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ClareR (5906 KP) rated Mad Honey in Books

Jan 30, 2023  
Mad Honey
Mad Honey
Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read this on The Pigeonhole (my online bookclub!) and eagerly awaited each stave release - they always manage to leave it on a cliffhanger! And there are a lot of secrets in this novel.

Olivia has returned to her childhood home, escaping from an abusive marriage, to take over her family’s beekeeping business. Everything is going really well for her, until the day that her son Asher is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Lily. Olivia is wracked with feelings of guilt and fear: could he be like his father? Olivia can’t be sure if he’s done this, whether or not he’s violent like his father, or whether someone else has murdered her.

I usually avoid books written by two people - and I couldn’t tell you why! Picoult writes Olivia’s parts, Finney Boylan writes Lily’s. And honestly, I couldn’t see any wildly different writing styles between the two authors. Both of them just seem to nail the characters. Perfectly.

Olivia and Lily are both imperfect characters - as are we all - and they were both so realistically written. They were both living and breathing characters. I was completely invested in them both, even though I knew Lily’s story could only go one way.

This is a great book, and one that I’ve often thought about since reading it. If you read it, you’ll see why.

Recommended.
  
Senior year (2022)
Senior year (2022)
2022 | Comedy, Drama
9
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
At the start of the movie, the main character steph is recording a video talking about her childhood, she was snubbed by the cool kids so decided she wanted to become popular. She achieved this, got a "hot" boyfriend and became a cheerleader. However, after a cheerleading accident steph ends up in a coma for 20 years. When she wakes up she has to learn all the ins and outs of the present day, such as smart phones, words you can't use anymore, the fact her boyfriend was now married and how much her body has aged.
She soon decides that she wants to finish her month she missed of her senior year, including cheerleading and becoming prom Queen.
I really enjoyed this movie despite it being over the top silly in places and unrealistic, I mean a 37 year old still fitting into her clothes from when she was 17 with very different body shapes is about as unrealistic as you can get!
The soundtrack is all kinds of nostalgic and took me back to my late teens as there was everything from Mandy Moore to a like for like redo of the drive me (crazy) video by britney spears. If you love the 90s/00s era of teen movies, you're sure to love this.
  
Get Even
Get Even
Martina Cole | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
192 of 235
Book
Get Even
By Martina Cole
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

They got her man. Now she's going to get even...

Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart. Sharon doesn't question Lenny's business dealings and it isn't long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.

But one night Lenny doesn't come home. It isn't the first time he has gone AWOL. But it is his last. He is found murdered - beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police. And Sharon never knows why.

Now, twenty years later, Sharon is about to find out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue. The time has come to... GET EVEN.


Holy cow this was brutal! I don’t know why I’m so shocked I say the same after every Martina Cole. This was such a sad read in so many ways. I can’t imagine having to hide my life the way Lenny had to but then I’m conflicted at the pain he caused while doing it! Also so glad she finally got some peace even if it cost her. There are always cautions when reading these books as I said they can be so brutal.
  
205 of 230
Kindle
Vivid Avowed ( Evelyn Maynard trilogy book 3)
By kaydence Snow
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶

Evelyn's secrets have all been revealed, even questions she never thought to ask. Despite the turmoil surrounding her childhood and true identity, she knows one thing for sure: she belongs with her devoted Bonded Variants - Ethan, Josh, Tyler and Alec.

But the truth hasn't set Evelyn free.

The division between Variants and humans continues to widen. Nowhere is safe. Behind all the chaos is one man - Davis Damari. He's the truth she's been chasing her entire life, and the only one capable of destroying the life she fought to build in Bradford Hills.

Davis will stop at nothing to get Evelyn. Her Bond will stop at nothing to protect her.

Evelyn must find a way to embrace her immense power, or risk losing it all.

I was a little disappointed in this last book I have loved this trilogy up to this point. I found myself skipping through this one getting so bored in parts. The action parts were so good but the rest sort of got lost for me. I’m not sure why but it just didn’t work for me. The first two books were brilliant and the conclusion was a good one which is why it’s a 3⭐️ and not a 2!
  
The Innocent One
The Innocent One
Lisa Ballantyne | 2023 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I didn't realise this was a follow on from a previous book (The Guilty One) but I don't think it detracted too much from my reading enjoyment of this, the first book by Lisa Ballantyne I have read.

Eleven year old Sebastian was acquitted of murdering his friend and Daniel Hunter was his solicitor. Fast forward 10 years and Sebastian is studying at Cambridge when one of his tutors is brutally murdered. Sebastian is in the frame and he appoints Daniel as his solicitor once again.

The story focuses on Daniel, the difficulties he is experiencing with his marriage, reconciling a difficult childhood and the fallout from representing Sebastian previously as well as having to deal with the uncertainty surrounding Sebastian's innocence/guilt now.

This was a bit of a slow burn but I thought this worked quite well with this particular story especially as I hadn't read the previous one. There was definitely a growing sense of tension and unease from the start with me wondering where it was going and how it was going to play out and I wasn't disappointed.

Recommended to mystery thriller lovers and thanks to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Innocent One and for introducing me to another author to look out for in the future.
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Jul 7, 2022  
Author Thomas H. McNeely visits my blog to discuss what it means to lose where we live in an emotional yet touching guest post. Read up on his coming of age/short stories fiction book PICTURES OF THE SHARK while you're there. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win an editorial critique of an excerpt from an unpublished short story or novel and/or an autographed copy of Pictures of the Shark.

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/07/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-pictures-of.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
A sudden snowfall in Houston reveals family secrets. A trip to Universal Studios to snap a picture of the shark from Jaws becomes a battle of wills between father and son. A midnight séance and the ghost of Janis Joplin conjure the mysteries of sex. A young boy’s pilgrimage to see Elvis Presley becomes a moment of transformation. A young woman discovers the responsibilities of talent and freedom.

Pictures of the Shark, by Houston native and Dobie Paisano award-winning author Thomas H. McNeely, traces a young man's coming of age and falling apart. From the rough and tumble of Houston's early seventies East End to the post-punk Texas bohemia of late eighties Austin, this novel in stories examines what happens when childhood trauma haunts adult lives.