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Haven's Flame (Fires of Cricket Bend #1)
Haven's Flame (Fires of Cricket Bend #1)
Marie Piper | 2015 | Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
As this book started, I will admit to being worried! It appeared that it was going the way of a love triangle which, although I don't hate, I do tend to dislike. However, I stayed with it and I'm glad that I did. This is an interesting and fast-paced tale, set when the West was Wild and women were buttoned up, unless you were a scarlet woman!

Haven is a strong female lead, although sometimes she does come across as a bit naive. She is only twenty years old though, so cut her some slack. Matthew, I loved. He is the strong, silent type that would probably drive me insane in real life. Because you could 'hear' his thoughts though, his reasons for behaving how he did made it understandable, even noble. Hank is someone that I didn't trust from the get-go, and I was glad when this book changed from a love triangle into something else!

Very well-written and with no grammatical or editing issues that I could see, this story flowed well and with plenty of details. Enough build-up to make the ending breathtaking. It was nice to see the main female being honest with the main male too!

I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to all fans of Historical Western Romance.

* 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!
Jan 9, 2016
  
AF
A Feast of Souls (Araneae 2)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
44 of 220
Kindle
A Feast of Souls ( Araneae 2)
By Hailey Edwards
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Born with the ability to communicate with the dead, few things take Mana by surprise. But when a canis lopes into her life, announcing himself as the long-dead father of a childhood friend, she's shocked. To make matters worse, he has a dire message that she alone can deliver.

Now Mana must face Vaughn, the male who inspired one too many girlish fantasies, and impart the spirit's message--without acknowledging her source--so the soul can be laid to rest.

With rumors of a burgeoning clan war setting his nerves on edge, the last thing Vaughn needs is for an innocent to get caught in the crosshairs. But the woman he remembers as an awkward girl refuses to leave his side until he's heard her out. That's not the only change in her that calls to him. Her kindness soothes his battle-scarred soul--and he craves her in ways a warrior shouldn't.

When they are both captured, they learn of an even greater threat. The plague devastating the southlands has come to his clan home. And his best--and only--chance to keep his people alive is the female who walks among the dead.

I’m really starting to enjoy this series it’s getting better and better. This was very my favourite so far I love the unique clans and the story is so interesting. It shows the harshness as well as the good. There is so much packed into a short book.
  
AC
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
88 of 220
Kindle
A Cast of Shadows ( Araneae Nation 2.5)
By Hailey Edwards
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The strongest net is no match for destiny.

Daraja has grown up watching her brothers journey down the river on the traditional Deinopidae rite of passage. Each returned with riches from their travels, and lovers with whom to share their lives.

Now she has reached the age where she would strike out on her own to seek her fortune - if she were male. Instead, she is expected to sit patiently, weave her nets and wait for the river to bring a husband to her.

Patience, however, has never been her strong suit.

Brynmor haunts the forest surrounding the city of Cathis, his disembodied spirit inextricably bound to the wild canis roaming his lands. Until the day he stumbles across a brazen trespasser in his woods.

Compelled to step in when the canis suspect her of poaching one of their own, Brynmor fears he has lost a piece of his ragged soul to the feisty, adventure-seeking female. And when the canis confront the real poachers, he is forced to choose which life to sacrifice. Hers... or his own.

This series is becoming one of my favourites I absolutely love all the different clans and all these characters. This was a novella of Brnymor and Daraja story, she is from a clan we are yet to explore more of, it features the Canis which are just one of the creatures we are learning more about. I see them as wolf like creatures. Looking forward to more.
  
Operation: Hail Storm
Operation: Hail Storm
Brett Arquette | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
4.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Killing the Terrorists
I received this eBook for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

In the near distant future, terrorism is still a major problem throughout the world. Other things may have changed, such as a female president of the United States and cheaper method of producing energy, however, the world is still under threat, particularly from North Korea. After losing his wife and twin daughters in the biggest terrorist attack the world has seen, Physics Nobel Prize winner, Marshall Hail, an industrial billionaire, decides to take matters into his own hands.

