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Girls With Balls: The Secret History of Women's Football
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Boxing Day 1920, and 53,000 men, women and children pack inside Goodison Park. The extraordinary...
What scares you the most? Ghouls, vampires, slime-fanged aliens ...or something terrible that truly could happen? For me it's definitely the latter.
Our narrator, Jon, is a historian witnessing the most monumental event of humanity but at a great distance. He feels compelled to keep a record of the people isolated with him in a vast hotel. He collects their stories and feelings in the faint hope that some sort of civilisation will survive long enough to rediscover them. Through his journal we experience what it would be like to be aware that the world was ending, billions dying, but be totally disconnected from the horrific events.
Most books set during an apocalypse are fraught with traumatic dashes, violent brushes with death, horror and misery. There are elements of that here but this book mostly poses the question of what you would do if there was little drama but lots of time to dwell on things. The people in the hotel are comparatively safe in an old hotel surrounded by forest. They wait for something to happen, for someone to rescue them, or perhaps just for their food to run out. Jon embarks on a quest to solve one cruel murder, taking him down a path of mistrust and near hysteria.
I enjoyed the blend of dystopia and murder mystery; the first half of the book reads like a modern day progeny of George Orwell and Agatha Christie. Asking your audience to imagine bombs wiping out entire countries but then drastically limiting their focus to one death amongst multitudes is startling. I also liked the references to real people and places, there were definite shades of the Cecil Hotel here for a true-crime/horror podcast junkie like me to appreciate. However, I do feel that the novel lost it's way towards the end - trying to be all things to all people perhaps. It's definitely worth reading and I'm keen to see more from this author.
Our narrator, Jon, is a historian witnessing the most monumental event of humanity but at a great distance. He feels compelled to keep a record of the people isolated with him in a vast hotel. He collects their stories and feelings in the faint hope that some sort of civilisation will survive long enough to rediscover them. Through his journal we experience what it would be like to be aware that the world was ending, billions dying, but be totally disconnected from the horrific events.
Most books set during an apocalypse are fraught with traumatic dashes, violent brushes with death, horror and misery. There are elements of that here but this book mostly poses the question of what you would do if there was little drama but lots of time to dwell on things. The people in the hotel are comparatively safe in an old hotel surrounded by forest. They wait for something to happen, for someone to rescue them, or perhaps just for their food to run out. Jon embarks on a quest to solve one cruel murder, taking him down a path of mistrust and near hysteria.
I enjoyed the blend of dystopia and murder mystery; the first half of the book reads like a modern day progeny of George Orwell and Agatha Christie. Asking your audience to imagine bombs wiping out entire countries but then drastically limiting their focus to one death amongst multitudes is startling. I also liked the references to real people and places, there were definite shades of the Cecil Hotel here for a true-crime/horror podcast junkie like me to appreciate. However, I do feel that the novel lost it's way towards the end - trying to be all things to all people perhaps. It's definitely worth reading and I'm keen to see more from this author.
Anime Eye.s Contact.s Changer For Naruto Shippuden
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Anime Eyes Contact.s Changer For Naruto Shippuden Eyes is the simplest app to apply Sharingan Eyes...
Hello Weather
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Say hello to Hello Weather—the exceptionally useful no-nonsense weather app. The perfect balance....
Christina Haynes (148 KP) rated The Hazel Wood in Books
Feb 24, 2018 (Updated Feb 24, 2018)
The Hazel Wood
The Hazel Wood
By Melissa Albert
Review: Christina Haynes
Have you ever wanted to go into the world of fairytales. To see their stories unfold, to learn more about them and not just through the pages of a book?
Alice used to want to know more about them. When your Grandmother is the famous author of the ‘Hinterland’. A world where Fairytales are dark like the story of ‘Alice three times’ of course you would want to know more. Especially when you haven’t met the woman and your mother never talks about her.
But when you do finally enter the Hinderland you see that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Alice and her mother Ella have been on the run all of Alice’s life. Ella grew up on fairytales and Alice grew up on highways. They have both been running from this bad luck that always seems to follow them wherever they go. Which Ella believes comes from her mother, Althea.
Althea Properpine was traveling with a man and when their affair ended she vanished. Alike with Agatha Christie, she returned and no one knew where she had been. Unlike Agatha she remembered – she was in the Hinterland. A place where her stories began.
