Search
Search results
plausibility (2 more)
well researched
likable characters
Jane is a Filipino immigrant trying hard to support her baby daughter.
Reagan is white, educated and wants to make a difference in the world.
Jane and Regan are just two of the many girls who work at Golden Oaks as ‘Hosts’.They are basically surrogates for the rich and influential.
But is all as it seems at Golden Oaks, (nick named ‘The Farm’ by some of the hosts) and can you truly sell a part of yourself without ramifications.
The story essentially focuses on Jane and her struggles, but it is also told from the perspective of Reagan (Jane’s room mate) Ate (Janes Cousin) and Mae (The manager at Golden Oaks).
This took me a little while to really get into the characters at first, but once I had the story flowed nicely and it was easy to get engrossed in. The thing that drew me to the book was that it had been highlighted at ‘A Handmaids Tale for 2019’ and you can definitely see that. The set up at Golden Oaks is all very plausible and sounds idyllic, the Hosts are all there willingly and being paid handsomely. However, you can see how an institute like Golden Oaks could descend into Margaret Atwoods dystopian nightmare.
Reagan is white, educated and wants to make a difference in the world.
Jane and Regan are just two of the many girls who work at Golden Oaks as ‘Hosts’.They are basically surrogates for the rich and influential.
But is all as it seems at Golden Oaks, (nick named ‘The Farm’ by some of the hosts) and can you truly sell a part of yourself without ramifications.
The story essentially focuses on Jane and her struggles, but it is also told from the perspective of Reagan (Jane’s room mate) Ate (Janes Cousin) and Mae (The manager at Golden Oaks).
This took me a little while to really get into the characters at first, but once I had the story flowed nicely and it was easy to get engrossed in. The thing that drew me to the book was that it had been highlighted at ‘A Handmaids Tale for 2019’ and you can definitely see that. The set up at Golden Oaks is all very plausible and sounds idyllic, the Hosts are all there willingly and being paid handsomely. However, you can see how an institute like Golden Oaks could descend into Margaret Atwoods dystopian nightmare.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Bound to Please in Books
Jan 18, 2018
While I love Lilli Feisty and everything she writes, I am glad that I read Dare to Surrender before Bound to Please. While there is nothing wrong with Bound to Please, it didn't floor me like Dare to Surrender did.
I thought I was going to have a problem with the age difference, but it was drawn attention to so little that I completely forgot about it. What did get to me was what Mark makes her do with a strawberry. I can't imagine anyone getting pleasure from it.
Moving on. I love Lilli Feisty's erotic scenes. She obviously knows what she is talking about when it comes to BDSM and the like. It makes it that much more believable. However, nothing kills an erotic scene quicker than someone calling the other baby. I hate it more than I hate cheesy pick up lines. I don't know what it is about that endearment, but I feel like it is tainted and trashy.
What really got me about this story, was Mark's love for Ruby. Feisty made him seem so human that it was hard to not feel bad for him while he struggled with keeping his distance. It made him that much more endearing.
I thought I was going to have a problem with the age difference, but it was drawn attention to so little that I completely forgot about it. What did get to me was what Mark makes her do with a strawberry. I can't imagine anyone getting pleasure from it.
Moving on. I love Lilli Feisty's erotic scenes. She obviously knows what she is talking about when it comes to BDSM and the like. It makes it that much more believable. However, nothing kills an erotic scene quicker than someone calling the other baby. I hate it more than I hate cheesy pick up lines. I don't know what it is about that endearment, but I feel like it is tainted and trashy.
What really got me about this story, was Mark's love for Ruby. Feisty made him seem so human that it was hard to not feel bad for him while he struggled with keeping his distance. It made him that much more endearing.
Carma (21 KP) rated What Matters Most (The Billionaire Bargains, #2) in Books
Jun 17, 2019
4.5/5 stars ~ I AM distracted by bacon!!!! This should be my theme song. Just one of many lines in the book that had me laughing hysterically.
I loved Tony Steele since meeting him in book one of this series. Putting this persona out there when he was really the opposite. Tough, no nonsense, take no prisoners playboy whos best way to handle anything was throw money at it.
He lusts after Reese and jumps at the opportunity to make her his. Too bad he cant remember anything about their wedding.
We learn Tony loves Reese and Bacon and that Tequila makes him have short term memory loss. Is there anything money cant buy? Yes, Reese. Reese is a penny pincher, a saver, an investor. She helps everyone be the best they can be. She makes Tony her next mission. Make him understand he doesnt have to throw money around to make a difference and be happy.
I enjoyed this book immensely, I knew I would with Tony front and center. This series is 3 books and each could easily be read as a stand-alone but the 1st book does shed some light into the 3rd book. Another gem by Erin Nicholas!!!
I loved Tony Steele since meeting him in book one of this series. Putting this persona out there when he was really the opposite. Tough, no nonsense, take no prisoners playboy whos best way to handle anything was throw money at it.
He lusts after Reese and jumps at the opportunity to make her his. Too bad he cant remember anything about their wedding.
We learn Tony loves Reese and Bacon and that Tequila makes him have short term memory loss. Is there anything money cant buy? Yes, Reese. Reese is a penny pincher, a saver, an investor. She helps everyone be the best they can be. She makes Tony her next mission. Make him understand he doesnt have to throw money around to make a difference and be happy.
I enjoyed this book immensely, I knew I would with Tony front and center. This series is 3 books and each could easily be read as a stand-alone but the 1st book does shed some light into the 3rd book. Another gem by Erin Nicholas!!!
