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Merissa (11805 KP) rated The Gentle Wolf (Perth Shifters #2) in Books
Nov 16, 2020 (Updated Aug 14, 2023)
THE GENTLE WOLF is the second book in the Blackwood series and, wow, I hope you're ready for a read that will knock your socks off.
Aodhan is Braden's best friend and a well-renowned chocolatier in his own right. Thomas is the curator/owner of a local museum. For the past two years, Thomas has gone to Aodhan's shop every Tuesday for a coffee. Both of these have their own issues to work out.
What an amazing story! This covers some serious issues like child abuse, emotional and mental abuse, demisexuality, depression, survivor's guilt, and a whole host of other things so please don't expect a light and fluffy read. Instead, what you get is a story full of depth and feeling without being depressing in and of itself.
The pacing is perfect for this story and there were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my enjoyment of the book. The characters are outstanding and now I really can't wait for Hunter's book. I don't actually know if he's got one but I sincerely hope he does. Braden and Coll from book one pop up now and again but you don't have to have read their book to get this one. Different settings, some different characters, all good.
Aodhan and Thomas make the perfect couple and I was with them every step of the way as they tried to work through turbulent pasts. One of the best bits for me was when Iona told Thomas something and he told her just exactly what she had done. I'm trying to be deliberately vague but, trust me, read the book and you'll know which part I'm talking about.
Blackwood was a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed. This one? Phenomenal! Absolutely and utterly recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 16, 2020
Aodhan is Braden's best friend and a well-renowned chocolatier in his own right. Thomas is the curator/owner of a local museum. For the past two years, Thomas has gone to Aodhan's shop every Tuesday for a coffee. Both of these have their own issues to work out.
What an amazing story! This covers some serious issues like child abuse, emotional and mental abuse, demisexuality, depression, survivor's guilt, and a whole host of other things so please don't expect a light and fluffy read. Instead, what you get is a story full of depth and feeling without being depressing in and of itself.
The pacing is perfect for this story and there were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my enjoyment of the book. The characters are outstanding and now I really can't wait for Hunter's book. I don't actually know if he's got one but I sincerely hope he does. Braden and Coll from book one pop up now and again but you don't have to have read their book to get this one. Different settings, some different characters, all good.
Aodhan and Thomas make the perfect couple and I was with them every step of the way as they tried to work through turbulent pasts. One of the best bits for me was when Iona told Thomas something and he told her just exactly what she had done. I'm trying to be deliberately vague but, trust me, read the book and you'll know which part I'm talking about.
Blackwood was a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed. This one? Phenomenal! Absolutely and utterly recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 16, 2020
Amber Tucker (13 KP) rated Of Dreams And Dragons in Books
Jan 9, 2018
An amazing new world!
I have veen sitting on pins and needles waiting for this book to be released. This story surpassed all of my expectations. There us magic, dragons, action, love, tears, anger, a new world, and twists and turns I didn't expect.
Sky is trying to survive , taking care of children who are not hers but who she loves as her own. Suffering abuse in silence so they don't have to. Until one of them is taken. Sky is more than she seems., and we get to go with her on her journey to a new world with rules that must be followed to turn her into an Ashknight, to save the child she loves, before vengeance is all she has. I really enjoyed this book as we were able to learn more than just about the main character. The authors also delved into those she counts as family, and we see what drives each of them. It is not just a quick ending that comes in a few weeks or months, there is an actual story that builds up to a great ending. I promise you won't be able to put this book down.
I hope there is a book 2 in the making.
I have veen sitting on pins and needles waiting for this book to be released. This story surpassed all of my expectations. There us magic, dragons, action, love, tears, anger, a new world, and twists and turns I didn't expect.
Sky is trying to survive , taking care of children who are not hers but who she loves as her own. Suffering abuse in silence so they don't have to. Until one of them is taken. Sky is more than she seems., and we get to go with her on her journey to a new world with rules that must be followed to turn her into an Ashknight, to save the child she loves, before vengeance is all she has. I really enjoyed this book as we were able to learn more than just about the main character. The authors also delved into those she counts as family, and we see what drives each of them. It is not just a quick ending that comes in a few weeks or months, there is an actual story that builds up to a great ending. I promise you won't be able to put this book down.
