French Kisses and a London Affair
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A London Affair Kate leaves the countryside for a job in a posh London deli and is soon surrounded...
Once Upon a Time in the West...Country
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Waking in the middle of the night whilst on holiday, Tony Hawks declares an epiphany to his barely...
Ancient Egyptians at Play: Board Games Across Borders
Alex de Voogt, Walter Crist and Anne-Elizabeth Dunn-Vaturi
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The rich history of Egypt has provided famous examples of board games played in antiquity. Each of...
Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans
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Playful, social, and passionate, crows have brains that are huge for their body size, which allows...
The Operator
8.7
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Book
'What if you could listen in on any phone conversation in town? Irresistible!' Kathryn Stockett,...
Sims 4: Laundry Day
8.0
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Video Game
Your Sims can now clean their clothes and also furnish their homes with country-themed décor. Say...
Pine
10.0
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Book
They are driving home from the search party when they see her. The trees are coarse and tall in the...
Literary Fiction Scotland
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Helsingør Sewing Club [Audiobook] in Books
Feb 13, 2022
![The Helsingør Sewing Club [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/152/637f5c9d-f622-4f67-b890-951e18b0f152.jpg?m=1644757863)
What an incredibly powerful story this is and one that is a must read/listen if you want to be gripped by an inspiring tale of bravery that is based on true events.
Told from diary of Inger in 1943 and her granddaughter, Cecilie in the present day, this is the story of how a community in Denmark saved their Jewish friends, neighbours and countrymen from the tyranny of the Nazi regime. Their self-less courage and strength is captured within the words of this book and although it starts off a little slowly, this helps to set the scene of what's to come.
I listened to the audiobook and have to say that Kristin Atherton did an excellent job of narrating this story; she drew me in and kept me there from start to finish.
This is a gripping story about events in Denmark during World War II and one which I wasn't aware of or appreciated so thank you to Ella Gyland for bringing this to my attention and I would certainly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this area or to anyone who just enjoys a really good book.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
David McK (3369 KP) rated Lesser Evil (Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency, #3) in Books
Sep 25, 2022
Anyway - and, as before for this trilogy - this is set 'A long time ago, beyond a galaxy far, far away ...' and finally completes the arc/narrative started in Chaos Rising (and continued on in Greater Good) with the Chiss Ascendency under attack from a shadowy figure who has been pulling the strings all along (now that I type that, sounding a bit like Palpatine (it's not) ) turning the Ascendency against itself and their neighbours also against them at the same time. It's actually only really in the epilogue, where Thrawn and another character discuss the Fall of the Republic and the Rise of the Empire that you really only get a sense of where and when these events happen, which is both the novels greatest strength (it's fresh! it's not beholden to what-has-come-before) and weakness (the setting may be too 'new' for more casual Star Wars fans).
ClareR (5674 KP) rated Nightcrawling in Books
Aug 27, 2022 (Updated Aug 27, 2022)
Kiara, 17 years old, gets drawn in to prostitution and is picked up by a group of corrupt cops who like to ‘invite’ young sex workers to their parties. And a lot of these girls are too young. Kiara included.
It really angered me that people who were supposed to take care of and protect people, young black girls included, should take advantage and blackmail them.
Kiara and her neighbours son Trevor, live in poverty. Kiara has stopped going to school, so has no qualifications and no one will employ her. Trevor’s mother goes missing for days at a time, and Kiara sees children's services as a last resort, wholly unacceptable. So to feed them and to pay the rent, she walks the streets, sells sex, and does what the cops want her to do. These men made me feel quite murderous, actually.
Nightcrawling made me feel emotionally exhausted, but I had to read every page. It’s a story that drags you in, grabs your attention, and doesn’t let go until the last page. The fact that it’s based on a true story makes it even more saddening.
If you’re up for a challenge, I’d recommend this. It deserves its place on the Booker Prize long list.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole.