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The History of Wine in 100 Bottles: From Bacchus to Bordeaux and Beyond

Oz Clarke

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Winemaking is as old as civilization itself and wine has always been more than just a drink. For...

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Lothaire (Immortals After Dark #12) in Books

Jan 6, 2021

4.5 stars

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

Dear Justice League

Michael Northrop | 2019 | Children, Comics & Graphic Novels

8.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Other than Timothy Forner's MONTGOMERY SCHNAUZER, P.I., I am not much of a reader of books aimed at young'uns. However, when I saw that this was a book approachable by both adults (with an sense of fun) as well as well as the intended audience, I was onboard.

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!

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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Jan 12, 2021

Author Richard Cox stops by my blog to discuss writing a manuscript in a fascinating guest post. Check out this techno thriller novel HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN, and enter the giveaway to win a signed copy of the book and another one of his books - three winners total!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/01/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-house-of.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Both a frightening apocalyptic story set in the southern United States and a character-focused, deeply moving literary thriller.

What would happen if technology all over the world suddenly stopped working?

When a strange new star appears in the sky, human life instantly grinds to a halt. Across the world, anything and everything electronic stops working completely.

At first, the event seems like a bizarre miracle to Seth Black--it interrupts his suicide attempt and erases gambling debt that threatened to destroy his family. But when Seth and his wife, Natalie, realize the electricity isn't coming back on, that their food supplies won't last, they begin to wonder how they and their two sons will survive.

Meanwhile, screenwriter Thomas Phillips--an old friend of Natalie's--has just picked up Skylar Stover, star of his new movie, at the airport when his phone goes dead and planes begin to fall from the sky.

Thomas has just completed a script about a similar electromagnetic event that ended the world. Now, he's one of the few who recognizes what's happening and where it will lead.

When Thomas and Skylar decide to rescue Natalie and Seth, the unwilling group must attempt to survive together as the world falls apart. They try to hide in Thomas's home and avoid desperate neighbors, but fear they'll soon be roaming the streets with starving refugees and angry vigilantes intent on forming new governments. It's all they can do to hold on to each other and their humanity.

Yet all the while, unbeknownst to them, Aiden Christopher--a bitter and malignant man leveraging a crumbling society to live out his darkest, most amoral fantasies--is fighting to survive as well. And he's on a collision course with Thomas, Skylar, and the Black family...

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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2518 KP) rated Tilling the Truth in Books

Aug 28, 2019

Tilling the Truth

Julia Henry | 2019 | Mystery

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Tilling Through the Lies Until the Truth is Left

It’s August in Goosebush, Massachusetts, but Lilly Jayne and the rest of the Garden Squad just as busy as every trying to make their town beautiful again. But there are some thorns among the blooms. The recent death of a friend has left Lilly, as executor of his estate, dealing with his greedy relatives. Meanwhile, Lilly’s best friend, Tamara, is finding her efforts to sell the dead man’s house meeting with sabotage, something that is only making her stress over the new relator in town worse. But things come to a head when Tamara is found standing over the dead body of Gladys Preston. Gladys didn’t have many friends in town, but she recently had a very public fight with Tamara. As the rumor mill begins to heat up, Lilly knows she needs to figure out what really happened to help her friend clear her name. Can she do it?

I fell in love with these characters with the first book in the series, and it was great to be back to visit them again. I will admit it took me a bit to get completely back in the flow of the characters and Goosebush, but it wasn’t long before I had. Lilly and many of her friends are on the older side, and I enjoy this break from the traditional cozy lead character. They and the new characters came to life for me as the story unfolded. The plot takes on quite a bit, so as a result the book appears to be wandering a little before Gladys dies, but everything is important and comes into play. I’m actually a little in awe of how it all came together, although the ending was a tad rushed. I also appreciated how the theme of old versus new or tradition versus change played out in the book. I suspect we will see that again in future books. For those who have a green thumb, some gardening tips are included at the back of the book. This second book is fun as we get to watch Lilly weed out another killer.