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Merissa (13937 KP) rated Escape the Choice (The Choice Series #1) in Books
Mar 2, 2022 (Updated Jul 3, 2023)
ESCAPE THE CHOICE is the first book in The Choice series and we meet Ali, Oliver, Noah, and friends in this coming-of-age short story.
Ali is friends with bad boy Oliver and sees a side of him no one else seems to. He doesn't like it when she speaks with her other male friend, Noah. The feeling is mutual, and Ali feels stuck in the middle. When her other friends give her food for thought, it helps bring matters to a head.
This was a well-written story that I thoroughly enjoyed but wanted more from. When I say I wanted more, I simply mean I would have been happy to sit reading a full-length novel. I was invested to see whether Oliver was misunderstood or playing with Ali, and I won't say which it is! Regardless, his behaviour, Noah's, Ali's, feelings all around - it's all here.
Thoroughly enjoyable and absolutely recommended by me, this is a fantastic debut by this author, and I look forward to reading more.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* 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!
Mar 2, 2022
Ali is friends with bad boy Oliver and sees a side of him no one else seems to. He doesn't like it when she speaks with her other male friend, Noah. The feeling is mutual, and Ali feels stuck in the middle. When her other friends give her food for thought, it helps bring matters to a head.
This was a well-written story that I thoroughly enjoyed but wanted more from. When I say I wanted more, I simply mean I would have been happy to sit reading a full-length novel. I was invested to see whether Oliver was misunderstood or playing with Ali, and I won't say which it is! Regardless, his behaviour, Noah's, Ali's, feelings all around - it's all here.
Thoroughly enjoyable and absolutely recommended by me, this is a fantastic debut by this author, and I look forward to reading more.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* 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!
Mar 2, 2022
ClareR (6129 KP) rated The Mars House in Books
Oct 1, 2024
Can I just say that I loved a book and leave it at that? Because this is one of those books.
Ok, a short summary:
January Sterling is a climate refugee, escaping the floods and intense heat for the Mars colony of Tharsis. Life as an Earthstronger on Mars isn’t ideal. He and the other Earthstrongers are seen as a danger to the native Martians: they are much stronger because of the weaker gravity, even though they’re much smaller. January and his fellow Earthstrongers are discriminated against and given the worst manual labour jobs.
January meets a Martian politician who is staunchly anti-Earth stronger, an somehow ends up in a sham-marriage. Of course, it’s a slow-burn romance with lots of peril, lies and climate change politics.
My only complaint, is that in trying to make the characters asexual, they all read as being very male. Perhaps it was just the way I read it.
The Mars House has a lot to say about climate change and its refugees - and the predictable refugee-haters. Instead of boats, they arrive in space ships, and the inhabitants of Mars are as scared of, and enraged by, these people, as some elements in our own society today.
I really enjoyed this book, and I loved how different it was to Natasha Pulley’s previous books. Whatever will she write next? I’ll be waiting!
Ok, a short summary:
January Sterling is a climate refugee, escaping the floods and intense heat for the Mars colony of Tharsis. Life as an Earthstronger on Mars isn’t ideal. He and the other Earthstrongers are seen as a danger to the native Martians: they are much stronger because of the weaker gravity, even though they’re much smaller. January and his fellow Earthstrongers are discriminated against and given the worst manual labour jobs.
January meets a Martian politician who is staunchly anti-Earth stronger, an somehow ends up in a sham-marriage. Of course, it’s a slow-burn romance with lots of peril, lies and climate change politics.
My only complaint, is that in trying to make the characters asexual, they all read as being very male. Perhaps it was just the way I read it.
The Mars House has a lot to say about climate change and its refugees - and the predictable refugee-haters. Instead of boats, they arrive in space ships, and the inhabitants of Mars are as scared of, and enraged by, these people, as some elements in our own society today.
I really enjoyed this book, and I loved how different it was to Natasha Pulley’s previous books. Whatever will she write next? I’ll be waiting!
The Vow
Book
In a stunning work of feminist historical fiction for readers who loved Dawn Tripp’s Georgia and...
Women in Art Historical Fiction Art History Biographical Fiction
Hunter’s Hidden Camera
5.0
Rate It
Book
Hunter seems to have it all: brains, biceps, and a bright future beyond the halls of his oppressive...
Contemporary MM Thriller Psychological
Louise (64 KP) rated Goodbye Days in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Jeff Zentner has received such high praise for his debut novel ‘The Serpent King’ that when I saw this book I thought I would give it a shot.
