now, but I’m glad I picked up this first one. The book starts out a little slowly. Yes, we are getting needed background, but it feels like it could have been shortened a little. However, once things really get going, I was completely hooked. This is a strong psychological suspense story as Mercer is forced to question everything she thinks is true. The almost claustrophobic feeling of this part of the book certainly helps with that. To pull this off, the characters have to be strong, and they absolutely are, making me question what I thought was going on the entire time. Once you start, you’ll have to know how this book ends.
I had intended to read Hank Phillippi Ryan’s stand-alone suspense novels before now, but I’m glad I picked up this first one. The book starts out a little slowly. Yes, we are getting needed background, but it feels like it could have been shortened a little. However, once things really get going, I was completely hooked. This is a strong psychological suspense story as Mercer is forced to question everything she thinks is true. The almost claustrophobic feeling of this part of the book certainly helps with that. To pull this off, the characters have to be strong, and they absolutely are, making me question what I thought was going on the entire time. Once you start, you’ll have to know how this book ends.
Pride: The Unlikely Story of the True Heroes of the Miner's Strike
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