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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea in Books
Jul 8, 2021
A beautiful story about love and loss
Hazel Bly lived a great life with her Mum and Mama until a kayaking accident. Then her Mum died, leaving Hazel with a scar on her face and terrible anxiety. She wants nothing more than to keep her little sister Peach safe. The Blys move around a lot now. Two years after the accident, they are in Maine. It turns out that one of their new neighbors is her Mama's old childhood friend, Claire. The introduction of Claire into Hazel's world--along with her chatty daughter Lemon--makes Hazel feel unsettled. Plus Lemon is fixated on a local legend, the Rose Maid, a mermaid often seen in the waters. Hazel notes a resemblance between herself and Rose and soon she finds herself as fascinated by the mermaid as Lemon. Because sometimes everyone needs to believe in a little magic, especially when their world is crumbling around them.
"Now it's two and one, with me as the odd one out."
Oh this book is excellent-- an absolutely stunning read, which captures grief and loss so viscerally. I truly felt traumatized at times on Hazel's behalf. With the death of her Mum, she is so afraid something will happen to Peach, or even her Mama, and this fear comes through the pages so strongly. It's heartbreaking. Her fear of being happy again. You just want to wrap this sweet kid in your arms and hug her until everything is okay. Blake writes Hazel so well, and her grief, passion, and emotions come across so well.
Everything in this book is amazing--the magical and whimsical myth of the Rose Maid; the diversity of the characters; and the total acceptance of Hazel's parents being gay and bi. It's not a big deal in this book for parents to be queer or friends to be nonbinary. How wonderful for a YA story.
This is an exceptional tale about family, love, loss, healing, and magic. It made me cry, but it left me hopeful too. It's touching and heartfelt. Highly recommend. 4.5 stars.
"Now it's two and one, with me as the odd one out."
Oh this book is excellent-- an absolutely stunning read, which captures grief and loss so viscerally. I truly felt traumatized at times on Hazel's behalf. With the death of her Mum, she is so afraid something will happen to Peach, or even her Mama, and this fear comes through the pages so strongly. It's heartbreaking. Her fear of being happy again. You just want to wrap this sweet kid in your arms and hug her until everything is okay. Blake writes Hazel so well, and her grief, passion, and emotions come across so well.
Everything in this book is amazing--the magical and whimsical myth of the Rose Maid; the diversity of the characters; and the total acceptance of Hazel's parents being gay and bi. It's not a big deal in this book for parents to be queer or friends to be nonbinary. How wonderful for a YA story.
This is an exceptional tale about family, love, loss, healing, and magic. It made me cry, but it left me hopeful too. It's touching and heartfelt. Highly recommend. 4.5 stars.
A teen, her mum and dog are moving to a new neighbourhood, on her first day of school she is invited to a party but turns it down to hang with her mum, however, her mum is too busy with her new job so she decides to go to the party. The party ends up being cancelled and the teens decide to drink instead, but as they're underage they struggle to get anyone to buy them alcohol, until a seemingly nice woman agrees to buy it for them. It soon becomes apparent that this woman is dodgy as we see her stalking the teens on Facebook (how did she get their full names?) and phoning one of their dads to tell him of their drinking plan who then phones the police to stop them in their tracks. This doesn't stop them trying again the next day by asking the same woman to buy them alcohol. This time she invites them to drink in her basement which the teens quickly agree to.
The evening turns sour when sue Anne pulls a gun out, but she soon turns it around as a good prank and invites them to party again and again. Eventually the teens realise how obsessed sue Anne is when she's constantly messaging them and they all decide to block her. That's when things go from bad to worse with a few surprises on the way.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, it was in the horror section of Netflix but for the first hour I didn't really get a horror vibe, I got the vibe of a lonely woman so desperate to be liked that it becomes obsessive and I did feel sorry for her........ At first.
I liked the inclusion of her back story as I felt for her even more, making the second half of the movie such a kick in the teeth. I mean this woman is proper psychotic and the things she does is messed up, but damn it's a good watch! Octavia Spencer plays Ma so incredibly well, I honestly couldn't have picked anyone else to play her.
