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Kristie (106 KP) rated The Ones Who Got Away (The Ones Who Got Away, #1) in Books
Sep 18, 2018
Loved it
The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren is one of the best romance novels I have read in awhile. I love a good second chance at love story and this was one of the best I've read. I really enjoyed the story line of high school sweethearts torn apart by tragedy who meet back up unexpectedly years later. They help each other overcome the pain of the past and discover that they can be happy again. This whole story was just beautifully written. I loved when the group of friends who bonded after the shooting came back together and that bond was re-established once again. I am a new reader of Roni Loren's but I enjoyed her writing so much that I will definitely be watching for more from her in the future. I loved the sneak peek of Rebecca's story at the end and I can't wait to read her and the other survivors stories next.
What an incredible story! This was my first book by BJ Harvey and I can surely say I'll be back for more. I LOVED these characters! Callum is not the typical male rich slut found in most erotic novels, having come from a good home and family but this book is entirely from his POV, which was a much-welcomed change. He comes from a pure place that makes his secret sexual desires seem dirty and forbidden to him. Lucia, on the other hand, is a force of nature and I LOVED her beyond words! Again, unlike your typical female lead. She is strong, witty, independent and confident... all the things Callum truly needs in his life. When they push limits together their bond is tested.. yet I never thought for a second these two wouldn't make it.. their connection so palpable, I hoped it would only make them stronger. Incredible love story - Highly recommended!
MoMoBookDiary (20 KP) rated The French Kiss in Books
Oct 1, 2018
I have enjoyed all the James Patterson’s novels I have read to date.
This was the first of his BookShots that I had bought and when I saw it on audible.co.uk and lasted just over 3 hours I thought it would be perfect for a drive I had ahead of me. However, I was disappointed. The story itself is fast paced and in well-known Patterson style but I found it to be a weaker plot with predictable conclusion. I found the narrator, Jean Brassard, difficult to follow at times as he spoke with (in my opinion) a poor French/American accent. I think I would have preferred to read it rather than listen in this case.
MoMo Book Diary gives the audiobook a 3* rating – as I did not enjoy the narrator and found the book to be lacking in James Patterson’s normal style. This review is also published on my blog momobookdiary.com and Amazon websites.
This was the first of his BookShots that I had bought and when I saw it on audible.co.uk and lasted just over 3 hours I thought it would be perfect for a drive I had ahead of me. However, I was disappointed. The story itself is fast paced and in well-known Patterson style but I found it to be a weaker plot with predictable conclusion. I found the narrator, Jean Brassard, difficult to follow at times as he spoke with (in my opinion) a poor French/American accent. I think I would have preferred to read it rather than listen in this case.
MoMo Book Diary gives the audiobook a 3* rating – as I did not enjoy the narrator and found the book to be lacking in James Patterson’s normal style. This review is also published on my blog momobookdiary.com and Amazon websites.
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated With This Ring?: A Novella Collection of Proposals Gone Awry in Books
Jan 2, 2019
This was a very entertaining collection of stories. I was thoroughly entertained with these proposals gone awry. From Texas 1879, to Kansas 1901, there are enough laughs and gasps to go around.
I love reading novella collections because it gives you a taste of the author's style. The love of reading does have a lot to do with finding a book, genre, author "to spark your fancy". I went several years without reading much because I was trying to force myself to read a style that I just wasn't interested in. Now, I have read more in half a year than I typically read in several years put together. I have read several books by Mary Connealy, but this was my first taste of the other authors. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to reading their full length novels now. Very humorous and sprinkled with faith. This novella collection is the perfect combination of stories for any reader who loves a good western romance.
I love reading novella collections because it gives you a taste of the author's style. The love of reading does have a lot to do with finding a book, genre, author "to spark your fancy". I went several years without reading much because I was trying to force myself to read a style that I just wasn't interested in. Now, I have read more in half a year than I typically read in several years put together. I have read several books by Mary Connealy, but this was my first taste of the other authors. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to reading their full length novels now. Very humorous and sprinkled with faith. This novella collection is the perfect combination of stories for any reader who loves a good western romance.