The goodbye days follows Carver Briggs on the aftermath of the death of his 3 best friends. The problem is Carver has this terrible guilt hanging over him, if only he hadn’t sent that text his friends might still be alive. Instead his life is turned upside down with funerals, grief,anxiety and the fact that people actually blame him for the boys deaths. He agrees to a Goodbye day in honour of his friend, doing everything they would do with his family. News starts to spread and the other families want their own goodbye days.
I enjoyed this book, it’s quite nice to read a Young adult contemporary written by a male author. The majority of contemporaries I read are written by women and was just so refreshing to read something from the male perspective.
The writing in this book was really good and had no problem understanding the conversations. I like that he chose to write about this topic to make young adults aware of the dangers of using your phones whilst driving. I thought the way that he wove all the stages of grief into the book was very clever.
So I wasn’t too sure about the plot, the main pointer for me was that Carver could actually go to prison for negligent homicide – contributing to his friends deaths. I don’t know too much about the criminal justice system so I couldn’t believe that this could really happen. It wasn’t like Carver made his friends text him back. They should have had the common sense at 17 years old to maybe get a passenger to respond not the actual driver.
I liked pretty much all the characters, there were great parents, siblings, grandmothers and friendships that gave the book depth. There were no annoying tropes in this book either, so that gets a big thumbs up for me. The book had the occasional moment when Carver was having flashbacks/memories of his friends, they would say something really immature for their age and then would counteract it with something quite profound.
The reason I can’t give this a higher rating than 3.5 stars is that I felt no emotional connection to the characters and got a little confused about all the boys and their family dynamics, however you do get more of an insight in to each of the boys lives and characters towards the end of the book but I just found it a little too late.
Overall this book is good and would recommend it as this seems to be getting 5 star ratings and you probably don’t have a heart of stone like me.
Let me know if you think I should read ‘The Serpent King’.
I rated this 3.5/5 stars
Jeff Zentner has received such high praise for his debut novel ‘The Serpent King’ that when I saw this book I thought I would give it a shot.
The goodbye days follows Carver Briggs on the aftermath of the death of his 3 best friends. The problem is Carver has this terrible guilt hanging over him, if only he hadn’t sent that text his friends might still be alive. Instead his life is turned upside down with funerals, grief,anxiety and the fact that people actually blame him for the boys deaths. He agrees to a Goodbye day in honour of his friend, doing everything they would do with his family. News starts to spread and the other families want their own goodbye days.
I enjoyed this book, it’s quite nice to read a Young adult contemporary written by a male author. The majority of contemporaries I read are written by women and was just so refreshing to read something from the male perspective.
The writing in this book was really good and had no problem understanding the conversations. I like that he chose to write about this topic to make young adults aware of the dangers of using your phones whilst driving. I thought the way that he wove all the stages of grief into the book was very clever.
So I wasn’t too sure about the plot, the main pointer for me was that Carver could actually go to prison for negligent homicide – contributing to his friends deaths. I don’t know too much about the criminal justice system so I couldn’t believe that this could really happen. It wasn’t like Carver made his friends text him back. They should have had the common sense at 17 years old to maybe get a passenger to respond not the actual driver.
I liked pretty much all the characters, there were great parents, siblings, grandmothers and friendships that gave the book depth. There were no annoying tropes in this book either, so that gets a big thumbs up for me. The book had the occasional moment when Carver was having flashbacks/memories of his friends, they would say something really immature for their age and then would counteract it with something quite profound.
The reason I can’t give this a higher rating than 3.5 stars is that I felt no emotional connection to the characters and got a little confused about all the boys and their family dynamics, however you do get more of an insight in to each of the boys lives and characters towards the end of the book but I just found it a little too late.
Overall this book is good and would recommend it as this seems to be getting 5 star ratings and you probably don’t have a heart of stone like me.
Let me know if you think I should read ‘The Serpent King’.
I rated this 3.5/5 stars
CT Anatomy
Medical and Education
App
****************************************************** FEATURED app in Medical Education & CME Best...
Richard Patterson - Matters of Life and Death
Paul Moorhouse, Matt Price, Jane Neal and James Cahill
Book
Matters of Life and Death is a limited-edition publication documenting the remarkable new and recent...
