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Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Nine in Books

Jul 9, 2021  
The Nine
The Nine
Gwen Strauss | 2021 | Education, History & Politics
10
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is not for the faint hearted and made me cry for the nine women and the others who they met along their way so many times.
We follow nine women as they escape from a death march and their journey to try and get to safety. Throughout the recount of the escape, their own stories of who they were before and how they came to be at the concentration camp were told.
The resilience of these nine women throughout everything they enjoyed was inspiring and that they retained their hope and kindness after the disgusting treatment that they endured is nothing short of a miracle.
The story is harrowing, but also one that I feel everyone must know. I thought I knew enough about what happened in those concentration camps in World War II but after reading this I have found that I only knew the tiniest amount of what they endured.
Although I know this is a true story, sometimes I had to remind myself that it was not fiction as some of the passages were so horrific in their descriptions that it is almost unbelievable that a human being can treat another human being like that.
This book will stay with me for a long time, which I am glad of. Thank you to Gwen Strauss and Pigeonhole for allowing me to read this incredible book.
  
Murder Through the English Post
Murder Through the English Post
Jessica Ellicott | 2022 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Who is Writing Deadly Poison Pen Letters?
Edwina’s first day at the local magistrate ends with a complaint about a public brawl between two men she thought were friends. When she gets to the bottom of things, she discovers that one of them received a poison pen letter and believed what it said about his friends. She is concerned about what this might mean in the village, especially after Beryl gets one. When Constable Gibbs asks them to look into it, they learn just how widespread the problem is. Can they figure out who is sending them before the damage gets worse?

This is another charming mystery for mismatched sleuths Edwina and Beryl in the aftermath of World War I. I had a few pieces figured out before they did, but I didn’t figure most of it out until I reached the end. I was in awe of how it all came together when I did. Once again, I enjoyed seeing the growth in our two leads and in the other series regulars. At times the introspection can be a bit much, but that’s a minor complaint. I also enjoy how the time period comes to life on the pages. Fans will enjoy this latest outing, and if you haven’t started the series yet, you’ll be glad you did.
  
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Kyera (8 KP) rated Lady Midnight in Books

Feb 1, 2018  
Lady Midnight
Lady Midnight
Cassandra Clare | 2016 | Children
10
9.0 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
I do not discuss any plot points in my review, so you will not be spoiled.

While the Dark Artifices may not be my favourite Shadowhunter series, I believe it is the most well written thus far. It is difficult to accurately judge, as this is only the first book in a trilogy but the more that Cassandra Clare writes – the better a writer she becomes. Her books have always been fantastic but Lady Midnight just felt like another step up. Cassie has clearly grown as a writer and storyteller over the years, which gives me so much hope for all her future Shadowhunter novels.

While it is possible to come into the Shadowhunter Chronicles with Lady Midnight as your first book, I would not suggest it. The Mortal Instruments is fantastic for that, as we follow Clary a girl who discovers that there is more to the world than the mundane life she thought she knew. The world building in that first series really lays the groundwork for Cassie’s entire Shadow World. Even in the Infernal Devices, we mainly experience the Shadow World through the eyes of Tessa who has also not grown up with the knowledge of who she is. That is the first aspect that makes Lady Midnight so different from the previous two series – our two main characters Emma and Julian have grown up as Shadowhunters.

I felt that there was less world-building overall for the Shadow World, but that’s not to say that the world building in this novel wasn’t fantastic as can be expected from Cassandra Clare. The politics of the Clave and the Downworld, the role of the Shadowhunter and the world that they live in have been brilliantly described over the course of the novels that Cassie has written. It is for this reason that I feel that while it is not necessary to read the Infernal Devices or the Mortal Instruments before reading the Dark Artifices, I would highly recommend it. You won’t necessarily understand the history or the events that led up to Lady Midnight as well as you could. There are also spoilers from the previous series and character cameos that you won’t appreciate as much unless you read the previous series.

