The Lowland
7.0
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Epic in its canvas and intimate in its portrayal of lives undone and forged anew, The Lowland is a...
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation
6.0
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Following the success of The Accidental Billionaires and Moneyball comes Console Wars—a...
Lost (House of Night Otherworld #2)
9.0
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The moment Other Kevin returns to his world trouble begins. Thankfully, he finds friends and...
The Uninvited
8.0
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From the award-winning author of In the Shadow of Blackbirdscomes a stunning new novel a masterfully...
There are four different lives intertwined within this story and we change frequently throughout as to who we’re following: Daniel, Scott (Daniel’s father), Hannah (a police officer) and Ronan (the twin brother of someone found murdered). We follow Daniel as he struggles through life and him being bullied without him realising it, whilst also following Scott and finding out just how far he is willing to go to protect his son and wife. Hannah’s story is a bit sadder but I’m glad at the end of the book she comes to peace with everything that has been playing on her mind throughout the book. And then there’s Ronan, who’s twin brother can seemingly do no wrong in their mother’s eyes and after he is murdered Ronan still can’t understand why his mother doesn’t love him as much.
The story is ridiculous, but not in a way that it’s unbelievable. It’s a believable story of someone who gets caught up in the wrong world and the lengths that they’ll go to in order to try and get out of the hole they’ve found themselves in.
David Jackson’s writing was a pleasure to read and I have no doubt that I will pick up another of his books in the future.
The Key to Circus-Mom Highway
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In an attempt to secure an unexpected inheritance—and hopefully find a few answers—two estranged...
Contemporary Fiction Family Dramedy
The Lost Ones (Detective Jackie Cooke #1)
9.0
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The young woman was sitting as though she might get up at any minute, her dark brown hair hanging...
ClareR (5686 KP) rated Circus of Wonders in Books
Mar 15, 2022
Elizabeth Macneal has described what it is like to be on the margins of society - an outcast because you don’t look the same as everyone else. Nell lives in a time where you are shunned for having birthmarks such as hers. She is considered to be bad luck, a curse. Not helped by the fact that her mother had died in childbirth. Her father constantly reinforces this, and won’t even touch her. Nell’s beloved brother is her sole comfort. He cares for her, and promises to take her with him when he marries.
But Nell’s father sells her to Jasper Jupiters Circus of Wonders. Jasper is a man who is hellbent on being a success, and thinks nothing of using Nell and others like her, to achieve greatness. Jasper and his brother Toby, are both survivors of the Crimean war, and clearly carry many secrets.
Themes such as exploitation, ownership, differences, power, sibling love, secrets, love and loss are central to this book.
Nell is a constant surprise. She goes from being a scared, vulnerable girl, to becoming the centre of attention, in control of all those who come to watch her. This is the other side to the P. T. Barnum story. We’ve probably all heard of ‘The Greatest Showman’, but there’s the other exploitative side that seems to have been brushed under the carpet. This book shows that side.
I loved this book, and I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you all to go out and buy it!
Debbiereadsbook (1171 KP) rated Caught Off Guard by Beth Laycock in Books
Jun 20, 2022
I think, this book fell in my queue right at the point I needed it to, and I really REALLY liked! Not quite enough to love it, but I will explain why.
Only Lane gets a voice. Yes, yes YES I know I say it often enough, but I am big enough and ugly enough to admit when I might be wrong about this, but I NEEDED Tristan, and I don't get him.
I needed to hear what he thought of Lane, right at the beginning. I needed to know what he was feeling when he kisses Lane that first time. I needed to know what was going through his head when he blanks Lane and I NEEDED, I really NEEDED to know what he was feeling when things are finally sorted with Lane's brother.
I can't word this bit right, without giving anything away, so if this doesn't make sense, I'm sorry!
Things with Lane's brother don't end how I thought they would and (please don't hate me!) I actually loved that they didn't. It was a twist I did not see coming, and I was reading at work, and I must have made a noise cos a customer asked me if I was ok. So, well played there, Ms Laycock, very well played.
Like I said, only Lane gets a say, and that's the only reason I can't stretch to 5 stars!
4 really REALLY good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Knowledge Brokerage for Sustainable Development: Innovative Tools for Increasing Research Impact and Evidence-Based Policy Making
Andre Martinuzzi and Michal Sedlacko
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The menace of a post-truth era challenges conventional policy-making and science. Instead of...