Althea’s books cannot be found anywhere, she has a huge fan base who never reveal the pages of her book. Everything about her is a mystery, even her home, The Hazel Wood.
Her only known interview was with Vanity Fair and even then no one could say where she lived. Her first husband Ella’s father died when she was young, she then married Greek royalty and then vanished to her home at The Hazel Wood. At eighteen Ella left home with her baby Alice and never stopped running.
One day Ella receives a letter in the post informing her of Althea’s death. To which Ella believes is a miracle, because now her bad luck won’t exist. So she marries and settles down, creates a home they both longed for. Until one day, the bad luck finds them and Ella is taken away, by the Hinterland. Ella leaves Alice a message “STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD” This is the start of the Fairytale that Alice joins.
Alice seeks the help of a boy at school, Ellery Finch who is a super fan of Althea and her stories. Together they travel to where The Hazel Wood is. But is Ellery a friend or just a super fan.
“Look until the leaves turn red, sew the worlds up with thread. If your journey’s left undone, fear the rising of the sun.”
4 ☕ – I REALLY LIKED IT
Love, Christina ?
By Melissa Albert
Review: Christina Haynes
Have you ever wanted to go into the world of fairytales. To see their stories unfold, to learn more about them and not just through the pages of a book?
Alice used to want to know more about them. When your Grandmother is the famous author of the ‘Hinterland’. A world where Fairytales are dark like the story of ‘Alice three times’ of course you would want to know more. Especially when you haven’t met the woman and your mother never talks about her.
But when you do finally enter the Hinderland you see that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Alice and her mother Ella have been on the run all of Alice’s life. Ella grew up on fairytales and Alice grew up on highways. They have both been running from this bad luck that always seems to follow them wherever they go. Which Ella believes comes from her mother, Althea.
Althea Properpine was traveling with a man and when their affair ended she vanished. Alike with Agatha Christie, she returned and no one knew where she had been. Unlike Agatha she remembered – she was in the Hinterland. A place where her stories began.
Althea’s books cannot be found anywhere, she has a huge fan base who never reveal the pages of her book. Everything about her is a mystery, even her home, The Hazel Wood.
Her only known interview was with Vanity Fair and even then no one could say where she lived. Her first husband Ella’s father died when she was young, she then married Greek royalty and then vanished to her home at The Hazel Wood. At eighteen Ella left home with her baby Alice and never stopped running.
One day Ella receives a letter in the post informing her of Althea’s death. To which Ella believes is a miracle, because now her bad luck won’t exist. So she marries and settles down, creates a home they both longed for. Until one day, the bad luck finds them and Ella is taken away, by the Hinterland. Ella leaves Alice a message “STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD” This is the start of the Fairytale that Alice joins.
Alice seeks the help of a boy at school, Ellery Finch who is a super fan of Althea and her stories. Together they travel to where The Hazel Wood is. But is Ellery a friend or just a super fan.
“Look until the leaves turn red, sew the worlds up with thread. If your journey’s left undone, fear the rising of the sun.”
4 ☕ – I REALLY LIKED IT
Love, Christina ?
Meditation Timer&Achtsamkeit - breathe meditation
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Happier, relaxed and healthy through the day: Discover how easy can the meditation be with the...
Clare Parrott (294 KP) created a post
Jul 24, 2017
The Devotionals (1 more)
The Research
I don’t often review non-fiction books. It’s just not something I like to do. I’m a fiction gal. I love reading a book where I can lost and escape reality for a few hours a day. But, when I have a favorite author, such as Jill Eileen Smith, I will give even a non-fiction book a try. And, I was actually rather excited to read this one, because let me tell you. My life, definitely does not match my dreams. Sure, I have a wonderful husband and two amazing children and a loving father and two gorgeous sisters. But, my health is not great, and my dreams? I dream so much more than this. I fell like I’ll be like this forever and never accomplish anything.
Smith has done a wonderful job with this book. It brings us the stories of 12 women of the Bible and how they dreamed for so much more, but it didn’t match up to what God had in store for them. You see, He is the creator of us all and He is the one that can see our future, know our plans, know what our lives will be like. And, through the tender words that Smith uses, along with the 12 women and phenomenal research she incorporated into the book, we see how life can be when we are disappointed that our dreams are following into line with our life.