The world building the Los Angeles itself and the new aspects that Cassie writes about the Shadow World, like the Shadow Market, are absolutely fantastic in this book. With each book she writes in the Shadowhunter World, she continues to build and develop this immersive experience that is like no other. Her words are vividly descriptive and paint the image of the world in your mind. It is what makes her such an incredible writer and one of the reasons that I love her books so much.
Lady Midnight takes place in Los Angeles, the Institute that has been the home of the Blackthorn children for their whole lives. Our main characters, Emma and Julian are parabatai which makes for a nice change to the point of view that we have experienced before. You learn a lot more about the parabatai bond and its potential in this book.

With Helen exiled to Wrangel Island and Mark taken by the Hunt, Julian has had to raise his brothers and sisters for the last five years. This forced him to grow up a lot faster than he would have otherwise and changed him in various ways. He loves his family more than anything else in the world and would do anything for them, even if it meant crossing a line. That ruthless heart, willingness to betray, and capacity to lie was learned after the Dark War. Those were not traits that he had prior but were forced upon him when everything changed and the Clave tore his family apart.

Emma has made it her life’s mission to discover who killed her parents at the end of the Dark War and why. That mystery has defined her every day, pushing her to train for hours at a time, run along the beach to get faster and turn her into an incredible Shadowhunter. She is also very sassy, quippy in conversations and the midst of a battle, which reminds me a lot of Jace.
The other characters we spend time with throughout the book are Julian’s siblings: Ty, Livvy, Dru, and Tavvy; Cristina; Diana and Malcolm. Diana has a lot of secrets, which I’m sure we’ll discover over time, but she’s the character we end up knowing the least about. Beyond being their tutor, not wanting to take over the Institute and supposedly taking her travel year in Thailand, I can’t tell you anything about her.

It was nice to see the Blackthorn children grow and develop from how we knew them in the Mortal Instruments to this series. Their familial relationship and interactions were authentic and heartwarming. You fall in love with them, just like you do with Cassie’s other characters and understand Julian’s plight.

Cristina is a Shadowhunter from the Mexico City Institute who decided to spend her travel year in Los Angeles. It was nice to get to know her because we don’t always get to experience or hear from Shadowhunters from other Institutes. I really enjoyed her addition to the Blackthorn family (plus one) and the dimension she added. Plus, her backstory created a connection to the Scholomance and the Centurions which are going to add even more world building to the Shadow World we know – and I can’t wait to see more of it.

Malcolm is the High Warlock of Los Angeles and although his personality is very different, you immediately like him. He’s more playful and childlike at times than Magnus but seems to really care for the family. After falling in love with Magnus in the Mortal Instruments, and Catarina Loss to a lesser degree in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, I wanted Malcolm to be the next warlock character I loved.

There is so much betrayal in this book that I could never anticipate what was going to happen next. It doesn’t just come from those you would consider “bad guys” but Shadowhunters, crooks and those with broken hearts alike. Cassandra Clare is the Queen of plot twists, fantastic character development and astounding, emotional rollercoasters in her books – and this was no exception.

Lady Midnight was a fantastic read that made me fall in love with the Shadowhunter World all over again or more than I was before? It’s unclear. Either way, I adore this book and I actually think that I enjoyed it more the second time through. I would also highly recommend a re-read prior to Lord of Shadows because the novel is so packed full of incredible character development, world building and plot that you will appreciate its sequel more if the story is still fresh in your mind.
  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The War of the Worlds (1953) in Movies

Oct 3, 2019 (Updated Oct 3, 2019)  
The War of the Worlds (1953)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
1953 | Action, Classics, Horror
Original Sci-Fi Classic
The War of the Worlds- is a classic, but just not just a classic, a sci-fi classic, that came out in the early 1950's. With this movie, the thing from anethor world and the day the earth stood still that all came out around the same time. The early 1950's was on fire with sci-fi movies.

The Plot- Scientist Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) and Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) are the first to arrive at the site of a meteorite crash. Soon after, an alien war machine emerges and begins killing at random. The Marines are called in, but they're no match for the aliens' force field. Forrester and Van Buren, however, are able to wound one of the creatures and procure a sample of its blood. They take it to Los Angeles where they hope, through testing, to be able to discover the aliens' weakness.

This film and the other that i did mention are a must watch.