Search

Search only in certain items:

Counting on You
Counting on You
Laura Chapman | 2018 | Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Counting on You
“She wasn’t the most boring person in the world, but she wasn’t exactly ready to start booking stand up routines at the comedy club either.”

Counting on You begins with our female lead, Hayleigh who is a successful maths teacher in her late twenties but has had some difficulty dating. Scratch that, she hasn’t dated since her high school boyfriend left her with a sour taste in her mouth. After an awkward first date at a dive bar, Amarillo Sour, she meets our male lead Ian; an app developer at Link digital who is Conveniently working on a dating app that is at the pinnacle of his career. This book follows Ian as he helps Hayleigh navigate the murky waters of the online dating world.

Continue reading my review at: https://www.readsandrecipes.co.uk/2018/08/counting-on-you-by-laura-chapman.html
  
Daughter of the Pirate King
Daughter of the Pirate King
Tricia Levenseller | 2017 | Children
8
7.9 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Daughter of the Pirate King is a swashbuckling adventure for young adult/teen fans of pirate shenanigans. Alosa is a strong, fearless pirate with flaming red hair and a taste for blood. Although her father is the Pirate King, she captains her ship under her own merit and inspires loyalty in her crew.

I went into this story knowing only that it featured a lead character who was essentially a female Jack Sparrow. As a huge fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow and pirate tales in general – I knew this was a book for me and was glad that I didn’t know more about it than that. There as aspects, allegiances, and secrets about our characters that might be spoiled by reading a synopsis and were better to discover on our own organically while reading the book.

The plot was unexpected and enjoyable from start to finish and left me wanting more. It can easily and satisfyingly be read by itself but also leaves plenty of room to continue to the storyline. (Thankfully there is at least one more book in this series, but unfortunately, it is not out yet.)
Highly recommended read for those who enjoy adventure books with a strong female lead and just a dash of debauchery.
  
I really wanted to love this book. I really did. As a Malory novel, I was so sure that it would be just as amazing as the others I have read. In fact, when my grandmother gave it to me, I couldn’t wait to read it and bypassed a pile of books I had lined up to read.

Disappointment always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

While the novel still held Lindsey’s easy straightforward style, lovable characters, and hilarious dialogue, it lacks the magic that I experienced with the others. I think this is because the lead female protagonist, Amy, annoyed me beyond reason. I don’t think I have ever read a novel where the lead female was so obnoxious that I almost threw the book.

I give Amy props for being determined, but it reaches a certain point where I just believed her pathetic, to be honest. If she annoyed the hell out of me, I can’t imagine how Warren felt. It annoys me just as much that apparently sex can make people fall in love. Sorry romance novels, it doesn’t work that way.

However, I found myself laughing with this novel more than I did the others.
  
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
I went to the cinema to watch this and was actually pleasantly pleased as a person who does not tend to watch many DC films this one actually blew me away. This is the first lead female superhero and although it reminded me a bit to much of Captain America it did not matter to much. It was very very well acted and amazing graphics. Also the actual full scale battle itself was not to short or to long like they tend to be in other superhero films. I am thoroughly looking forward to any other films that has wonderwoman in it.
  
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson, Martin Wenner | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.1 (76 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the story disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, hired to investigate a prominent Swedish family, the Vangers, and the mysterious disappearance/death of a little girl, Harriet Vanger, 40 years ago.

He ends up working with a young female hacker-extroardinaire who has SERIOUS emotional baggage, and together they uncover clues that the police missed all those years ago, and find out some pretty damning family secrets.

Lisbeth Salander is badass. I loved her in this - she is now a favorite female lead character of mine. Larsson developed her character so much that I'll be surely reading the other two books in this series to see how she progresses and comes out of her dark, exterior shell... but hopefully doesn't lose her edginess and fearlessness in the process.

Steig Larsson is pretty twisted and disturbed, and I'm pretty sure he was a misogynist. But, this book is genius and I think it deserves 5 Stars.
  
