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KittyMiku (138 KP) rated Witch's Bell in Books

May 23, 2019  
Witch's Bell
Witch's Bell
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a free book on Amazon and the reviews make you wonder if you should even pick it up, but I still did and I have never been happier. I did find some of the complaints to be true to word, but I did enjoy the book way too much to just say it wasn't worth the read. However, we will be discussing Ebony Bell and her adventures and what Bell may have been done to make it better. Let's dive in.

So first of all, I fell in love with the idea behind this book and apparently the series. With characters like Nathan Wall and Ebony Bell, I couldn't help but be intrigued on whatever relationships was forming between them. I think this book was pretty well thought out considering it cold have left the scenes bare making it hard to visualize where the characters were and what was exactly going on. However, I did think there could have been a little less rambling about different things, though I feel it may be foreshadowing for other books. I feel that even though Ebony was pretty fleshed out, that there could have been a little more on the other characters we find ourselves following a bit. For example, Avery's mother is described by her looks and a bit of how she acted when Ebony was a child, but as a member of the Coven, I wanted a little more. Like how did she become apart of the Coven who were supposedly the strongest witches around as well as the oldest? It left a few questions popping to mind and hope they will be answered in the future. Nathan was another character I felt could have been fleshed out a bit more and not really semi revealed at the end. It left a lot to be desired, but again could just be information that makes you want to read on.

I loved, and I mean LOVED, how when Ebony had her magic blocked from her, the way she saw things changed a bit. Do not get me wrong, her outfits made me giggle, but seeing her actually notice the small things even though she didn't have to and hadn't noticed before, was kind of nice. You were able to see her actually begin to appreciate things she hadn't before. I always love seeing characters grow as a person. Ebony had learned to really appreciate what she was seeing as well as what she had. To see her struggle had brought some delight and I found myself a little mad at how she would forget the most important thing she had thought about until it was almost too late. I did find that the use of other characters did help make what was going on around her seem a little more dire.

I found the love interest between Ebony and Nathan to be a bit subtle, which was kind of nice since it left a lot of room for something to blossom a wonderful romance. I do like how Nate gets under Ebony's skin and no matter how hard she tries rattle him he is unfazed. This made them polar opposites, which made me smile a bit, Though I would have loved to see more between them in the form of witty banter and teasing. but what I was given, I didn't think it was all that bad, just could have been more.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 stars out of 5 stars. There could have been more given and even explained something better while not rambling on things that made you begin to question a character's mental state. I loved the story line and hope that as the books move forward we can figure it all out about our mysterious Detective Nathan Wall, the Coven and whoever is behind trying to rewrite Ebony Bell's story.
  
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Tom Jones recommended Back to Black by Amy Winehouse in Music (curated)

 
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
2006 | Rock
8.8 (8 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"When she did the video of 'Rehab', I thought 'Jesus, what is that?' - again, that initial thing... I thought, 'shit, she sounds tremendous, who is this kid?' And it looked great, and the arrangement was great and the whole package was great, and I had to get the album. So I got the CD and it just got better and better. You hear her getting into the ballad, 'Love Is A Losing Game' - that's like a standard, that comes from a jazz standard, something one of the old jazzers would have done, that's how good that is. She nails the shit out if it. The whole album is tremendous, and it's just a shame - making an album like that and then nothing. The band I take on the road with me is the same brass section that she used to use. So when she died, we were in France and I saw it on BBC news, and I came down to the bar that night and I said 'my God, how did that happen? She must have thought she was indestructible', and they said the opposite - she had loved living on the edge apparently, it was that thing of danger, that's what they felt. I wish I'd met her and had a chance to sing with her because she had a lot to offer, and she had a great spirit and what she sang was tremendous. I would have loved to duet. When you record something was somebody, it lasts forever, and if you haven't, it's a shame. It's a shame that it [drug addiction] happened to her so early. With Whitney Houston, she's left a wealth of material to listen to, but Amy Winehouse, I know she did an album before that, but Back To Black is tremendous, you just think 'shit!' Just waiting for the next, and now there is no next and it's a bloody shame. The drug thing, it never appealed to me. Sniffing cocaine, I know what it does. For singers, it's death - it gets on your vocal chords, it's bad news. Burns your bloody nose out. I've never taken any drugs. The only thing I took was at the beginning, purple hearts, because I was doing so many shows and I was getting tired. I think it was Viv Prince, who used to be a drummer with The Pretty Things, who said, 'try one of these, that'll keep you awake', but then I realised you couldn't go to sleep! So that was a short-lived thing. And I'll take a sleeping pill when I've got to go to sleep and I know I need to get up, but mild ones, nothing heavy, because I don't want anything to get in the way of what I do. And when I've gone a little too far drinking and I think 'oh shit, I've got to get up tomorrow', then you see it, and you think 'you fucking idiot! You stretched it too far last night'. So you do that enough times and you learn, but some people don't learn."