The evening turns sour when sue Anne pulls a gun out, but she soon turns it around as a good prank and invites them to party again and again. Eventually the teens realise how obsessed sue Anne is when she's constantly messaging them and they all decide to block her. That's when things go from bad to worse with a few surprises on the way.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, it was in the horror section of Netflix but for the first hour I didn't really get a horror vibe, I got the vibe of a lonely woman so desperate to be liked that it becomes obsessive and I did feel sorry for her........ At first.
I liked the inclusion of her back story as I felt for her even more, making the second half of the movie such a kick in the teeth. I mean this woman is proper psychotic and the things she does is messed up, but damn it's a good watch! Octavia Spencer plays Ma so incredibly well, I honestly couldn't have picked anyone else to play her.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Unfollow Me in Books
Feb 6, 2020 (Updated Feb 6, 2020)
Another tale to warn of the dangers of social media - this time focused on a YouTube vlogger who suddenly deletes all her social media accounts - I mean shock horror what could be more suspicious!?!.
This book really wasn’t for me, I found all the characters irritating and unrelatable. We had Yvonne how spent most of her book uterus gazing which bores me to tears. As someone who doesn’t want kids, I sure do know a lot about fertility treatments and ovulation monitoring as this seems to be a recurring obsession in books at the moment and it’s just not interesting to me. Knew exactly where her storyline was going - sigh.
Then we have single mum Lily and get to hear the “woe is me being a single mum is so hard” bit, which I’m sure it is, but again not interested in the recurring theme. Yvonne and Lily both love to watch vblogger Violet on YouTube who is a mummy blogger and they flip out when she seems to disappear removing all her social media accounts. So that’s the mystery we move towards figuring out but I just don’t really care and I still don’t care once it’s all been underwhelmingly explained by the end.
I’m sure there are plenty who are as interested in these themes as I wasn’t - this book is for you - not me.
Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC in which I gave an honest review in return.
This book really wasn’t for me, I found all the characters irritating and unrelatable. We had Yvonne how spent most of her book uterus gazing which bores me to tears. As someone who doesn’t want kids, I sure do know a lot about fertility treatments and ovulation monitoring as this seems to be a recurring obsession in books at the moment and it’s just not interesting to me. Knew exactly where her storyline was going - sigh.
Then we have single mum Lily and get to hear the “woe is me being a single mum is so hard” bit, which I’m sure it is, but again not interested in the recurring theme. Yvonne and Lily both love to watch vblogger Violet on YouTube who is a mummy blogger and they flip out when she seems to disappear removing all her social media accounts. So that’s the mystery we move towards figuring out but I just don’t really care and I still don’t care once it’s all been underwhelmingly explained by the end.
I’m sure there are plenty who are as interested in these themes as I wasn’t - this book is for you - not me.
Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC in which I gave an honest review in return.
Cheshire Cats
Book
This plays needs M1-3 and F5-7 as well as extras and various simple settings. Grown women, aching...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Sapphire Flames (Hidden Legacy, #4) in Books
Jan 7, 2021
I read the original trilogy with Nevada and Connor "Mad Dog" Rogan a few years ago now but I loved it, so the chance to continue the series with the two younger sisters was a big YES!
It's been three years since Nevada and Connor got married in Diamond Fire and now Catalina is the head of House Baylor. She gets a visit from Augustine - who runs a large PI type firm - and is asked to help talk a fifteen year old down from a hospital ledge after the death of his mum and sister and she immediately agrees. What follows draws Catalina into helping her friend find out who killed their family and she finds her teenage crush, Alessandro, is somehow involved in it.
I really enjoyed this, as I have the previous books in this series. The action barely stops throughout, there's always something happening keeping you hooked.
It was a complicated web for the team to unravel with trying to find out the murderer of Runa and Ragnar's mum and sister and I was drawn into that mystery.