David McK (3600 KP) rated Superman: Red Son in Books
Jan 28, 2019
"For Truth, Justice ... and the Soviet Way"
I must admit, this has an intriguing premise: what if the spacecraft carrying the infant Kal-L crash-landed in Russia, instead of in rural USA?
What if, in other words, Clark Kent had been brought up in a Communist society instead on in a Democratic one?
Reading that, you might think that Mark Millar would go down the route of making Superman and out-and-out villain, but that's not the route he chose. Instead, we still have a Superman who is doing what he believes to be the 'right thing': the only difference is in his view of just what that is.
You also might think that the story might concentrate on his upbringing. That, however, is barely touched upon with the story starting roughly 30 years after his arrival just as he comes onto the world scene. It also has Superman and other major characters interacting with actual historical characters such as Stalin or J.F.K., alongside showing his (Superman's) own-going battles with Lex Luthor, and also brings in other comic-book characters such as Wonder Woman, Batman, Brainiac and Hal Jordan.
I have to say, also, that I didn't see *that* link at the very end coming ...
I must admit, this has an intriguing premise: what if the spacecraft carrying the infant Kal-L crash-landed in Russia, instead of in rural USA?
What if, in other words, Clark Kent had been brought up in a Communist society instead on in a Democratic one?
Reading that, you might think that Mark Millar would go down the route of making Superman and out-and-out villain, but that's not the route he chose. Instead, we still have a Superman who is doing what he believes to be the 'right thing': the only difference is in his view of just what that is.
You also might think that the story might concentrate on his upbringing. That, however, is barely touched upon with the story starting roughly 30 years after his arrival just as he comes onto the world scene. It also has Superman and other major characters interacting with actual historical characters such as Stalin or J.F.K., alongside showing his (Superman's) own-going battles with Lex Luthor, and also brings in other comic-book characters such as Wonder Woman, Batman, Brainiac and Hal Jordan.
I have to say, also, that I didn't see *that* link at the very end coming ...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies
Dec 24, 2019
Here's where I wrinkle my nose up at the Smashbomb scoring system - Cats isn't so much 'shoddy' as - well, it's such a particularly strange film that it's actually quite hard to tell whether it's any good or not. My instinct is to say not: a selection of character actors, comedians and musical theatre stars are CGI'd into human-animal hybrids like something out of The Island of Dr Moreau and hoof and yowl their way through a selection of TS Eliot's comic poems set to music. The plot does a good impression of being absolute gibberish, as the singing cat-people compete to get sent off to the bit of the sky that radio waves bounce off where they will receive a new life, while Idris Elba schemes to rig the contest. It's just weird.
Alternatively, this is a quasi-Lovecraftian surreal Arabesque which, fatally, fails to consider the difference between presentational and representational performance modes inherent in the transference of a narrative between theatrical and cinematic contexts. (i.e., people dressed as singing cats in a theatre can be beautiful and moving; people CGI'd into singing cats in a big-budget movie is more disturbing than anything else.) Jennifer Hudson's maximum-Streep, maximum-volume onslaught on 'Memory' made me want to hide under my seat.
Alternatively, this is a quasi-Lovecraftian surreal Arabesque which, fatally, fails to consider the difference between presentational and representational performance modes inherent in the transference of a narrative between theatrical and cinematic contexts. (i.e., people dressed as singing cats in a theatre can be beautiful and moving; people CGI'd into singing cats in a big-budget movie is more disturbing than anything else.) Jennifer Hudson's maximum-Streep, maximum-volume onslaught on 'Memory' made me want to hide under my seat.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Keep Him Close in Books
Mar 15, 2020
A slow-burner
From the author of a who-dunnit story with a difference, If I Die Before I Wake, comes a dark, family drama about the search for the truth behind the death of a young teenager.
Lou is dead ... did he fall, did he jump or was he pushed? His mother, Alice, wants to know why. The police think he was pushed and have arrested Kane. Kane's mother, Indigo, is convinced her son is innocent and so it begins.
This is a slow burner that delves into the psyche of a mother's love for her child. There is tension and heart-rending emotion as you would expect with the subject matter being as it is. The writing is easy to read, the language used is natural and the characters well developed and flawed making them believable.
As I said, this is a slow burner and I do admit to becoming a little impatient at times but I was pretty satisfied with how everything came together at the end.
Another successful book from this author and one which I look forward to reading more from and I want to thank, once again, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Lou is dead ... did he fall, did he jump or was he pushed? His mother, Alice, wants to know why. The police think he was pushed and have arrested Kane. Kane's mother, Indigo, is convinced her son is innocent and so it begins.
This is a slow burner that delves into the psyche of a mother's love for her child. There is tension and heart-rending emotion as you would expect with the subject matter being as it is. The writing is easy to read, the language used is natural and the characters well developed and flawed making them believable.
As I said, this is a slow burner and I do admit to becoming a little impatient at times but I was pretty satisfied with how everything came together at the end.
Another successful book from this author and one which I look forward to reading more from and I want to thank, once again, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Ocado: groceries made easy
Shopping and Food & Drink
App
Shop for groceries with the Ocado app on your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Say goodbye to the...
Too High, Too Far, Too Soon: Tales from a Dubious Past
Book
Too High, Too Far, Too Soon is the humorous, tragic and searingly honest memoir of a man who...
2015 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published
Chuck Sambuchino and Harold Underdown
Book
The most trusted guide to the world of children's publishing! If you write or illustrate for young...
Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student and a Life-Changing Friendship
Book
A memoir of race, inequality and the power of literature told through the life-changing friendship...