Through this devotional, I was able to better understand my own life. I know what I want, I know what I wish I had, I know that I’m going to be disappointed because I’m not fully relying on God to help me with that. If I trust in Him, if I seek out his love and guidance, I won’t be so disappointed when a hope or dream falls short. Smith has once again used her incredible talent to hook me on a book. Her research is exquisite and her writing is filled with emotion and raw feelings.
This is a 5 star devotional book I would recommend to all the women out there. Get lost among the pages, see how these 12 women made mistakes, made choices that effect them and their families and see what God had in store for them. You may find the same hope and encouragement I did. Definitely a book for the keeper shelf and one I’ll share with my family and friends!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Smith has done a wonderful job with this book. It brings us the stories of 12 women of the Bible and how they dreamed for so much more, but it didn’t match up to what God had in store for them. You see, He is the creator of us all and He is the one that can see our future, know our plans, know what our lives will be like. And, through the tender words that Smith uses, along with the 12 women and phenomenal research she incorporated into the book, we see how life can be when we are disappointed that our dreams are following into line with our life.
Through this devotional, I was able to better understand my own life. I know what I want, I know what I wish I had, I know that I’m going to be disappointed because I’m not fully relying on God to help me with that. If I trust in Him, if I seek out his love and guidance, I won’t be so disappointed when a hope or dream falls short. Smith has once again used her incredible talent to hook me on a book. Her research is exquisite and her writing is filled with emotion and raw feelings.
This is a 5 star devotional book I would recommend to all the women out there. Get lost among the pages, see how these 12 women made mistakes, made choices that effect them and their families and see what God had in store for them. You may find the same hope and encouragement I did. Definitely a book for the keeper shelf and one I’ll share with my family and friends!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Carma (21 KP) rated Beauty and the Greek Billionaire in Books
Jun 17, 2019
Marianna is crossing things off her bucket list and one of those things is to lose her virginity finally. While in Greece with her brother she thinks now is the perfect time to explore the possibility. She makes up a fake name and goes in search of a one night stand. Never would she imagine her ideal man would be a purse snatcher (of sorts).
Nico has his eye on the beautiful sister of the man trying to lure him into investing in his company. She was leaving the café with her brother when a purse thief grabbed at her bag. Nico leaned in to help and got a nose full of her fist, in the scuffle she realized she had struck the wrong man and invited him for drinks. Introducing herself in a different name than hed known her by he wondered what her game was. Did her brother send her in to spy on him?
Marianna has no idea Nico knows exactly who she is but she sleeps with him all the same. When he kicks her out of his house at the end of a beautiful day she is more confused than ever. She goes back to Australia broken but not beaten until about 2 months later when she fails a test.
Nico doesnt let anyone in, not into his life, heart or house and yet somehow Marianna got into all 3 quickly. He feels bad for sending her away and when she returns he thinks it is a sign to try and make it work for the sake of parenting anyway. He is a jerk, cold, stubborn and rude but he takes care of what he feels he should without question.
Marianna and Nico struggle through getting to know one another while trying to make their brief relationship look lengthy. Nico does not bend to the give and take relationships take however and fights every step forward Marianna tries to take. In the end she leaves him because he doesnt trust her. Nico has to make the ultimate choice of what means more to him, Marianna and his future or the past and their mistakes.
I enjoyed the traveling porcelain cat and what it symbolized. I received a copy without expectation for review, any and all opinions expressed are my own. While this didn't grab me fully, I still enjoyed the bones of the story. 3 3/4 stars for this read.
Nico has his eye on the beautiful sister of the man trying to lure him into investing in his company. She was leaving the café with her brother when a purse thief grabbed at her bag. Nico leaned in to help and got a nose full of her fist, in the scuffle she realized she had struck the wrong man and invited him for drinks. Introducing herself in a different name than hed known her by he wondered what her game was. Did her brother send her in to spy on him?
Marianna has no idea Nico knows exactly who she is but she sleeps with him all the same. When he kicks her out of his house at the end of a beautiful day she is more confused than ever. She goes back to Australia broken but not beaten until about 2 months later when she fails a test.
