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Outlandish Knight: The Byzantine Life of Steven Runciman
Book
'An extraordinary book ... exceptionally fascinating, always readable and penetratingly intelligent'...
Biography
Firebrand: Green Rider #6
9.0
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Book
Zachary Davriel Hillander, High King of Sacoridia, rues how much he has had to give up to lead his...
ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Glass Hotel in Books
Aug 27, 2021
The Glass Hotel is a book that I really didn’t think I was going to like - but I did. It’s about a failed Ponzi scheme - I had to look up what that actually was. I had absolutely no idea. It’s where someone, a real or fake advisor, planner or investor, promises to invest your money with a certain rate of return. Instead of putting your money in whatever investment they promised, they keep it for themselves. If you want your money back, they take it from other investors to give to you. I couldn’t read a whole book where this was constantly referred to and not find out what it was!
However, this book isn’t just about Ponzi schemes. It’s a character driven book, and there are a fair few of them.
Vincent was a fascinating character - she starts her life in a remote village in Canada, only reachable by boat. When it looks like she’s losing her way, she gets a job at a hotel and meets Jonathan Alkaitis - the organiser of the Ponzi scheme. Vincent is completely unconcerned at where the money she spends is coming from, she just spends it, lives in their luxury apartments, living the life she never had as a child. When that money is gone, Vincent moves on - she’s a survivor, and I really like that about her.
I couldn’t believe the length of Alkaitis’ prison sentence - I’m assuming 140 years or more is normal for a fraud of this scale. He doesn’t cope well. He has visions, sees ghosts of the people whose lives he destroyed. This was really eerie: were they real? Was it his imagination?
Leon Prevant shows what happens to a lot of older people when they have no income: he becomes one of the nomadic people, travelling in a camper-van from job to job. No savings, no home. The fear as they get older, of illness or infirmity.
So yes, I really enjoyed this. I liked that it’s completely different to Station 11, and I’m very glad I read it!
However, this book isn’t just about Ponzi schemes. It’s a character driven book, and there are a fair few of them.
Vincent was a fascinating character - she starts her life in a remote village in Canada, only reachable by boat. When it looks like she’s losing her way, she gets a job at a hotel and meets Jonathan Alkaitis - the organiser of the Ponzi scheme. Vincent is completely unconcerned at where the money she spends is coming from, she just spends it, lives in their luxury apartments, living the life she never had as a child. When that money is gone, Vincent moves on - she’s a survivor, and I really like that about her.
I couldn’t believe the length of Alkaitis’ prison sentence - I’m assuming 140 years or more is normal for a fraud of this scale. He doesn’t cope well. He has visions, sees ghosts of the people whose lives he destroyed. This was really eerie: were they real? Was it his imagination?
Leon Prevant shows what happens to a lot of older people when they have no income: he becomes one of the nomadic people, travelling in a camper-van from job to job. No savings, no home. The fear as they get older, of illness or infirmity.
So yes, I really enjoyed this. I liked that it’s completely different to Station 11, and I’m very glad I read it!
Debbiereadsbook (1821 KP) rated Ghost of a Chance (Bucket List Buddies #2) in Books
Nov 8, 2025
these books are a lot of fun!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 2 in the Bucket List Buddies series, and I do think you should read book one, Perilous Cuite before this one. Morty and Hector play a part here, and Lionel is Hector's friend.
Lionel doesn't want to go ghost hunting, but his friend gave him tickets, and the other friend let him down. He'll just sneak in and out when no one is looking. But something happens, Lionel is shaken and Brad spots the gorgeous lion sneaking out and where the heck did he disappear to?? Friends come good, and Lionel and Brad officially meet and mate. But not everyone is happy, and a past comes back with a bang.
I thoroughly enjoyed book 1, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one too! I read it after a particularly . . . . difficult . . . read, and it really lifted my spirits as much as the ghosts they were hunting!
It's steamy, as fated mates books are. I found the drama a little heavier than book 1, but only because Brad made a stand for his mate, and that past did not like it!
In book 1, Hector's mother was best described as a witch. She was horrid to Hector and Morty. But Lionel's mum?? Oh she flew clear across the world to come meet Brad and congratulate them on their mating. She arrived just in time to give that past a right dressing down!
Loved that we caught up with Morty and Hector and their news. I loved the snippet at the end, hinting about Sven and Remy. No idea when or if they will get a book, but the epilogues are great and I'm rooting for them!
These books are a lot of fun, something silly in a messed up time. Thank you for writing them, please keep em coming!
4 wonderful stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is book 2 in the Bucket List Buddies series, and I do think you should read book one, Perilous Cuite before this one. Morty and Hector play a part here, and Lionel is Hector's friend.
Lionel doesn't want to go ghost hunting, but his friend gave him tickets, and the other friend let him down. He'll just sneak in and out when no one is looking. But something happens, Lionel is shaken and Brad spots the gorgeous lion sneaking out and where the heck did he disappear to?? Friends come good, and Lionel and Brad officially meet and mate. But not everyone is happy, and a past comes back with a bang.
I thoroughly enjoyed book 1, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one too! I read it after a particularly . . . . difficult . . . read, and it really lifted my spirits as much as the ghosts they were hunting!
It's steamy, as fated mates books are. I found the drama a little heavier than book 1, but only because Brad made a stand for his mate, and that past did not like it!
In book 1, Hector's mother was best described as a witch. She was horrid to Hector and Morty. But Lionel's mum?? Oh she flew clear across the world to come meet Brad and congratulate them on their mating. She arrived just in time to give that past a right dressing down!
Loved that we caught up with Morty and Hector and their news. I loved the snippet at the end, hinting about Sven and Remy. No idea when or if they will get a book, but the epilogues are great and I'm rooting for them!
These books are a lot of fun, something silly in a messed up time. Thank you for writing them, please keep em coming!
4 wonderful stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Accidentally Vacationed with an Incubus (Briar Coven, #2)
8.0
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Book
He wants a connection. She wants him gone. A steamy bargain changes everything. When 27-year-old...
Romance Urban Fantasy Witches Monster Romance
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Hanks Radio ( Haunted Collection book 4) in Books
Apr 2, 2022
58 of 230
Kindle
Hanks Radio ( Haunted Collection 4)
By Ron Ripley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A man's seductive voice emanates from an antique radio, luring women into his murderous embrace....
It's business as usual for Stefan Korzh as he continues to send haunted antiques onto unsuspecting buyers. Despite going into hiding, his desire to punish the universe for his own misfortune remains unchecked.
Victor Daniels, now more than ever, is focused on grabbing Korzh by the neck and making him feel the full extent of his pain and suffering. But plans change when a suave ghost from the 1940s leaves a trail of dead bodies in his wake. Hank, a sly and charming specter, uses a mahogany-colored radio to reach his victims...lonely, elderly women in nursing homes who find him hard to resist.
Meanwhile, Tom Crane is slowly adjusting to the life of a home-schooled student, spending his days immersed in books from the local library. But brewing underneath his scholarly demeanor is his insatiable thirst for revenge. With Victor occupied, Tom embarks on a dangerous mission to confront the man behind his misery.
The lives of Stefan, Victor, and Tom become more and more intertwined as they continue to play the blood-riddled sport. When old friends - and enemies - reveal themselves, they discover that anything is possible in a game filled with ghosts and vengeance.
Even the hunter can become the hunted....
I really enjoy these books and the character development. We pick up with Victor And Tom in this one and how they are dealing with Jeremy’s death and there continued search for Korzh. They get split up and things go a little haywire. These are so good and they involve a different vengeful spirit each time. This on also brought back the doll Anne that thing really gives me the bloody creeps. Recommended if you enjoy a good ghost story.
Kindle
Hanks Radio ( Haunted Collection 4)
By Ron Ripley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A man's seductive voice emanates from an antique radio, luring women into his murderous embrace....
It's business as usual for Stefan Korzh as he continues to send haunted antiques onto unsuspecting buyers. Despite going into hiding, his desire to punish the universe for his own misfortune remains unchecked.
Victor Daniels, now more than ever, is focused on grabbing Korzh by the neck and making him feel the full extent of his pain and suffering. But plans change when a suave ghost from the 1940s leaves a trail of dead bodies in his wake. Hank, a sly and charming specter, uses a mahogany-colored radio to reach his victims...lonely, elderly women in nursing homes who find him hard to resist.
Meanwhile, Tom Crane is slowly adjusting to the life of a home-schooled student, spending his days immersed in books from the local library. But brewing underneath his scholarly demeanor is his insatiable thirst for revenge. With Victor occupied, Tom embarks on a dangerous mission to confront the man behind his misery.
The lives of Stefan, Victor, and Tom become more and more intertwined as they continue to play the blood-riddled sport. When old friends - and enemies - reveal themselves, they discover that anything is possible in a game filled with ghosts and vengeance.
Even the hunter can become the hunted....
I really enjoy these books and the character development. We pick up with Victor And Tom in this one and how they are dealing with Jeremy’s death and there continued search for Korzh. They get split up and things go a little haywire. These are so good and they involve a different vengeful spirit each time. This on also brought back the doll Anne that thing really gives me the bloody creeps. Recommended if you enjoy a good ghost story.
Requiem (Tales of the Five Realms #1)
7.5
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Book
In a world where light and shade battle for hearts and minds, young rebel, Hagar, earns a...
Paranormal Romance
The Fern Flower
Book
Russia 1908-1917 Every good folktale reveals villains and heroes. Mila Belova’s world is...
Historical Fiction