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Make Them Obey (Pretty Deadly Things #5)
Make Them Obey (Pretty Deadly Things #5)
Logan Chance | 2026 | Contemporary, Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
doesn't quite hit the spot :-(
Independent reviewer for BookSirens, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 5 in the Pretty Deadly Things series, and you do need to read them in order. Much is not recapped and there is that on-going story arc. I enjoyed those 4 books, thoroughly.

But here's the thing. This one? Not so much, and I've no idea why! My book brain can't figure it out, and it's stressful!

Poe was the bad guy in the previous book. Given how tight knit this group are, it was always going to be something massive to make him switch sides. His sister being kidnapped did that. Poe's jailer sets off all kinds of bells and whistles, and not only the smexy kind. Orchid is hiding something.

This review will be short, cos I don't wanna bash this book, cos I did finish it and I really want to see an end to Seraphina and her trafficking ring!

I loved that Orchid was so dominant with Poe, but she does let her guard down a time or two. I think I saw what she was hiding coming at me, but still.

Given how this ends, it's got to be a happy for now/cliffhanger. I also said that, in my review for Hurt, that Ozzie and Salem's story felt unfinished and it would feel more finished in this book. Well, it doesn't. And there is what ever is going on with Salem's dad to deal with, cos that one has thrown me, completely!

3 good stars, but not sure what is so different!

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Oh Dear Silvia in Books

Dec 14, 2018  
Oh Dear Silvia
Oh Dear Silvia
Dawn French | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
6
5.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>Oh Dear Silvia</i> is a contemporary, somewhat humorous, novel by British comedian, Dawn French. Set in England it focuses on a sixty-year-old woman, Silvia Shute, who has fallen from a balcony, sustaining a serious head injury that has left her in a coma.

Knowing this you cannot help wondering how you do write a book where the main character is unconscious and how would this affect the narrative? This is how. Although Silvia is indeed the main character, the tale is actually told through observing family members and friends when they visit her in hospital. The entire book plays out in Silvia’s hospital room, Suite 5, but each character brings something else to story through their thoughts, feelings and actions.

Ed, Silvia’s ex husband, provides details of what has happened since their divorce. Jo, her older sister, reminisces about their childhood whist trying and failing to use a number of New Age ideas to wake Silvia up. There is Cat, her best friend, through who we discover what actually happened to Silvia, whilst, Tia, her cleaner is bringing in her favourite foods and updating her on the various goings on in the celebrity world. Cassie, her daughter however, portrays Silvia in a different light that makes us question what kind of person Silvia really was. And finally there is Winnie, a nurse at the hospital. Winnie’s accounts provide the reader with an extra storyline that is nothing to do with Silvia and her accident.

The story being told in this way gives the reader a chance to learn about who Silvia was which causes us to think different things about her which we would not have had the opportunity to feel had Silvia been able to tell the story herself. Firstly we feel worry for her, but then we begin to hate her particularly with the help of Cassie as well as Ed, who admits that had Silvia been conscious he would not have been visiting. Finally we get to a stage of understanding. Understanding who Silvia was, understanding why she did what she did, understanding what has happened to her.

The book takes on many themes: drama, mystery… and humour. Well, it is meant to be humour. I can understand the funny parts but personally it was not my type of humour. Too much swearing in my opinion. But then if you enjoy that type of thing, <i>Oh Dear Silvia</i> has the potential to be a really funny book.
  
Fade Away (Myron Bolitar #3)
Fade Away (Myron Bolitar #3)
Harlan Coben | 1996 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Myron Bolitar has a meeting with the President of the Dragons. What he isn't expecting, is to be offered a position on the team. He won't get much playing time, but the underlying issue is that they need him to find another player, Greg Downing. Myron and Greg have known each other for many years, Myron even dated Greg's wife way back when. But Greg is known to disappear, so why is everyone so intent on having Myron locate him now? The reason is one you won't believe.

I have grown to love the characters in the Myron Bolitar series. The adventures they find themselves in are really not something you would expect from a sports agent and a rich guy.

