Playing with Fire (Skulduggery Pleasant, #2)
8.0
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Just when you think you’ve saved the world… "You will kill her?" the Torment asked. ...
Sneaky Pete - Season 2
TV Season
A con man, Marius (Giovanni Ribisi, Avatar) who left prison only to find himself hunted by the...
Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men
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Dan Starkey, hero of Divorcing Jack, is back in an entirely wonderful adventure in America. Fat Boy...
Extra Ordinary (2019)
6.5
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Rose, a sweet, lonely driving instructor in rural Ireland, is gifted with supernatural abilities....
The Christie Affair
9.0
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In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. Only I know the truth of her...
Agatha Christie
ClareR (5916 KP) rated The Woman on the Bridge in Books
May 29, 2023
It’s the 1920’s and Ireland is fighting for its independence. There’s so much going on in this story: the fight for Irelands independence; domestic violence; poverty; tuberculosis; women’s rights; emigration of the Irish to the USA and other European countries.
Winifred O’Leary is a strong woman who wants to be independent, both as a woman and as an Irish woman. The book doesn’t go too much into the ins and outs of the political situation, but I’ve certainly learnt more about what went on during this time. It was a hard time to be living in.
Winnie’s husband certainly experiences a lot of this hardship. He’s imprisoned for his actions with his fellow freedom fighters.
This is a love story as well as a story about the politics at the time. I really enjoyed it and I realise that it was first and foremost a love story - and an enjoyable one at that!
Louise (64 KP) rated The Wonder in Books
Jul 2, 2018
Now I picked up ‘Room’ a few years back and read about half and put it down for some unknown reason. This book is not like ‘Room’ so try not go into it thinking it’s going to be.
This is a historical fiction novel set in rural Ireland just after the Crimean war. Our protagonist is an English nurse who served under Miss Nightingale and goes by the name of Lib Wright. Lib is sent over to Ireland to observe an 11-year-old girl, Anna, who has claimed to have not eaten anything over the last 2-3 months. Lib and a Catholic nun take it turns to watch over Anna, 24hrs a day to see if she really is a miracle as proclaimed by the locals.
I liked this book, I was enthralled by the mystery of a small girl claiming to not have eaten. I was hooked line and sinker wanting to find out what was really happening. How could a child not eat? Was it all just a ploy for fame and money?
This book has a lot with religion involved as all the community and the rest of Ireland are Catholics. I am not a religious person, so a lot of the verses and prayers that were being said went over my head. Religion is the essence of this book, it proves how devout and bordering fanatic people can become.
The Wonder is a very atmospheric book and has a lot of descriptive writing and you really get a feel for the village and the people.
I liked Lib our protagonist, she was determined to find out the truth, she was sceptical from the start and was convinced she would not be there for long. She got frustrated a lot of the time for multiple reasons. 1, The family were not very forthcoming and didn’t like having a stranger in their house (understandable). 2, Anna was very timid and would not open up to Lib. 3, The nun, wouldn’t confer with her as to what happened on her shifts as they were supposed to be forming their own opinions. 4, The doctor looked down on Lib as just ‘help’ and when she voiced her concerns about Anna, she was cut off and told to just do her job.
The couple of things that let the book down for me was the pace of the book. This is an incredibly slow paced book and may not be for everyone. I usually don’t mind slow paced books but it felt like there was a lot of repetition and at points I was thinking to myself that surely this couldn’t on like this for the next 200 odd pages but it did. I think this is for readers who like more atmosphere to their books.
I rated this 3 out of 5 stars
Young John McGahern: Becoming a Novelist
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John McGahern was the most admired Irish novelist of the past fifty years. His accessible fiction...
Edco Learning
Education and Book
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The Edco Learning app is an innovative and interactive app, which enables students, teachers and...
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Grounded Hearts in Books
Feb 27, 2019
This book was a double bonus for me! I have always loved Ireland(even if I haven’t ever visited there!) and I have always loved the World War II era. This book is the best of both those worlds. Filled with wonderful details of historic happenings, and characters like Nan and Dutch that quickly steal your heart, I felt like I was transported back into the world of Hitler, and emotions so strong that they become the reader’s emotions.
Ms. Dickson is definitely an author I recommend. She created this 4 star novel with passionate detail to another place in time, and left me feeling all the feels with this book. I loved the story line of redemption and hope. I can’t wait to read another book by this talented author!