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Uganda be Kidding Me
Book
I awoke at 4:45 am in Johannesburg, South Africa, in my bra and underwear and looked over at my...
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According to Yes
Book
Dawn French, number one bestselling author of A Tiny Bit Marvellous and Oh Dear Silvia, returns with...
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The Haunting of Hill House
Book
The best-known of Shirley Jackson's novels, and the inspiration for writers such as Neil Gaiman and...
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The Rosie Project: No. 1: Don Tillman
Book
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is a story about love, life and lobster every...
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Maxwell's Point
Book
With girlfriend DS Jacquie Carpenter back at work and little baby Nolan rapidly growing into a...
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Merissa (12339 KP) rated Plague Arcanist (Frith Chronicles #4) in Books
Jun 15, 2020
I'm not giving out any spoilers when I say Volke is infected with the plague. Not only does this happen at the end of book three but the very title sort of gives it away! 😉 Volke feels he has no choice but to go it alone as he is terrified of infecting one of his friends. Only trouble is, Adelgis isn't prepared to let him, even with the risks to himself, and Fain is immune and won't let him either. So Volke is stuck with both of them and I honestly believe he wouldn't have made it to the end of the book without them.
I was a bit sad that we didn't find out what the others have been up to whilst Volke has his adventures but I am sure we will find out in due course. What I loved was finding out about Everett and Lynus. I loved these parts and thought they were brilliantly done. There are new characters to enjoy too who really help to set the scenes.
I can't say I was surprised at the ending as I felt there were hints throughout the book. It wasn't a disappointment though as the writing, as always, was superb and really made you feel part of what was going on. Can I just add - that cloak! The description of the new versus the old brought tears to my eyes!!!
All in all, this is an amazing addition to the series that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I really can't wait for the next one - World Serpent Arcanist. Bring it on.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Three teenagers in the small town of Mill Valley, Pennsylvania, Stella (Zoe Colletti), Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur) incur the wrath of school bully Tommy Millner after playing a prank. They are chased by him and saved by a drifter named Ramon (Michael Garza) who let's them into his car. The group including Ramon explore a haunted house belonging to the Bellows, founders of the town, Inside of a secret room belonging to the Bellows' daughter Sarah, they find a book of scary stories written by her. After taking the book with them, they start to believe that there is more to the rumors about the house being haunted when stories in the book appear to happen in real life.
This movie was actually pretty good. I thought it could have been scarier but I think it was done well for being rated PG-13. Of course, I'm old enough to remember the books and they were really creepy, especially the illustrations. The movie was good at building suspense, and being creepy. I really liked the characters and felt that they were likeable and had a little something for everyone in how they were relatable. The character development could have been better for sure but the creature effects were spot on. The Monsters were definitely awesome and I like the way the made it an anthology movie without it actually being an anthology. It was pretty unique in that way and I can see how a sequel could work if it's financially successful enough to warrant one. I give this movie a 7/10.
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The History of Wine in 100 Bottles: From Bacchus to Bordeaux and Beyond
Book
Winemaking is as old as civilization itself and wine has always been more than just a drink. For...
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Lothaire (Immortals After Dark #12) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
Lothaire The Enemy of Old's book had been brewing for a really long time and I couldn't wait to start it to see what kind of woman it would take to bring Lothaire to his knees. And the answer is one tough chick in the form of Ellie Peirce.
It started with a flashback to Lothaire's childhood and I almost wanted to throw my book when I saw what kind of a man he had for a father and what happened to his poor mother. It helped us to understand him a little more.
Then we forwarded to "5 years ago" and we met Elizabeth Peirce, a poor girl sharing a body with an evil deity who enjoyed killing people while Ellie slept. It was really gruesome reading as Saroya killed the people who had come to try and exercise her from Ellie.
And that is the three main characters met. Saroya, I did not like at all, she was manipulative and just plain evil. Lothaire, after the beginning, I could understand him more and though he's a bit arrogant in the things he says and does I did grow to like him. Ellie was just awesome, she didn't take none of Lothaire's crap and liked to wind him up. It was quite fun reading.
One thing I did enjoy was Lothaire being brought to his knees by a human. He needed a woman exactly like Ellie and she was a force to be reckoned with at times.
The only thing I didn't like, and what lost it half a star for me, was their split. It all seemed to be going so well for them and then Lothaire did something against her will and then for like the next 60 pages they're not together. I was like WTF?
In the end it all worked out and apart from that one thing mentioned above, I really liked it. This is probably one of my favourite books in the series!
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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Dear Justice League in Books
Nov 30, 2020
The premise was simple: the Justice Leaguers answering texts and emails, as well as an actual physical letter (thanks, Bats!), that deal with honest questions that children would likely pose to the heroes if they were real. There was also a backstory dealing with insectoids intent on invading the Earth, but yeah, not as important as the intial "Dear Justice League.." emails and texts. :)
Michael Northrop has a great sense of how to have fun without alienating the core fans, as well as satisfying the kids that were just intent on seeing how it might be if the League were able to answer their burning questions. I am a big fan of the "Bwa-hahahaha" years of Giffen and DeMatteis' JLI stories in the 80's, so this was definitely something I had no problem enjoying or even laughing out loud while reading it.
Equally fun was the art by Gustavo Duarte. His rendering of our "beloved" heroes did not cheapen our them, more of, in my opinion, a humanizing effect, which made them more relatable to their intended audience. I was not familiar with Brazilian cartoonist Duarte, but going forward, I will keeping an eye out for more by him.
Here's my final word... Regardless of where we are in the world at this particular moment, we know that we are stuck inside, trying to avoid contact with See-Oh-Vee-Eye-Dee (shhhh!), with our loved ones, and if you have children (my wife and I do not), you're probably experiencing some cabin fever. This book, right here, is the best solution to a bad situation. And, best of it, it's available on Kindle and Comixology, so you don't even need to go anywhere to obtain a copy! So, go ahead, get it and have good, old-fashioned fun, with/with children in your life!
Be safe, my friends!