The outpost season 1
The outpost season 1
2018 | Sci-Fi
Refreshing (0 more)
Creepy Janzos eyebrows (0 more)
Refreshing and interesting storyline. Its fun and has decent fight scenes but its a low budget show and acting can be a bit corny, especially the Janzo character who just acts really creepy. You do have to get past the first few episodes for it to get better though. The lead character is strong willed, independant and capable woman, driven by vengeance. However its a bit frustrating when she keeps getting stabbed, leads the creepy guy on and moons over the "handsome" male lead. Hmmm.... what was that about a strong female character? Give it a chance, it does improve. Theres not many decent new fantasy shows available, with the exception of the bigger budget, Game of thrones. Its more in line with xena and the shannara chronicles and its actually not as bad as some reviewers may say, well theres got to be a reason it got a second season. Im looking forward to seeing it.
  
40x40

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny, #2) in Books

Aug 1, 2023 (Updated Aug 1, 2023)  
Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny, #2)
Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny, #2)
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
99 of 235
Kindle
Bloodmagic ( Blood Destiny 2)
By Helen Harper
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After escaping the claws of Corrigan, the Lord Alpha of the Brethren, Mack is trying to lead a quiet lonely life in Inverness in rural Scotland, away from anyone who might happen to be a shapeshifter. However, when she lands a job at an old bookstore owned by a mysterious elderly woman who not only has a familiar passion for herbal lore but also seems to know more than she should, Mack ends up caught in a maelstrom between the Ministry of Mages, the Fae and the Brethren.

Now she has to decide between staying hidden and facing the music, as well as confronting her real feelings for the green eyed power of Corrigan himself.

I really enjoyed this. I love that it’s set in the UK the story is really good the characters are well written i absolutely love Mackenzie she is a strong female lead.
  
B is for Burglar  (Kinsey Millhone, #2)
B is for Burglar (Kinsey Millhone, #2)
Sue Grafton | 2005 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
6
8.1 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ok mystery bogged down in detail
I listened to the audio book of this read by Mary Peiffer.

Another outing with the independent PI Kinsey Millhone. This time she is approached to track down the missing sister of Beverly Danziger in what appears to be a straightforward case. It quickly starts to look a lot more suspicious when even the sister herself doesn't seem to want Kinsey to get to the bottom of the matter. A lot of different threads appear for Kinsey to try and unravel.

I found this book to really get bogged down in minor details and excessive descriptions of every little thing, making it a bit of a drag. The strong female lead was wasted on a bit of a drawn out story line, I felt it lacked something to keep the reader engaged (descriptions of egg sandwiches just doesn't cut it).

Written in the 80s I do love the nostalgia of a world pre mobile phones, saving the “battery died” line most books feel the need to throw in now. I also like having a female protagonist that doesn't get bogged down in a romantic relationship storyline which seems to be a habit in crime books with a female lead.

Kinsey has a good level of dogged determination and we were given numerous avenues of investigation to explore keeping the mystery engaging (although her missing an obvious clue which seemed totally unfathomable for her or any PI to miss drove me a little potty.). The main let down with this book though was the ending where it just seemed to go off the tracks a bit with unnecessary risk taking and crazy plot device.

The audio-book is a nice easy listen so I’ll probably continue on with Kinsey in that format.
  
40x40

Amy Norman (1042 KP) rated Dead to Me in TV

May 17, 2020  
Dead to Me
Dead to Me
2019 | Drama, Mystery
I 'accidentally' watched Season 1 in a day, and have just done the same with Season 2 😬

I put Season 1 on as a whim, and it was not what I expected at all, I was pleasantly surprised.

It has the witty gritty humour of older programs like 'Dexter', it touches on some emotional subjects but I wouldn't say it will bring you to tears.
It is more slice of life, as it touches on those subjects with a dark humour you will find yourself relating to.

It was refreshing to see a strong female lead cast, where it just felt like the norm, sometimes programs can push that agenda a bit too hard.
The balance of the two female leads is perfect in their oddly formed symbiotic relationship, and felt a bit closer to reality than other false female friendships you see on TV.

The way the story unfolds is brilliant, and well paced. You will feel those 'oh no' moments, and wonder what will happen next with a sense of dread.
Prepare for almost each episode to be a cliff hanger, or WTF just happened, which will draw you into the next episode.

'Dead to Me' is certainly not what you think it is going to be, and is definitely worth a watch.

P.S. it also makes great use of swearing 😅