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Merissa (12051 KP) rated In a New York Minute in Books
May 22, 2023
IN A NEW YORK MINUTE is a standalone with a couple of cameos but nothing that would confuse you. It is a sweet and tender story of grown-up problems and mature responses. I simply adored this story from start to finish.
Both Garrett and Remi have their own baggage but they don't just jump off the deep end when something happens they didn't expect. They pass the time until they are able to speak privately and then work it out. I'm not saying it's all easy but communication does make things easier.
Bubbe and Grandpa Sol are both outstanding characters and I would love to see more of them. Pringle was an excellent example of prejudice that is still around today, even if the bloody Pringles catchphrase leapt into my head every time I saw his name. For him, it was certainly a case of "once you pop, you just can't stop." I really hope he got his comeuppance. Jeffrey stole my heart and I honestly NEED for them to get their story. All of the other characters are fantastic though, whether you like them or not.
A fantastic addition to Felice Steven's repertoire that I have no hesitation in recommending. Absolutely brilliant!
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 22, 2023
Both Garrett and Remi have their own baggage but they don't just jump off the deep end when something happens they didn't expect. They pass the time until they are able to speak privately and then work it out. I'm not saying it's all easy but communication does make things easier.
Bubbe and Grandpa Sol are both outstanding characters and I would love to see more of them. Pringle was an excellent example of prejudice that is still around today, even if the bloody Pringles catchphrase leapt into my head every time I saw his name. For him, it was certainly a case of "once you pop, you just can't stop." I really hope he got his comeuppance. Jeffrey stole my heart and I honestly NEED for them to get their story. All of the other characters are fantastic though, whether you like them or not.
A fantastic addition to Felice Steven's repertoire that I have no hesitation in recommending. Absolutely brilliant!
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 22, 2023
Alice and her Knave (The Madness of Wonderland #1)
Book
It’s a dream, a hallucination…. Alice knew exactly what her future held and was determined to...
Dark Contemporary Fantasy Erotica TRIGGER WARNINGS: Profanity Sex
Shadowman (Shadow #3)
10.0
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Book
Erin Kellison’s Shadow series darkens with this evocative and gripping romance between a fae lord...
Urban Fantasy Romance
A Thousand Glittering Lights
10.0
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Book
Only she can see him. Ellie is about to release the hotly anticipated sequel to her...
Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People in Books
Apr 2, 2019
This book is stuffed full of useful information! It focuses on growing food in your yard when you don't have much time to spend on the yard, so there's a lot of permaculture techniques and gardens that are largely hands-off once you get them set up, which is exactly what I want. With the chronic fatigue, I often don't have the energy to get outside and work on a garden, and Maryland summers exhaust me simply by stepping outside. I really want to garden and grow food, but I need easy ways to do that.
The Suburban Micro-Farm delved into planting hedgerows, which is something we've been thinking of, rain gardens (which we probably should do, we have a couple places in the yard that do not drain well), and tree guilds, which are plantings that go under trees to work together in little micro-environments. One of the tree guilds Stross specifically talks about is a Black Walnut tree guild, which I was excited to see because we have a huge, beautiful mature Black Walnut that I've been trying to figure out how to plant around. Black Walnuts produce juglone, a chemical that kills a lot of plants, so you have to be very mindful of what you plant near them.
This is an excellent reference book for suburban gardens, and she has lots of extra resources on her site, The Tenth Acre Farm. I will be exploring those as well!
You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
The Suburban Micro-Farm delved into planting hedgerows, which is something we've been thinking of, rain gardens (which we probably should do, we have a couple places in the yard that do not drain well), and tree guilds, which are plantings that go under trees to work together in little micro-environments. One of the tree guilds Stross specifically talks about is a Black Walnut tree guild, which I was excited to see because we have a huge, beautiful mature Black Walnut that I've been trying to figure out how to plant around. Black Walnuts produce juglone, a chemical that kills a lot of plants, so you have to be very mindful of what you plant near them.
This is an excellent reference book for suburban gardens, and she has lots of extra resources on her site, The Tenth Acre Farm. I will be exploring those as well!