Merissa (13937 KP) rated War of Gods Box Set (War of Gods #1-4) in Books
Nov 5, 2017
War of Gods Box Set (War of Gods #1-4) by Lizzy Ford
War of Gods Box Set features the first four books in this series by Lizzy Ford. I understand there is a spin-off featuring at least Xander, but I'm not sure about the rest of the characters. I had previously read Danian's Oracle and couldn't wait to continue with this series. I wasn't disappointed! The female characters are strong in their own right, and not afraid to stand up to the male in their lives. The men are stubborn and opinionated, but tamed (sorted of) by their women. The stories all link up, so I would recommend that you read them as a series, just so that you don't get confused with what is going on, or what has gone on before. The writing is smooth in most places, but sometimes felt a bit jerky when it came to the love scenes that weren't written. Instead of fading to black, they abruptly cut to black, and then to the following morning. This wasn't a big issue, it just felt more obvious considering how smooth the rest of the writing was.
I loved Damian's Oracle and The Grey God. Whilst I didn't 'love' the others, I still thoroughly enjoyed them! I have no hesitation in recommending this series for all those who love feisty females and macho males.
* Verified Purchase ~ August 2013 *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I loved Damian's Oracle and The Grey God. Whilst I didn't 'love' the others, I still thoroughly enjoyed them! I have no hesitation in recommending this series for all those who love feisty females and macho males.
* Verified Purchase ~ August 2013 *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Andrea (28 KP) rated Vampire Academy in Books
Aug 18, 2017
Passes the Bechdel test on the first page. (2 more)
Primary relationship is a friendship
Strong female protagonist
Other books in the series are stronger, so keep reading (1 more)
Don't judge a book by its movie
Not about vampires, and that's a good thing.
This series represents some of Mead's strongest writing. While this isn't the best book in the series (I save that distinction for #2, #3, and especially #6) it does give the necessary set up for everything.
The primary relationship with the friendship and devotion between Rose and Lissa. Both women have their own stories through the series and the book easily passes the bechdel test and many others. That isn't to say that the male lead isn't worthwhile; he will most likely become one of your fav "book boyfriends" but his role become bigger later in the books.
While the series contains vampires and is set in a vampiric world (practically no humans in the series) I wouldn't call it a typical vampire book. The vampire setting serves more as a way to introduce a discussion on class structure and politics. We seem more and more of this later in the series.
One thing of note: the primary romantics relationship in this book is between a student and her mentor/instructor. Also, while she is above the age of consent in Montana (where this is set) she is under 18 for half the series.
The primary relationship with the friendship and devotion between Rose and Lissa. Both women have their own stories through the series and the book easily passes the bechdel test and many others. That isn't to say that the male lead isn't worthwhile; he will most likely become one of your fav "book boyfriends" but his role become bigger later in the books.
While the series contains vampires and is set in a vampiric world (practically no humans in the series) I wouldn't call it a typical vampire book. The vampire setting serves more as a way to introduce a discussion on class structure and politics. We seem more and more of this later in the series.
One thing of note: the primary romantics relationship in this book is between a student and her mentor/instructor. Also, while she is above the age of consent in Montana (where this is set) she is under 18 for half the series.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2528 KP) rated Killer Thriller in Books
Mar 10, 2019
Ian and Margo are in for Another Thrill Ride
Bestselling author Ian Ludlow is heading to Hong Kong on business – promotion for a film based on one of his books and research for his next one – and Margo French is joining him as his research assistant. Neither of them realize that their arrival in Hong Kong has attracted the wrong kind of attention thanks again to one of Ian’s books. Will they recognize the danger they are in before it is too late?
I enjoyed this one just as much as the first in the series. There is plenty of humor as events progress, some coming from the circumstances and some coming from a skewering of Hollywood thanks to the movie Ian is there to help promote. I did feel some of the humor fell into the adolescent male category, which I didn’t always appreciate, but this isn’t something new for this author. Thanks to well done multiple viewpoint storytelling, we know the slow burn that is happening before Ian and Margo realize they’ve attracted the wrong attention, but once the book really takes off, it becomes impossible to put down. I love the fact that Ian is not a typical thriller hero since he is an overweight, middle age, writer. He and Margo are great main characters. If you are looking for a fun mix of humor and thrills, this is the book for you.
I enjoyed this one just as much as the first in the series. There is plenty of humor as events progress, some coming from the circumstances and some coming from a skewering of Hollywood thanks to the movie Ian is there to help promote. I did feel some of the humor fell into the adolescent male category, which I didn’t always appreciate, but this isn’t something new for this author. Thanks to well done multiple viewpoint storytelling, we know the slow burn that is happening before Ian and Margo realize they’ve attracted the wrong attention, but once the book really takes off, it becomes impossible to put down. I love the fact that Ian is not a typical thriller hero since he is an overweight, middle age, writer. He and Margo are great main characters. If you are looking for a fun mix of humor and thrills, this is the book for you.