David McK (3562 KP) rated Batman: The Dark Knight Returns in Books
Jan 28, 2019
Commonly cited as one of the best Batman graphic novels, this is the one that turned Batman from the Camp Crusader of the Adam West years into the growling anti-hero of the Tim Burton and (later) Christopher Nolan films (leaving aside the Schumacher mis-steps in the middle).
Written in the 80s but set in the near-future, this sees Bruce Wayne return to his role as the vigilante 10 years after unspecified events that saw him hang up his cape. His return, however, also sees the return of some old foes, alongside that of some new.
While - as it was written in the 80s - some of the subject matter is now out of date (most noticeably, the Cold War between America and the USSR), this still holds up surprisingly well. I also have to say that, with some crowded art panels, language and the violence throughout, this is also not one for the kiddies!
Written in the 80s but set in the near-future, this sees Bruce Wayne return to his role as the vigilante 10 years after unspecified events that saw him hang up his cape. His return, however, also sees the return of some old foes, alongside that of some new.
While - as it was written in the 80s - some of the subject matter is now out of date (most noticeably, the Cold War between America and the USSR), this still holds up surprisingly well. I also have to say that, with some crowded art panels, language and the violence throughout, this is also not one for the kiddies!
David McK (3562 KP) rated A Morbid Taste for Bones (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #1) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
The first of Ellis Peters Cadfael Chronicles mystery novels, which it is no next to impossible to read without imagining Derek Jacobi in the lead role.
For those not in the know, Cadfael is a medieval Welsh Benedictine Monk, who has come late to the Order in life, and who proves rather adept at solving various mysteries, as well as looking after his garden. In this one, the mystery to be solved is just who murdered the leader of the opposition to his Orders plans to relocate the bones of a local saint from the sleepy Welsh village in which she is buried to the confines of his own Order of St Peter and St Paul.
If I'm honest, I actually found this quite hard going: it never really gripped me all that much, nor made me want to read on. Perhaps this kind of novel is just not my cup of tea!
For those not in the know, Cadfael is a medieval Welsh Benedictine Monk, who has come late to the Order in life, and who proves rather adept at solving various mysteries, as well as looking after his garden. In this one, the mystery to be solved is just who murdered the leader of the opposition to his Orders plans to relocate the bones of a local saint from the sleepy Welsh village in which she is buried to the confines of his own Order of St Peter and St Paul.
If I'm honest, I actually found this quite hard going: it never really gripped me all that much, nor made me want to read on. Perhaps this kind of novel is just not my cup of tea!
David McK (3562 KP) rated Flashman (The Flashman Papers, #1) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
First entry in George MacDonald Frase's Flashman series, in which he (re)introduces us to Harry Flashman: a totally reprehensible anti-hero, who (through the entire series) cheats, lies and connives his way through Victorian society and the great events of the era: in this case, the disastrous retreat from Kabul.
By all accounts, the history of the books are actually pretty accurate: most of the people Flashman meets and interacts with were real personages of note, and the novels contain several footnotes providing yet more historical info on the events described. While it is taken to extremes, I think it's also fairly safe to say that the character of Flashman and the way he behaves probably isn't really that far away from the way some members of society did ...
(oh, and trivia note: MacDonald Fraser wrote the screenplays for 1973s "The Three Musketeers" and it's sequel "The Four Musketeers" as well as the James Bond film "Octopussy", amongst others)
By all accounts, the history of the books are actually pretty accurate: most of the people Flashman meets and interacts with were real personages of note, and the novels contain several footnotes providing yet more historical info on the events described. While it is taken to extremes, I think it's also fairly safe to say that the character of Flashman and the way he behaves probably isn't really that far away from the way some members of society did ...
(oh, and trivia note: MacDonald Fraser wrote the screenplays for 1973s "The Three Musketeers" and it's sequel "The Four Musketeers" as well as the James Bond film "Octopussy", amongst others)
David McK (3562 KP) rated Hunting the Eagles: 2: Eagles of Rome in Books
Jan 30, 2019
I actually read this in a busy period, as a sort of on-again-off-again kind of deal amongst a couple of other (shorter, less involved) novels.