When Greg Downing goes missing at first it's no big deal since this is something he does frequently. But the Dragons are about to go to the playoffs and Greg would never disappear at a time like this. Myron and Win go and take a look at Greg's place, but what they find is very unusual. When the place go back to investigate, the evidence is no longer there. What was Greg involved in? Who knows where Greg is? Why did Greg pick this time to disappear?

Finding out who is behind Greg's disappearance can end up a life or death situation for Myron. Will he find Greg and will he continue with his position on the Dragons?
  
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Rob Cohen recommended Gone In 60 Seconds (2000) in Movies (curated)

 
Gone In 60 Seconds (2000)
Gone In 60 Seconds (2000)
2000 | Action
7.2 (18 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I like films that really break every rule, where the director, writers, producers have gone out, they’re just going, “We don’t give a f— what the hell has happened in other movies, or how other movies were written, or other movies were shot. We’re just going to do it our way.” And those movies not only tickle my fancy, but they always give me a lot of courage when I should have to do something to go, “You know what? Be more like that. Don’t listen so much to the popular wisdom or the collective wisdom, the rules.” And that’s one of the reasons I’m so proud of The Fast and the Furious. It’s because nobody gave a s— about the movie except me and the cast, and so we didn’t hear anything. I just did what I wanted to do. I was very much inspired by the original Gone in 60 Seconds, but the H.B. Halicki version, not the other version. You know, because that guy was staging car chases on the Long Beach freeway with no permits, no anything [laughing] and he was clipping telephone poles and doing all sorts of stuff that was just so balls-to-the-wall. H.B. Halicki was a junk dealer who wanted to be a movie director. And he financed, wrote, directed and starred in the original Gone in 60 Seconds. That was such an outrageous thing that it stimulated me in many, many different ways."

Source
  
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins | 2020 | Young Adult (YA)
10
7.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Quite often after the success of a series when the author comes back to write more, it falls flat. This did exactly the opposite for me! I was hooked from the first couple of pages.
We follow Coriolanus Snow during the tenth Hunger Games as he becomes a mentor to an underdog, the female tribute of district 12 - Lucy Gray Baird. What follows are a series of disastrous events following the tributes and their mentors, which makes you wonder how the Games were still around when it came to Katniss’s Hunger Games.
It was perfect finding out more about Coriolanus Snow, and what made him the way he is when it came to the Hunger Games trilogy. We find out where his love or roses comes from and whether he has always been as ruthless throughout his life or if something made him that way.
Whilst the book seems a bit long when you pick it up, I loved every minute of it and when I was coming to the end I really didn’t want it to end at all! I would love to carry on reading about Coriolanus and what happened after this book and how that shaped him into President Snow.
This has renewed my love for the Hunger Games series, and I hope that Suzanne Collins has more plans for the series as I would love more. An easy 5 star rating from the start.
  
Dawn of Vengeance (Droseran Saga, #2)
Dawn of Vengeance (Droseran Saga, #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b>I AM IN RECOVERY. PLEASE EXCUSE MY LACK OF COHERENTNESS. </b>

Have you read Brand of Light? Well, let me warn you. If you do (and I highly encourage you to read it) you will want to have Dawn of Vengeance already on your nightstand ready to read unlike the rest of us mortals who had to wait A YEAR to find out what the heck HAPPENED after the spectacular mic drop ending Ronie Kendig devised to keep us all engaged and going through a gauntlet of emotions.

I honestly was not sure where Ronie Kendig would take us in this new story as the ending of the last one (have I mentioned that enough yet?) was spectacular. I was a little confused in the first book by all the different names, new places, and character personality switches that seemed to go on, however, the storyline was bar none. So, needless to say, Dawn of Vengeance had a lot to live up to and boy did it. I was hooked again by the character interactions, the storyline, and the outta this world adventures.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for the great story, the oh so good character turns, and for leaving me wanting more. Thank you Ronie Kendig for continuing to expand my imagination.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.