Source
  
Abuse Of Discretion
Abuse Of Discretion
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Abuse of Discretion is about a boy that saves a picture of and is the one that got accused of something he did not do. What will the justice system do about it? Is the adult system better than the juvenile criminal justice system?

The author takes you inside the juvenile criminal justice system with this story and plot. It about a boy and sex-texting. Will Graylin be put in jail for something he did not do or will be saved interact and that he got a photo of a classmate saved on his phone? He was just doing what young kids do at their age of fourteen. Will the truth be set him free or not.

Why do juvenile criminal justice system judges like to lock up teens and not let them go? It could have to do with something about the law written by the state. We get an inside of the system and to find out what happens we see Pamela and Angelica take on the case of depending Graylin.

Dres Thomas has his own problems to deal with. Will he outwit the Shepard or will he be killed himself? You will need to find out by reading. Pamela Samuels Young write the plot well. She throws in twist and turns and mystery throughout the book.
  
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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Hidden in Books

Jan 15, 2018  
TH
The Hidden
Jo Chumas | 2013
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well you have to love it when you win a Goodreads giveaway, get sent the wrong book, read it, & are pleasantly surprised at your luck. That's just what happened to me with this book. I won another book called Hidden but was sent this 1 by mistake. It was better than the book I really won!
This book alternates between Egypt in the 1920s & Egypt at the turn of the century. It is told alternately from the perspective of Aimee & a journal written by Hezba a few decades before.
It wasn't hard to figure out the plot, but I am happy to say that it didn't make the book any less engaging even after I had its number. The story is very well written even though I wish I hadn't figured it out as soon as I did. The characters are fascinating & the plot moves along at a nice clip with just the right number of twists & turns. I hope Chumas continues writing like she did here.
  
HM
Hotel Magnifique
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I just finished reading Hotel Magnifique by Emily J Taylor. This book is about a magical hotel that only comes around once and a while. In it Jani discovers the disturbing secrets of "Hotel Magnifique." I chose to read this book by discovering it on Bookishfirst. I loved the cover it caught my attention it's so pretty so I decided to read the description and look it up on Booktok. I'm glad I did I loved it it's a wonderful interesting story. It's one I wish I could read again. Let's be honest Jani was irritating at first though but I understood their reasoning for it. If you can get past that it's a definite amazing read. If you love fantasy and magical stories definitely read this.

So the cover what I love about it is the feathers surrounding the clock and key the person who designed the cover did a really good job 5/5 for the cover 4/5 for the story.
  
Picture Us In The Light
Picture Us In The Light
Kelly Loy Gilbert | 2018 | Mystery
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Picture Us in the Light is a heartbreakingly honest book that feels so real you may find yourself second guessing if it is actually fiction.
Crying, laughing, and feeling your way through this unputdownable book is normal.
The main character feels real and the relationships between characters are well thought out and developed. None are just stand ins that make you second guess the plot. The plot is solid if not heartbreaking.
I am normally not one to read really emotional books but after getting the first look at this one I had to know what would happen next. The full book did not disappoint.
Perfect for fans of realistic contemporary fiction. Just be aware that this is one book you may just have to read in one sitting so you can get all of the emotions out at once.
  
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
2017 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
To start of the first working day of May (thank you bank holiday Monday), I whizzed out from work to see Ghost in the Shell. I honestly thought I'd missed it, but luckily they had one showing on for a couple of days just after work. So it was a Tuesday double. I liked it as a film, story line wasn't bad and I liked the effects... what I did not like was her diving off buildings every chance she got. There were a lot of shots where the background suddenly comes rushing at you... if you have vertigo that is induced by things like that, this is not the film for you. I felt a bit queasy every now and then, I'm hoping I didn't miss anything good while I was looking at the floor!
  
Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey
2017 | Platform
Well I've had this game 3 month and I've completed it twice. Take that as you will.

The game itself is really fun, plenty of game play and then when you finish the main story, before the big fight with Bowser, you can go back and finish collecting Moons and outfits or souvenirs. After the first time, when you go to play again I found that I couldn't actually remember what had happened so I enjoyed going through the story again and kind of cheating my way through the bits I did remember, like hidden moons I couldn't find. There's some boss levels I hated, like the Metro City worm thing and the damn rabbits! But they just made me want to defeat them more lol. Good game. Makes me want to get Paper Mario too if its anywhere as good as this!