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Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated You Should Have Left in Books
Jun 5, 2019

The Bandersnatch (199 KP) rated The High Lord (Black Magician Trilogy, #3) in Books
Nov 7, 2019

BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) in Movies
Jan 13, 2023

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in Books
Oct 29, 2017 (Updated Oct 29, 2017)
Amusing, yet disappointing thanks to all the hype
For six months I've been saving this book mostly because of how much praise this book has received. Not only did this receive the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction but also a Pulitzer Prize. And was it worth the awards? I personally don't think so.
Labelled 'a masterpiece' by critics, the book follows the life of Oscar de Leon, or as some know him as Oscar Wao, from the perspective of the people that know him. From the title you can expect something interesting happened to him to reduce his lifespan and this definitely is the case.
Through his friend Yunior and sister Lola's accounts, they delve into the history of the Dominican Republic where they were originally from before settling in New York. Fuku or a curse, plays a big role in this book, as the de Leon family believed they had faced many misfortunes over the generations and ghetto nerd Oscar was no exception. In between the chaos of murder and corruption, were several love stories that went awry.
And while some of it was interesting, and you need a good grasp of Spanish, the footnotes became irritating filling several half pages to explain the historical context. To be honest, apart from the grandmother La Inca, and sister Lola, most of the characters were unlikable - the idiotic things they'll do for love are astounding. The language was rich, but the structure seemed slightly convoluted, as if the writer had attempted to keep a scheme in place but it still leaked everywhere. While some of it is engaging, I'm really not sure how this won the Pulitzer.
Labelled 'a masterpiece' by critics, the book follows the life of Oscar de Leon, or as some know him as Oscar Wao, from the perspective of the people that know him. From the title you can expect something interesting happened to him to reduce his lifespan and this definitely is the case.
Through his friend Yunior and sister Lola's accounts, they delve into the history of the Dominican Republic where they were originally from before settling in New York. Fuku or a curse, plays a big role in this book, as the de Leon family believed they had faced many misfortunes over the generations and ghetto nerd Oscar was no exception. In between the chaos of murder and corruption, were several love stories that went awry.
And while some of it was interesting, and you need a good grasp of Spanish, the footnotes became irritating filling several half pages to explain the historical context. To be honest, apart from the grandmother La Inca, and sister Lola, most of the characters were unlikable - the idiotic things they'll do for love are astounding. The language was rich, but the structure seemed slightly convoluted, as if the writer had attempted to keep a scheme in place but it still leaked everywhere. While some of it is engaging, I'm really not sure how this won the Pulitzer.

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Bad Feminist in Books
Nov 23, 2017
A mixed bag of essays

Lindsay (1760 KP) rated Twelve to Murder in Books
Sep 8, 2017
Twelve to Murder is plotted well. What could make it any more interesting? There a mastermind or is it an ill person to wants a two people dead. Is someone framing Lenny or is it just a ploy to have everyone to look elsewhere.
There are two other involved and what happens when they are killed. Who would want more money or is it drug related? Lenny Frost wants and demands Mac to find the killer in less than twelve hours or they and Mac will be killed. Why take hostages and demand on all this. There must be clues to why and what he wants.
Can Mac and David solve these mysteries and crime before it too late? You are in for thriller of a ride and once you get into the book you will not want to put it down. If you are not already a fan of Lauren Carr you will be after reading one of her books. It a never ending ride of Gnarly.
Lauren Carr is one talented writer. She brings you along to find out who the killer is. One thing I love about her mysteries is that you never know who the murderer is? I have read a few of her books already and reviewed a few of them. You are welcome to read my reviews that are part of this audio book palooza. My reviews are Cancelled Vows, A Fine Year for Murder, Killer in the Band, The Murders at Astaire Castle, Candidate for Murder, 3 Days to Forever, Kill and Run, Old Love Die Hard.
There are two other involved and what happens when they are killed. Who would want more money or is it drug related? Lenny Frost wants and demands Mac to find the killer in less than twelve hours or they and Mac will be killed. Why take hostages and demand on all this. There must be clues to why and what he wants.
Can Mac and David solve these mysteries and crime before it too late? You are in for thriller of a ride and once you get into the book you will not want to put it down. If you are not already a fan of Lauren Carr you will be after reading one of her books. It a never ending ride of Gnarly.
Lauren Carr is one talented writer. She brings you along to find out who the killer is. One thing I love about her mysteries is that you never know who the murderer is? I have read a few of her books already and reviewed a few of them. You are welcome to read my reviews that are part of this audio book palooza. My reviews are Cancelled Vows, A Fine Year for Murder, Killer in the Band, The Murders at Astaire Castle, Candidate for Murder, 3 Days to Forever, Kill and Run, Old Love Die Hard.

Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Copycat in Books
May 10, 2018
Traci Calloway Cole is about to release her 3rd book called <u>Copycat</u>, when she meets Simone Phillips. Simone is an aspiring writer herself and she loves Traci's books. After Traci agrees to read a few chapters of Simone's book and introduce her to a few people that could help get it published, Simone becomes obsessed. She wants to be just like Traci, but how far will her obsession grow?
This was a quick read for me. I have read a few books by Kimberla Lawson Roby and I have enjoyed them all. She is a great Christian Fiction author.
There are a few people in this world that I look up to and aspire to be, but I don't think would go to the same extremes that Simone goes through. She has quite the troubled past and has never truly discovered who she is as an individual. She already has so many positive things going on in her life. She has a decent job, a fiance and according to Traci, her book is going to be a hit. So why would she need to resort to the antics she pulls throughout this book? It makes her look weak and needy. Will she be able to see the error of her ways and turn things around before it's too late and everything she has worked for blows up in her face?
There are times where I felt sorry for Simone and other times I wanted to smack her and say, can't you see what you are doing is ridiculous and makes you look insane. Unfortunately the one person who told her this, she refused to listen to.
This was a quick read for me. I have read a few books by Kimberla Lawson Roby and I have enjoyed them all. She is a great Christian Fiction author.
There are a few people in this world that I look up to and aspire to be, but I don't think would go to the same extremes that Simone goes through. She has quite the troubled past and has never truly discovered who she is as an individual. She already has so many positive things going on in her life. She has a decent job, a fiance and according to Traci, her book is going to be a hit. So why would she need to resort to the antics she pulls throughout this book? It makes her look weak and needy. Will she be able to see the error of her ways and turn things around before it's too late and everything she has worked for blows up in her face?
There are times where I felt sorry for Simone and other times I wanted to smack her and say, can't you see what you are doing is ridiculous and makes you look insane. Unfortunately the one person who told her this, she refused to listen to.

Merissa (12971 KP) rated Daughter of the King (The Derbfine Series #3) in Books
May 18, 2018

graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Angelfire (Angelfire, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Normally I wouldn't write a review if I didn't read at least half of the book in question, but I'm obligated by Amazon Vine to give my honest opinion about a product. I yielded at 170 pages and refuse to force myself to read something I am not enjoying in the least.
First off I cannot feel sympathy for the protagonist, Ellie, which is essential in a book like this. She's a shallow character who wasn't brought to life in the pages I read. It's hard to relate to a girl who has everything she could possibly want, saving her daddy's love, and while that can be possible in other books, it wasn't the case with this one. The concept sounded interesting and is what drew me to the book, but as I read, it just felt like a very, very poor imitation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the television series) with minor differences. The truth is that a better writer could have overcome all these issues and made them his or her own. Quite possibly, even this book may have ended up being a good if many more rewrites and editing had been undertaken. Unfortunately the writing is weak, most especially the dialogue, and nothing inspired me to read on or to care what happens. Most of what I read was a question and answer session between Ellie and her Guardian, Will, which was very irritating to read. I urge all authors not to do this. Perhaps ANGELFIRE is too young for most adults and better suited for teens, but that's up to the reader in question.
First off I cannot feel sympathy for the protagonist, Ellie, which is essential in a book like this. She's a shallow character who wasn't brought to life in the pages I read. It's hard to relate to a girl who has everything she could possibly want, saving her daddy's love, and while that can be possible in other books, it wasn't the case with this one. The concept sounded interesting and is what drew me to the book, but as I read, it just felt like a very, very poor imitation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the television series) with minor differences. The truth is that a better writer could have overcome all these issues and made them his or her own. Quite possibly, even this book may have ended up being a good if many more rewrites and editing had been undertaken. Unfortunately the writing is weak, most especially the dialogue, and nothing inspired me to read on or to care what happens. Most of what I read was a question and answer session between Ellie and her Guardian, Will, which was very irritating to read. I urge all authors not to do this. Perhaps ANGELFIRE is too young for most adults and better suited for teens, but that's up to the reader in question.