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    Dr. Panda Hoopa City 2

    Dr. Panda Hoopa City 2

    Education

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    **From the makers of the award winning app Dr. Panda Restaurant 2. Build the city of your dreams!...

Bon Appetit (Paddle Creek Daddies #7)
Bon Appetit (Paddle Creek Daddies #7)
HJ Welch | 2026 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
these boys like to play with their food!
I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 7 in the Paddle Creek Daddies series, but you can read them all as stand alones books with characters popping up in other books.

This book came with a tag : ALL 👏 the 👏 food 👏 smeggs 👏👏👏 And OMG it's bloody DELICIOUS!!!

August and Tallis have been married for 15 years, Tallis is a Master and August a Daddy. For August's birthday, Tallis finds a boy for the weekend, for August to treat and Tallis to control the situation, since that's HIS thing. Oliver never had any experience with any sort of kink and kinda jumps in with two feet. It was only supposed to be for the weekend, but none of them really want to let go.

This book, right?? Is bloody delicious and I didn't want it to end! It's so much fun! And there is a huge amount of inappropriate use of food (my mind flashes back to candy canes!)

Tallis and August love each other, but they are very open to playing with others, together and alone provided all details are talked about after. I loved that level of trust and communication between those two. The communication continues with Oliver but the trust grows rapidly. I loved that Tallis talked it all through with Oliver before he let Oliver say yes he would join them for the weekend.

I loved the chemistry, right from the start, between these three. Tallis likes to be in control. August likes to spoil his boy. Oliver lets both men do what they need to do, but Oliver also sparks some things in both men they did not see coming.

I am well aware these sorts of relationship develop fast, and these men know what they want after that weekend, but their follow-up, to show Oliver they mean business?? OOOF! Hawt!!

I loved that Oliver was their little treat and that both men used that name often. It's really sweet and it totally fits Oliver!

I could go on and on and onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn about how much I loved this book, so I'll wrap up, before the review ends up as long as the book!

Sweet, and so very VERY smexy. Some emotions involved but nothing too heavy. No 3rd act break up and I loved that!

5 full and covered in honey, chocolate sauce, sushi rolls and eclair cream (I'm seeing candy canes again! I may never eat an eclair again!!) stars!

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
The Wheel of Osheim
The Wheel of Osheim
Mark Lawrence | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
The conclusion of the Red Queen's War trilogy is a significant improvement over the previous book, The Liar's Key. Though again this is a book of two halves: the first half following Jalan as he travels home from the Afriquan desert and is tasked with defending his home city from invasion; the second half sees him meet up with old friends and travel back to the eponymous Wheel to try and halt mankind's destruction and stop "the wheel" from turning.
I loved the first half of this book - Jalan is a much easier character to like/put up with on his own, and the city defence against siege was some of the most enjoyable of Lawrence's work, for me.
The second half was a definite nose-dive. Jalan goes back to being an insufferable coward (and given his companions say and do very little this makes these scenes quite a trudge). And it seems as if this was the chance to suddenly explain the point of the earlier "companion" Broken Empire trilogy and cram in loads of science and philosophy. Suddenly we went from knowing next to nothing but occasional hints to being repeatedly told what had happened 1100 years ago and what is still happening. And then in the last few pages, all back to normal, having no idea what was real or not.
At the end of The Liar's Key, I had such anticipation for this book: Jalan and Snorri entering Hell to try and bring back Snorri's family. This became such a massive anti-climax - the whole journey through Hell was covered in about 20 pages total and nothing of any import happened at all. It was a complete let-down.
One of the standout aspects of The Broken Empire trilogy was how two different timelines were maintained and meshed together beautifully at the perfect pace. Here we have an element of that, but Lawrence seems to feel the need to have a reason for Jalan to be experiencing the other timeline (in Liar's Key is was due to a magic spell which had unexpected recurring side-effects, here it is either through having flashbacks at inappropriate times or being told a story by Snorri) - it just totally jars when this suddenly has to happen.
The conclusion of the book I found very unsatisfying - too many key events/characters/plot points were suddenly thrown into one room fighting for attention and resolution - and what were meant to be epic foes to be bested were defeated fairly easily. And then the actual climax - a complete load of philosophical nonsense completely unravelling everything (not in a "woah, that blew my mind" way, more of a "well, what was the point then and what about ... ").
Overall a mostly great book but with some downright annoying aspects and a deeply unsatisfactory ending.
  
