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I first heard about this book on Bookish First and I was enraptured by the first few chapters. I just knew I had to read this book. I was lucky enough to be accepted as an ARC reader and I know this review has come out after the book was released but that was because I received it last week via Bookish First though I will admit, I was accepted as a Netgalley reader too (yes, I was that in love with just the preview I asked to read the book on NetGalley too which is really completely rare for me.

I was really scared this book was going to hit all of the wrong buttons but I was so completely impressed. Roni Loren has a way about writing that makes you feel like you are sitting on the sidelines watching this all take place. I felt the emotions of the characters and they were realistic. I love how each character was unique and relatable in a way. The characters were well thought out and I loved the personalities of each one. I also loved the friendship and comradery that was in this book between the main characters. I felt like I was hanging out with some of my friends while I was reading it.

Liv & Finn were by far my favorite characters (which tends to happen with main characters). The banter they had was amazing and I found myself swooning for Finn many times while also cursing his name at other times. I honestly just loved the chemistry between the two of them. It made me want to live passionately too.

The plot of this book is unfortunately realistic and I loved that it humanized the survivors of this horrid act of violence. Too many times we think of survivors as props in a way. I've never been in a situation like this but I know people who have. I was a grade schooler in Colorado when the Columbine shooting happened and I graduated from Arapahoe High School about 10 years ago so I see a lot of the press that happens when an anniversary happens. It's a constant barrage of news articles anytime April or December come around. I love how this book made the characters, the survivors, all be humans who are messed up and yet surviving. I loved that.

All in all, I loved this book. This book is messy, beautiful, heart wrenching, and just spectacular. If any part of this book sounds like it's up your alley, pick up the book and read it. It's wonderful.
  
OO
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jen Turano's books are on my to be read list...before I even know she has started writing a new book. Not only is she a fabulous author, but she is an even more fabulous woman.

Out of the Ordinary was placed at the very tippy top of my list for one very important reason...Harrison Sinclair! 😍 Gertrude is one lucky lady! No doubt about that. Between his handsome face, his....unique....style, his caring and compassionate heart....Oh! and he is wealthy...Harrison is simply a dreamboat if there ever was one. Gertrude has definitely not had an easy life. From losing her family to working for Mrs. Davenport...It has been one thing after. Mrs. Davenport is, eccentric to say the least, but when you find out a little more of her history, your heart will shift in her favor.

Several times the words jumped right off the page and embedded themselves into my heart. "God doesn't expect His children to live ordinary lives, but extraordinary ones." I never want to settle for the way things "should" be. Why not make life an adventure? Why not step out in faith and follow God's leading on a new (maybe even difficult) path! Trusting in Him to guide and care for us. And when things get bleak in our lives...Do we wall God off? Question His motives? I know I have asked "Why?" too many times to count. But I am learning, that even if we never know the "Why" behind the circumstances we are given, that God will be by our side through every moment. And that along the way, there will be people whose lives are changed for the better because we were put in their lives.

If you enjoy a book that will make you laugh, cry, swoon, and want to set sail on the....big...blue....wet....thing....(Muppet Treasure Island reference)...Then Out of the Ordinary is for YOU! (This is book 2 of a series, but CAN stand alone.) Harrison will sweep you off your feet (and Gertrude will probably push you overboard for it) and take you on a wild adventure filled with humour, mystery, escapades, jewel heists, the Ticklish Water Polka, and you are sure to devour this story in no time.

I received a complimentary copy of Out of the Ordinary from the Publishers through this Celebrate Lit Tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) in Movies

Jan 10, 2019 (Updated Jan 10, 2019)  
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Drama, Western
A winning anthology
I am NOT a Coen Brothers apologist. For every good/great film that they have made (like FARGO, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN or underrated THE HUDSUCKER PROXY) there are duds/movies that didn't work for me (like O' BROTHER WHER ART THOU, INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS and the movie I ranked as the worst film of 2016, HAIL, CAESAR). So when I heard that the latest Coen Brothers flick was going straight to Netflix AND (like HAIL, CAESAR), it was a film anthology of 6 short stories, I dragged my feet in checking this out.

But...I am glad I finally got around to it...for THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS is a strong film, taking on a heavy subject (death) in a variety of ways - light-hearted, poignant and deadly (pun intended) serious. The tone of this film - or, more accurately, these 6 short films - worked for me and I felt they wove together very well to tell an overarching story of man's relationship with death - as seen through the eyes of Wild, Wild West characters.

