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BW
By What We Love (A New Start, #3)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Eloise has almost everything she ever dreamed of. A great job that pays well, a family that loves her, and a man who loves her unconditionally. None of these things came without hard work. Eloise grew up without her mother and then raised and put through school her younger brother and sister.

Mostes and Eloise have been together for years. Now, Eloise has the most amazing opportunity with her job and she wants nothing more than for Moses and her sister, Lori, to join her on the journey. Even though Lori and Moses love Eloise, they may not be ready to move to the other side of the world with her. Will Eloise be able to choose her family over her work? Which is really more important to her?

Charlene Carr writes about relatable characters. Any career driven woman could sympathize with Eloise. Maybe she is a bit more extreme than some, but she is still in a position a lot of women find themselves in, having to choose between their career and their family.

Eloise tends to make her decisions before consulting the rest of her family. Asking for forgiveness later. She has been this way for so long, she just assumes that they are going to go along with her. I personally, have never been one to put my work over my family. That is just me, but recently going from being a stay at home mom to a working mom, I can see how sometimes that sacrifice must be made. Charlene Carr does a great job of drawing you into the story and you can see yourself in the main characters shoes. You put yourself in the story.

This book is about discovering what exactly is most important. Hopefully we will come to that realization before it is too late and we lose out on those things we love the most.

**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review**
  
Bears vs Babies
Bears vs Babies
2017 | Animals, Card Game, Comic Book / Strip, Humor
Cool Idea (1 more)
Monsters Eating Babies
Can Get Frustrating (1 more)
Winner Is Usually Obvious Very Early
You Get To Build Monsters (And Eat Babies)
I Kickstartered this game when it was released despite not really loving Exploding Kittens beyond the art and the concept. The large draw was that I did not have any other game in my collection that I could pet and stroke when I was stressed and who doesn't like building monsters?

To be honest, this is a decent game with some strategy elements. The main issue is that the winner generally becomes evident early on in the game when they take a large number of points and wipe out everyone else's monsters and it become difficult for everyone else to catch up if the leader plays to obstruct.

The art is cute and sometimes rather disturbing, especially in the NSFW expansion (which should certainly not be used with kids at the table unless you want some deep and terrible conversations about schlongs). The monsters you make are funny and you can get a little attached to them. Sadly, that is a bad strategy as they can be wiped out in the Baby War at any point when someone provokes one of the baby armies and they kill everyone.

One of the biggest frustrations with this game is that sometimes you get to a point where you have nothing but legs and nothing else. All you want is a head or a cool body to attach all your legs to. You don't want to waste a turn diving in the discard for a head so you keep drawing more legs until you can hardly hold all your cards. At the end of the game you realize the Dave has all the heads and you hate him. Screw you, Dave!

Overall, its OK, You won't play it all the time, but it can be fun with a beer in the right crowd.
  
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
Leah Remini | 2015 | Biography, Religion
8
8.3 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
This review is totally biased, so I apologize for that first if I offend anyone... A family member of mine had some experiences with the Church of Scientology while away at a stint in rehab. He did get clean there, and we are thankful for that - but the garbage they put in his brain, how unbelievably brainwashed he became to these ludicrous ideals... makes me sick. He will never be the same. So, I knew I was on Leah's side before I even read about her story.

I'm happy though to have a more inside look at Scientology now after reading this - because I thought I was drawing assumptions from personal "experience" but boy was I right about this cult! It's totally clear now why Nicole Kidman's adopted kids with Tom Cruise are no longer in her life because it is required by the church - how awful and sad. It explains the Katie Holmes situation as well - I'm sure she freaked out when she realized what she had gotten herself and her daughter into. It disgusts me that TC has basically abandoned his daughter because of these crazies!

My heart definitely goes out to Leah. She went through hell and back with these people and still somehow survived and landed back on two feet. I do place some blame on her mother for ever getting involved (why?!? just why?!?)but the story does a great job of showing how she got in, what she went through and how she eventually got out.

I cannot believe that Scientology is considered a "Church". They way they treat people is horrendous. They don't actually do anything for those less fortunate like most churches; but the amount of money that these people have is disgusting. And its just used to rope more people into this cult.

Leah's story was very informative, and a great peek into the mystery of this strange group of people. I'm glad she got out and survived, because it seems that some people do not survive leaving. A eye-opening read for sure.
  
The Sixteen Trees of the Somme
The Sixteen Trees of the Somme
Lars Mytting | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’m going to start this review off with an apology at the quality of it. I’ve tried and tried to think of some things to say about this book but my mind is drawing a blank. I read this novel during a bit of a slump and I feel as though I just drifted through it.

I know I enjoyed it, not as much as I’d hoped, but enough to not dislike it. And I know that it got very emotional and I had a bit of a cry fest at the end. But from there, I’m a bit stuck… How do I do this review thing again?

Characters in this one are different. You feel like you really get to know them throughout the story, but when you’ve finished the book you realise you didn’t really know them at all. They were well developed and were talked about enough, but it was as though they were behind a screen. The characters themselves talked about how another character was hiding behind a mask, but you come to realise that all the characters were wearing masks, not just from each other, but from the reader too.

The story is a bit of a strange one and I felt it losing me in some points. It was a story about love, loss, grief and mystery. But very different to the kinds of mystery you’re used to seeing on my page. This one is certainly unique, but is definitely a slow mover, so anyone looking for something fast-paced, pass this one up.

I can’t work out what more to say. If you like emotional, slow moving novels in moody settings with distant characters, this book is definitely something for you. I’m glad I stepped a little out of my comfort zone with this one because I did enjoy it, but it’s not the type of book I could read a lot.