The Queens Corgi (2019)
The Queens Corgi (2019)
2019 |
1
2.0 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The character design (0 more)
Almost every creative decision apart from the character design (0 more)
The Queen's Corgi is a vicious mongrel
There’re so many problematic aspects to “The Queen’s Corgi” it’s kind of baffling it ever made it to cinema screens. A cute cartoon fable about the Queen’s beloved pets may seem like a slam-dunk for the Saturday kid’s club crowd and, if you’re determined to see it, it’s definitely worth waiting for it to reach the bargain screening circuit. Nobody should pay full price to see this.

At its core, it’s a story of Rex (Jack Whitehall), an adorable but arrogant Corgi who lets being the ‘top dog’ go to his head and ends up in the doghouse, stranded outside the Palace and at the mercy of the ferocious leader of the pack at the local dog pound. So far, so predictable.

Where “The Queen’s Corgi” surprises is in its decision to include in cutesy cartoon the divisive figure of President Trump and his current wife, especially as it involves the real-life self-confessed sexual predator in a sub-plot about mating his (fictional) Corgi with one of the Queen’s pets, a storyline rife with casual coercion and canine sexual assault. From that tawdry and uncomfortable opening, we progress onwards to the meat of the plot which sees Rex encounter an underground dogfighting ring operating at the Pound.

Add in a couple of pretty scary sequences involving nearly getting run over, a surprisingly graphic near-drowning and an attempted murder by arson and you start to understand why this European production has been rated PG when its subject should be an easy-U. It earns it.

Some of this will, of course, pass over the heads of younger children, at least on a conscious level, but there’s such a nasty undertone to the whole movie that you should be thinking twice about seeing it. To UK children, of course, Donald Trump is something of a distant, already cartoonish figure, possibly a bit of a bogeyman but the casual humanisation and normalising of a figure like Trump is a dangerous and slippery slope (as Jimmy Kimmel can attest to) and sets an unpleasant precedent for future ‘family entertainment’. The fact that it pokes fun at him up to and including him getting bitten in the dick by a Corgi doesn’t mitigate his appearance, it just makes it more inappropriate.

I’m genuinely surprised this has been allowed to pass without comment from the Royal Household but perhaps they hope it will quickly fade into obscurity, even though this would benefit from a more activist Royal prerogative – this is one movie that should be sent to The Tower for the rest of its life.
  
Bitter Memory
Bitter Memory
Sian Nicholas | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed the twist towards the end of the book (0 more)
There was a fair amount of technical talk especially about the bees and their relationship to the plants. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Bitter Memory by Sion Nicholas is an interesting book focused on a distant planet where scientist are trying to save the Earth. This read is interesting as much as it is a warning to us about what could happen if we don’t take care of the Earth.

 Scarlett Robins meets her husband while in college studying ways to help end the hunger riots taking place all across the globe. Caleb, her husband, was a guest lecturer for Scarlett’s class and her professor introduced them thinking they would find each other's ideas interesting. During one of their first conversations, the couple talk about grouping crops for research on a distant planet where they wouldn’t affect the Earth’s ecosystem.

 Fast forward a few years later to find Scarlett and Caleb as part of a five-person team on Pygmalion 6, a distant planet, to work on solving the food shortage. Upon arrival Scarlett boots up the computer systems and initializes all security programs, not realizing that she just made a deadly mistake. It takes years before Scarlett and the rest of the team discover just what actions she set in place that fateful first day. Too bad it may already be too late to save anyone from the greedy company they all work for.

