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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...
Halloween Cupcake Murder
Carlene O'Connor, Liz Ireland and Carol J. Perry
8.0
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From Galway, Ireland to Salem, Massachusetts, all the way up to the North Pole, a trio of Halloween...
Daylight Robbery (Aspen Falls #6)
10.0
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It was supposed to be a seamless robbery. In and out without a trace. But then Police Chief Marks...
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Merissa (12698 KP) rated Staying Wet: A Southern Tale Told One Sip at a Time in Books
May 30, 2023
Staying Wet is written from the perspective of her bedroom companion, her best friend who has always been there for her, but you never get a name. It continues through the book as Caddy talks out her memories of her life to her friend.
This is not a cheery-everything-is-fine book. Caddy has dealt with some serious issues in her life, including the disappearance of her father and brother at a very young age, drinking to excess, and drugs. What this book is though is completely enthralling, a definite page-turner.
Instead of the timing remaining constant throughout, sometimes Caddy will follow that particular thread through to the conclusion. For example, she might be nineteen when the story starts, but in her forties when it concludes. You stay with the story until its conclusion, and then you go back to Caddy at nineteen where she recommences with the rest of her story. It can be off-putting to start with but stick with it, and I promise you'll be glad that you did.
The ending is perfect for the book. I can't say I liked it, but I understood it and thought it was exceedingly well-written. I loved the companion as it all made sense. This book was a complete surprise to me, not what I expected at all, but I loved it! Highly 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!
Mar 15, 2016
This is not a cheery-everything-is-fine book. Caddy has dealt with some serious issues in her life, including the disappearance of her father and brother at a very young age, drinking to excess, and drugs. What this book is though is completely enthralling, a definite page-turner.
Instead of the timing remaining constant throughout, sometimes Caddy will follow that particular thread through to the conclusion. For example, she might be nineteen when the story starts, but in her forties when it concludes. You stay with the story until its conclusion, and then you go back to Caddy at nineteen where she recommences with the rest of her story. It can be off-putting to start with but stick with it, and I promise you'll be glad that you did.
The ending is perfect for the book. I can't say I liked it, but I understood it and thought it was exceedingly well-written. I loved the companion as it all made sense. This book was a complete surprise to me, not what I expected at all, but I loved it! Highly 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!
Mar 15, 2016
In the Event of Murder
5.0
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It’s the star-studded event of the season in Silvercrest, Colorado—but some of the guests might...
Dalton (3 KP) rated Brotherly Love in Books
Sep 24, 2017
The US Review of Books
Contains spoilers, click to show
Brotherly Love
by Dalton Giesick
Trafford Publishing
reviewed by Omar Figueras
"When Dayton was hammering the staples into the wood, Grandpa cut a window on each end. Then he made a door for us... Our clubhouse was fin."
Dalton Giesick's short memoir Brotherly Love depicts the author's e'rly childhood years, being the all too brief moment in time that he was able to spend with his little brother, Dayton. The book describes those early years in a fleeting but endearing way. At the center of the story is the family's relocation to Colorado, the boys' moving in with their grandparents during that short duration, and the heart-wrenching changes the family endures once they have moved out West.
Part coming of age story and part eulogy, Giesick's treatment of his subject is heart-felt and gentle. His book is a sweet and tender read and the author's presentation of his memories of Dayton is much in tune with how an adult would treat a young child. A quick, yet powerful read, Giesick's writing is strong and tight. There are foreboding moments embedded throughout the story alluding to Dayton's disappearance; however, this tragedy occurs at the end of the story where the author's dreadful imaginings become his harsh reality. Although anticipated, the last revelation is both unexpected to the narrator and reader.
A tribute to a little boy with a large heart and an even bigger soul, Brotherly Love is a big brother's beautiful telling of the precious and too brief an instant he spent in the company of his little brother. Although short, the time that the author spent with Dayton was deeply transformative for himself, and by telling his story the author was able to provide this transformation for his readers.
by Dalton Giesick
Trafford Publishing
reviewed by Omar Figueras
"When Dayton was hammering the staples into the wood, Grandpa cut a window on each end. Then he made a door for us... Our clubhouse was fin."