Operation: Hail Storm is a work of science fiction, although, as the main character points out, he and his team only work with science and not fiction. With a selection of friends from his MIT days, and a pick of young gamers whose families had been killed in the terrorist attacks, aim to remove everyone listed on the FBI’s top ten terrorist list. After his drones successfully take out the leader of North Korea, Hail finds himself of interest to the CIA and US president.

Hail hopes the CIA would be pleased with him and supply a list and location of the remaining terrorists. Although they are impressed, the CIA is baffled over how Hail managed to assassinate someone in an extremely guarded country. To prove himself, Hail is given the task of blowing up a missile that is heading to North Korea with the potential to destroy half the world. He may do this however he wishes, however, he must have one member of the CIA with him. Enter Kara.

Kara, who is effectively the CIA’s courtesan, tries to use her skills to find out Hail’s secrets and report back to her boss. Naturally, Hail and his team are one step ahead and are monitoring all her phone calls. With a complicated relationship where both parties are pretending to trust each other, they must come together to successfully complete the mission before the CIA put their disastrous backup plan into place.

Although there are a handful of women in high positions, Operation: Hail Storm is more appropriate for the male population. With complicated mathematics and science, the story becomes similar to spy action novels, complete with an attractive woman: Kara. Physical description is reserved for Kara’s character, whose beauty is used to distract men, particularly villains.

Description is something the author, Brett Arquette, struggles with throughout the book. His choice of similes are questionable and may even upset some readers, for example, “It was like a blob of clay the size of a softball that had been worked by an angry mental patient wearing oven gloves.”

As well as scientific jargon, a number of foreign languages enter the narrative. Unfortunately, although it is possible to get the gist of what is being said, the actual phrases are never translated.

Operation: Hail Storm is a cleverly thought out novel with an impressive knowledge of science, drones and explosive devices. Whether these are wholly accurate is undetermined, however, there do not appear to be any discrepancies during throughout the narrative. As for the storyline, it is nothing spectacular or refreshing, instead, it is a typical male-oriented piece of sci-fi with a lot of blowing things up.
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The Grey (2012)
The Grey (2012)
2012 | Action, Drama
8
7.0 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Is there ever a better match up than Liam Neeson and a good solid action flick? This reviewer thinks not and this is exactly what we have here. However, Joe Carnahan’s latest offering, The Grey is a lot more than the formulaic paint by numbers action movie.

The Grey focuses on a group of men working away from home in the Alaskan oil fields. On their way back to safety, the worst happens and the plane the unlucky fellows are travelling in crashes in spectacular fashion. The crash in the first sequence of the movie is absolutely stunning and one of the best I’ve seen on the silver screen; it even makes the plane crash in the original Final Destination look tame.

The survivors of the plane crash include Neeson’s Alpha male character John Ottway and those of you familiar with the Irishman’s style of acting will know what to expect here; there’s a quiet sense of foreboding throughout and this only adds to the tension which is creatively built up throughout the 117 minute running time.

The team soon realise that they’re being stalked by a pack of hungry wolves that are, shall we say, less than happy about the intruders wandering around their territory and in the usual thriller style, they’re picked off one, by one.


The other male leads include Frank Grillo as the disobedient John Diaz and Joe Anderson as outsider, Todd Flannery. Unfortunately, through no fault of their own, the other actors get lost behind Neeson’s commanding performance, one of the best of his career in fact.

Dialogue and plot generally take a back seat to the scares in this genre of film but thankfully Carnahan and his writing team demand audience respect for these characters and for the most part, it all works and ties together nicely. Ottway is a deeply troubled and desperately unhappy man who on occasions has tried to take his own life. However, once coming face to face with the snarling jaws of a grey wolf, he soon realises that running and fighting for his life is perhaps the best course of action.

Naturally, the Alaskan wilderness provides an eerie and mesmerising setting (there’s not a green screen in sight) and Carnahan cracks up the tension fantastically by not being obvious in his editing. The shots of the CGI and puppet wolves are integrated very well and apart from a few shoddy scenes where it becomes a little obvious they’re not real , the outcome is deeply disturbing and the animals look 100% believable.

Overall, The Grey is everything a thrilling creature feature should be. Director, Joe Carnahan, racks up tension on every occasion physically possible and grabs the audience with beautiful Alaskan scenery dispersed amidst the chaos. Liam Neeson really steals the show with a commanding and heart-wrenching performance whilst his co-stars do well, despite being overshadowed.