And then the romance. God, I don't know who to slap first. Catalina for not telling Alessandro how she felt, or Alessandro for leaving in the end, though we very clearly see in that epilogue that he doesn't particularly want to leave.
I cannot wait for Emerald Blaze to released in August so I can see these two meet again and hopefully work it out!
It's been three years since Nevada and Connor got married in Diamond Fire and now Catalina is the head of House Baylor. She gets a visit from Augustine - who runs a large PI type firm - and is asked to help talk a fifteen year old down from a hospital ledge after the death of his mum and sister and she immediately agrees. What follows draws Catalina into helping her friend find out who killed their family and she finds her teenage crush, Alessandro, is somehow involved in it.
I really enjoyed this, as I have the previous books in this series. The action barely stops throughout, there's always something happening keeping you hooked.
It was a complicated web for the team to unravel with trying to find out the murderer of Runa and Ragnar's mum and sister and I was drawn into that mystery.
And then the romance. God, I don't know who to slap first. Catalina for not telling Alessandro how she felt, or Alessandro for leaving in the end, though we very clearly see in that epilogue that he doesn't particularly want to leave.
I cannot wait for Emerald Blaze to released in August so I can see these two meet again and hopefully work it out!
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Mamma Mia! (2008) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
Cheesy to the very end but immensely successful and spawning a sequel, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again this very summer. 2008’s Mamma Mia was one of the most profitable musicals of all time with an all-star cast including Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. With the entire wedding-themed movie set on an idyllic Greek island, it was inevitable that the ceremony itself would be absolutely stunning. It was, with a church perched high on a hill and a lovely reception in which Amanda Seyfriend’s Sophie could relish in the love of her friends, mum and (spoiler alert), her three dads.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/05/19/the-best-movie-weddings-top-5/
https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/05/19/the-best-movie-weddings-top-5/
Amy-Elizabeth (2 KP) rated The Secret Garden in Books
Jun 29, 2018
Charming characters (3 more)
A wonderfully discribed setting
Delightful accents
Just a great audio book production
Audio book - unabridged version (AudioGo Ltd)
"When a young girl is sent to live with her uncle after the death of her parents, his manner and sorrow leaves her feeling bitterly alone. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has become hidden and, aided by one of the servant's boys, begins restoring it to its former glory."
A lovely trip down memory lane, my Mum and I read this when I was just a little girl.
A great story for young and old, with life lessons I think more people could use these days.
A lovely trip down memory lane, my Mum and I read this when I was just a little girl.
A great story for young and old, with life lessons I think more people could use these days.
Milleen (47 KP) rated Her Perfect Life in Books
Nov 14, 2018 (Updated Nov 14, 2018)
If you enjoy psychological drama, add this to your reading list. This happens to be Sam Hepburn's debut in this genre after much success writing young adult thrillers. This is an examination of how far someone would go to create a perfect life. Juliet, a single-mum struggling to pay her bills and earn a living and Gracie, television darling and star of her own 'Cooking with Gracie'. Their paths cross and the women strike up an unlikely friendship, but things are not quite as they seem. This is a gripping narrative that keeps you guessing right up to the last chapter. Hepburn has given the reader plenty to think about, this is a bestseller for good reason.
Merissa (12058 KP) rated Farewell to Paris (Legend of the White Snake #2) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
This is the story of Caitlin and Charlie's son, as he grows up and becomes a man. You stay with him as he trains with Alice, as he meets and trains with the Grandmaster and how his whole life has revolved around him saving his mum from the ICSC. As this is Sean/Shilin's story, there is not a lot going on with Alice or Charlie and definitely not with Caitlin but even so, this book follows seamlessly. It is full of action with many a twist and turn to keep you attentive. There is romance with a question but it doesn't overpower the story.
I was looking forward to reading this book and haven't been disappointed.
I was looking forward to reading this book and haven't been disappointed.
The Punishment Cupboard
Book
With the loss of his beloved wife and the strains of World War Two still raging around him, Captain...