And what characters they are! From Tim Blake Nelson's titular character, Buster Scruggs, to James Franco's hapless (but lucky) Outlaw to Liam Neeson's traveling theatrical show to Tom Waite's grizzled prospector to Zoe Kazan's lonesome Prairie Widow to the group of passengers on the Stagecoach in the last vignette, all are interesting to watch, and listen to.

Credit, of course, needs to go to Joel and Ethan Cohen. These characters are interesting to watch, because these two put wonderful scenes and scenery up on the screen with dialogue (or lack of dialogue) that perfectly reflects what is going on and what the characters are feeling. In my opinion, the Coen Brothers are at their best when they focus on gritty subjects with poignancy (BARTON FINK) but fail when they try to get "wacky" or "over-serious" (BURN AFTER READING, A SERIOUS MAN), this film is full of the former and has very little of the latter.

I'm sure, like all Coen Brothers films, that this anthology of short films is not for everyone - and not every film will work for everyone - but they did for me. I thought each short film was the better than the one before it. I caught the vibe of what the Coen's were after and I fell under their spell.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars out of 10 and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Bone Ships in Books

Oct 28, 2019  
The Bone Ships
The Bone Ships
RJ Barker | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is the start of RJ Barker's second fantasy series - a swashbuckling adventure. Where in his first series, the Wounded Kingdom, the world-building was minimal (or rather, it was just enough to be able to tell the story he wanted to tell), here the reader is thrown in at the deep end. The world the book takes place in is one where the bones of sea dragons are used to build ships, which themselves are generally used to battle against other nations' ships to steal their bones. This is because there are no more of these dragons, or so they thought ...
The first quarter of this book feels like wading through treacle, it is so thick with unexplained terms, creatures, materials and nautical job titles. Even things like trees are renamed as "gion" or "varisk", making it really hard to make head or tale of.
The story follows Joron, a depressed man lumbered with the role of shipwife (captain) on a black ship (one manned by those serving a prolonged death sentence for numerous crimes). His ship is abruptly taken over by Lucky Meas, shipwife of great renown, and his mediocre crew miraculously turned into one that would die for each other.
The crew soon find themselves secretly hunting down a rumoured dragon, not to kill it and take its bones, but to protect it from those trying to do so. And then kill it where nobody can salvage its bones and, hey presto, the world will be at peace.
The journey part of the story is really quite painfully dragged out, with some long sections of ship training (I am now very well versed in how to load, aim and fire a made up ship's crossbow!) and some mediocre action scenes thrown in to pad the story out (most of which involve the crew embarking on an impossible mission that they accomplish nonetheless).
Joron is not a likeable main character. He, much like the main character in the Wounded Kingdom, is a whiney brat who has to be battered into submission before adding any value to those around him. I didn't care in the least about him, or the fate of those on the ship. There was a point where my reading ground to a halt, when I could no longer take the seemingly endless sea voyage and cringeworthy pirate speak.
The final quarter of the book is more action-packed and some scenes are massive improvements, compelling the reader to carry on. However, by that point I was fed up with the book and the crew and their bloody pointless journey.
  
The Battle of Trafalgar Square
The Battle of Trafalgar Square
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
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I have this rule about books being sent to me - I try to read and review them all, because people spent time, effort and resources to write and share their works with readers. I received this book through a giveaway on LibraryThing almost a year ago, and decided it was time to give it a go. 

This being said, my readers are the most important thing in the world, and my reviews simply cannot be compromised, no matter how I have gotten a certain book in my hands.
I think I should stop babbling now, and start talking about this book.

I dived into ‘’The Battle of Trafalgar Square’ not knowing what to expect. This is a book where two pigeons are the main characters and through dialogue and presentation they share this historic battle, but from their point of view.

It is lucky that this book is only 120 pages long, because otherwise I wouldn’t have finished it. It is a boring book, where one pigeon is desperately trying to tell this story of the battle, and the other pigeon is disturbingly annoying and keeps interrupting. The second pigeon also has terrible grammar knowledge, and even though I know this made purposely done, and I applaud the author for the wittiness, I couldn’t make myself enjoy it. Some people might find this funny though, and that’s also okay.