I hope there is a book 2 in the making.
My Secret Sister: Jenny Lucas and Helen Edwards' Family Story
Jenny Lee Smith and Helen Edwards
Book
Helen grew up in a pit village in Tyneside in the post-war years, with her gran, aunties and uncles...
Before the Heat Death by CP Unit
Album Watch
With only 26 years of age, alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos is the face of the new generation of...
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Bring it on, Ghost in TV
Jul 17, 2020
Park Bong-pal can see ghosts, he uses this ability to make money as an exorcist. On one of his jobs he meets Kim Hyeon-ji, a ghost who can't remember her own death. Park Bong- pal agrees to help Kim Hyeon-ji find out about her past if she helps him exorcise the evil ghost but Kim Hyeon-ji isn't the only one with a mysterious past and Park Bong-pal's might just kill both of them.
Bring it on, Ghost is a Korean, horror, romance, comedy romance series on Netflix. Each episode is a 'Monster of the week' type of story with also builds up the story of Park Bong-pal and how he gained the ability to see ghosts and what it means to his future.
The horror aspect of the series is quite tame, some of the ghosts are creepy but the show focus's on Park Bong-pal and Kim Hyeon-ji's relationship and works on building up the over aching series story line.
Being about ghosts there are the occasional episodes that touch on suicide and child abuse but these are handled well and manly focus on the effect such actions have on the survives and are not glorified or used for shock value.
Bring it on, Ghost is a Korean, horror, romance, comedy romance series on Netflix. Each episode is a 'Monster of the week' type of story with also builds up the story of Park Bong-pal and how he gained the ability to see ghosts and what it means to his future.
The horror aspect of the series is quite tame, some of the ghosts are creepy but the show focus's on Park Bong-pal and Kim Hyeon-ji's relationship and works on building up the over aching series story line.
Being about ghosts there are the occasional episodes that touch on suicide and child abuse but these are handled well and manly focus on the effect such actions have on the survives and are not glorified or used for shock value.
Smoke
Book
Pattyn’s father is dead. Now she’s on the run in this riveting companion to New York Times...
Death by the River
Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor
6.0
Rate It
Book
Along the banks of the Bogue Falaya River, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated My Life As A Rat in Books
Dec 6, 2022
218 of 230
Book
My life as a Rat
By Joyce Carol Oates
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Which should prevail: loyalty to family or loyalty to the truth? Is telling the truth ever a mistake and is lying for one’s family ever justified? Can one do the right thing, but bitterly regret it?
My Life as a Rat follows Violet Rue Kerrigan, a young woman who looks back upon her life in exile from her family following her testimony, at age twelve, concerning what she knew to be the racist murder of an African-American boy by her older brothers. In a succession of vividly recalled episodes Violet contemplates the circumstances of her life as the initially beloved youngest child of seven Kerrigan children who inadvertently “informs” on her brothers, setting into motion their arrests and convictions and her own long estrangement.
This was one of those books that just had you shocked to the core from the start. It’s raw and hard to read in parts. It’s well written and up until the last quarter I was enjoying it but it just got a bit tedious. This does have a few triggers for abuse and racism! Overall it’s a good read.
Book
My life as a Rat
By Joyce Carol Oates
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Which should prevail: loyalty to family or loyalty to the truth? Is telling the truth ever a mistake and is lying for one’s family ever justified? Can one do the right thing, but bitterly regret it?
My Life as a Rat follows Violet Rue Kerrigan, a young woman who looks back upon her life in exile from her family following her testimony, at age twelve, concerning what she knew to be the racist murder of an African-American boy by her older brothers. In a succession of vividly recalled episodes Violet contemplates the circumstances of her life as the initially beloved youngest child of seven Kerrigan children who inadvertently “informs” on her brothers, setting into motion their arrests and convictions and her own long estrangement.
