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Hitchcock's British Films
Barry Keith Grant and Maurice Yacowar
Book
Originally published in 1977 and long out of print, Maurice Yacowar's Hitchcock's British Films was...
Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power
Book
From twice-Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Steve Coll comes Private Empire, winner of the FT/GOLDMAN...
The Cardinal's Whores
8.0
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Blackmail. Betrayal. Lust. Just standard fare in the court of Henry the Eighth. Joan Larke...
Historical Romance Suspense
Make Them Beg (Pretty Deadly Things #3)
8.0
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He’s used to being the predator. He never expected to be her prey. Knight Hayes lives for the...
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Blackmailed (Blackmailed #1) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
Wow, what to say about this novel. I found it so completely ridiculous in so many ways. I'll start with how Brianna came into her position in the first place. Her father, Andrew Wyatt, blackmails his own daughter, Brianna, into being Cole Master's whore so that she can produce an heir for Wyatt. How does he blackmail daughter of legal age into doing his bidding? By threatening her brother, his son. Apparently, that is enough to turn his daughter into a breeding mule. Normally, I would find it hard to believe that anyone would act like such a neanderthal in this day and age, but I have been wrong before.
When Wyatt brings his daughter to Cole, who agrees to this all out of curiosity, Cole is immediately protective of the plain girl. The best way I can explain it is lust at first sight. For some reason, Cole feels protective of Brianna and cannot wait to sexually awaken her....and then share her with his head of security, Tyler Cannon. Cole isn't gay, but he is consumed with thoughts of sharing her with his lifelong friend. What I found most disturbing is that the day after Cole pops Brianna's cherry (also the first day they met), he gets his wish of sharing his new charge. How he does it actually infuriates me. After Brianna's first time, she falls asleep in Cole's bed, only to wake blindfolded and tied to the bed so Tyler can do whatever he wants with her. If I was in the same position, I would furious, not turned on.
And so their sexual activities continue and Cole obtains custody of Brianna's birthday. Cole asks Brianna to marry him, Wyatt becomes furious, Cole shuts him down. Pretty simple yet insane plot line.
On a lighter note, the erotic scenes were fantastic although I could do without the dirty talk. For some reason, talking during sex is always more exciting when you are actually doing the deed. Reading about it is...well awkward.
An entertaining novel despite plot.
When Wyatt brings his daughter to Cole, who agrees to this all out of curiosity, Cole is immediately protective of the plain girl. The best way I can explain it is lust at first sight. For some reason, Cole feels protective of Brianna and cannot wait to sexually awaken her....and then share her with his head of security, Tyler Cannon. Cole isn't gay, but he is consumed with thoughts of sharing her with his lifelong friend. What I found most disturbing is that the day after Cole pops Brianna's cherry (also the first day they met), he gets his wish of sharing his new charge. How he does it actually infuriates me. After Brianna's first time, she falls asleep in Cole's bed, only to wake blindfolded and tied to the bed so Tyler can do whatever he wants with her. If I was in the same position, I would furious, not turned on.
And so their sexual activities continue and Cole obtains custody of Brianna's birthday. Cole asks Brianna to marry him, Wyatt becomes furious, Cole shuts him down. Pretty simple yet insane plot line.
On a lighter note, the erotic scenes were fantastic although I could do without the dirty talk. For some reason, talking during sex is always more exciting when you are actually doing the deed. Reading about it is...well awkward.
An entertaining novel despite plot.
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The Evaporation of Sofi Snow (The Evaporation of Sofi Snow, #1) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
Talk about a book hangover! I have spent the last few days trying to sort through all the emotions and feelings this book evoked in me.
Sofi Snow is a young woman with a lot of confusion about her self worth. She has had her fair share of rejection in life. Miguel had been satisfied with his life...that is until he met Sofi. As their lives get thrown into a web of lies, deceit, blackmail, and hidden agendas. Will Sofi and Miguel be able to push their past aside and work together for the future of Earth and all of its inhabitants?