 I really enjoyed the twist towards the end of the book. The book was only mildly predictable compared to others of a similar genera, which was nice. Overall the plot was well thought out and well written. There was a fair amount of technical talk especially about the bees and their relationship to the plants. While I understand its importance to the background of the story I felt like it went into unnecessary detail.

 Young adults and adults alike will enjoy this book. There was very little to no inappropriate scenes in this book, plus it only hints at any kind of adult content. That being said high school and older should be alright to read this and most middle school students should be able to handle it with no problem. I rate this book a 3 out of 4. The over detailed technical stuff seemed to take something away from the overall story. Almost as if the book was supposed to be much more in-depth and bigger than what it was. It is because of this that I decided not to give the book a perfect score. Other than that one flaw the book was amazing.

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    Hoopa City

    Hoopa City

    Education

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    Dr. Panda Restaurant 2

    Dr. Panda Restaurant 2

    Education and Games

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    **Best Kids App in more than 50 countries!** Dr. Panda’s Restaurant is re-opening, and this time...

The Queen of the Tearling
The Queen of the Tearling
Erika Johansen | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I finished this audiobook a while ago and put off writing the review because I couldn't decide how I felt about it. I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars for a while. There were several things about the story that really bothered me (making me feel like it only deserved 2 stars), but then there were times when I was interested enough to think that I would need to read book two to see what happens. When all was said and done, I did decide I might read the next book at some point, so three stars it is.

A note about setting

The book sounds like any other fantasy novel. This story actually takes place in a future where for some reason (we are never told exactly what happened), a group of people have fled America and moved to a new land (again, we don't know how there was a new land available for them to colonize...) leaving all technology and modern conveniences behind them.

What bothered me about the book

Is it young adult or not? Occasionally the language, violence, or other crudeness seemed inappropriate for all but the most mature of teens, but then Kelsea would act like a nineteen year old girl, she spent an awful lot of time obsessing over her plain appearance, how handsome each of her guards happened to be, etc..., so I could never really tell.

Where / when is it? We get bits and pieces mentioning "the crossing", but why? What happened? Is there still an America with technology somewhere? Where are the main characters now? If the Capital is New London, are they anywhere near old London? How is there magic? And who is this enemy, this evil Mort/Red Queen who seems to have an abundance of it? I can go on and on here, and the lack of details or explanation about this world they are living in is my biggest complaint.

What I liked about the book

Kelsea, when she could remember not to worry about her plain face or how greasy her hair looked, actually had a decent moral compass and wanted to do what was right for her new-found kingdom, not just what was easy or convenient for her. She was stubborn and idealistic, and I admired those traits in her. I even eventually grew to like some of her guards, the Mace and Pen in particular, as they finally learned to respect her and some of her ideas near the end of the story.

Will you like this book?

I wish I could say yes, but the best I can do is maybe. If you go into it knowing that you are not going to understand exactly where this world is, how it came about, or why, and that doesn't bother you, then you just might. I will give book two a try to see if there are more details forthcoming, but not right away.
  
40x40

Hazel (1853 KP) rated Spontaneous in Books

Dec 14, 2018  
Spontaneous
Spontaneous
Aaron Starmer | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

Dubbed the “funniest book about spontaneous combustion you will ever read” by the acclaimed best-selling author, John Green, <i>Spontaneous</i> by Aaron Starmer is a story about growing up and blowing up. Seeing a classmate explode in front of you during third-period pre-calc class is not something you ever expect to happen. Nor do you expect this to be the first of many to randomly occur throughout your senior year, but for Mara, this is her appalling fate.