This was one of those books that just had you shocked to the core from the start. It’s raw and hard to read in parts. It’s well written and up until the last quarter I was enjoying it but it just got a bit tedious. This does have a few triggers for abuse and racism! Overall it’s a good read.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated What Lies Within in Books
Sep 24, 2020
For more reviews please visit https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com
When I read the description of this book, I found it very catchy, and it got me really intrigued of what this book can offer. I had this ARC for a while now, and I am not sure was anything edited before publication, so this review is my opinion of the copy the author sent me.
The main character in this book is Tyler, along with his younger brother Devil, they are killing child abusers, who have been released by police due to lack of evidence. Unfortunately, their “good deeds” don’t get unnoticed by the police, and the chase begins. I really liked Tyler as a character, I liked his personality, his manners, and his way of thinking was very amusing and interesting to follow throughout the book. I really loved his complex relationship with Devil, and wish to adjust in society. This novel was told from multiple perspectives – Tyler’s and Police investigators. I preferred Tyler’s parts, I think they opened his character very nicely and was more interesting to read than the police investigation.
The plot of this novel was appealing but not fully utilized. I think this book has lots of potentials, and by adding some deeper parts about Devil’s identity, where he came from, it would’ve been better. I think Smith did a good job by incorporating Devil, but the truth was given away too early. Another thing which disappointed me was the investigation, I was not very happy with how detectives were working, I didn’t feel the suspense breathing through the pages, and I think they could’ve done better. However, I think this book would make a pretty interesting film because it has the right amount of action and a riveting suspect. There were some interesting turns and twists in this novel, which kept my interest going. What really struck me, was the topics which Smith was discussing in this book, such as child abuse; how mental illness affects children, when there is nobody to help; children homelessness; survival and adjustment in the society.
This book was very easy to read, and the language used in this novel was not complicated. It has short chapters and it got me binge-reading all the way through. These short chapters kind of made me keep going to find out, what else Tyler has planned. The ending of this novel is unexpected, but absolutely impossible and compromises what detectives said, once they entered Tyler’s flat. I was very pleasantly surprised, that at the end, the author gave a little description of all the characters who were mentioned in this book. I think it was pretty awesome. So, to conclude, I think this novel has a really engrossing message to share with the world, through these intense characters and the struggle between what is good and what is bad in this world. I do recommend to read it and to figure out for yourselves, how people try to cope in this world after something horrible has happened to them in the past.
I would like to throw in a disclaimer, there is murders, violence, child abuse scenes in this book.
When I read the description of this book, I found it very catchy, and it got me really intrigued of what this book can offer. I had this ARC for a while now, and I am not sure was anything edited before publication, so this review is my opinion of the copy the author sent me.
The main character in this book is Tyler, along with his younger brother Devil, they are killing child abusers, who have been released by police due to lack of evidence. Unfortunately, their “good deeds” don’t get unnoticed by the police, and the chase begins. I really liked Tyler as a character, I liked his personality, his manners, and his way of thinking was very amusing and interesting to follow throughout the book. I really loved his complex relationship with Devil, and wish to adjust in society. This novel was told from multiple perspectives – Tyler’s and Police investigators. I preferred Tyler’s parts, I think they opened his character very nicely and was more interesting to read than the police investigation.
The plot of this novel was appealing but not fully utilized. I think this book has lots of potentials, and by adding some deeper parts about Devil’s identity, where he came from, it would’ve been better. I think Smith did a good job by incorporating Devil, but the truth was given away too early. Another thing which disappointed me was the investigation, I was not very happy with how detectives were working, I didn’t feel the suspense breathing through the pages, and I think they could’ve done better. However, I think this book would make a pretty interesting film because it has the right amount of action and a riveting suspect. There were some interesting turns and twists in this novel, which kept my interest going. What really struck me, was the topics which Smith was discussing in this book, such as child abuse; how mental illness affects children, when there is nobody to help; children homelessness; survival and adjustment in the society.