This is the second in Ben Kane's 'Eagles of Rome' series, that deals with - in the first novel (Eagles at War) perhaps Rome's most famous defeat of all: that which led (according to legend) the Emperor Augustus Caesar to cry 'Varus, give me back my legions' after that general lost three legions and - horror of horrors! - their eagles in the battle (ambush) of Teutoberg Forest.
This novel follows some key characters from that novel (and survivors of the ambush), from a revolt by the Legionaries through to another battle in a forest/bog land and is told from both the point of view of the Romans and from the German war leader Arminius (who successfully carried out that ambush).
Like the previous entry in the series, Ben Kane's knowledge of the period definitely shines through in this!
This is the second in Ben Kane's 'Eagles of Rome' series, that deals with - in the first novel (Eagles at War) perhaps Rome's most famous defeat of all: that which led (according to legend) the Emperor Augustus Caesar to cry 'Varus, give me back my legions' after that general lost three legions and - horror of horrors! - their eagles in the battle (ambush) of Teutoberg Forest.
This novel follows some key characters from that novel (and survivors of the ambush), from a revolt by the Legionaries through to another battle in a forest/bog land and is told from both the point of view of the Romans and from the German war leader Arminius (who successfully carried out that ambush).
Like the previous entry in the series, Ben Kane's knowledge of the period definitely shines through in this!
David McK (3562 KP) rated Guardian (The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier, #3) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
3rd entry in Jack Campbell's (or John G Hemry) <i>The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier</i> series, so really 9th(!) book overall in </i>The Lost Fleet</i> series.
Having successfully found the frontiers of 'Enigma' alien space and started his journey back home in the previous 2 novels, this novel finishes off that journey, with 'Black Jack' Geary's First Fleet finally making its way back to Alliance Space, accompanied by the allied alien 'Dancers' they had previously encountered along the way, and with the captured 'Kick' super battle cruiser in tow.
The bulk of the novel deals with the final leg of the journey back home, with a section at the very end where Geary's flagship is sent back Home (with a capital 'H') back to the Sol system, where human life originated ...
In short, more of the same, with scope left open for even more entries in the series!
Having successfully found the frontiers of 'Enigma' alien space and started his journey back home in the previous 2 novels, this novel finishes off that journey, with 'Black Jack' Geary's First Fleet finally making its way back to Alliance Space, accompanied by the allied alien 'Dancers' they had previously encountered along the way, and with the captured 'Kick' super battle cruiser in tow.
The bulk of the novel deals with the final leg of the journey back home, with a section at the very end where Geary's flagship is sent back Home (with a capital 'H') back to the Sol system, where human life originated ...
In short, more of the same, with scope left open for even more entries in the series!
David McK (3562 KP) rated Shattered Spear (The Lost Stars, #4) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Fourth entry in Jack Campbell/John Hemrys spin-off series from 'The Lost Fleet' series (and I've lost count of what entry number this is in total), this is set back in what-used-to-be Syndicate Space, with The Syndicate themselves (as always) coming across as Stalin-era Soviets.
While they do put in an appearance, they're not actually the maion threat in this entry - rather, that is provided in the form of the alien Enigmas who, previous novels have shown, are to blame for the centuries-long war between The Alliance and The Syndicate and who, in this, are pushing into/trying to gain a toe-hold on a planet that falls with Human space.
All of which is a long way of saying: more of the same; more political machinations, space battles (in 'real-time' (as it were), and more ground battles.
A bit of a guilty pleasure, in short.
While they do put in an appearance, they're not actually the maion threat in this entry - rather, that is provided in the form of the alien Enigmas who, previous novels have shown, are to blame for the centuries-long war between The Alliance and The Syndicate and who, in this, are pushing into/trying to gain a toe-hold on a planet that falls with Human space.
All of which is a long way of saying: more of the same; more political machinations, space battles (in 'real-time' (as it were), and more ground battles.
A bit of a guilty pleasure, in short.
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) Apr 12, 2019