The special effects and plot all have depth and this ensures The Grey has enough bite to keep even the most difficult audiences entertained. Yes, it’s a little too long for the genre, but you don’t feel this whilst watching because of how well the film has been crafted. It really is a must watch.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2012/03/13/the-grey-2012-review/
  
Operation: Hail Storm
Operation: Hail Storm
Brett Arquette | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
4.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this eBook for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.</i>

In the near distant future, terrorism is still a major problem throughout the world. Other things may have changed, such as a female president of the United States and cheaper method of producing energy, however, the world is still under threat, particularly from North Korea. After losing his wife and twin daughters in the biggest terrorist attack the world has seen, Physics Nobel Prize winner, Marshall Hail, an industrial billionaire, decides to take matters into his own hands.

<i>Operation: Hail Storm </i>is a work of science fiction, although, as the main character points out, he and his team only work with science and not fiction. With a selection of friends from his MIT days, and a pick of young gamers whose families had been killed in the terrorist attacks, aim to remove everyone listed on the FBI’s top ten terrorist list. After his drones successfully take out the leader of North Korea, Hail finds himself of interest to the CIA and US president.

Hail hopes the CIA would be pleased with him and supply a list and location of the remaining terrorists. Although they are impressed, the CIA is baffled over how Hail managed to assassinate someone in an extremely guarded country. To prove himself, Hail is given the task of blowing up a missile that is heading to North Korea with the potential to destroy half the world. He may do this however he wishes, however, he must have one member of the CIA with him. Enter Kara.
Kara, who is effectively the CIA’s courtesan, tries to use her skills to find out Hail’s secrets and report back to her boss. Naturally, Hail and his team are one step ahead and are monitoring all her phone calls. With a complicated relationship where both parties are pretending to trust each other, they must come together to successfully complete the mission before the CIA put their disastrous backup plan into place.

Although there are a handful of women in high positions, Operation: Hail Storm is more appropriate for the male population. With complicated mathematics and science, the story becomes similar to spy action novels, complete with an attractive woman: Kara. Physical description is reserved for Kara’s character, whose beauty is used to distract men, particularly villains.

Description is something the author, Brett Arquette, struggles with throughout the book. His choice of similes are questionable and may even upset some readers, for example, “It was like a blob of clay the size of a softball that had been worked by an angry mental patient wearing oven gloves.”

As well as scientific jargon, a number of foreign languages enter the narrative. Unfortunately, although it is possible to get the gist of what is being said, the actual phrases are never translated.

<i>Operation: Hail Storm</i> is a cleverly thought out novel with an impressive knowledge of science, drones and explosive devices. Whether these are wholly accurate is undetermined, however, there do not appear to be any discrepancies during throughout the narrative. As for the storyline, it is nothing spectacular or refreshing, instead, it is a typical male-oriented piece of sci-fi with a lot of blowing things up.
  
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
2005 | Comedy
7
5.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Europe. The very name brings up images of rich traditions, centuries-old stunning architecture, fine cuisine, historic artwork, and of course culture and sophistication. Europe has endured wars, plagues, and hordes of unruly soccer fans and has remained intact. Perhaps its greatest challenge is about to arrive in the form of Deuce Bigalow, pool cleaner, fish lover, and male Gigolo.

Rob Schneider returns as Deuce, who has given up his man-whoring ways and married the girl of his dreams. As the film opens, we learn that Deuce was widowed on his honeymoon and has carried a torch for his departed wife for years. The fact that the torch in question is actually her artificial limb is a creepy sentiment that further isolates Deuce from those around him.

After a day at the beach goes horribly wrong, Deuce happily accepts an invitation from his friend T.J. (Eddie Griffin), and travels to Amsterdam for some time away. With the artificial limb in tow, Deuce arrives and learns that a mysterious killer has been dispatching Europe’s top gigolos and before you can say “space cake” T.J. is implicated in the murders and on the run, forcing Deuce to go back to his man-whoring in an effort to learn who is behind the killings.

Since Deuce witnessed the aftermath of a recent killing, he is convinced that the killer is a woman and that only by dating those clients of the recently departed can he find the proof needed to free T.J.

