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Amanda (30 KP) rated Weekends with Daisy in Books
Jun 21, 2018
This is one of the best books that I've read in a while, to be honest. I was pleased with the lovely Daisy. There's a grouping of pictures in the middle of the book, so I paused to look at them when I came across them and was happy to see that Daisy had been matched with a little boy (their picture was included), but disappointed to have the ending ruined for me because at that point in the book, they were still wondering if Daisy was going to make it through the training.
It's one thing to say to lock a murderer or another inmate up forever and throw away the key, but it's another thing to have a name and a face to that story. Thinking of Keith still in jail for the crime that he committed so long ago really was scary. While obviously he needed to pay for what he had done, it is amazing to think that one decision had so many consequences. Fortunately for Keith, I believe that dogs like Daisy are a great outlet for people in his situation. With their need to pass the time doing something positive, I think training dogs for the disabled is an excellent way to help not only the inmates themselves, but the community around all of us.
I've always said that one day I wanted to train a service dog puppy, however, I will have to keep this in mind when I reach that point in my life. Being a weekend puppy raiser sounds hard as hell, but so fulfilling.
It's one thing to say to lock a murderer or another inmate up forever and throw away the key, but it's another thing to have a name and a face to that story. Thinking of Keith still in jail for the crime that he committed so long ago really was scary. While obviously he needed to pay for what he had done, it is amazing to think that one decision had so many consequences. Fortunately for Keith, I believe that dogs like Daisy are a great outlet for people in his situation. With their need to pass the time doing something positive, I think training dogs for the disabled is an excellent way to help not only the inmates themselves, but the community around all of us.
I've always said that one day I wanted to train a service dog puppy, however, I will have to keep this in mind when I reach that point in my life. Being a weekend puppy raiser sounds hard as hell, but so fulfilling.
MissCagey (2652 KP) rated The Mountain Between Us (2017) in Movies
Aug 4, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
Absolutely dismal survival movie. There was so much wrong with this movie I really don't know where to start. I rate both Elba and Winslet highly and expected so much better! Let's start:-
1. The commercial airlines have cancelled all flights due to the storm, but the intelligent characters and an experienced pilot all decide they can fly through said storm in a much tinier light aircraft, plus the experienced pilot does not bother to file a flight plan! Doh.
2. Even with a broken? leg Winslet seems to easily get through the snow, as does the dog (I have taken my dogs through shallower snow than is on the film, they struggle to get through it, get tired super quick and have icicles stuck all over them).
3. Even though they are walking through snow they appear never to get wet. They seem to have perfectly dry and clean clothes and even shampooed hair.
4. It seems like they are up the mountain for days rather than weeks.
5. I didn't see the love story coming, they didn't seem to have much chemistry. Their connection was not believable.
6. Winslet falls through ice into the lake, she sinks and floats back up. Elba runs to the edge of said hole and manages to drag her out easily despite the weight of her and her clothes. The lake was seemingly firm other than that bit of hole!
7. There is a little house, complete with furniture and even a piano on the mountain but with no roads nearby, go figure? Maybe it flew there in a tornado from Kansas!
I could go on but you get the gist.
1. The commercial airlines have cancelled all flights due to the storm, but the intelligent characters and an experienced pilot all decide they can fly through said storm in a much tinier light aircraft, plus the experienced pilot does not bother to file a flight plan! Doh.
2. Even with a broken? leg Winslet seems to easily get through the snow, as does the dog (I have taken my dogs through shallower snow than is on the film, they struggle to get through it, get tired super quick and have icicles stuck all over them).
3. Even though they are walking through snow they appear never to get wet. They seem to have perfectly dry and clean clothes and even shampooed hair.
4. It seems like they are up the mountain for days rather than weeks.
5. I didn't see the love story coming, they didn't seem to have much chemistry. Their connection was not believable.
6. Winslet falls through ice into the lake, she sinks and floats back up. Elba runs to the edge of said hole and manages to drag her out easily despite the weight of her and her clothes. The lake was seemingly firm other than that bit of hole!
7. There is a little house, complete with furniture and even a piano on the mountain but with no roads nearby, go figure? Maybe it flew there in a tornado from Kansas!