Nico doesnt let anyone in, not into his life, heart or house and yet somehow Marianna got into all 3 quickly. He feels bad for sending her away and when she returns he thinks it is a sign to try and make it work for the sake of parenting anyway. He is a jerk, cold, stubborn and rude but he takes care of what he feels he should without question.
Marianna and Nico struggle through getting to know one another while trying to make their brief relationship look lengthy. Nico does not bend to the give and take relationships take however and fights every step forward Marianna tries to take. In the end she leaves him because he doesnt trust her. Nico has to make the ultimate choice of what means more to him, Marianna and his future or the past and their mistakes.
I enjoyed the traveling porcelain cat and what it symbolized. I received a copy without expectation for review, any and all opinions expressed are my own. While this didn't grab me fully, I still enjoyed the bones of the story. 3 3/4 stars for this read.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Mike (Adam Devine), and his brother Dave (Zac Efron), are a couple of easy going and fun loving guys who make their living as liquor salesman, often using some elaborate schemes.
One evening their parents greet them with an ultimatum, they must bring dates to their sister’s wedding in Hawaii. The reason for this is that in their exuberance, Mike and Dave have been known to go overboard in trying to impress the ladies, which has resulted in some epic disasters at numerous family events.
Desperate to appease their Sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard), the duo turn to the internet to try to find nice girls who will go with them to Hawaii. Naturally they are flooded with thousands of e-mails from girls hoping to score a free trip and their efforts soon get them on a talk show, where they tell their story.
Enter Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza); two lifelong friends who have just lost their jobs after Alice was brutally left at the altar on her wedding day. The two see Mike and Dave on television and devise a plan to pass themselves off as decent ladies to score the free trip. The plan works and in no time they are in Hawaii and getting ready for the events.
Unfortunately for Mike and Dave, the two girls are not what they appear as they are actually foul mouthed party girls with a passion for wild and reckless behavior and who lack any sort of internal censor.
Combine this with the internal family tensions that can arise at such events it is no surprise that this wedding is on a fast path to disaster.
What follows is a series of crude, outrageous, and hilarious events as Mike and Dave clash with the girls, family, each other and learn more about life, love and family.
The cast works well with one another and there are some truly funny sequences such as the relaxing massage and musical number. The cast works very well with one another and you will want to watch the outtakes during the final credits as they add even more laughs to the film.
While it is mainly a comedy that uses every bit of its R rating, there are enough laughs for those who are willing to overlook some of the issues with the film’s pacing and basic premise, but remember it is a comedy, and if you do not mind this type of humor, you will find yourself laughing along frequently.
http://sknr.net/2016/07/07/mike-dave-need-wedding-dates/
One evening their parents greet them with an ultimatum, they must bring dates to their sister’s wedding in Hawaii. The reason for this is that in their exuberance, Mike and Dave have been known to go overboard in trying to impress the ladies, which has resulted in some epic disasters at numerous family events.
Desperate to appease their Sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard), the duo turn to the internet to try to find nice girls who will go with them to Hawaii. Naturally they are flooded with thousands of e-mails from girls hoping to score a free trip and their efforts soon get them on a talk show, where they tell their story.
Enter Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza); two lifelong friends who have just lost their jobs after Alice was brutally left at the altar on her wedding day. The two see Mike and Dave on television and devise a plan to pass themselves off as decent ladies to score the free trip. The plan works and in no time they are in Hawaii and getting ready for the events.
Unfortunately for Mike and Dave, the two girls are not what they appear as they are actually foul mouthed party girls with a passion for wild and reckless behavior and who lack any sort of internal censor.
Combine this with the internal family tensions that can arise at such events it is no surprise that this wedding is on a fast path to disaster.
What follows is a series of crude, outrageous, and hilarious events as Mike and Dave clash with the girls, family, each other and learn more about life, love and family.
The cast works well with one another and there are some truly funny sequences such as the relaxing massage and musical number. The cast works very well with one another and you will want to watch the outtakes during the final credits as they add even more laughs to the film.
While it is mainly a comedy that uses every bit of its R rating, there are enough laughs for those who are willing to overlook some of the issues with the film’s pacing and basic premise, but remember it is a comedy, and if you do not mind this type of humor, you will find yourself laughing along frequently.
http://sknr.net/2016/07/07/mike-dave-need-wedding-dates/