There is SO MUCH that happens in this book. It started off fast paced and ended with a major cliff hanger in the middle of a VERY INTENSE scene. (We do get a little breather from all the action in the middle of the book.) Between Sofi's struggle to find herself, Miguel's determination to be a "new man", and the whole mess with Shiloh...My brain was on overload. There were a few aspects to the story that still sit uneasy with me regarding Sofi and Miguel's past. I do think the situation calls for the background our characters have and I am curious to see how Mary Weber addresses this and where she takes them in the next book.
One of the main themes in this story is Human Trafficking. I commend Mary for addressing the very real and very serious issue that has been swept under the rug for too long. To hear her heart, you will want to read this book! I look forward to reading more from Mary and finding out how Sofi's story ends.
I received a complimentary copy of The Evaporation of Sofi Snow from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Sofi Snow is a young woman with a lot of confusion about her self worth. She has had her fair share of rejection in life. Miguel had been satisfied with his life...that is until he met Sofi. As their lives get thrown into a web of lies, deceit, blackmail, and hidden agendas. Will Sofi and Miguel be able to push their past aside and work together for the future of Earth and all of its inhabitants?
There is SO MUCH that happens in this book. It started off fast paced and ended with a major cliff hanger in the middle of a VERY INTENSE scene. (We do get a little breather from all the action in the middle of the book.) Between Sofi's struggle to find herself, Miguel's determination to be a "new man", and the whole mess with Shiloh...My brain was on overload. There were a few aspects to the story that still sit uneasy with me regarding Sofi and Miguel's past. I do think the situation calls for the background our characters have and I am curious to see how Mary Weber addresses this and where she takes them in the next book.
One of the main themes in this story is Human Trafficking. I commend Mary for addressing the very real and very serious issue that has been swept under the rug for too long. To hear her heart, you will want to read this book! I look forward to reading more from Mary and finding out how Sofi's story ends.
I received a complimentary copy of The Evaporation of Sofi Snow from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
JT (287 KP) rated The Gentlemen (2020) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020
Guy Richie back to doing what he does best (1 more)
Excellent cast
Twists, turns and carnage
Since Snatch Guy Richie hasn’t covered himself in glory with some of his recent films. The likes of Swept Away, Revolver and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword did little to enhance his street cred.
While Sherlock Holmes and The Man From U.N.C.L.E were certainly enjoyable romps they didn’t have the cutting edge to what Richie does best, the gangster flick. Thankfully The Gentlemen provides everything you could want from that genre and Richie is back on familiar ground.
Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) is looking to retire from his current criminal life and plans to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire in London. However, when rival gangs get wind of his plans there is blackmail, bribery and double-crossing aplenty.
One of the stars of the film is Hugh Grant, who for once is not playing a bumbling English gentry. Instead, he plays a slimy cockney called Fletcher with inside knowledge of what Mickey’s plans are and attempts to use them for his own financial gain.
Grant adds a subtle level of humour to the proceedings and spends most of the time in dialogue with Ray (Charlie Hunnam) Mickey’s right-hand man, who actually delivers a half-decent performance.
The Gentlemen has Richie’s aggressive dialogue which is bathed in neat action set pieces. It’s foul-mouthed and the characters all have their own unique and very distinct personalities. From Colin Farrell’s Coach to Henry Golding’s psychotic Dry Eye they can stand happily alongside some of the greats from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
The film has a cool swagger about it where everything clicks nicely. There are a few twists and turns along the way which is expected from the British director and it is filled with his trademarks that hit the right notes at the right time. For me, this is by far and away his best film for quite some time.
While Sherlock Holmes and The Man From U.N.C.L.E were certainly enjoyable romps they didn’t have the cutting edge to what Richie does best, the gangster flick. Thankfully The Gentlemen provides everything you could want from that genre and Richie is back on familiar ground.
Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) is looking to retire from his current criminal life and plans to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire in London. However, when rival gangs get wind of his plans there is blackmail, bribery and double-crossing aplenty.
