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The Wife Between Us
The Wife Between Us
Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
9
8.1 (37 Ratings)
Book Rating
Assume Nothing
Assume Nothing …. Perfect description of The Wife Between Us!!! An unreliable narrator (the alcoholic, unhinged, scorned, jealous ex-wife) a young, beautiful new bride to be who questions the ex wife's behavior maybe event to the point of stalking status, and a wealthy man in the middle all make up this twisted love triangle!! But are they all who they appear to be??? Who is the good character, who is the bad, who do you believe, and who do you trust?? All these questions make this psychothriller a roller coaster of a ride in this page turner... At times it's slow but as you flip and read through the pages it picks up again and again. And can we say um huh after the first part of the book. It makes you sit there and say did I miss something and did they really just reveal one of the juiciest parts of the book in the middle after the first part!!! With the end of each chapter, you are sitting there wondering what clues are going to be revealed … how much more can there be. Whose side am I on?
I loved the writing style because it made the reader assume things that may or not be what you thought. The reader really can connect to each character because they were so well developed and so untrustworthy and trustworthy and various points in the book. I love that this book was broken into 3 parts that all made sense why The Wife Between Us was written in this format!!! It wasn't hard to follow at all .. everything seemed to have a purpose for the most part and flow into the development of the story.
A perfect summary from the book is this :
In my marriage, there were three truths, three alternate and sometimes competing realities. There was Richard’s truth. There was my truth. And there was the actual truth, which is always the most elusive to recognize. This could be the case in every relationship, that we think we’ve entered into a union with another person when, in fact, we’ve formed a triangle with one point anchored by a silent but all-seeing judge, the arbiter of reality.
  
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Dana (24 KP) rated Heartless in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
Heartless
Heartless
Marissa Meyer | 2017 | Children
6
8.3 (33 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let me start off by saying that I love Marissa Meyer's writing so much, but this book wasn't as good for me as The Lunar Chronicles.

This was a really cute and quirky book with so many puns! I loved all of the puns about baking, they gave me life. Especially since I love puns and I love baking, so putting those two things together made me so happy!

This had a very interesting story, one we all know the end of, just not how the story will get to that point. If you have read or even know of Alice in Wonderland, you know that the Queen of Hearts is a villain, so it was interesting to see how she got to be that way. I am always a little hesitant to read the villain backstories because a lot of times, authors will make them out to be the heroes and completely go against what the audiences know about these beloved villains. While Meyer does have some instances of this, she also is able to build up the story enough to the point where it may be believable.

So there are going to be some plot spoilers in this paragraph, so if you do not want to read them, skip to the next paragraph! Okay, so the plot goes like this: Catherine doesn't want to be queen, she wants to bake, but the King of Hearts, as well as her parents, want her to be the queen. Cue the Joker, Jest, who is the wrong guy to fall for, but she does it anyway which eventually gets him killed and will make Cath want revenge and become the killer we know her as. There were a lot of moments throughout the plot that I was not as engaged with because they felt like they had been too much. Of course Cath would fall for Jest and of course a man would be her turning point. I was not the biggest fan of those aspects of the story. I wanted her to have more agency in why she becomes the Queen of Hearts, not just that she wants to use her power to avenge her lost love.

There was a prophecy in this book, I won't say what it was, but I will say that it wasn't my favorite because it takes any and all tension out of the story.

I loved the play on names from Meyer. Hatta being the Mad Hatter and Haigher being the March Hair, loved it!

The characters were pretty interesting, but they weren't as gripping or memorable as I would have like them to be.

I usually adore Marissa Meyer's books, but this one fell a little flat for me. Overall, it was enjoyable, but I am not sure if I would read it again.
  
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Chopping Mall (1986) in Movies

Sep 28, 2020 (Updated Sep 28, 2020)  
Chopping Mall (1986)
Chopping Mall (1986)
1986 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
8
6.5 (17 Ratings)
Movie Rating
So yeah, I freaking love Chopping Mall. It's a prefect slice of ridiculous and cheesy sci-fi horror from the 80s and a great example of how fun low budget horror can be...

The premise alone is amazing - eight teenagers get locked in a state-of-the-art shopping mall after a lightning storm hits the roof-situated antenna that controls the malls' robotic security team, sending the machines haywire and turning them into killer robots. Less than ten minutes in and Chopping Mall has absolutely all of my attention.

A huge positive about this movie is how likable the group of survivors are. A couple of them are a little throwaway, but the majority of them are given just enough backstory to make them feel real, and are all played well by their respective actors (ALWAYS love to see Barbara Crampton).
It's almost a shame when they start to get picked off. As is par for the course with this era of horror, Chopping Mall uses practical effects for the most part, and what we see he is pretty decent (ridiculous head explosions anyone?) and the few "special" effects we are treated to (the robots lasers for example) are so wonderfully low budget that it ends up adding even more charm. There is also an unholy amount of explosions just for good measure.