This book was very easy to read, and the language used in this novel was not complicated. It has short chapters and it got me binge-reading all the way through. These short chapters kind of made me keep going to find out, what else Tyler has planned. The ending of this novel is unexpected, but absolutely impossible and compromises what detectives said, once they entered Tyler’s flat. I was very pleasantly surprised, that at the end, the author gave a little description of all the characters who were mentioned in this book. I think it was pretty awesome. So, to conclude, I think this novel has a really engrossing message to share with the world, through these intense characters and the struggle between what is good and what is bad in this world. I do recommend to read it and to figure out for yourselves, how people try to cope in this world after something horrible has happened to them in the past.
I would like to throw in a disclaimer, there is murders, violence, child abuse scenes in this book.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales (The Snuggle Series #1) in Books
Jul 28, 2021
I usually try to stay away from books featuring short stories because usually they aren't that great. However, there was something about Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales by Liane Carter that jumped out at me. I felt compelled to read it, and I'm glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all the short stories.
I didn't really know what to expect with Snuggle with the Strange except that the stories would be a bit out there. The first two stories gave me Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz vibes but for adults. These stories were more paranormal/supernatural in nature, and I really enjoyed them. The next six stories were more realistic in the fact that they could actually happen to anyone (which is a scary thought!). The last story returned to being supernatural again. I loved each and every story, and I thought the pacing and world building for each was done very well. Each story has an original feel and isn't like any of the other stories in the book. Even though this is a fairly short book, all the suspense makes it seem as if time has stood still. My favorite stories in Snuggle with the Strange were "Life in the Shed" and "He Looked Like My First Mistake." Although all the stories are written very well, I just loved those a little extra. Oh, and something else I loved was that the cover of the book links each of the nine stories. I thought that was very cool!
All of the characters are well fleshed out in each story. There's just enough information on each character so you can love them or love to hate them. At times, I felt like I was the main character in the story!
As this is an adult horror book, there are quite a few trigger warnings for Snuggle with the Strange which include demons, underage drug use (a few mentions of marijuana), implied rape, implied child rape, attempted rape, death, murder, violence, attempted murder, domestic abuse, child abuse, and profanity.
Overall, Snuggle with the Strange is a breath of fresh air for those who love the genre horror. With it's interesting cast of characters and original short stories, this is one book that every horror lover should read. I would definitely recommend Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales by Liane Carter for those aged 16+ who like their horror with a flair of originality instead of rehashed fiction. If that sounds like you, this is your kind of book!
--
(A special thank you to Liane Carter and Lola's Blog Tours for providing me with a paperback of Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
I didn't really know what to expect with Snuggle with the Strange except that the stories would be a bit out there. The first two stories gave me Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz vibes but for adults. These stories were more paranormal/supernatural in nature, and I really enjoyed them. The next six stories were more realistic in the fact that they could actually happen to anyone (which is a scary thought!). The last story returned to being supernatural again. I loved each and every story, and I thought the pacing and world building for each was done very well. Each story has an original feel and isn't like any of the other stories in the book. Even though this is a fairly short book, all the suspense makes it seem as if time has stood still. My favorite stories in Snuggle with the Strange were "Life in the Shed" and "He Looked Like My First Mistake." Although all the stories are written very well, I just loved those a little extra. Oh, and something else I loved was that the cover of the book links each of the nine stories. I thought that was very cool!
All of the characters are well fleshed out in each story. There's just enough information on each character so you can love them or love to hate them. At times, I felt like I was the main character in the story!
As this is an adult horror book, there are quite a few trigger warnings for Snuggle with the Strange which include demons, underage drug use (a few mentions of marijuana), implied rape, implied child rape, attempted rape, death, murder, violence, attempted murder, domestic abuse, child abuse, and profanity.
Overall, Snuggle with the Strange is a breath of fresh air for those who love the genre horror. With it's interesting cast of characters and original short stories, this is one book that every horror lover should read. I would definitely recommend Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales by Liane Carter for those aged 16+ who like their horror with a flair of originality instead of rehashed fiction. If that sounds like you, this is your kind of book!
--
(A special thank you to Liane Carter and Lola's Blog Tours for providing me with a paperback of Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)