I could go on but you get the gist.
Debbiereadsbook (1202 KP) rated A Hamiton Christmas (HIS #9) in Books
Nov 26, 2018
a very fitting end!!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book direct from the author, and I thank Ms Kell for that.
This book takes place a year after His Fantasy, Brad's story, and is like a catch up on what all the brothers and their wives have been up to. And they are been doing a LOT of baby making! So it was great to catch up with everyone, all in one place.
It's a bit different that the other HIS books, in that the story is told from Jesse's ten year old daughter, Reagan and her Poppy, Blake Hamilton's points of view. Reading such polar opposites was amusing at times: Reagan is determined to follow in her father's footsteps, even if she has to go against him to do it, and Blake is still a little in the dog house as far as I'm concerned! Oh, he redeemed himself in His Family, but maybe not as much as I thought he had!
There is a lot of love here, with every member of the Hamilton clan, their partners and babies all here along with a new member of the family that is introduced here. Reagan and her new cousin are a well matched pair and they pull their sleuthing off extremely well!
It was so lovely to catch up with everyone, it's always sad to say goodbye and this was a great little catch up, a little time after the main books ended.
Very well done, Ms Kell, I'm just not a great fan of holiday stories!
4 solid stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
This book takes place a year after His Fantasy, Brad's story, and is like a catch up on what all the brothers and their wives have been up to. And they are been doing a LOT of baby making! So it was great to catch up with everyone, all in one place.
It's a bit different that the other HIS books, in that the story is told from Jesse's ten year old daughter, Reagan and her Poppy, Blake Hamilton's points of view. Reading such polar opposites was amusing at times: Reagan is determined to follow in her father's footsteps, even if she has to go against him to do it, and Blake is still a little in the dog house as far as I'm concerned! Oh, he redeemed himself in His Family, but maybe not as much as I thought he had!
There is a lot of love here, with every member of the Hamilton clan, their partners and babies all here along with a new member of the family that is introduced here. Reagan and her new cousin are a well matched pair and they pull their sleuthing off extremely well!
It was so lovely to catch up with everyone, it's always sad to say goodbye and this was a great little catch up, a little time after the main books ended.
Very well done, Ms Kell, I'm just not a great fan of holiday stories!
4 solid stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated The Promise in Books
Jun 18, 2019
I Promise, This is an Enjoyable Book
Elvis Cole is hired to track down a woman, and the most promising clue takes him to a house that appears to be empty. When Cole gets no answer, he tries to leave only to be trapped by the police swarming into the neighborhood looking for a suspect on the run. Meanwhile, K-9 officer Scott James and his dog, Maggie, are tracking the suspect to the very house Cole was interested in. Inside, they find a dead body and a room full of explosives. As the two cases intertwine, can the two find a way to work together?
Knowing Scott and Maggie were going to be featured very heavily in this book was what got me reading the Cole and Pike books several years ago, so it was nice to finally get to read this one. I’m happy to say it lived up to the promise of the premise. The book is another great thriller with plenty of things happening to keep us interested. Both sets of characters contribute something to the eventual outcome. I did think there was a plot hole early on in the book, but it was resolved by the time we reach the climax. The characters were a little thin again, although I enjoyed getting to see a bit of a different side to John Stone here. The violence, language, and general depravity is definitely toned down from the previous book, although there is still more than in my typical cozies, which is no surprise. Fans of author Robert Crais or either set of characters will be pleased by this book.
Knowing Scott and Maggie were going to be featured very heavily in this book was what got me reading the Cole and Pike books several years ago, so it was nice to finally get to read this one. I’m happy to say it lived up to the promise of the premise. The book is another great thriller with plenty of things happening to keep us interested. Both sets of characters contribute something to the eventual outcome. I did think there was a plot hole early on in the book, but it was resolved by the time we reach the climax. The characters were a little thin again, although I enjoyed getting to see a bit of a different side to John Stone here. The violence, language, and general depravity is definitely toned down from the previous book, although there is still more than in my typical cozies, which is no surprise. Fans of author Robert Crais or either set of characters will be pleased by this book.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Porpoise in Books
Nov 6, 2019
The last book of Mark Haddon’s I read was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - and this is absolutely NOTHING like that. This novel is set in two time periods: modern day and Ancient Greece. Haddon has used the story of Apollonius and Shakespeare’s Pericles and worked them into both timelines. I hadn’t read anything about either of these stories to be honest, but after a quick look on the internet (thank you Wikipedia!) I felt a little better informed - although I do think that you would be able to read the book perfectly well without any knowledge of either Apollonius or Pericles.