You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
An intriguing retelling.
A modern reimagining of Shakespeare's Othello, this sees a Ghanaian diplomats son, Osei, on his first day at a new school in an American suburb of Washington DC in the 1970's. Dee quickly befriends him, and Ian decides that he doesn't like this. He decides to undermine this friendship and dispose of O. Yes, racism comes in to play here. Both the learnt racism of the children (from their parents), and that of the teachers.
This is all squeezed in to a very Shakespearian time frame of a day: we all know that in a Shakespearian play, people fall in and out of love, get marries and murder one another within 24 hours. For this reason, I can forgive the more mature behaviour and plotting of the 11 year old children. It seems unlikely to me as a mother of an 11 year old, that real 11 year olds would necessarily behave in this way; but this is literature and an author can bend their story and their characters to however they want them to behave. The changeability of the children's affections ARE more realistic, however.
I think this would probably be a great book for students to read at school before they access the original Othello. It would have made a great 'compare and contrast' exercise for me when I studied Othello (many years ago!).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and the ending is a real 'heart in mouth' moment!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth for my copy of this book.
This is all squeezed in to a very Shakespearian time frame of a day: we all know that in a Shakespearian play, people fall in and out of love, get marries and murder one another within 24 hours. For this reason, I can forgive the more mature behaviour and plotting of the 11 year old children. It seems unlikely to me as a mother of an 11 year old, that real 11 year olds would necessarily behave in this way; but this is literature and an author can bend their story and their characters to however they want them to behave. The changeability of the children's affections ARE more realistic, however.
I think this would probably be a great book for students to read at school before they access the original Othello. It would have made a great 'compare and contrast' exercise for me when I studied Othello (many years ago!).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and the ending is a real 'heart in mouth' moment!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth for my copy of this book.
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
I am officially submerged into The Lunar Chronicles and I am anxiously waiting to read Winter. Cress, book three of the series, adds another level to the story and I love Crescent. With threads of Rapunzel woven through the book it is so much fun to see the story through another set of eyes. Cinder and Kai are still main characters in Cress. Scarlet and Wolf continue their story as well. Fairy tale retellings are some of my favorite stories and Marissa Meyer has just taken this genre to a whole new level. It is such a unique and intriguing storyline. With so many characters to follow and fall in love with, it is easy to get lost in this world.
Seeing Marissa's style mature throughout this series has been so much fun. The pace has picked up a lot in Cress. Lots of action, chaos, stress, and adventure! We also get our first glimpse at Winter and I think I am really going to like her.
Cress is so young and naive, being taken from her family as a baby and then isolated for the last seven years. She is so smart, quirky, and innocent. Seeing earth, sand, trees...for the first time through her eyes definitely inspires a new view of the world. It encourages us to see the beauty all around us rather than taking it for granted.
This series must be read in order beginning with Cinder. I highly recommend these books. Stay tuned for my review of the grand finale!
Seeing Marissa's style mature throughout this series has been so much fun. The pace has picked up a lot in Cress. Lots of action, chaos, stress, and adventure! We also get our first glimpse at Winter and I think I am really going to like her.
Cress is so young and naive, being taken from her family as a baby and then isolated for the last seven years. She is so smart, quirky, and innocent. Seeing earth, sand, trees...for the first time through her eyes definitely inspires a new view of the world. It encourages us to see the beauty all around us rather than taking it for granted.
This series must be read in order beginning with Cinder. I highly recommend these books. Stay tuned for my review of the grand finale!
Michelle Boyea (9 KP) rated The Maze Runner in Books
Dec 30, 2018
I originally read this book a few years ago and really enjoyed it. This time around, I decided to try it as an audiobook which I definitely enjoyed!
While I vaguely remembered what happened in the book, it was more of vague feelings rather than real recollections. While listening to the book, I found myself remembering events as they happened, but I was happy to find that I could not remember what happened next beyond a few exceptions. I enjoyed hearing it again as if it was almost new.