The idea of pigeons telling a story is quite interesting and unique to me, and this is something I admire about this book (therefore, the two stars I decided to give). However, the plot is unstable, and the story keeps being interrupted and delayed to a point where I started to get fed up. I also expected some more references of the actual historical moment. The only references in the book are the pigeons that were in the battle and had names of famous leaders, but their pigeon story was not similar to our history books. I really think that keeping the story as close as possible to the real event would have made a difference in this book.

<b>Not an enjoyable read for me, but if the plot sounds like something you might enjoy - I say go for it. Try it out. Your opinion is also valid!</b>

Until next time! x
  
Virgin Flyer
Virgin Flyer
Lucy Lennox | 2020 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Virgin Flyer is a standalone novel by the amazing Lucy Lennox. I found her through her Made Marion series and have never looked back. I love her writing style, the characters, the warmth and depth of the stories... I could go on but I won't. Instead, I will curb my enthusiasm and try to tell you in an orderly fashion just why I enjoyed this book so much.

First things first. Chris is a jerk. He starts off a jerk and *spoiler* he remains one throughout. He has his moments but trust me when I say they are few and far between. Secondly, Teo is sweet! We're talking super-saccharine, jaw-achingly sweet. But the best part is - you love him that way!!! I can't (and don't want to) imagine him any other way. And Jack. Oh, Jack! Now here's someone who could fly me to the moon (if I was the opposite gender, he wasn't with Teo, OH, and if he wasn't also an imaginary character!) The perfect fit for Teo, they just have to see it.

Now - what about the story? It's good. Like, really good. Teo has been pining over Chris for years and just can't see him as the person others see. When Teo eventually decides enough is enough, he puts an ad out there for all to see and is lucky enough to entice Jack. Jack is curious about the ad and, to start with, is more than happy to go along with the requirements. It is months after that they both meet again and then we really fly. There is nothing in this story that is superfluous. Everything moves either the story or the character along and I loved every word of it.

The world-building is certainly clear for all to see, with familial ties playing a big part of the story. The characters behave as you would expect, no 'funny' turns where they act in a way you wouldn't believe. The pacing is smooth and the words themselves will keep you turning the pages without any hesitation.

As an aside, I loved it when Frankfurt and Wiesbaden were mentioned as they are only just down the road from where I live! A one-sit read for me and highly recommended.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Street Sounds Electro 5 by  Various Artists
Street Sounds Electro 5 by Various Artists
1984 | Electronic
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"There isn't really one definitive album in that series. We were completely addicted to those Electro albums when they first came out. One of us had one album and we used to trade them between the lot of us. I bought Electro 2 and I was a bit pissed off at the time, but it's one of my favourites now. Electro 5 has got some of the best tunes on it. And Crucial Electro has got 'Clear' by Cybertron, which is amazing. Jerry Calliste, Jr. is a genius I think. He was the man behind 'Al Naafiysh' and High-Fidelity Three's 'B Boys Breakdance'. That's one of my favourite tunes on Electro 5. 'Breaker's Revenge' [by Arthur Baker] is a killer. Beat Street – the film and the soundtrack – was huge for me. I was a terrible breakdancer. Embarrassingly bad. I had a couple of moves and I could barely do those, but I loved the culture of it. UK Electro was also a key record – I found out recently that it's all by one guy. It's perhaps easy to see this in retrospect, but there are lots of parallels between Detroit and Sheffield and Manchester. I can remember looking out at the cooling towers from my bedroom window. They were maybe two miles away. You could see a big urbanised bit to the side of it. It made the landscape magical listening to that music. I think this was probably what Kraftwerk were getting at originally. Talking about it now it seems obvious, but it adds magic to your own mundane landscape. You need that. That's what happened with Detroit techno. You've got this utterly bleak landscape and the only way to make it palatable is to lend it some kind of majesty. I think we were very lucky growing up when we did. We had lots of momentous moments. Things are very fractured now. Back then, everybody had an opinion on something like Star Wars – especially boys, well, men now. We all have this notion that we were privy to something amazing. It's very rare now that something is that omnipresent. The whole thing with the electro scene was that it was a bit left of centre. I got a lot of stick for it at school. I can see why, looking back now. It was such a huge thing. It pushed you in a certain direction. I've grown up a bit now, but it used to be quite extreme. Y'know, like, "If you don't share my taste in music you can fuck off.""