Mara’s senior year was not all that exciting until the first explosion, but after a few more students from her class spontaneously combust, it is clear she is never going to get a normal final year of school. Only affecting the seniors, Mara and her friends are ostracised from society while FBI agents try to solve the problematic situation. With bombs, terrorists and government conspiracies eventually ruled out, the class is left abandoned to explode at their own leisure – although they would rather not!

Mara, along with boyfriend, Dylan, and best friend, Tess, attempts to continue living their lives. They encourage students to start up their own school so that they can still graduate at the end of the year, but with an increasing number of messy ends, they begin to doubt they will make it that far.

Full of crack-pot ideas that will leave readers laughing, Mara’s dry sense of humour gets her through most of the year, however, the painful loss of her friends and acquaintances soon catch up with her. It is hard not to despair when you know you could detonate at any moment.

The easiest way to describe <i>Spontaneous</i> is bonkers, absolutely bonkers. For a start, spontaneous combustion is not a likelihood for any living creature. Mara’s inappropriate humour and acidulousness only add to the farcical state of affairs, providing a comical and entertaining narrative. However, as Mara begins to acquiesce to her new situation, and live as if regularly being sprayed with blood and guts is normal, the story takes a sombre downturn.

Annoyingly, the conclusion of <i>Spontaneous</i> is rather ambiguous, leaving attentive readers with no answers. Had Starmer not imaged a solution, or was it too difficult to explain? Whatever the reason, it leaves us with a dissatisfying ending.

On the other hand, the ending of a book is only one fragment of a story. The beginning and middle were of the author’s optimum quality. Combining typical teenage emotion and behaviour - romance included - with a horrifying crisis, results in a book that will make you “feel all the feels”, to borrow a Mara term, and enjoy every moment.

<i>Spontaneous</i> will entertain young and old adults, although perhaps not the more sensitive reader. With uncensored language and no sugarcoating, Mara gives us all the gory details blow-by-blow (literally). Be prepared for laughter, shock and unadulterated pleasure.
  
En Concert A Paris by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
En Concert A Paris by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I think it was Mike [Harding] from Touch who first introduced this to me. He said, 'You'll love it, and it's an unbelievable price' which is quite a killer combination if you like collecting things. I bought it and he's absolutely right. It's a master: there's no ways about it, you're hearing virtuosity, ensemble playing to the highest degree. It knows itself inside-out, which means you get this feeling of how it stretches and breathes. Basically if I'm wanting to listen to something from it I close my eyes, fumble around and take one of the six discs out so it's a surprise. Otherwise you can find something for the morning, a raga, blah blah blah. But these are just the most extraordinary devotional love songs. It's from a tradition which has been going on for a very very long time. It's not a part-time job at all; these are people who are dedicated. It's fantastic. I think it's truly inspiring in the sense that it's through listening to that that I've come upon solutions to things that I've been working on myself. It's the peculiar thing: you wake up in the morning having gone to bed with a problem or you're working on something that you don't quite know what the solution to is, and when that marvellous thing happens that all the work gets done in your sleep, it's just the very best. I had an example of that happening with this record. When Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios were making the Transatlantic Feedback film about The Monks, in order to get the editing done they asked people if they would contribute a cover version of a Monks track. From the proceeds of that they were able to finish the editing. I was working with a Swedish friend of mine who'd introduced me to The Monks so much later than everybody else. I said he had to choose the song, and he picked 'Oh, How To Do Now'. I listened to it over and over so it got into my head and my conclusion was that we certainly can't do it like that, because the narrator of the song is obviously a young man who has extremely sexual feelings for a young lady and I thought it'd be highly inappropriate for us to pursue that angle. How do you get an in? I woke up the next morning and thought, 'I know what to do'. I rewrote their text and took the emotion down, made it more devotional and I thought, 'Ah, that's it, it's like Ali Khan'; you change it into that, so in fact it has one phrase that's basically stretched over half the song, and the other part fell into place. It's either the love or the devotion but also the sense of melody, really stretching out lines. That's an example of it being inspiring and useful."

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