The characters are easily relatable and I found myself very much enjoying the interactions between all the characters, but especially Thomas and Minho. I enjoyed listening to Thomas grow into who he truly is as a person despite adversity from a couple of the boys. I very much liked hearing Chuck mature and become braver as a result of his friendship with Thomas.
The only character that I did not enjoy hearing was Teresa even though I remember enjoying her the last time I read this book. I enjoyed the interactions between the boys better when they did not involve her.
As the ending of the book came closer and closer, I found myself not recollecting the story line. Once they exited the maze, I didn't remember anything. I am excited to listen to book 2 as though I'm hearing/reading it for the first time.
Mark Deakins was very enjoyable to listen to and I hope he is the narrator for book 2 as well.
While I vaguely remembered what happened in the book, it was more of vague feelings rather than real recollections. While listening to the book, I found myself remembering events as they happened, but I was happy to find that I could not remember what happened next beyond a few exceptions. I enjoyed hearing it again as if it was almost new.
The characters are easily relatable and I found myself very much enjoying the interactions between all the characters, but especially Thomas and Minho. I enjoyed listening to Thomas grow into who he truly is as a person despite adversity from a couple of the boys. I very much liked hearing Chuck mature and become braver as a result of his friendship with Thomas.
The only character that I did not enjoy hearing was Teresa even though I remember enjoying her the last time I read this book. I enjoyed the interactions between the boys better when they did not involve her.
As the ending of the book came closer and closer, I found myself not recollecting the story line. Once they exited the maze, I didn't remember anything. I am excited to listen to book 2 as though I'm hearing/reading it for the first time.
Mark Deakins was very enjoyable to listen to and I hope he is the narrator for book 2 as well.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Infernally Mine (The Infernal Blades #1) in Books
Mar 23, 2020
I'm a killer and I'm good at it.
It's not something you can put on a resume or bring up during a date -- but we all have our secrets.
The visions I see at night are part of mine.
The Elders send me visions of my new targets -- chosen by them -- for me to kill. I don't determine if they are good or bad -- just that their fate is to die by my hand.
Questioning the Elders is suicide. I am just a monster for them to direct.
One night my vision features four sinfully yummy men. They seem to find me delicious as well.
When my life gets thrown into chaos, these men are the only ones I can trust.
What happens when I am not the monster I've always believed myself to be?
I went from being the killer to the target.
One thing is for sure, I don't plan on remaining anyone's prey.
Infernally Mine is the first book in a paranormal RH/#whychoose romance series with assassins, shifters, and a succubus. Intended for mature audiences (18+). Contains MM, foul language, and violence.
This started of brilliant it was aggressive and had some attitude I loved Mara and her attitude! Then the men entered and it all became a bit meh! Then everything was so rushed all ect the sex scenes, now don't get me wrong I love a good sex scene I just think in my opinion this book lost its way a little!
It's not something you can put on a resume or bring up during a date -- but we all have our secrets.
The visions I see at night are part of mine.
The Elders send me visions of my new targets -- chosen by them -- for me to kill. I don't determine if they are good or bad -- just that their fate is to die by my hand.
Questioning the Elders is suicide. I am just a monster for them to direct.
One night my vision features four sinfully yummy men. They seem to find me delicious as well.
When my life gets thrown into chaos, these men are the only ones I can trust.
What happens when I am not the monster I've always believed myself to be?
I went from being the killer to the target.
One thing is for sure, I don't plan on remaining anyone's prey.
Infernally Mine is the first book in a paranormal RH/#whychoose romance series with assassins, shifters, and a succubus. Intended for mature audiences (18+). Contains MM, foul language, and violence.
This started of brilliant it was aggressive and had some attitude I loved Mara and her attitude! Then the men entered and it all became a bit meh! Then everything was so rushed all ect the sex scenes, now don't get me wrong I love a good sex scene I just think in my opinion this book lost its way a little!
Delivering Successful PMOs: How to Design and Deliver the Best Project Management Office for Your Business
Jake Holloway, Peter Taylor and Ray Mead
Book
Delivering Successful PMOs is intended to be the companion book to Leading Successful PMOs (Peter...