Dalton Giesick's short memoir Brotherly Love depicts the author's e'rly childhood years, being the all too brief moment in time that he was able to spend with his little brother, Dayton. The book describes those early years in a fleeting but endearing way. At the center of the story is the family's relocation to Colorado, the boys' moving in with their grandparents during that short duration, and the heart-wrenching changes the family endures once they have moved out West.
Part coming of age story and part eulogy, Giesick's treatment of his subject is heart-felt and gentle. His book is a sweet and tender read and the author's presentation of his memories of Dayton is much in tune with how an adult would treat a young child. A quick, yet powerful read, Giesick's writing is strong and tight. There are foreboding moments embedded throughout the story alluding to Dayton's disappearance; however, this tragedy occurs at the end of the story where the author's dreadful imaginings become his harsh reality. Although anticipated, the last revelation is both unexpected to the narrator and reader.
A tribute to a little boy with a large heart and an even bigger soul, Brotherly Love is a big brother's beautiful telling of the precious and too brief an instant he spent in the company of his little brother. Although short, the time that the author spent with Dayton was deeply transformative for himself, and by telling his story the author was able to provide this transformation for his readers.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Stranger Things - Season 2 in TV
Dec 28, 2017
Exciting once it gets going (1 more)
SFX are on point
Back To Hawkins
I loved the first season of Stranger Things and season 2 was one of my most anticipated shows of this year. While I don’t feel that season 2 surpassed the preceding season of the show, it is another solid chapter in what is fixing to be a pretty epic saga. The show takes a while to find its feet; some unorthodox structural choices cause the series to begin on a fairly unfocused note. It is revealed in the first episode that Eleven has been in hiding and living with Hopper since the events at the end of season 1 and once that cliffhanger from the last season is addressed, everything else is pretty hunky dory. Will is still tripping out and seeing the upside down every now and again, but that is expected to pass and we aren’t presented with any real conflict until a few episodes into the new season. The first season opened with the disappearance of Will and we were immediately on board with the goals of every character in the show, whereas the first few episodes of this season feel unfocused and there isn’t really any sense of purpose felt.
Once the plot gets going and the season finds its feet, the show definitely become more enjoyable and exciting and that pace and sense of intrigue continues all the way through until the end of the season, other than episode 7 that is. Overall though, I did enjoy this season and am very excited to see the future seasons in this story play out. 8/10
Once the plot gets going and the season finds its feet, the show definitely become more enjoyable and exciting and that pace and sense of intrigue continues all the way through until the end of the season, other than episode 7 that is. Overall though, I did enjoy this season and am very excited to see the future seasons in this story play out. 8/10
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Never Never (Detective Harriet Blue, #1) in Books
May 10, 2018
Harriet "Harry" Blue is a detective with Sydney, Australia police department. When her brother is accused of a terrible crime, her superior sends her away on assignment to keep her out of the way. He sends her to the desert to investigate the disappearance and/or murder of three miners working in the uranium mines. She is given a new partner, but is not sure if she can trust him or anyone. In the middle of the never never, you are one of the hunted, the object is to make it out alive. Will Detective Blue be able to find out who is behind this hideous crime before she becomes a victim herself.
This is a new series by James Patterson and Candice Fox.
I gave this book three stars because I wanted to know more about Harriet. Maybe as the series develops we will get to know Harriet better. We know her "mother was a prostitute and a drug addict." We also find out that she and her brother were in and out of foster homes most of their lives. I love female lead characters and I hope this is a series I will be able to get into and enjoy.
Sent into the hot desert of Australia, Harriet Blue is completely out of her element. The mine is its own community that includes bilbies(prostitutes), a drug dealer, and protesters who are against the mining. It's a tight nit community that doesn't take well to outsiders. While everyone has a fear of the killer, money is much more important than clearing the mine to find a killer. I'm not sure why the story of Harriet's brother was integral to this story, but I hope that story line will develop more over the series.