This is not a comfortable read at all - abuse and incest feature strongly throughout the modern timeline (in the style of all good Greek Tragedies!). I did think about not continuing with the book at one point because I tend to avoid books with these themes, but the story really drew me in, particularly in the Greek timeline.
The way in which we initially move from modern day to Ancient Greece, using the yacht ‘The Porpoise’ to achieve this, was really cleverly done, I thought. The small parts which featured Shakespeare and his Pericles writing partner George Wilkins, seemed to be only loosely connected, but enjoyable nonetheless.
All in all, I really enjoyed this. I’m glad I stuck with it, because especially (but not exclusively!) in the case of the incest storyline, we really do see the strength of women, even though the men in their lives would want them to be cowed and obedient.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
This is not a comfortable read at all - abuse and incest feature strongly throughout the modern timeline (in the style of all good Greek Tragedies!). I did think about not continuing with the book at one point because I tend to avoid books with these themes, but the story really drew me in, particularly in the Greek timeline.
The way in which we initially move from modern day to Ancient Greece, using the yacht ‘The Porpoise’ to achieve this, was really cleverly done, I thought. The small parts which featured Shakespeare and his Pericles writing partner George Wilkins, seemed to be only loosely connected, but enjoyable nonetheless.
All in all, I really enjoyed this. I’m glad I stuck with it, because especially (but not exclusively!) in the case of the incest storyline, we really do see the strength of women, even though the men in their lives would want them to be cowed and obedient.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
BookwormLea (3034 KP) rated The Bye Bye Man (2017) in Movies
Nov 11, 2019 (Updated Jul 18, 2020)
I had rated it 7, I change my mind...
Contains spoilers, click to show
I remember watching this before but recently I've started a list of horrors and I'm going to watch them all, either for the first time or just again. I started with The Bye Bye Man. Bad Idea.
So first off, where's the origin? It literally doesn't make sense to have a character you can't think or speak of without a reason where he came from. Surely even an old wives tale or something? But no, we just get some crazy guy on a killing spree to stop the name being spread. But oh wait! Nobody could have guessed the name would be written somewhere! What a plot twist! (I hope you can hear my eyes rolling) So in return we get 3 people in college? who move into the house the Bye Bye Man lives in or something, I don't know, again no explanation. And of course he finds the desk! And after reading, don't think it, dont say it, who wouldn't say his name out loud!?!? So the all get terrorised by some creep in a hood with his dog who by the way, is also never explained, and also not needed because all it does is eat the face off one of the bodies. But obviously they all die in the end, when the only thing left to do it set fire to the house. But shock! Survivor! The sleeve ball "best friend' who was sleeping with his gf. And of course he tells the nosy copper the name! Ooooh suspenseful cliff hanger!
Yeah don't watch it.
So first off, where's the origin? It literally doesn't make sense to have a character you can't think or speak of without a reason where he came from. Surely even an old wives tale or something? But no, we just get some crazy guy on a killing spree to stop the name being spread. But oh wait! Nobody could have guessed the name would be written somewhere! What a plot twist! (I hope you can hear my eyes rolling) So in return we get 3 people in college? who move into the house the Bye Bye Man lives in or something, I don't know, again no explanation. And of course he finds the desk! And after reading, don't think it, dont say it, who wouldn't say his name out loud!?!? So the all get terrorised by some creep in a hood with his dog who by the way, is also never explained, and also not needed because all it does is eat the face off one of the bodies. But obviously they all die in the end, when the only thing left to do it set fire to the house. But shock! Survivor! The sleeve ball "best friend' who was sleeping with his gf. And of course he tells the nosy copper the name! Ooooh suspenseful cliff hanger!