The dialogue is typical slasher fare, but it's boasts such gems as "Let's send these fuckers a Rambo-gram", "it's gonna be good time to the max!", "They're trying to french fry us, well I'm no damn potato" and "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just not used to running around a shopping mall in the middle of the night being chased by killer robots". Just spectacular really, especially the big guy stuffing his face whilst dead pan saying "Waitress, more butter" before an immediate cut away.

Chopping Mall for me is near the upper echelon of 80s horror. Sure it's cheap and silly but it's also great, and gets criminally overlooked due to more popular franchises. Do yourself a favor and give it a watch if you haven't before.

                    
Also, the soundtrack absolutely slaps.
  
Constitution Check (Dungeons and Dating #4) by Katherine McIntyre
Constitution Check (Dungeons and Dating #4) by Katherine McIntyre
Katherine McIntyre | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
i love this series!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 4 in the Dungeons & Dating book, and while not strictly necessary to have read the other three before this, I STRONGLY recommend you do. Not least because they are ALL five star reads, from me. But I would probably say read book 3, at least. Something happens in that book that leads into this one, and you get an inkling as to what Kelly is living through.

Ms McIntyre never ceases to amaze me, she can flip on a penny and it takes you a while to catch up with that little nugget of info, or this little comment that someone says. I have to slow my reading down to pay great attention, and I love that I have to.

Both Tabby and Kelly appear in previous books, although I couldn't place Tabby til there was something said here. (see above!)

Both girls are suffering in one way or another, but it takes a long time for them to open up to each other, to us. The clues are all there, they really are, but I didn't put the pieces together for Tabby, not straight away. I did for Kelly, because the signs were there in book 3.

Its not an easy read, given what Kelly went through, but it is extremely well written. Emotional reading, I had a tear or too. When Kelly finally lets Tabby in and vice versa, I cried, I really did.

Its steamy too! And while it IS steamy, it takes a back step, I think, to the emotions involved for these girls.

All the other pairings take part here, given as they all work together at the cafe, and we meet Eli, Tabby's cousin. He is one of the leads in the next book along with Arjun.

I read this in one sitting, stayed up way past my bedtime and was entirely unrepentant of that fact! I bloody loved it!

I love that McIntyre can flip from MM to MF and then to FF. Quite a skill to deliver each, but to be able to deliver them ALL?? Amazing. Please keep them coming!!

5 full and shiny stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Infuriated (Daywalker Academy #5)
Infuriated (Daywalker Academy #5)
Maya Daniels | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Infuriated is the fifth book in the Daywalker Academy series and it should definitely be read as a series or you just won't understand the nuances of what is going on.

We start where the last one ended almost. Franky is hiding out with Myst and Tenebris is keeping her company, whether she wants it or not. That's okay until Myst has had enough and lets Zoltan know where she is. Franky returns to the Academy with Zoltan and the fun starts.

There is a lot that goes on in this book - like the others in the series. You have to hold onto your hat and follow it word for word or you may get lost. Ms. Daniels certainly knows how to write an amazing fight scene and I love how Franky reacts and copes when someone attacks her, even if they think they are protecting her.

Unfortunately for me, Franky also annoyed me slightly in this one. She was full of how Roberti knows her and pushes her buttons so she needs to stop and think. Only trouble is, at the first opportunity, she throws that out of the window and goes off by herself to do something she's already been warned about. I know it describes Franky's character (as well as helping the story to move along) but seriously? Listen to yourself and maybe hesitate for just half a second before you go rushing off!

Overall though, it was a fantastic story with Tenebris and Zoltan still remaining my firm favourites. I absolutely recommend this book, the whole series, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

* 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!
  
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Endless (The Awakening Series #3)
Endless (The Awakening Series #3)
Dean Murray | 2015 | Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the third (and final) book in this series which has knocked my socks off from the very beginning. This, for me, is a complete 5-star series that hasn't been 'let down' by any weak or weaker books. It starts off strong, carries on strong and then finishes with such a wallop, you'll be left breathless. Unfortunately for me, it isn't Endless and did indeed come to a conclusion. A most satisfactory one too, may I just add.

Selene still has choices to make but she doesn't really have time to breathe, let alone think about things that, although important, are not quite as important as actually trying to stay alive. This book is non-stop action. What will Selene do? What choices will she make? And will this war ever come to an end without someone we know and love dying?

You will find all this and so much more in the conclusion to The Awakening Series. I loved how the story all tied together at the end and explanations are given for things that Selene (and the reader) had questioned. You are not left with any uncertainties but with satisfaction instead. The only problem I had was that I reached the end, couldn't believe it, so went back a few pages on my Kindle. Reached the end, still couldn't believe it so actually did it a third time. THAT is how much I didn't want this series to end. Absolutely brilliant and highly recommended to all.
 
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
September 1, 2016