Of course Deuce doesn’t get the cream of society. His clients are a mixed bag that makes his Janes from the first film seem normal. There is the lady with the gaping hole in her throat, a lady whose ears put Dumbo’s to shame, a giant with an infant fetish, and a woman with a male sex organ for a nose.

It is against this backdrop that Deuce meets Eva (Hanna Verboom), an artist with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the daughter of the police inspector

investigating the case. Deuce is taken with the charming Eva which leads to even more conflict for the widowed Deuce.

As if his life could not get any worse, Deuce is at odds with the European Society of Man Pimps who constantly go out of their way to taunt Deuce and his inclusion in their profession.

Over the next 90 minutes a constant barrage of crude jokes ensues ranging from the gross to the juvenile. Yet despite the ongoing crude and sophomoric humor, I found myself laughing as did the majority of the audience at my screening.

While I can see how many critics will not like this film due to a very basic story, thin characters and crudeness, the film works very well as a mindless comedy.

The characters are not expanded from their roles in the original and do not need to be. We know that Deuce is an easy going loser with a heart of gold and that is all we need to know.

Schneider and Griffin work well with one another and the constant euphemisms such as Mangina, He-Hoe and Hegina flow often only to be followed by new and even more creative phrases.

If you are a fan of the original and do not get offended easily than this is going to be your film. It isn’t trying to break new ground, it is trying to make you laugh, and for this critic, despite the films flaws, I laughed constantly throughout, and in many cases harder than I have at any film in recent years.
  
The New Power Eating: More Muslce, More Energy, Less Fat
The New Power Eating: More Muslce, More Energy, Less Fat
Susan Kleiner | 2018 | Health & Fitness
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The New Power Eating
I don’t usually read and review these types of books. I am not the kind of person that reads help books for pleasure. When I need information, I usually only read something I need at the moment, learn a lot about it, and then let go. I don’t go out and buy books for it.
But, with this book, it was different.

For some of you, that know me better, I used to train karate since I was a child. My father was my coach, and I trained hard, more than four days a week. I was a national champion for 8 years, I went on Balkan, Regional and European Championships, the sport enabling me to travel in more than 15 countries, explore the world and make countless number of friends along the way.

And in my whole journey, there were many experts surrounding me. Firstly, my father, who was my coach, showing me the karate world and teaching me everything I know today. Along his side, other coached, psychologists, gym experts, and nutritionists.

‘’The field of sport nutrition practice is both a science and an art.’’

When it comes to nutrition, it is so easy to get it all wrong, while you think you are doing something healthy to your body. It is so easy to mix good with bad fats, and thinking you eat healthy, to get away from your goal and become disappointed. And that is the sole reason why we need people that really know their nutrition, and dedicate their lives to learning what each ingredient does to our body.

This book focuses on nutrition for sports people. A way of life and healthy eating, while you spend a lot of energy exercising. I could easily relate to this, as I myself have been through all of these phases, of being dehydrated, of needing more fat, of needing more protein and vitamins in my body, without even realising it.

‘’When females perform high-intensity training, their need for carbohydrate is easily as high as that of a male athlete, and they have just as much capacity to utilize and store carbohydrate as a male athlete.’’

In this book, you will find explanations on all subjects that are often asked, you will know what builds muscle, what fuels it. Many popular issues will be covered as well, such as the gluten problem that many people face this days.

I loved the section about fats, as I have been introduced to the keto diet recently, and it was good to read and learn more about how fats work in your body, and what happens when you burn them.
I enjoyed the snack and workout plans, that are also split depending on what you want to achieve, whether that be building muscle, losing fat, or power eating.

‘’Research on sport nutrition in female athletes has long been neglected, but now there is breakthrough scientific knowledge that is changing the game of female athletes, including young girls.’’

If you love working out, and love your healthy food – this is a great book to have along your side, and come back to it from time to time, to remind yourself of everything your body is capable of doing, if you treat it right.

I highly recommend it – I enjoyed it a lot!

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Human Kinetics for providing me a free copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.
  
    Team Shake

    Team Shake

    Education and Utilities

    5.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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    Team Shake provides a technological and environmentally friendly way to choose teams for board...