This is a new series by James Patterson and Candice Fox.
I gave this book three stars because I wanted to know more about Harriet. Maybe as the series develops we will get to know Harriet better. We know her "mother was a prostitute and a drug addict." We also find out that she and her brother were in and out of foster homes most of their lives. I love female lead characters and I hope this is a series I will be able to get into and enjoy.
Sent into the hot desert of Australia, Harriet Blue is completely out of her element. The mine is its own community that includes bilbies(prostitutes), a drug dealer, and protesters who are against the mining. It's a tight nit community that doesn't take well to outsiders. While everyone has a fear of the killer, money is much more important than clearing the mine to find a killer. I'm not sure why the story of Harriet's brother was integral to this story, but I hope that story line will develop more over the series.
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) in Movies
Apr 4, 2019
Hyped to be Letdown
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have enjoyed the Cloververse movies but Paradox seemed to be missing something. I thought the idea and story was great...but it moved really slow for me. The idea of there being multiple universes with people the same as you is a very good angle. This is what Paradox tackled and very well. The main characters were experimenting with particle acceleration for a power source because Earth was in the verge of collapse. They activated it and thought they had caused the disappearance of the Earht. Later they find out that they have left their Earth and found themselves on a parallel planet. They run into many challenges, including getting a fellow scientist out of the wall she got caught up in when they teleported. There were more tragic events that took place with most of the crew getting killed. Hamilton and Schmidt were the last two survivors. Hamilton and her husband had lost their kids in a house fire and she finds out the Hamilton in this parallel world still has her whole family. Before they leave she gives the parallel Hamilton a warning to help her keep her kids alive. They finally make it back to "our" Earth and they have a successful test of the accelerator. Schmidt and Hamilton leave the accelerator for Earth but when her husband is told he is livid. He told the base of operations to tell them to turn back. As they land...a huge Clover monster pops up through the clouds. I know that is telling a story over but it was agonizingly slow to get to a terrific ending. It's still worth a watch if you like the Cloververse.
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated The Sleepwalker in Books
Feb 21, 2018
I went into this book blind. I had seen the cover and heard of the author, but hadn't read any of his books and didn't know what this one was about until after I started listening. Annalee Ahlberg, a woman who has issues with sleepwalking, goes missing. She leaves behind two daughters and a husband who must come to terms with her disappearance. Told from the point of view of her eldest daughter, Lianna, the listener gets to go along for the ride as the search continues and the police try to decide if Annalee met with foul play, or possibly harmed herself in her sleep. The truth ends up being neither, and is nothing I saw coming until right before it was spelled out for me.
The Sleepwalker is equal parts mystery novel and family drama. Everyone has their secrets, and Lianna isn't sure who she can trust. I wish it would have moved along a little more quickly, but overall it was a good story. I will look for more by Chris Bohjalian.
The narration was not so great. The main narrator was soft-spoken, and her voice fit the mood of the story very well, but she paused in odd places and put emphasis on what felt like the wrong word in many sentences. This was jarring and distracting. There were also brief passages at the beginning of each chapter read by a 2nd voice, which I found very irritating. In all fairness, these passages were apparently journal entries, and the 2nd voice did help to distinguish them from the rest of the story. I do think I might have enjoyed the book a little more if there had been different narrators, however.
The Sleepwalker is equal parts mystery novel and family drama. Everyone has their secrets, and Lianna isn't sure who she can trust. I wish it would have moved along a little more quickly, but overall it was a good story. I will look for more by Chris Bohjalian.
The narration was not so great. The main narrator was soft-spoken, and her voice fit the mood of the story very well, but she paused in odd places and put emphasis on what felt like the wrong word in many sentences. This was jarring and distracting. There were also brief passages at the beginning of each chapter read by a 2nd voice, which I found very irritating. In all fairness, these passages were apparently journal entries, and the 2nd voice did help to distinguish them from the rest of the story. I do think I might have enjoyed the book a little more if there had been different narrators, however.