Source
  
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Thirteen in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
Thirteen
Thirteen
Steve Cavanagh | 2018 | Crime, Thriller
10
8.5 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
More reviews on https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com

The story is told from a dual perspective – Eddie’s and Kane’s. These two characters would be our protagonists. Eddie is a defence attorney, a man with a very messed up personal life, who keeps making very dangerous decisions, and that is what makes him so awesome. Eddie has his faults and is not perfect, but at the same time, he is so intriguing and incredibly smart! Kane is a genius psychopath, (Hannibal Lecter could be his inspiration &#x1f600; ), who can steal any identity he chooses. So, when you have these two amazingly developed personalities, the story can’t be boring. &#x1f600;

And of course, it is not! The narrative is very well paced, creating optical illusions and mind games in every chapter. It has plenty of twists, turns and unexpected findings, and the plot absolutely absorbed me. I love when authors include murderers and their thoughts in the thrillers, Kane’s actions and thoughts gave so much depth and intrigue to this book, and it was an absolute joy to read it. I really enjoyed Eddie’s smart moves while solving this case, but he was pretty lucky to get all the information delivered to him, without the help, I don’t think he could’ve succeeded as much. I really liked, that Steve Cavanagh utilized his knowledge of courts and jury in this book, there were plenty of new things I learned, and I am very grateful for that.

I loved the writing style of this book, it is easy and understandable, and this book can easily be read as stand alone. The characters used from the past are well explained and didn’t leave me confused. The chapters are pretty short, and due to constant change between the characters, the pages just fly by. I do have to throw in a disclaimer that there are plenty of blood, graphic murders, and other gross things described in this book, so before reading, make sure you can stomach that. &#x1f600; I really enjoyed the ending and all the surprises it brought, I think it rounded up the story very nicely.

So, to conclude, Steve Cavanagh definitely knows what he is doing when it comes to writing. He is a master of crime novels, and even though this book was my first encounter with this author’s work, it definitely will not be the last. He chose perfect characters for this book, and the plot kept me guessing and always intrigued. I thoroughly enjoyed this court thriller, and it is an absolute must-read. I do hope you will like it as much as I did. Enjoy &#x1f642;
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated 29 Seconds in Books

Sep 26, 2019  
29 Seconds
29 Seconds
T.M. Logan | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sarah's life is ruled by her horrible boss. Yet he's untouchable due to a sizable grant and his famous TV show. Driving to get her children from school one day, Sarah rescues a young girl from harm. She does it out of the kindness of her heart, expecting nothing in return. But her act puts a very powerful man in her debt, and he decides that it must be repaid in his own way. He offers Sarah a 72-hour deal: he can make someone disappear with a simple phone call. No traces to her, no repercussions. Sarah's life with her boss is nearly intolerable, but can she really make that call?


"You give me one name. One person. and I will make them disappear. For you."


I went in to this one a little dubious about its premise, and yes, it's wild and crazy and implausible, but it's also one of those fun, addictive reads that you get caught up in and can't put down for hours. It was a whirlwind read, and I totally loved it. The book's story is very timely--Sarah's boss, Dr. Hawthorne is a terrible, despicable character: a poster child for the #metoo movement. Her success and livelihood are tied into sleeping with him. He sexually harasses her, threatens her, and basically does everything awful thing he could do. Your blood will boil when you read this story, and it was honestly stressful at times. Yet the man is untouchable thanks to protective male colleagues and the money he brings in.


"What happened is that it's a business and they've got too much invested in their prime asset to let him go. People like us are just the collateral damage."


Once Sarah is offered her "deal," it seems like the book will go a certain way, but there's nothing predictable about this novel. It's mesmerizing and completely addictive. There are a ton of twists and turns that keep you completely off guard. It's really easy to root for Sarah, as our bad guy stands in stark contrast to her, even if you question a few of her decisions. (And she's awfully lucky to have her father, who sure takes her kids on with no complaints.)


"She saw it now for what it was: a deal with the Devil."


If you're looking for a fun, unpredictable escape, this thriller is for you. It's really an awesome read, and I, for one, loved the ending. 4+ stars.
  
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MelanieTheresa (997 KP) Sep 26, 2019

This one's on my TBR list - glad it was good! 😊