One of the stars of the film is Hugh Grant, who for once is not playing a bumbling English gentry. Instead, he plays a slimy cockney called Fletcher with inside knowledge of what Mickey’s plans are and attempts to use them for his own financial gain.
Grant adds a subtle level of humour to the proceedings and spends most of the time in dialogue with Ray (Charlie Hunnam) Mickey’s right-hand man, who actually delivers a half-decent performance.
The Gentlemen has Richie’s aggressive dialogue which is bathed in neat action set pieces. It’s foul-mouthed and the characters all have their own unique and very distinct personalities. From Colin Farrell’s Coach to Henry Golding’s psychotic Dry Eye they can stand happily alongside some of the greats from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
The film has a cool swagger about it where everything clicks nicely. There are a few twists and turns along the way which is expected from the British director and it is filled with his trademarks that hit the right notes at the right time. For me, this is by far and away his best film for quite some time.
Sara Cox (1845 KP) rated Swallow Me Whole in Books
Feb 24, 2020
I don’t usually read this genre of book. Anyone that knows me knows I’m a little bit of a prude. But, I saw on Goodreads that one of my friends had read it, so i thought “why not?”
After managing to get over the fact the no one was actually reading over my shoulder and judging me I managed to get into this book really easily. Overall, the style of writing is really easy to read. The blurb if this book intrigued me a little: young timid woman catches her boyfriend getting sucked off by his assistant at work after hours, so she seeks help from a friend to help her grow in sexual confidence. However, this is not how it went! To begin with, I feel that no timid young woman would, after catching her boyfriend and his assistant in the act, the go to do what she saw to one of her closest friends. This does not show timidity (is that even a word?) and is quite ballsy (excuse the pun…not). That’s not even mention how that would change the friendship dynamic tremendously…which it obviously did. Because the story started so full on I feel the author felt like the standard had to keep up and to do so the sexual riskiness had to increase and because of this some of the events were somewhat unrealistic for someone who was supposedly meant to be sexually inexperienced and shy.
My last comment on this book is about the relationship between the main female character and her father. I’ve read many reviews that say that this relationship was unrealistic or hard to believe. However, I have to disagree. I feel like that this showed a relationship dynamic perfectly between an overpowering father who has ensured no one in his life has ever questioned him and a young woman who, probably throughout her life, has been tip-toeing the line to ensure that there isn’t any changing of balancing within the home because the reprocussions wasn’t worth it. This shows perfectly the level of emotional blackmail and abuse happening in families.
After managing to get over the fact the no one was actually reading over my shoulder and judging me I managed to get into this book really easily. Overall, the style of writing is really easy to read. The blurb if this book intrigued me a little: young timid woman catches her boyfriend getting sucked off by his assistant at work after hours, so she seeks help from a friend to help her grow in sexual confidence. However, this is not how it went! To begin with, I feel that no timid young woman would, after catching her boyfriend and his assistant in the act, the go to do what she saw to one of her closest friends. This does not show timidity (is that even a word?) and is quite ballsy (excuse the pun…not). That’s not even mention how that would change the friendship dynamic tremendously…which it obviously did. Because the story started so full on I feel the author felt like the standard had to keep up and to do so the sexual riskiness had to increase and because of this some of the events were somewhat unrealistic for someone who was supposedly meant to be sexually inexperienced and shy.
My last comment on this book is about the relationship between the main female character and her father. I’ve read many reviews that say that this relationship was unrealistic or hard to believe. However, I have to disagree. I feel like that this showed a relationship dynamic perfectly between an overpowering father who has ensured no one in his life has ever questioned him and a young woman who, probably throughout her life, has been tip-toeing the line to ensure that there isn’t any changing of balancing within the home because the reprocussions wasn’t worth it. This shows perfectly the level of emotional blackmail and abuse happening in families.
The Foreign Correspondent
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The Genius of Birds
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