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Heart of Ice
Heart of Ice
Noa Rose | 2021 | Paranormal, Romance
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
red riding hood has nothing on jessica
Jessica has her best friend in the woods called wolfie who promises to protect her under all circumstances until she get whisked away by her mother. Wolfe pines for her as she pines for him. She will not give up until she finds him again!


This novella is quite raunchy I would also say it has a slight trigger warning as there is a mention of sexual child abuse. It is a very intense story with non stop action! A lot of sex is involved and sexual content and feelings, however it is an amazing story of a very deep connection between a soul mate for want of a better word.


I would recommend this book for people to read just make sure there are no children around!
  
No Quarter Given
No Quarter Given
Neil Broadfoot | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
"This is not murder. This is justice."

This is the latest in this series starring Connor Fraser and what a series it is!

No Quarter Given is a dark and gritty read that is not for the feint-hearted. It has some scenes that some may find distressing as they relate to child abuse so be warned, if this is a trigger for you, I would think before picking this up.

Having given that warning, this is intense, well written and fast paced with excellent characters but amongst the violence and tension, there is dark humour and moments of vulnerability for the main character.

This is an excellent addition to the series and thank you to Little, Brown Book Group via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity of reading and sharing my thoughts.
  
The Lost Children (DCI Matilda Darke #9)
The Lost Children (DCI Matilda Darke #9)
Michael Wood | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have run out of superlatives to say how good this series is so I will just say ... wow, Mr Wood you have done it again and written an absolute corker.

At the very start of the book, Mr Wood gives a clear warning that this novel deals with child abuse and historical child abuse. I went into it wondering whether it was going to be too much to read about such abhorrent behaviour but whilst it was difficult, I feel Mr Wood did it with honesty but without over-doing it.

DCI Matilda Darke and her team are called to the truly horrific murder of a prominent property developer in his home. It, quite literally, sickens many of those attending the scene but this appears to be personal rather than your run-of-the-mill murder and as the Team start to investigate and delve deeper into the life of the victim, it becomes clear that someone doesn't want them to but what transpires, no one saw coming.

This is a fast paced, gripping, tense and quite emotional book. Yes, it's dark, gritty and, at times, a difficult read but it is done with care and compassion and that same care and compassion drives the determination from DCI Darke and her team to bring those responsible for heinous crimes against children to justice regardless of who the perpetrators are and the consequences to their own careers and futures.

Mr Wood has created the characters of DCI Darke and her team with such strength that you really get attached to them and the more books in the series you read, the stronger that attachment gets. I know they aren't real people but the strength of their development makes them feel like they are.

What this books reminds us of is that child abuse has happened and continues to happen; unfortunately, all too often those disgusting people who do this get away with it but we must remember that the perpetrators are just as likely to be "respectable" people in power as they are to be the 'dirty old men' we are warned about as children as this book highlights.

I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this book and the rest of the series to others who enjoy cracking good crime novels that don't shy away from difficult subjects and I must thank HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Lost Children.

I can't wait to read number 10!
  
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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Straight Outta Compton by NWA in Music

Nov 2, 2017 (Updated Nov 2, 2017)  
Straight Outta Compton by NWA
Straight Outta Compton by NWA
1988 | Rap, Rhythm And Blues
9
9.0 (4 Ratings)
Album Rating
Something To Say
I still remember the first time I heard this record and I listened to it all the way through lying in bed. Eminem was my gateway into rap music when I was in my early teens, which inevitably led onto Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Biggie, Public Enemy and the like, but when I first heard Straight Outta Compton it was like being taken on a journey in the back seat of some banged up car around the burnt out, bullet ridden streets of Compton, CA. Some people may sneer at the inclusion of this album and claim that it doesn’t deserve to be admired due to its glorification of gang violence, sexual abuse and murder. However this album isn’t glorious in any way, NWA aren’t boasting about this kind of behaviour taking place in their hometown, they’re condemning it. This is an album born out of frustration, dissatisfaction and fury for the kind of environment that these guys were brought up in and it is actually inspiring in a lot of ways to kids that come from areas where their friends are getting shot night after night and with the current situation in some American states, this album is probably more relevant than ever. The album does generalise, but it also speaks the truth, there is no denying that the US police were and still are largely made up of racist bigots that abuse the power that they are given. Drugs, sexism and violence are simply a part of the culture in some of the poorer parts of modern America and this album doesn’t shy away from that, it wears its heart on its sleeve and I think that it is one of the most powerful statements to come out of modern music and one that is unfortunately still just as relevant today, 29 years later.
  
Here We Lie
Here We Lie
Paula Treick DeBoard | 2018 | Mystery
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Two Worlds Collide
Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are polar opposites. While Megan comes from a middle-class family in Kansas, Lauren hails from a wealthy Connecticut-based family. While Megan’s father slowly succumbed to mesothelioma which he referred to as the poor man’s cancer, Lauren’s father is a well-liked U.S. Senator with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto. While Megan has to use her father’s life insurance money to pay for tuition and housing at Keale College (a prestigious, private, and all-girls school), Lauren is given a continual allowance that gets her through her college years with utmost ease. When they meet during their freshman year at Keale College, they unexpectedly become the best of friends. Sharing clothes, secrets, roommates, ambitions, and more, the pair goes through many ups and downs in their friendship during the following years. But one fateful night while they’re vacationing with Lauren's family on an island off the coast of Maine, something terrible happens to Megan and their friendship is irreparably damaged afterwards.

Told in an alternating first-person perspective between Megan and Lauren, Here We Lie is a powerful and relevant story about friendship, betrayal, political scandal, and abuse. I enjoyed everything about it, from the back-and-forth jumps between past and present to the incredible growth of both the main characters. The narrative is fast-paced and compelling, and the ending is beautiful and inspiring. With the rise of the #MeToo movement in the present-day world, Paula Treick DeBoard’s incredibly timely latest novel is sure to spark plenty of conversation about sexual abuse victims and perpetrators, motivation for reform and accountability, and at the very least food for thought.