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Against the Loveless World
Against the Loveless World
Susan Abulhawa | 2020 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Against the Loveless World is an emotional and stark view into the world of Nahr, a Palestinian refugee. She is narrating her own story from The Cube, an inhumane prison cell designed by the Israelis, where she is a political prisoner. Nahr tells her story from her beginnings in Kuwait, and how her family were once again forced to become refugees. She tries to help her family however she can, even prostituting herself with violent men at one point. But her family never go without.

When she returns to Palestine to her husband’s family in order to divorce him, she meets his brother and falls in love. However, this is the start of more problems for her, as she becomes radicalised.

It did seem hard to believe that she had quite so many problems and terrible things happen to her, but I’ve since read that Nahr’s character is an amalgamation of several real-life stories. So, in a way, it reassured me that one person couldn’t experience ALL of these things, whilst at the same time I felt so sad that anyone could experience ANY of these things.

I couldn’t put this book down, though. It’s a fascinating, yet horrifying novel, and not something that I’ve read about in fiction before - and I’m so glad that I have.
  
The House Guest
The House Guest
Hank Phillippi Ryan | 2023 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Will Helping a House Guest Hurt Alyssa?
Alyssa Macallan’s life is turned upside down when her husband walks out of their house one day. Facing a divorce she never expected, she finds herself drinking at a bar one Friday night, where she meets Bree Lorrance, who is also down on her luck. The two hit it off, and Alyssa invites Bree to move into her guest house. Helping Bree lets Alyssa forget her own problems, until her own problems heat back up. Will the two be able to help each other? Or do they have secret agendas?

I was hooked early on, although the book does take a little while to build up to the full plot. Once it does, I couldn’t wait to see how things would resolve for the characters. I appreciated the fact that no one seemed overly whiney here, although they could have repeated things less, giving the book more time to flesh out some of the late breaking twists. While knowing I couldn’t fully trust Alyssa and Bree, I really did like them both and hoped things would work out well for them. We get the book completely from Alyssa’s third person point of view which makes us question just what anyone else was thinking. Even with the pacing issues with the plot, I enjoyed this book overall.
  
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Merissa (12387 KP) rated Us Against the World (Roseden U #1) in Books

Feb 1, 2022 (Updated Jul 3, 2023)  
Us Against the World (Roseden U #1)
Us Against the World (Roseden U #1)
Shayne Prescott | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
US AGAINST THE WORLD is the first book in the Roseden U series and we start off with Theo and Owen.

Theo is trans and has had his own problems dealing with people who don't understand what that means and is so only starting his time at Roseden for the Fall Term. Owen is a Junior and on the Lacrosse team. These two meet when Theo goes to the bookshop for his school supplies.

I loved these two. So perfect for each other. Shy and strong, both of them fully prepared to communicate so there are no stupid misunderstandings. They are fully supported by a great cast too - Harv, Brent, Misha... I'm hoping we see more of them, especially Harv as it seems he has a story to tell.

This story was perfectly paced, with no slumps, just a continuous flow that kept the story moving. The problems were well written and not blown out of proportion, which gave them the gravitas they deserved.

A brilliant start to a new series I'm looking forward to continuing. Absolutely recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* 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!
Feb 1, 2022
  
DW
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Set 1000 years after his first visit... Well, there's a problem right there. Just like going back to Narnia so long after the first visit, why do we even care? No one is alive we remember, the world is vastly different, the problems aren't the same... so now it's a whole new set up. Why not just go to a whole new planet? Oh sure, Anthony Stuart Head's warlord is still around in some way shape or form, trying to take over still, but aside from some brilliant performances from him and Colin Baker, there isn't much else here worth carrying on about. For more, check out www.travelingthevortex.com
  
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Suswatibasu (1702 KP) rated Homegoing in Books

Jul 24, 2017  
Homegoing
Homegoing
Yaa Gyasi | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Extraordinary novel spanning seas and generations
A rather melancholic and at times bitterweet read, describing the journey of one family split into two lineages as a result of colonialism and slavery. It is rather horrific read to tales of rape and torture, but there is no way of skirting around the issue. What is more telling is the effects that eight generations of brutality has on a modern generation and how easy it is to dismiss today's problems without looking at the context.

Yaa Gyasi has really excelled in bringing the narratives together coherently. An important piece of literature worth putting as part of the school curriculum.
  
Watchmen (2009)
Watchmen (2009)
2009 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Rorschach (1 more)
Visual Effects
Too Long! (1 more)
Sub-par Plot
Uhhh...What?
Plot? Here Plot! Holy crap this movie made no sense at all, I *barely* understood where they were going with it and boy was it an hour too long! The movie was dragged out with a bunch of unnecessary scenes that could have been thrown on the cutting room floor with no problems. The visual effects were gorgeous though, for a movie made in 2009 it really stepped up to the plate. The characters were half-half, some were excellent, others...well they were about as interesting as finger nail clippings. Wouldn't waste your time with this one!