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The Scent of Dragon’s Blood ( The Tattered Realm book 1)
The Scent of Dragon’s Blood ( The Tattered Realm book 1)
Kova Killian | 2022 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
161 of 230
Kindle
The Scent of Dragon’s Blood ( The Tatteted Realm book 1)
By Kova Killian
⭐️⭐️

When the Knight in shining armor needs saving, you send in his hybrid monster girlfriend. . . and her squishy human friend to save the day.

"It's tragic how something so beautiful has been twisted into something so fearful."

Cree has been on the run from the Dread behemoth King since she was a child for crimes her mother committed.

Crimes. . .

Her mother didn’t mean to.

Cree never thought she would fall for one of the knights that stalk her. . . let alone the captain that protects the king. But she did.

And now he’s cursed.

To keep them both safe, she hides in the realm behind The Mirror.

Humans are strange creatures, but in her short year in their realm, they have time and time again shown their kindness.

Too bad the Hunter finds her. And now her human friend, who has no idea how to protect herself, is in danger of the King and his knights.

At least she found a counter curse for her knight. . . maybe.

So what do you do when the knight in shining armor needs saving? You send in his hybrid monster girlfriend. . . and her squishy human friend to save the day.

This book holds so much potential! The premise was good, the characters were good and it really is something I’d like to see developed. But the whole thing was so rushed you just fumbled through each chapter wondering what the hell. I just couldn’t push past how rushed it was which is such a shame. It also left a lot to guess work to I mean a 40ft Wolf??? Was that her sarcasm?? Or maybe it’s really late and I should sleep!
  
TF
The Frangitelli Mirror
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
69 off 235
Kindle
The Frangitelli Mirror
By G.R. Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In 1915 a book was stolen, a crow appeared, and fate dealt its hand.
Rose Carbonelli sees ghosts.
She doesn’t sleep.
She watches every corner, studies every shadow, listens to the screams that no one else hears.
Rose Carbonelli is terrified.
Her father hasn’t been heard from since he volunteered to go to war in 1915.
The money ran out a year ago, her mother, Edith, is fading away.
Rose needs a job to save them both, and an excuse to flee the ghosts of her home.
When Rutherford House advertises for a lady’s maid, Rose seizes the opportunity.
A wage to save her mother, food to fill her belly, and an escape from the dead that occupy the shadows…
It seems just so perfect.
But is it the escape Rose has been dreaming of?
Is there truth to the rumours about Rutherford House? What lurks within the bones of it? Why has the Lady Mary Rutherford not been seen in over a decade?
Is this the perfect escape, or is it another nightmare Rose could never have imagined?


I was so lucky and so thankful to receive this ARC!

See I had a feeling I would like it as I loved her last gothic horror but this was something else it was brilliant and I loved it.

I read this at night and it just added to the creepiness I have to keep checking my dark corners. The story was compelling it kept you wanting more. The characters were so well written you became invested especially in Rose. I just can’t praise it enough!!

Amazing!
  
Hard By A Great Forest
Hard By A Great Forest
Leo Vardiashvili | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I turned the last page of Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili, and felt like my heart had been well and truly put through the wringer. This is going to be one of those books - you know the ones: this book has broken my heart and destroyed me - here! You MUST read it!

Saba, his brother and father escaped the conflict in post-Communist Georgia when he was a child, leaving behind their mother because they couldn’t afford the bribes. Saba’s father never recovers from having to leave her behind, and when things in Georgia start to settle down more, he returns there. However he goes missing, Saba’s brother goes to look for him and he goes missing too. So Saba goes to look for them both.

Saba’s head is full of the voices of his past, people who are no longer living and stories that his mother used to tell him. His brother leaves Saba a paper trail of clues, including the play that their father wrote, and parts of fairy stories and Shakespeare quotations from their childhood.

This is an emotional novel. There’s the constant feeling of being watched, danger is around every corner. The police are corrupt, and you don’t know if friends are really friends or working for the police.

Saba’s journey is both cathartic and dangerous. It takes him and his friend into the danger zone through a military blockade. It was so tense. Throughout, Saba has to deal with the trauma of his childhood and it’s impact on his adult life. He may have survived the war, but will he survive the trauma and the quest to find his father?

I loved this. I was rooting for Saba throughout, and I feel that I learnt a lot about what has happened in Georgia (considering I knew nothing beforehand). It’s wonderful book.
  
40x40

Lori (9 KP) rated The Stand in Books

Jun 29, 2017  
The Stand
The Stand
Stephen King | 2016 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.6 (51 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good vs evil. People of all ages, from all walks of life, coming together to "stand". (0 more)
The title says it all, on which side will you STAND?
I have loved​ this book from the first moment I picked it up and couldn't put it down, over 20 years ago . How could you not love a epic novel about the end of the world and the fight between good and evil? The characters are so very human, just a few on the side of good, the matriach, the unwed mother, the good ol' boy, the deaf mute, the judge, the soul singer. The demon/devil, ex-con, former cop, party girl, crazy arsonist are just a few on the dark side. They survive the plague and then have to take a "stand" (and pick a side) and survive the war between good and evil.
  
Top of the Lake  - Season 1
Top of the Lake - Season 1
2013 | Crime
Build up of the story (3 more)
Setting
Elizabeth Moss
Brilliant support cast
While the slow build up is good sometimes it feels like nothing is happening (0 more)
A slow burner
A fantastic but disturbing story about a small town in New Zealand, following Robin Griffin as she returns home to visit her ill mother but is pulled onto a case when a 12-year-old girl is found (alive) in a lake. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout and there's an intensity that's slowly bubbling away.

At times it does get a bit slow and at the beginning it can be hard to get into, but the brilliant cast of actors - led by the absolutely fantastic Elizabeth Moss - keep it going and turn it into something brilliant. Some of the characters are disturbing but believable and it winds up to an eventful finale.
  
Three Daughters of Eve
Three Daughters of Eve
Elif Shafak | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wonderfully weaved story of past and present life
Elik Shafak has a beautiful way of writing very delicate narratives. In this case, it's a story about an indecisive Turkish woman reminiscing about her past mistakes and confusions, attempting to reconcile her faith and her disbelief at every given turn.

She is now a housewife with children, when she vowed never to be such, and she has issues with her religion and questioning her belief after living between a devoutly Muslim mother and a secular father. These issues rise up again when she studies a "God" seminar at Oxford and she is pitted against her atheist Iranian friend, her Muslim housemate and her enigmatic older professor.

It is a remarkably contemporary story, weaving political attributes and current affairs. Intriguing but could have a been a little shorter.
  
40x40

Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Magic Hour in Books

May 25, 2018  
MH
Magic Hour
Kristin Hannah | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have read a lot of Kristin Hannah's books, loved them all, and this one definitely did not disappoint.

This book was well written, and the flow of the story was very satisfying. It's a wonderful, magical story about the love between several pairs/groups: mother and child, father and child, two sisters, and some long-time friends. There was just enough mystery to keep me intrigued and engrossed in the story, and Julia's relationships were well-crafted and beautifully developed.

I did get into the story a little slower than most of her books, I think because the character development was a bit more complicated than others - but I'm OK with that. Once I got into it, it was hard to stop! It's definitely a great romantic beach read and a wonderful escape from reality that I enjoyed very much.