Yeah don't watch it.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Red Grouse Tales: The Little Dog and Other Stories in Books
Nov 25, 2019
Related as stories told between friends in the Red Grouse pub, each of these tales has a thread of the paranormal and philosophy running through them, to varying degrees. There are four stories to enjoy (I have also reviewed each of these separately in depth)
The Little Dog is the story of a forester who is forced to work with a much disliked colleague for a week. Each day is tense and stressful, but is Blackman just unsociable or actually evil?
The Crow focuses on a local politician, generally held in high regard but the tale of his life as related by a bitter and dying priest casts doubt on his motives.
The Golden Tup is the tale of a local couple who are notorious for having killed their baby. But just perhaps not everything is as it seems. Has an old evil been awoken?
The White Hart finishes the stories with a very rare thing - a heartwarming and feelgood ghost story that touches on the power that men wield over women, and vice versa.
Each of these tales has a different tone but are a complete story in their own right, even if some make mention of places and events in others. The story telling makes this a great collection to dip into and read. As each story also carries a philosophical theme they have a depth and resonance beyond the actual tale being told.
A good collection of paranormal and interesting stories, definitely worth a read. Each story is also available separately (and I have posted full reviews for them separately too)
The Little Dog is the story of a forester who is forced to work with a much disliked colleague for a week. Each day is tense and stressful, but is Blackman just unsociable or actually evil?
The Crow focuses on a local politician, generally held in high regard but the tale of his life as related by a bitter and dying priest casts doubt on his motives.
The Golden Tup is the tale of a local couple who are notorious for having killed their baby. But just perhaps not everything is as it seems. Has an old evil been awoken?
The White Hart finishes the stories with a very rare thing - a heartwarming and feelgood ghost story that touches on the power that men wield over women, and vice versa.
Each of these tales has a different tone but are a complete story in their own right, even if some make mention of places and events in others. The story telling makes this a great collection to dip into and read. As each story also carries a philosophical theme they have a depth and resonance beyond the actual tale being told.
A good collection of paranormal and interesting stories, definitely worth a read. Each story is also available separately (and I have posted full reviews for them separately too)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Raiders of the Lost Bark in Books
Dec 4, 2019
Glamping with Dogs…and a Killer
Over the last few months, Mel has been the victim of Addison Rae. Addison is trying to become the premier gourmet pet chef in Laguna Beach, and she is using old letters from Mel’s mother to get Mel to make introductions. Addison’s latest gig is as the chef at a camping trip for dog owners and their pets, and Mel intends to get the letters over the course of the trip. However, before she can, Addison turns up dead. Mel knows she makes a great suspect, but can she find the really killer before her mother’s secret, and her motive, is exposed?
The books in this series are always fun, and this book is no exception. The mystery starts well and moves quickly as we get more suspects and motives to sort through before Mel finally figures things out. The dogs’ antics are always entertaining. The people can tend to be more caricature than full character here, but it works for the series and provides us with some laughs. Mel is real and helps ground things. Mel’s assistant Betty is also along for the ride in this book. She’s a hoot, but we get a bit too much of her here, and I grew tired of some of her antics at times. The brooch that Mel is feuding over with her cousin Caro continues to make things challenging here, and I’m anxious to find out what happens next in that saga. Readers who have pets will be interested in the two recipes at the end of the book. Pack your bags because this is a glamping trip not to miss.
The books in this series are always fun, and this book is no exception. The mystery starts well and moves quickly as we get more suspects and motives to sort through before Mel finally figures things out. The dogs’ antics are always entertaining. The people can tend to be more caricature than full character here, but it works for the series and provides us with some laughs. Mel is real and helps ground things. Mel’s assistant Betty is also along for the ride in this book. She’s a hoot, but we get a bit too much of her here, and I grew tired of some of her antics at times. The brooch that Mel is feuding over with her cousin Caro continues to make things challenging here, and I’m anxious to find out what happens next in that saga. Readers who have pets will be interested in the two recipes at the end of the book. Pack your bags because this is a glamping trip not to miss.
Recipes for Life: My Memories
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Tales from a Young Vet: Mad Cows, Crazy Kittens, and All Creatures Big and Small
Jo Hardy and Caro Handley
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The funny, touching and entertaining story of how Jo Hardy, the star of BBC2's Young Vets, gets to...