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S.T.A.G.S (S.T.A.G.S, #1)
S.T.A.G.S (S.T.A.G.S, #1)
M.A. Bennett | 2017 | Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book, and it really didn’t disappoint.
It starts off with us finding out that the narrator, Greer, is just starting at a new and extremely prestigious school called St Aidan the Great School or S.T.A.G.S. for short. We find out that Greer was lucky enough to win a scholarship for the school and took it so that her dad (a wildlife cameraman) could go to Chile to film in bat caves instead of turning the job down as he had been doing previously. Things aren’t plain sailing for Greer though, as she finds that the other students (including her roommate) aren’t the most welcoming or friendly, and as a result of this spends the first term quite lonely and keeping herself to herself. That is until she gets an invitation pushed under her door, and it’s an invitation that will change her life forever. The invitation comes from the most popular group in the school, who also happen to be the prefects or the “Medievals”. Pleased to finally have a chance at friendship, and with her roommates persuasion that it means she will become a Medieval next year, Greer takes up the invitation to spend three days at the country house of one of the most popular boys at school.
When Greer arrives, she is surprised to find two other people have also been invited and is surprised since she thought the Medievals disliked them as much as she’d thought they disliked her. What then follows is three days of hunting, shooting and fishing. And also three days of “accidents” and the three “unpopular” students teaming up against the six Medievals.
This book was thrilling from start to finish, and one of those books that you really don’t want to end because you are enjoying it so much. I enjoyed that Greer referenced movies so much, as the two main passions in my own life are books and films. With each film she referenced, it solidified the picture in my mind of the scene that was going on around her.
A definite 5 stars from me! And I cannot wait to read the sequels!
  
Dog Days (2018)
Dog Days (2018)
2018 | Drama
Not writing this review after seeing the film was a mistake. It's only been 8 days and yet I can't remember much about it, which probably sounds like it isn't a recommendation. I know I enjoyed it, there were touching moments and funny bits. It might not change your life but it'll make you feel good.

There are lots of faces you'll recognise. Some to love and some to hate. Jon Bass is the human star of this one for me. Adorable, funny and the great double act with Gertrude is delightful. She also rocks a super cool doggy wardrobe. Mabel is probably my favourite canine character. A coach to 5k success story line that got me in the feels.

It's another one of those films that's pretty predictable though. Characters end up where you expect them to be, and the dogs (for the most part) make you smile. Nice film, but probably not worth a full price ticket.

As an after thought, there is one moment I can specifically remember, and it left me puzzled. The dog walker sets up in a client's home while he's not there and then at the end of the film she's dating the materialistic vet... was it his house? I don't remember seeing anything about it other than those two scenes and it left me confused.
  
The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez
The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez
Philip Carlo | 2016 | Biography
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Listen. This book is all sorts of fricken wild. It is intense, grueling, disturbing, intriguing, page-turning, heart-wrenching, want to put down but can't, all of the things. For the longest time, I read the first 23 pages where 3 people were killed, and I didn't want to read it anymore. It was so in detail, it felt like I was watching it happen in my brain and it made me so uncomfortable. And I'm not a squeamish person. I stopped being scared of murder and rape and brutal crimes such as Richard Ramirez's so many years ago, and this book shook me like nothing else has. It was everything I said it was and more. Shocking. Inconceivable. Jaw-dropping.

There is so much to comprehend when reading this book and still you end up with so many questions. Unfortunately, the author, Philip Carlo, died in 2010 from ALS. While Richard Ramirez died in 2013 from lymphoma. I wish Carlo was still alive so answer questions, I wish he would've been alive to see Richard to the end of his days. I wonder what the 20th-anniversary edition would've looked like. I am definitely going to pick up some of his other works, but I definitely need a good fiction, rom-com, comedy, something else, to get my head out of Richard Ramirez and back to the world of not so terrifying.

I would recommend this book if you think you can stomach it. It is not for the weak-hearted, that's for sure.
  
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The Medici Boy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
**NOTE: I was generously provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

After reading the title, The Medici Boy, I expected this to mainly be a novel about the Medicis. While they do play a part, the story focuses on Donatello and his infatuation with the young model/prostitute Agnolo (the titular "Medici Boy"), who poses for his bronze "David and Goliath". The whole thing is told to us in the form of a final written memoir by Luca Mattei, one of Donatello's assistants, as he nears the end of his days imprisoned for a murder that he committed out of love for his friend Donatello.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I had a hard time relating to most of the characters in this story, and the lack of action caused the book to feel somewhat slow at times, but it is very well written. The descriptions of Florence and her history, and the detailed references to Donatello's artistic processes were interesting and seem to have been very well researched.

Students of art history and those who have an interest in the Renaissance or Italian history in general should really enjoy this book.